The Right Rev. Christopher Hill writes in the Church Times about his introduction to the Anglican Church in Second Life (SL) a year ago, when a lawyer asked him, essentially, if it was possible to take the 450+ member virtual community seriously from a theological perspective. Today, during a “fringe” session at Lambeth, attendees got a tour of the virtual cathedral.
Brian McLaren, the prominent de facto spokesperson for the emergent church movement, gave a plenary address at Lambeth earlier this week. He writes of his time there, “There is a humble spirit here, a loving atmosphere, a deep spirituality centered in Bible study, worship, and prayer, and a strong desire to move beyond internal-institutional matters to substantive mission in our needy world.”
Lest anyone wonder about the power of the internet as a medium in which to be heard, Randy Pausch’s “Last Lecture,” initially titled “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams,” surfaced on YouTube last year. The lecture, which Pausch hoped would eventually find its way to his young children, since he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer, wound up with nearly 3.5 million views and became a bestselling book.
It’s hard to discern from media coverage who thinks what about Friday’s developments at Lambeth regarding the Faith and Order Commission–aside from it seeming to be a move toward centralization, which no one is thrilled with.
The Washington Post, writing about Gene Robinson’s exclusion from Lambeth, offers some first-person accounts from Robinson, who they say is “a celebrity on a mission.”
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.
The oldest surviving New Testament manuscript is being assembled and placed online as a resource for scholars and students. The British Library says the full text of the Codex Sinaiticus will be available to Web users by next July, digitally reconnecting parts that are held in Britain, Russia, Germany and a monastery in Egypt’s Sinai Desert.
Peter Steinfels has a provocative column in the New York Times that discusses the importance of doubt to our modern faith. The question he raises is this: is our doubt a transition to a life without faith? Or is modern faith simply more comfortable with doubt? While inconclusive, the data seems to point to the first option.
“Voices of Witness: Africa”, a new film by Integrity USA with stories of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender Christians in Africa, will be premiered at the Lambeth Conference. Ruth Gledhill calls it “an incredibly powerful and moving film.”
Three months ago, Tom Perriello, the Democratic challenger in Viriginia’s fifth congressional district, announced that his campaign workers would be required to spend a tenth of their time doing volunteer work. Previous campaigns have done the odd bit of community service, but this appears to be the first to make it an integral part of the enterprise, and to couch it in religious terms as a form of tithing.