2011 – Page 8 – Episcopal Cafe

A tough weekend for the Episcopal Church

December 19, 2011 14 Comments

I can’t determine from the distance at which I am watching this unfold whether Trinity is actually offering real aid to Occupy or engaging in the Lady Bountiful behavior that earns the parish perhaps more credit that it strictly deserves. But I know at least a little bit about crisis communications, and that the way in which organizations speak and act during crises tend to reveal—often inadvertently—their deepest values.

Zechariah

December 19, 2011 No Comments

am more like Zechariah than I am like Mary. When the angel visits with an unexpected insight of peculiar wonder, I am much more likely to ask, “How will I know that this is so?” than I am to respond, “Let it be with me according to your word.”

The Rev. John Merz, Occupy-arrestee, writes his bishop

December 19, 2011 10 Comments

They never intended to connect, listen to and support this movement in any real way. It is a re hash of their 9/11 record and as many know all too well, locally in times of social crisis, they do the right thing only if self preservation (image) requires it and even then only haltingly.

Leafleting suburbia with the vicar

December 18, 2011 No Comments

“[S]uburban churches allow the fears of indigenous citizens to rub up against the reality of different ethnicities and cultures in a way that’s dynamic and reconciling.”

Bishop Packard in the paddy wagon talking Occupy v. Trinity

December 18, 2011 5 Comments

Here is a new video of Bishop George Packard in the paddy wagon speaking with other Occupy Wall Street protestors who were arrested after scaling a fence and entering Trinity Wall Street’s property at Duarte Square.

Christmas angels pay for presents

December 18, 2011 No Comments

At Kmart stores across the country, Santa seems to be getting some help: Anonymous donors are paying off strangers’ layaway accounts, buying the Christmas gifts other families couldn’t afford, especially toys and children’s clothes set aside by impoverished parents.

The whole world was watching

December 18, 2011 1 Comment

The mainstream media paid quite a bit of attention to the confrontation yesterday between Trinity Wall Street and Occupy Wall Street.

Can any sitting President join a church in DC?

December 18, 2011 3 Comments

Amy Sullivan, writing in Time Magazine, points out that there are reasons beyond the obvious and frequently cited ones of personal security and disruption of the worship service. By simply attending a congregation, for instance, it may be understood by some that a President in endorsing a position he or she doesn’t intend to endorse.

Embracing Advent

December 18, 2011 No Comments

Advent is all about transition. After spending the better part of a year moving from the Nativity to the feast of Christ the King, in Advent we seem to reverse that process in four weeks. We return in our lessons to the unsettled time into which John the Baptizer strode, a time when the crowds sought hope in the midst of uncertainty.

The kingdom of interesting times

December 18, 2011 No Comments

Amos’ prophecies, however, call us to a different place–a place of restoration. A place where the Kingdom of Interesting Times inches just a little pencil mark closer to the Kingdom of Heaven …

The Archive

Year: 2011

A tough weekend for the Episcopal Church

Zechariah

The Rev. John Merz, Occupy-arrestee, writes his bishop

Leafleting suburbia with the vicar

Bishop Packard in the paddy wagon talking Occupy v. Trinity

Christmas angels pay for presents

The whole world was watching

Can any sitting President join a church in DC?

Embracing Advent

The kingdom of interesting times

Archives

Categories