What if they gave a news conference and nobody came? Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, upon whom the press falls with gusto whenever they catch sight of her, was one of the presenters at this afternoon’s press conference, but played to a relatively small crowd, due, in part, to a party being given by the Times of London.
One of the joys of being a weekend editor is stumbling across profiles of clergy written for local newspapers for their weekend religion sections; with blogging, it allows the spotlight to shine on leaders of smaller congregations. Take, for instance, the Rev. Holly Ann Davis, who will be ordained as a priest and installed as rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Franklin, Pa. later this year.
Davis MacIyalla, a Nigerian campaigner for the rights of gay and lesbian people in the Church and in the world, was granted asylum by the British government yesterday because of death threats he has received from people in Nigeria.
I have to admit, church marquees are probably my favorite part of any road trip; they are almost always either inspiring or amusing, and sometimes both. Every time I drive past a church, of any denomination, I find myself craning my head to see what their sign has to say. This one didn’t disappoint; the big black letters of movable type read: “Exposure to the Son may prevent burning.”
Suddenly, an angel of the Lord stood in front of her, saying, “Anna, Anna, the Lord God has heard your prayer. You will conceive and give birth and your child will be spoken of everywhere people live.” And Anna said, “As the Lord God lives, whether I give birth to either a male or a female child, I will bring it as an offering to the Lord my God and it will be a servant to him all the days of its life.”
Bishops are blogging again after a night of rest following a long day in London. ‘Indaba is working’ is one theme. I wonder if taking the walk/march has something to do with this? At church camp there is nothing quite like a long hike to bring the camp together. There is also the stage of community life where people begin to claim their own authority and rebel against the facilitators- often to good effect.
“Widespread and credible accounts of journalists being turned away even from self-select events; barred from moments of the Church at her best, such as the Holy Eucharist; kept away from the Conference’s central meeting place by a fence; and told even where they are free to purchase meals make me feel shame on behalf of whatever advisers thought it wise to adopt these policies.”
Suzie Whitmore, who is attending the Spouses events at Lambeth, wrote a reflection on what the juxtaposition of the march through London and the reception with the Queen might mean.
Stephen Colbert’s show on Comedy Central is one of those hard-to-characterize media entities that are becoming a major source of news and opinion for an entire generation of Americans. In last night’s episode Colbert interviews Laurie Goodstein of the New York Times about the Lambeth Conference.