President Barack Obama pledged to end the ban on homosexuals serving openly in the military in a speech Saturday, but acknowledged to a cheering crowd that the policy changes he promised on the campaign trail are not coming as quickly as they expected.
For an off-year election, in a state only rarely in the national political spotlight, an upcoming referendum on same-sex marriage has dramatic potential to make history and to roil emotions from coast to coast.
Here is our weekly look at just some of the good work being done by Episcopalians and their Church.
African bishops attending a Vatican meeting are speaking about the election of Barack Obama in divine terms — putting them very much at odds with many of their U.S. counterparts.
The Rt Rev Marc Handley Andrus, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of California, announced today that he has accepted the resignation of the Rt Rev Steven Charleston as assistant bishop. “We would like to thank Bishop Steven for his service to our diocese and for his leadership in The Episcopal Church,” Andrus said.
The Stipulation requires that there be a dialogue between the diocese and any parish seeking to disaffiliate from the diocese regarding the disposition of property specifically held for or in the name of the parish, followed by mediation (where a neutral third party helps the parties resolve any disputes between them), before the diocese or the parish may resort to the courts to decide the dispute.
You know that society is moving toward the acceptance of gay relationships when Joint Force Quarterly , a prestigious journal published by the National Defense University Press for the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff gives the top prize in its 2009 essay contest to a systematic dissection of Don’t Ask. Don’t tell.
The Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life has released a useful backgrounder on the role of faith groups in the increasingly bitter U.S. healthcare debate. The report focuses on the two large faith-based coalitions that have emerged on opposite sides of the political struggle to overhaul America’s system of healthcare, which is President Barack Obama’s top domestic priority.
The council had been divided into four standing committees (Administration & Finance (A&F), Congregations in Ministry (CIM), National Concerns (NAC) and International Concerns (INC)). At this meeting the members were asked to consider if that structure still serves the needs of the council and the church, and how to clarify their individual responsibilities.
The property is to be held or administered by the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh of the Episcopal Church of the United States of America. Regardless of what name defendants now call themselves, they are not the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh of the Episcopal Church of the United States of America.