In the turmoil of the present moment in Mainline Christian life, it’s common to hear people talking about the start of a new Reformation. For most of the more conservative voices, the new Reformation has the issue of human sexuality and/or gender as the “flash-point”. But that particular issue might cause problems in the near future for break-away groups choosing it as their litmus test.
There are a number of accounts this morning describing the scene as the police moved into the clear the #occupyLSX protestors encamped at St. Paul’s Cathedral in London last night.
When the Supreme Court ruled that women had, because of the constitutional right to privacy, to be guaranteed access to safe and legal abortion providers, it wasn’t a huge issue for the conservative American Evangelical churches. Their leaders had taken the position for years that the fetus was an “undeveloped human” and didn’t therefore have rights.
There’s a sobering fact being recognized right now. All denominations in the United States of America are in decline. In a time as dire as
What happens when clergy lose their faith? It happens more often than most people might think. Most clergy have to struggle with un-belief at one point or another during seminary. Not all resolve the question before they are ordained. Often time the situation returns again and again; at least according to other clergy that I speak with informally.
News from Maryland, Oklahoma and New Jersey on the issue of marriage equality. Maryland and Oklahoma move forward, New Jersey not so much.
The town of Anoka Minnesota, in Michelle Bachmann’s congressional district, has had a rash of teenage suicides attributed to unchecked bullying against LGBT people in
New research from the World Health Organization is showing that number of deaths world-wide due to malaria have been significantly underestimated. Instead of the 655,000 or so thought to have died in 2010, nearly 1.22 million died. That’s the bad news. There’s good news too.
Recently the retired Archbishop of Canterbury, George Carey, came out publicly criticizing the bishops of the Church of England for their opposition to the government’s proposed welfare reform. Carey’s own history explains why he would do that. And also shows why he is increasingly a minority voice in the Church of England.
Three parishes in the Diocese of Albany has begun the process to seek “delegated Episcopal oversight” (DEPO). In a twist, these are parishes looking for a less conservative bishop than Bishop Love of the Diocese of Albany.