The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, elected leader of the nation’s 2.7 million Episcopal Church members, roused an audience of her denomination’s regional leaders in
A University of Queensland PhD thesis come to some interesting conclusions about new-age spirituality and mental health. Rosemary Aird examined a possible correlation between new forms of spirituality and mental health as part of her University of Queensland PhD studies. After surveying more than 3700 Brisbane-based 21-year-olds, she found spirituality and self-focused religions may undermine a person’s mental health.
Christianity Today is reporting that the Republican Party’s hold on Hispanic evangelical votes is slipping, and the rhetoric about immigration is a leading cause. While this vote is small, it could make the difference in several swing states.
If persons and communities follow Jesus and proclaim the kingdom of God to the poor; if they strive for liberation from every kind of slavery; if they seek, for all human beings, especially for the immense majority of men and women who are crucified persons, a life in conformity with the dignity of daughters and sons of God;
Washington Post blog contributor Alan Cooperman lists his five favorite “retellings” of Biblical stories, and is very effusive over the Jenkins/LaHaye books. But before listing his top five, he invites readers to share their favorites as well—or perhaps to just abuse him with their favorites; hard to say.
The Rev. Thomas Woodward, who writes for The Episcopal Majority blog, was invited to speak with members of the Fort Worth Via Media about “remaining Episcopal.” Before he did so, he asked Bishop Iker if they could meet and discuss whether Iker had concerns over his visit. He has written about the experience, noting his appreciation for the meeting and summarizing several insights about what it’s like to be in dialog with someone from the other side of the aisle, so to speak.
The “Moving Forward, Welcoming All” gathering of Episcopalians in the Diocese of San Joaquin is being broadcast online, live today at 10 a.m. Pacific (1 p.m. ET). The video stream will bring live coverage of the gathering at the Church of the Saviour in Hanford, California.
During a pastoral address that summarized the mission work of the Diocese of Virginia and illustrated the problems faced when giving doesn’t add up to diocesan needs, Bishop Peter James Lee, made some observations about the ongoing litigation with breakaway parishes, reiterating statements from the parish about the court case and the Va. Attorney General’s recent intervention in it. But the issue that stirred the most hearts was immigration policy.
In this essay from the Australian magazine Policy, Peter Saunders argues that while capitalism lacks romantic appeal, it “offers the best chance we have for leading meaningful and worthwhile lives.” Socialism’s history, he writes, “is littered with repeated failures and with human misery on a massive scale,” yet it is attractive to “people who never had to live under it.”
John the Baptist was a major figure – and yet, we really don’t know most of the details of his life – because he gave it away to point to Jesus. John was big, but he made himself small, as he pointed toward Christ and showed that disciples of God must live lives of giving it all away. It’s the central paradox of the Gospel – to live, we must die.