Christianity and punk rock aren’t typically found in the same sentence – let alone the same mosh pit. But for the Rev. Bertie Pearson, an Episcopal priest and former punk-rock drummer, they’re totally compatible. “They’re both about a hopeful vision for the world,” he says. “A rejection of materialism and inequality and injustice. They’ve shaped my whole moral value system.”
There is no clearer sign that the proposed Anglican Covenant is in some trouble than the fact that Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of Canterbury, feels the need to release a video in an attempt to enlist support.
What seems the biggest gamble in the 2013-15 budget has been largely overlooked in the initial round of commentary. On line 3, page 3 of the draft budget, the church proposes to spend $3,766,300 from the principal of its endowment for a development office.
The Program Budget and Finance Committee, which is charged with producing the budget that will be voted on at the General Convention, is setting up a website that will offer, among other things, an opportunity to offer one’s opinion to PB&F members on the draft budget that has been prepared by Executive Council.
Today we have a story of God’s wisdom being exercised through Joseph to create an enormous federal program to organize the agricultural industry in order to prepare for a famine that the federal bureaucrat Joseph predicts.
The Episcopal Church’s House of Bishops will be gathering for its final meeting before the 2012 General Convention Friday March 16 through Tuesday March 20. According to a draft schedule that was posted online, here is some of what is on their agenda.
When I ponder this data, what comes to mind for me is how I’ve seen many people over the years in churches that have experienced a difficulty in the shared life of the congregation and are not particularly happy, but hang in there and stick it out.