With action taken at General Convention, however, the Episcopal Church is embracing a clear priority for branding, marketing, messaging and public relations over news dissemination, and this raises significant questions about the credibility of our story told in a world in which people are letting authenticity guide their religious choices.
In Anglicanism, however, the joys of common prayer and community spirit are replaced by ideology. This Anglican Church is a new invention, a global piece of post-colonial hubris, driven by those who feel that a Church that is genuinely Catholic must have outposts throughout the world.
The ruling did not directly address ownership of disputed properties claimed by the Episcopal Church but occupied by breakaway congregations. But the ruling likely will make it hard for the rebel diocese to hold on to the properties as the legal battle between the two sides continues.
“The Bible does not outline specific public policies around the provision of health care, but it does make clear that protecting the health of each human being is a profoundly important personal and communal responsibility for people of faith. Physical healing was a part of the salvation Jesus brought. Healing represents a sign of the breaking of God’s reign into the present reality.”
Why has homosexuality persisted as a divisive issue for religious traditions and communities, within the Anglican Communion and beyond? Six scholars share their views.
Pro-gays in the Church of England are planning a survey of all LGBT clergy, in and out of the closet, in London, Southwark and throughout the Church. In the capital, they reckon, it is as many as 20 per cent. They are also intending to survey precisely how many gay blessings have been and are being done. Again, estimates put the number in the hundreds.
The World Council of Churches general secretary Rev. Dr Samuel Kobia appealed to Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari to “ensure the safety and security” of Christians in the Punjab province, where three attacks against Christian communities were carried by militant Islamic groups in the last two months.
The first Hispanic woman to serve as a bishop in the Episcopal Church is retiring from the Seattle-based Diocese of Olympia, talking of how she has “loved” being here but hinting at difficulties with the man who beat her in an election for diocesan bishop.
Troubling news from overseas reached us at the Lead this weekend. Violence against Christians in Pakistan has resulted in the deaths of a number of people, the burning of a an Anglican church and numerous homes.
The Cleveland based Plain Dealer has an unusually well done article on the most recent General Convention. They report with a focus on their local clergy, Gay Jennings and Mark Hollingsworth who served at General Convention in the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops respectively in particular but with other Ohio clergy quoted as well.