The Chicago Consultation has released a response to the Archbishop of Canterbury’s reaction to the election of Canon Glasspool as one of the Suffragan bishops of the Diocese of Los Angeles. The statement calls for the Communion to recognize the ministries of gay and lesbian Christians as the only way it can, “in the end”, remain faithful to the Gospel.
“Jesus is already abroad, even in the darkness. The hungry one fed, the street people who have their feet cared for, the humble and honored guest at your dinner table – each one offers a glimpse of that dawn, if you look closely enough.”
Bishop Mark Beckwith of the Diocese of Newark has an op-ed piece in today’s New Jersey Record in which he calls for the state legislature to vote for the Marriage Equality Initiative making its way through the New Jersey Senate. He emphasizes the need for legal protections for same gender couples and points out that our understanding of the legal construct of matrimony has been changing over the years.
Many of you have commented on the beautiful art work that is a regular part of the Cafe pages and Art Blog. The art is provided to us by the ECVA, the “Episcopal Church & Visual Arts” which among its many projects, creates regular online curated art exhibits. This season’s exhibit: “Full of Grace” has just gone online.
Yesterday, Swiss voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional ban on the construction of any minarets in the country. The minaret is to a mosque what a steeple is to a church, a clear architectural sign of the building’s use and purpose. Effectively the ban will have the effect of hiding any public sense of the presence of Muslim believers in Switzerland.
Could the Roman Catholic Archdiocese be willing to compromise a bit on its hard-line stance opposing legal recognition of same-sex marriages? There are some reports that language tweaks may be in the offing.
There has been increasing coverage of the proposed legislation in Uganda that would make “repeated homosexual acts” a capital crime. The Swedish government is considering
The Sudanese have issued a wide ranging statement primarily concerned with the looming collapse of the comprehensive peace agreement but also warning of famine and environmental disaster unless changes are made.
Some communities are working closely with congregations to respond to rising hunger and homelessness. But there are more stories about how communities are trying to stop congregations and shut down feeding programs. Is something changing in this country?
Over the weekend TypePad rolled out a change to the way people can login to the Café to leave a comment. It used to be that to login you needed to create a TypePad account. But in these latter days, TypePad has now seen the logic of allowing people to authenticate their identity using their existing accounts on other services.