Boom in Christianity Reshapes Methodists

Rachel Zoll, Associated Press

The United Methodist Church is the latest Protestant group caught in the shifting currents of world Christianity. While the American denomination is shrinking at home, its congregations in the developing world are growing explosively.

Over the last decade, the number of United Methodists outside the U.S. more than tripled. The denomination's largest district is now in the West African nation of Ivory Coast. At the next national church assembly, the 2008 General Conference in Texas, overseas delegates will have more say than ever in the church's future—as many as 30 percent could come from abroad.

Read more »

Archbishop Akinola, the Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican) will be coming to Woodbridge Virginia early next month to install Bishop Martyn Minns in his new role as the leader of CANA.

The Installation will take place on May 5th at the The Cecil D. Hylton Memorial Chapel in Woodbridge. Jim Robb, CANA’s media officer confirmed the Archbishop’s visit, but said that complete press information about the event has not yet been posted. He does expect to have further information posted in the near future however.

Additional details will, most likely, be posted here.

The Dallas Morning News reports that recently retired Anglican Archbishop of Southeast Asia Yong Ping Chung will speak next Wednesday at 7 p.m. at the Church of The Holy Communion in Dallas TX.

From the congregation's announcement:

"The Archbishop’s topic will be, 'Recover the Vision', how Anglicans in North America can return to Jesus' Great Commission to spread His Word. His Grace will share the dynamic of the Global South of the Anglican Communion that has made this part of Anglicanism one of the fastest growing churches in the world.

The Archbishop remains one of the most influential Anglican leaders in the traditional and devout Global South of the eighty million member worldwide Anglican Communion. An outspoken proponent of biblical and orthodox Anglicanism, he is known as an 'Asian Tiger for Jesus Christ'. He has described much of the Anglican leadership in the West as 'spiritually bankrupt', believing the correction is a return to true commitment to Jesus Christ and His Holy Word.

Church of the Holy Communion is affiliated with the Reformed Episcopal Church."

Read the rest here: Dallas Morning News (Religion staff): Asian archbishop to speak in Dallas

There's news from the Anglican Communion Institute this week.

The Anglican Communion Institute, Inc. - ACI Appoints Treasurer

The Anglican Communion Institute is pursuing incorporation in the state of Texas, and the process should be concluded in good time. We have received excellent legal counsel. In many ways this move is a reversion to the status we had at SEAD for over a decade. We are grateful that the Revd Frank Fuller has agreed to serve as Treasurer and Mr Craig Uffman as webmaster. We have seen profit in adjusting our domain name at this time to http://anglicancommunioninstitute.com. The older site will automatically convert to the new one. It has a slightly different format but all the older material is there, or will be, in due course.

Craig Uffman is a staff member of Holy Trinity Church in Raleigh, North Carolina

Some news this morning regarding the presentment now filed by the Diocese of Colorado against the Rev. Don Armstrong:

"The Rev. Donald Armstrong was officially 'served' by the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado, according to diocesan sources, notifying him that his case would be tried by an Episcopal Court. Armstrong apparently has until May 10 to respond, but we're still a long way from seeing even this chapter through: According to diocsesan sources, a trial date might not be set for another three months.

Whether Armstrong shows up to such a trial is another matter. Armstrong is now a priest in the Convocation of Anglicans in North America -- an organization connected with the province of Nigeria -- and doesn't consider himself to be under the diocese's authority at all anymore.

Alan Crippen, spokesman for Armstrong and Grace CANA, said Armstrong hasn't actually received any notice from the diocese yet. But, if he had been, Crippen added, 'it would be about as relevant as the Presbyterian Church serving him.He's not under their jurisdiction.' It seems likely that, if Armstrong speaks in any court, it'll be a secular one, not ecclesiastical.
"

Read the rest here: Faith at Altitude: Armstrong Served

New Hampshire just passed legislation allowing same-gender unions legal status within the state. Bishop Robinson has said that he and his partner Mark Andrew will register:

"Shortly after a civil unions bill cleared its last hurdle Thursday, the state's best-known gay resident said he will use it.

'Absolutely. My partner and I look forward to taking full advantage of the new law,' Episcopal Bishop V. Gene Robinson told The Associated Press. The Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Union of which it is part are still dealing with repercussions from Robinson's 2003 consecration as bishop of New Hampshire."

Read the full story here

The Washington Times is saying:

Despite a general invitation to CANA-affiliated parishes in Virginia plus about 200 invitations to out-of-town church officials, most conservative Episcopal leaders are avoiding the rite.

A phone survey of 10 Episcopal dioceses that belong to the Anglican Communion Network (ACN) -- a confederation that opposes the Robinson consecration -- revealed that only its moderator, Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan, plans to attend. Bishop Don Harvey, moderator of the Anglican Network of Canada, has also accepted.

Read more »

The following has been posted on the website of the Diocese of Florida:

Judge Karen Cole of the Circuit Court of Duval County has granted the diocese's motion for summary judgment in connection with our claim of ownership of Church of the Redeemer in Jacksonville. We expect to regain possession of the church property very soon and Episcopal worship and ministry under the leadership of the Rev. Davette Turk will be resuming at Redeemer shortly. Please stay tuned for details regarding the schedule.

"Gay Anglicans offer mixed reviews of a statement by the Canadian House of Bishops in which the bishops claim to support 'the most generous pastoral response possible' toward gay and lesbian couples while they also signal they will veto attempts to clarify the church's teaching. Members of Integrity Canada are at turns offended, disappointed, and confused by the bishops' 'possible pastoral responses' and demands for prolonged dialogue and study. The proposed pastoral provisions are a 'slap in the face of committed gay and lesbian couples,' says Michelle Crawford-Bewley of Integrity Toronto. 'We are relegated to second-class status in our own church.'"

"As limited as the proposal is," observes Chris Ambidge of Integrity Toronto, "in some jurisdictions this would be an improvement. In some places children of gay parents are denied baptism, gay people are turned away from the communion rail, and the bishops know that. We'd expect them to implement their earlier policy that it is unacceptable to deny baptism to children to discipline their parents, but until then any tentative statement in that direction is welcome."

Unfortunately, the Bishops' statement forecloses any further discussion of the blessing of same sex unions by accepting those in committed homosexual relationships to Communion and confirmation. The statement advocates using the Eucharist as a device to give the church's recognition to gay and lesbian married couples. This supposes that gay and lesbian practice is, in principle at least, a form of Christian holiness, and it clearly insinuates the hope that the forthcoming General Synod will explicitly sanction the blessing of same-sex unions, so bringing the ACC into line with the civil marriage of gay couples that are now sanctioned by Canadian law. This deviates directly from the pastoral care of homosexuals which the whole Christian church has practiced till very recently, and to which the Lambeth Conference of 1998 recalled us all, and to which the greater part of the world-wide Anglican Communion adheres today. The deviation is totally unacceptable to all those who hold to the apostolic Christian faith as the churches of the Anglican Communion have received it.

The statement issued by the Canadian House of Bishops was intended to anticipate the pastoral needs of Anglicans after a decision on same-sex blessings, which will be made by our General Synod in June. The statement describes the status quo and is not pre-emptive of the decision General Synod will make. Bishops will be part of that process, but they do not make such decisions on their own.

The Right Reverend Dr. Ben Kwashi, bishop of the Diocese of Jos in the Church of Nigeria, will celebrate the Holy Eucharist at both 8:30 and 11 a.m. services at Family of Holy Trinity Anglican Church on Sunday, May 6.

...Holy Trinity Anglican Church is a new member of the Convocation of Anglicans in North America. Church leaders say that since its first service, March 18, the congregation has grown steadily, and the parish has bought land on Miller Road in Rowlett to eventually build a permanent home.

Bishop Kwashi is the Coordinating Bishop for the Convocation of Anglicans in North America. He's on the board of Trinity School for Ministry and is chairman of Sharing of Ministries Abroad (SOMA) International.

It's unclear what the difference in roles is (or will be) betweeen Bishop Kwashi who serves as coordinating bishop of CANA and Bishop Minns, who is to be installed as "Bishop Missionary Leader" of the same organization.

News report from here

More news from the swirl of controversy surrounding Grace and St. Stephen's parish in Colorado Springs:

Faith at Altitude: Vestry says Don't Vote

"We ask that you not participate in this vote both because it is unlawful and because its outcome has already been determined," the vestry told parishioners in a May 3 letter. Grace's Web site states it's now part of CANA, and the banner in the sanctuary is that of CANA, too -- replacing the Episcopal flag.

The Grace Episcopal vestry called Grace CANA a "secessionist congregation now occupying our property," and argued the whole vote was anti-Episcopalian, and anti-Anglican, for that matter.

"We don't vote locally about parish migration," the letter read. "If Father Armstrong comes to disagree with Archbishop Akinola (who leads the Nigerian province) or if Bishop Minns (leader of CANA) investigates him for wrongdoing, what then? Another move to another bishop followed by another sham vote?"

There's much more, and also the text of the letter that was sent by the leadership of the "episcopalian" portion of the congregation, at the link above.

The Grace Episcopal Church controversy took a bizarre turn Sunday when a man barged into the 9 a.m. service, hurled a cream pie at the Rev. Don Armstrong and dashed out without saying a word.

More: According to a report by Jennifer Wilson in the Colorado Springs Gazette:

The pie thrower didn’t get far. Several parishioners chased him for several blocks, apprehended him near Palmer High School, then hauled him back to the church for Colorado Springs police.

Marcus Hyde, 18, faces misdemeanor charges of harassment, trespassing, criminal mischief and disrupting a lawful assembly, police Sgt. Vince Niski said. Hyde was cited and released at the scene.

Armstrong was delivering a sermon titled “Of Christian Love and Charity” when Hyde burst through the side door closest to the pulpit, said church member Tim Chambers, who wrote about the incident on his blog at tbc.livejournal.com.

Armstrong responded to a request for an interview by writing an e-mail to The Gazette. In it, he said he avoided a face full of dessert by ducking behind the pulpit. He said the missile smelled like banana cream.

“He aimed right at me and would have hit me squarely, but I ducked into the pulpit and it went right over me and onto the floor,” Armstrong wrote. “This poor guy needs to find a more effective (way) to express himself without all the messy resulting complications.”

Reached by phone Sunday night, Hyde declined to comment, saying he had to speak with an attorney first. Police said he told them he was passing judgment on Armstrong on behalf of church parishioners.

A blog post written by a person who was there and a supporter of Fr. Armstrong called the incident "a hate crime." The Gazette spoke to a friend of Hyde's who said “It’s a protest move, and it’s hilarious.” Both the Gazette and the Rocky Mountain News said that Hyde "was passing judgment on Armstrong for his fellow parishioners, according to a police report."

Somewhere between hilarious and a hate crime is the fact of the emotionality of the situation and one hopes that the acting out remains both civil and safe.

The news from Greenburg, Kansas, this weekend has been heart-wrenching. A tornado devastated the town in mere minutes (photos here), and uplifting stories of survival and hope have alternated with tragic tales of loss.

Rains accompanying the storm have added to the tragedy by causing heavy flooding throughout the state. Episcopal Life Online reports on a May 7 letter from Bishop Dean E. Wolfe of Kansas:

...more than 90 percent of the town had been destroyed, and victims and survivors were still being discovered. He offered prayers for those who have lost loved ones.

Wolfe noted that Kansas state has also been affected by widespread flooding in the aftermath of these tremendous storms. "Many are finding themselves displaced by these floods, and we anticipate damages in the aftermath of this flooding to be substantial," he said.

...

The Kansas diocesan office and conference center have flooded basements due to heavy rains, Wolfe reported in his letter. "The diocesan office had three inches of water that damaged records and other stored items. The Bethany Place Conference Center has 16 inches of standing water, and we are told the boiler and water heater will need to be replaced. We are quick to realize how fortunate we have been in comparison to the losses sustained by others."

The Episcopal Diocese of Kansas is working closely with ERD and the Episcopal Diocese of Western Kansas to coordinate an effective response to this situation, Wolfe said. "We are people who believe thoughts and prayer must be accompanied by resources and action when neighbors are in need. We join with our brothers and sisters in the Episcopal Diocese of Western Kansas to offer whatever help we can, and we stand together as Kansans in this time of need."

The article goes on to note that contributions for local needs and to assist ERD in responding to the needs of victims throughout the state can be made to:

The Episcopal Diocese of Kansas
Tornado and Flood Relief
835 SW Polk Street
Topeka, KS 66612

The complete article, including a link to Bishop Wolfe's letter, is here.

The Episcopal News Service reports on a Washington DC priest speaking out in favor of amending the present Immigration reform bill making its way through the capital so that it would emphasize family reunification rather than focusing on selecting candidates for immigration solely on needed skills:

"Expressing support for immigrant family reunification at a May 23 Capitol Hill news conference, the Rev. Dr. Luis Leon, rector of St. John’s Lafayette Square Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., spoke in favor of a proposed amendment authored by Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY), Chuck Hagel (R-NE) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ) to the Border Security and Immigration Reform Act of 2007.

The Senators’ amendment would remove barriers to reunification for the nuclear families of lawful permanent residents.

'The Episcopal Church’s 2006 legislative body, General Convention, expressed strong support for comprehensive immigration legislation and regarded family unity as an imperative of any reformed system,' stated Leon. 'Sadly, the Senate compromise legislation includes provisions that devalue family sponsored immigration.' The Clinton-Hagel-Menendez amendment would reclassify the spouses and minor children of lawful permanent immigrants as 'immediate relatives,' thereby exempting them from the visa caps."

Read the rest here (which includes the full text of Leon's remarks): Episcopal Life Online - NEWS

"The International Commission for Anglican – Orthodox Theological Dialogue has released The Church of the Triune God, an ecclesiological statement registering considerable agreement over a wide range of issues on the nature and mission of the Church. The introduction to this 117 page document states that ‘the publication of this Cyprus Agreed Statement concludes the third phase of the Anglican – Orthodox international theological dialogue. It began in 1973…(and) the first phase of the dialogue was concluded by the publication of the Moscow Agreed Statement in 1976. The publication of the Dublin Agreed Statement in 1984 brought its second phase to a conclusion.’ Episcopal Bishop Mark Dyer and Greek Orthodox Metropolitan John (Zizioulas) of Pergamon have been co-chairs of Commission and write in their preface that this statement ‘is offered to the Anglican and Orthodox churches in the hope that, as it is studied and reflected upon, it will help Christians of both traditions to perceive anew the work of the Triune God in giving life to His Church, and draw us closer to that unity which is His will for all the faithful.’"

From The Living Church

Trinity Seminary Names AMiA Bishop Rodgers Interim Dean

The Rt. Rev. John H. Rodgers, Jr., has been appointed interim dean at Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry. He will serve for one year beginning Aug. 1 while Trinity searches for a permanent successor for the Very Rev. Paul F.M. Zahl, who announced May 10 that he would resign effective at the end of July.

Bishop Rodgers is dean and president emeritus, having served as dean of Trinity from 1978 to 1990. He is also a trustee emeritus at Trinity and a former member of the faculty at Virginia Theological Seminary.

In 2000, Bishop Rodgers and the Rt. Rev. Charles H. Murphy III were consecrated bishops for the Anglican Mission in America (AMiA), part of the Anglican Church of Rwanda. Bishop Rodgers previously retired from active service with the AMiA.

“The board voted without hesitation to appoint Dr. Rodgers to this post,” said the Rev. Canon David H. Roseberry, chairman of the board of trustees at Trinity. “He is the perfect person to help guide our school through this transition, and he has the full support of the board and the faculty.”

Fr. Roseberry noted that Trinity has been accepting students who do not plan to pursue ordination in The Episcopal Church for more than 10 years, and the appointment of Bishop Rodgers is reflective of the multi-denominational character of the seminary alumni.

Link to story
Link to Trinity homepage

A wide angle view of Nigeria and religion emerges from religious scholars and Nigeria experts gathered in a symposium to discuss the current religious climate. The Episcopal Church has been focused on the Church of Nigeria in the Anglican Communion. It is helpful to see the Anglican Church in the context of its religious neighbors. Six out of ten Christians identify as Pentecostal. While Muslims for the most part tolerate Roman Catholics, Protestants and Evangelicals, the Pentecostal emphasis on conversion has put them in conflict with Muslims and other Christian groups.

The Council on Foreign Relations hosted a symposium on religious conflict in Nigeria, May 8, 2007. The symposium offers insight into what is called “the most intensely religious population in the world.” The panelists examined the political compromises that maintain relative stability in Nigeria.

Before independence about 30% of the population were neither Christian nor Muslim. Currently Christianity claims growth from 21% in 1950 to 48% today. Now about 1% belong to neither faith and about 51% are Muslim. Recent elections revealed widespread rigging and irregularities but did not cause religious or ethnic strife.

Other findings included:
*There is not as much religious conflict as one might expect.
*When religious conflicts do arise, they often have political or economic roots.
*There are many different “brands” within each faith.
*The rise of religion can be directly linked to the weakness of the Nigerian state.
*Religion is only one of many Nigerian identities
*There is no religious component to conflict in the Niger Delta. (contrary to US press reports)
*However, oil wealth plays a role in religious tensions.
*The political system is designed to mitigate religious and ethnic conflict.
*The political system suffers from a crisis of governance as well as power sharing.

The summary of the symposium is HERE in pdf.

Transcripts and video and audio of the entire symposium can be found HERE

Bishop Stephen Jecko, the retired Bishop of Florida has died overnight. Canon Kendall Harmon's site has the news:

"His cancer apparently progressed rapidly, and the Lord took him home peacefully. More details will be forthcoming later from appropriate sources. Funeral arrangements are pending."

Episcopal Life Online has the additional news about Bishop Putnam's passing.

The details of their funerals and more biographical information can be found in the Episcopal Life article linked just above.

May your servants Stephen and Frederick rest in peace and rise in glory and may their families know the loving presence of Jesus among them in this hour.

The Diocese of South Carolina, which elected Mark Lawrence to be there next bishop, but failed to receive the needed number of consents to that election is planning to a new election with Mark as the only candidate as of now.

They are creating a process for additional nominees to be named by petition.

From the Diocesan website:

"At its meeting, the [Standing] Committee unanimously agreed:

1. To call for a Special Convention to elect a Bishop. The Convention is to be held at ten o’clock a.m. on Saturday, August 4, 2007 at St. James’ Church, James Island, South Carolina.

2. The Standing Committee unanimously nominated The Very Reverend Mark J. Lawrence to be the next Bishop of South Carolina.

3. Because of the necessity for background checks, no nominations from the floor will be allowed at the Convention. In lieu thereof, the Committee has established a petition process..."

Read the rest here.

Before we move into more reflective vein, here is a quick rundown of Saturday morning news developments, the most interesting of which is that Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori continues to attract the attention of the largest newspaper in whatever media market she visits. Here she speaks with the Indianapolis Star about the Millennium Development Goals.

The Church Times' coverage of the recently-announced Kenyan incursion is here, and Padre Mickey's entertaining take on that affair is here.

Forgiveness Will End the LRA War - Clergy
Henry Mukasa, Kampala reports that "Ugandan and Sudanese clergy have recommended forgiveness, not punishment, as a means to resolve the 20-year-long war in northern Uganda."

After inter-denominational prayers held at All Saints Cathedral Juba on Saturday, the religious leaders argued that accountability, repentance and forgiveness would more effective by healing the scars of the war in the region.

The acting Archbishop of the Episcopal Church of Sudan, Natalian Deng, said Ugandans needed to reconcile with the LRA just like Jesus reconciled bitter enemies: the Jews and the Gentiles.

"I pray that God brings that reconciliation to Juba (venue of the talks)," he said at the prayers which were organised by the Sudan Council of Churches and the Uganda Joint Christian Council (UJCC).

"We are one people. I don't know why we are suffering. We must unite and forget our suffering. Anything someone did to you, forget it," Deng implored.

Ugandan Archbishop Yonah Lwanga said UJCC had recommended alternative (traditional) justice for the rebels instead of the punishment that the International Criminal Court is seeking.

Lwanga explained that the recommendations were contained in their booklet, A Framework for Dialogue on Reconciliation and Peace in Northern Uganda.

Read it all Here.

The Chicago Tribune website (free subscription required) has a long article reporting on the work and ministry of Bishop William Persell, the Episcopal Bishop of Chicago:

"'Communion is about relationships,' Persell said in a recent interview. 'Building meaningful relationships is more important than other things happening in the [Anglican] Communion. If we have a relationship, we don't have to agree.'

Since becoming Chicago's bishop, Persell, 64, has encouraged his 44,000 parishioners from Chicago to Galena to maintain a healthy lifestyle while his own health has been in decline. But he has also tried to maintain his reputation as a champion of social justice and civil rights while trying to keep the church together despite tumult.

Last year, Persell announced to this flock that he would step down as their bishop in February 2008, when a new bishop is installed. An aortic aneurysm and deteriorating vision made the demands of the job difficult. This week, he underwent surgery for prostate cancer. He reiterated the importance of a healthy ministry when he announced his resignation.

'While my mind and heart are very much committed to helping advance the church's mission here, my stamina is not what it was when you welcomed me into your life,' he wrote."

The article talks about Bishop Persell's commitment to trying to find a middle ground that will the Church to comprehend different understandings of how to be Christian in the world:

In 2003, [Persell] called a similar meeting among clergy in his own diocese to study the issues that were dividing the Episcopal Church. For as long as he could, he put off deposing conservative clergy supporting breakaway parishes. But Rev. Martin Johnson, who leads a breakaway parish in Wheaton, said Persell finally had no choice. Johnson expects to be the second priest in the diocese to have his ordination rites revoked by the end of the year.

But that doesn't alter his tremendous respect for Persell.

"To some of us it's a therapeutic issue and the possibility of healing," Johnson said. "For him it's a matter of simply affirming how people are created in God's sight."

He knows that he and Persell share a deep love for the church.

They also share a love of opera. Sitting next to each other at the Lyric Opera one night during a five-hour production of Wagner, Persell asked Johnson during intermission if he planned to stay for the final acts. They exchanged knowing looks and agreed to go the distance. Persell wasn't just talking about the opera, Johnson said. He was talking about the church.

Read the rest here.

The vote to explicitly allow Canadian Anglican clergy to perform same-sex blessings was defeated by a very small margin by the bishops of the church. The lay and clergy votes both supported its passage.

The vote at the Canadian Church's General Synod was announced as:

"Laity 78 / 59 Passed

Clergy 63 / 53 Passed

Bishops 19 / 21 Failed

Motion Fails"

The Canadian Church has this story posted on its website.

We'll be updating this report as more news becomes available.

Read the live blog account of the parlimentary session here.

The Guardian newspaper of Nigeria reports how the Most Rev. Peter J. Akinola, Primate of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican) lost his re-election bid to head the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in an election last Tuesday.

A number of reasons were cited including disapproval of Akinola's leadership style, how voting members from differing traditions worked together, and more. There was even accusation that Akinola tried to manipulate the outcome by tinkering with the vote calender.

However, the politics, which compelled Mbang to describe CAN as a funny organization seemed to have played out fully last Tuesday, when the 105 member National Executive Council (NEC) of the association gathered at the NCC to elect a new president,

Indeed, these forces came to play in the election, which saw the defeat of Akinola and made him the first CAN president to fail to get a second term.

The drama, started almost three weeks to the election, after the electoral college, made up of 15 spiritual leaders drawn from the five blocs of CAN, completed their assignment of selecting the top most preferred candidates.

While the report of the electoral college was supposed to have been kept secret till the NEC meeting, reports indicated that the Catholic Archbishop of Abuja, Most Rev. John Olorunfemi Onayeikan, was in the lead; even though the incumbent, Akinola and his deputy, Bishop Mike Okonkwo of The Redeemed Evangelical Mission (TREM) were seeking re-election.

Furthermore, there was an allegation that the incumbent CAN President had tried to manipulate the electoral process by changing the date of the NEC meeting, in order to favour his candidacy and pave way for his return.

Read the rest here.

Lutheran Pastor Brad Schmeling has lost his appeal to remain a pastor in a Lutheran Church in the Atlanta area. He was removed because he is a gay man in a relationship, which is contradictory to Lutheran canons.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has an article detailing the most recent developments and which includes background links plus the news that this particular case is expected to be appealed.

"The Rev. Bradley Schmeling lost another skirmish with the nation's largest Lutheran denomination over the fact that he is in a gay relationship.

But he and his flock at Atlanta's St. John's Lutheran Church intend to take the battle national.

Schmeling and members of St. John's in Druid Hills say they will travel to a national church conference in August to try to change the minds of delegates on gay issues.

They will host a forum, hoping that hearing Schmeling share his story will convince delegates to change ELCA policies.

Schmeling said he will remain St. John's minister."

Read the rest here: Gay pastor's bid for inclusion denied.

Jonathan Petre, writing in the Telegraph, has more news about the maneuvering happening in the Church of England prior to the beginning of General Synod:

"Senior Church of England conservatives are plotting a new coalition to mount their biggest offensive yet against their liberal opponents over issues such as gay priests.

According to insiders, they are planning talks at this week's General Synod aimed at uniting a broad spectrum of evangelicals and Anglo-Catholics to act together during crucial debates.

Supporters of the new movement believe that it could gain the backing of up to half of the Synod, the Church''s 'parliament', frustrating the efforts of liberals to promote their agenda. Its leaders are expected to include prominent clergy and lay people within the Synod and the Archbishops' Council, the Church's managing body.

...

One Synod member said that many conservatives were dismayed by the failure of the bishops to enforce their own guidelines against clergy who are openly in active gay relationships, in defiance of Church policy. 'The bishops are totally pathetic. They are abject cowards. The Archbishop of Canterbury does nothing but sit on the fence,' she said.

But liberals dismissed the latest initiative, predicting that the new coalition would fall apart because of internal squabbling."

Read the rest here.

Episcopal News Service has an audio interview up this morning:

"The Rev. Canon Phil Groves speaks with ENS national correspondent, the Rev. Mary Frances Schjonberg, during a recent visit to New York about the Anglican Communion's Listening Process, its progress so far, and the next steps.."

You can listen to the interview here: Canon Phil Groves on the Listening Process

The Cafe had previous coverage of Canon Groves' visit to meet with representatives of the Episcopal Church here.

The poll results are in and the new seven architectural wonders of the world have been announced. Here is Associated Press report:

The Great Wall of China, Rome's Colosseum, India's Taj Mahal and three architectural marvels from Latin America were among the new seven wonders of the world chosen in a global poll released on Saturday.

Jordan's Petra was the seventh winner. Peru's Machu Picchu, Brazil's Statue of Christ Redeemer and Mexico's Chichen Itza pyramid also made the cut.

About 100 million votes were cast by the Internet and cellphone text messages, said New7Wonders, the nonprofit organization that conducted the poll.

The seven beat out 14 other nominated landmarks, including the Eiffel Tower, Easter Island in the Pacific, the Statue of Liberty, the Acropolis, Russia's Kremlin and Australia's Sydney Opera House.

. . .
Also among the losing candidates were Cambodia's Angkor, Spain's Alhambra, Turkey's Hagia Sophia, Japan's Kiyomizu Temple, Russia's Kremlin and St. Basil's Cathedral, Germany's Neuschwanstein Castle, Britain's Stonehenge and Mali's Timbuktu.

You can read the full report here.

Given the dominance of the industrialized west in recent centuries, isn't it a bit suprising that European wonders did so poorly?

This news began to be reported this morning:

"Letty Mandeville Russell, one of the world's foremost feminist theologians and longtime member of the Yale Divinity School faculty, died Thursday, July 12 at her home in Guilford, CT. She was 77. A leader for many years in the ecumenical movement, she remained active in ecumenical circles until her death, working for the World Council of Churches and the World YWCA.

She was one of the first women ordained in the United Presbyterian Church and served the East Harlem Protestant Parish in New York City from 1952-68, including 10 years as pastor of the Presbyterian Church of the Ascension. She joined the faculty of Yale Divinity School in 1974 as an assistant professor of theology, rose to the rank of professor in 1985 and retired in 2001. In retirement, she continued to teach some courses at Yale Divinity School as a visiting professor."

Many of us who studied with Prof. Russell remember her ability to see quickly to the heart of any complex issue, and the depth of her faith.

May her soul rest in peace and rise on the last day to glory.

Read the rest here: Yale Divinity School-News

The Egyptians revered cats; some have thought them agents of witches and Satan. So what of Oscar the Cat, a feline who seems to be aware when nursing home residents are about to fly away to God's celestial shores? Creepy, or angelic? Dr. David Dosa, writing in the New England Journal of Medicine, leans toward the latter in an essay describing Oscar as he makes his daily rounds. You might think it troubling that his appearance at your bedside is a harbinger of doom, but this is the advanced dementia unit of a Rhode Island nursing home, where many lonely souls drift and drift before they can fly home.

Doctors and nurses have come to trust Oscar's prescience, and often, when he takes up the vigil, they know to alert families to join him. And when there is no family, or no one comes, Oscar stays faithfully at their sides.

This story was picked up by many major news outlets today, giving many a moment to pause and contemplate this "news of the weird" item. But Dr. Dosa's eloquent tribute is not to be missed:

Making his way back up the hallway, Oscar arrives at Room 313. The door is open, and he proceeds inside. Mrs. K. is resting peacefully in her bed, her breathing steady but shallow. She is surrounded by photographs of her grandchildren and one from her wedding day. Despite these keepsakes, she is alone. Oscar jumps onto her bed and again sniffs the air. He pauses to consider the situation, and then turns around twice before curling up beside Mrs. K.

One hour passes. Oscar waits. A nurse walks into the room to check on her patient. She pauses to note Oscar's presence. Concerned, she hurriedly leaves the room and returns to her desk. She grabs Mrs. K.'s chart off the medical-records rack and begins to make phone calls.

Within a half hour the family starts to arrive. Chairs are brought into the room, where the relatives begin their vigil. The priest is called to deliver last rites. And still, Oscar has not budged, instead purring and gently nuzzling Mrs. K. A young grandson asks his mother, "What is the cat doing here?" The mother, fighting back tears, tells him, "He is here to help Grandma get to heaven." Thirty minutes later, Mrs. K. takes her last earthly breath. With this, Oscar sits up, looks around, then departs the room so quietly that the grieving family barely notices.

Read the whole thing here.

There hasn't been much coverage here in the States of the flooding happening in Britain (apparently the latest female celeb legal issues are judged more important). The good news over the past few days was that the situation, especially in hard-hit Gloucestershire was starting to slowly right itself. So this news from the BBC is a bit concerning for the weekend:

"Heavy rainfall is predicted for Saturday night and Sunday morning as the extent of the damage in flood-hit Gloucestershire is emerging.

The BBC Weather Centre says rain in south Wales and central and southern England could cause localised flooding."

A number of british bloggers have been providing local reports, including "The Gray Monk".

For those who can, please add the folks in the flooded regions to your parish's prayer this weekend.

Read the rest here: BBC NEWS | UK | Flood-hit areas face further rain

Finally, check out this image of flood-bound Tewkesbury Abbey.

Physics may be on the verge of proving the existence of an essential building block of the current model of the structure of matter--or it may be forced to go back to the theoretical drawing board. What is at stake is a search for the Higgs boson, the so-called God particle, which the standard model of particle physics states is the particle that acts to form the Higgs field, which gives particles their mass.

The New York Times recently reported on rumors that the Fermilab near Chicago may have discovered the Higgs boson, and the growing excitement over a new accelerator at CERN in Europe, which was specifically designed to find the Higgs boson, and that will soon begin operations:

Earlier this summer, the physics world was jolted by a rumor that a team of scientists from the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, or Fermilab, in Batavia, Ill., had found a bump in their data that might be a legendary particle that has haunted physicists for a generation. It is known colloquially as the Higgs boson and sometimes grandly as the “God particle.” According to the Standard Model that has ruled physics for 30 years, the Higgs endows elementary particles in the universe with mass.

. . .

According to the Standard Model, a suite of equations that describe all the forces but gravity, elementary particles and forces are born equal and without mass. Some then acquire mass by wading through a sort of a cosmic molasses called the Higgs field (named after the physicist Peter Higgs) the way a V.I.P. acquires an entourage pushing through a cocktail party.

Unfortunately, the model does not say how heavy the Higgs boson itself — the quantum personification of this field — should be. And so physicists have to search for it the old-fashioned train-wreck way, by smashing subatomic particles together to create primordial fireballs and then seeing what materializes out.

The Higgs, if formed, would decay into smaller jets of quarks or other particles, depending on its mass. The heavier it is, the more kinds of particles it can decay into. These would be recorded and counted by the detectors.

. . .

The history of physics is full of bumps that could have been revolutionary but have disappeared like ghosts in the night, and this rumor of a possible Higgs sighting was not even the first this year. Most physicists who have heard this rumor think that this bump is likely to be another of those disappearing anomalies, like the trimuons that frustrated Dr. Weinberg. But then these same physicists point out that you never know.

. . .

As the analyses proceed and the Tevatron hums its trillion-electron-volt tune, this is a summer of rumors, hope and hype. Whatever the outcome for this particular Higgs rumor, the buzz about it illuminates the galloping expectations, tensions and rivalries roiling physicists as they await the inauguration next summer of the Large Hadron Collider, a giant accelerator at CERN, the nuclear laboratory outside Geneva expressly designed to find the Higgs particle and explore new realms of nature.

Even if the Fermilab did indeed find a bump that proves the existence of the Higgs particle, it will require a re-examination of the Standard Model, and may even offer evidence for supersymmetry, a theory with little empirical proof to date:

If it is a Higgs, theorists say, it is probably not the one prescribed by the Standard Model, which would not be produced plentifully enough to be seen yet.

The leading alternative is that it would be one of five Higgs bosons predicted by a theory called supersymmetry, which theorists have been yearning for as the next step toward a more all-embracing, unified theory of nature. One bonus of supersymmetry is that it predicts the existence of more, yet undiscovered elementary particles, one of which might be the mysterious dark matter that binds galaxies together in the universe. All this would fall into the lap of the Large Hadron Collider scientists, if it exists, which is one reason the CERN physicists will be happy no matter what the outcome.

Read the entire article here. And Tommaso Dorigo, from the University of Padua in Italy, has a blog largely devoted to the search for the Higgs particle here.

So what does this all have to do with the Episcopal Church? Other than an important discovery of God's creation, not much. Still, the Higgs boson is called the God particle. And there is a contingent of your Lead editors (known affectionately as "the nerds" or "Chuck and Nicholas") who think this stuff is cool.

It's not really news that godparenting has evolved into "a revered but blurry mix of religious and secular duty," but The Tennessean has devoted an extended feature to describing the history and current context of the tradition, which aligns closely with infant or child baptism and traces back to around the 8th century, when Catholic doctrine decreed that one's spiritual birth is distinct from one's physical birth.

What does a godparent do? In most cases, whatever they, and their godchild's parents, think best. The role may be centuries-old, but it's far from anachronistic. People customize everything from their rides to their ringtones to suit their tastes these days, and how they treat godparenting is no different, keeping the lifelong position going strong and its prospects healthy.

"It's this resilient, tenacious tradition that has lost its past," said Lisa Kimball, a lecturer with the University of Minnesota who studies godparenting. "It's lost its connection back to its history. What is its role today? People are inventing it."

...

People are fashioning it as a quilt of institutional knowledge, tradition and social expectation, Kimball said. The role has largely developed into one of companionship and mentoring, not always with a spiritual component.

The article features comments from several sets of godparents as well as a Catholic priest, and is available here.

The Episcopal News Service has a report on an important meeting between Anglican bishops and the leadership of Iran:

The former president of Iran, Mohammad Khatami, met August 9 with the newly installed Bishop in Iran, Azad Marshall, along with Church of England Bishop Michael Nazir Ali of Rochester and Presiding Bishop Mouneer Anis of the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East. Marshall was installed as Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Iran during an August 5 service at St. Paul's Church in Tehran.

...Bishop Michael Nazir Ali expressed appreciation for Dr. Khatami's focus in inter-faith dialogue on Stewardship of the Creation, the Dialogue of Civilisations and the Theology of Dialogue and hoped this could be developed. They also exchanged reflections on Persian poetry.

...The former president noted that Nietzche had proclaimed that God is dead, by which he meant that the thought of God is dead in the modern world. The new civilization has brought many achievements for humanity, but in it the thought of God has been forgotten. In its place has been put the super-man, the will to power. This