Archbishops suggest ‘open-ended engagement’ with ACNA

Posted on January 24, 2012 by cherie

[Ed. Note:  The Synod is now two weeks away and news that the Archbishop of Canterbury has signed this resolution and endorses it has great bearing on the situation.  The major work of the Synod is to clarify and write all the orders for the expected passage of the resolution on women bishops this July.  This resolution has gained weight and time on the calendar because of Canterbury's endorsement and the continued growth of the ACNA and AMiA.  All must realize that there is no provision YET for two equal Anglican bodies in one province.  that would have to be suggested and encouraged by the Anglican Consultative Council, which is very pro TEC.  (Read: not likely within my lifetime) This proposes a "working relationship" that "recognizes" ACNA and its constituent members, but as yet does not include invitations to the 2018 Lambeth Conference for the REC, ACNA and AMiA bishops.  Should that occur, it will be a stunning development. Cheryl M. Wetzel]

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2012/01/20/archbishops-suggest-open-ended-engagement-with-breakaway-anglicans/

By Episcopal News Service  staff | January 20, 2012

Archbishops Rowan Williams of Canterbury and John Sentamu of York have suggested that the Church of England and the Anglican Communion ought to be in “an open-ended engagement” with the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA).

The organization is made up of individuals and groups that have left the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada, as well as those that have never been members of those two provinces. It includes entities such as the Reformed Episcopal Church,(REC) formed in 1873, and the Anglican Mission in the Americas, (AMiA)  founded by Rwandan Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini and Moses Tay, the now-retired primate of the province of South East Asia, in 2000.

Williams and Sentamu made their remarks in a report to the (upcoming) Feb. 6-9 sessions of the Church of England’s General Synod.

The report comes in response to a resolution the synod passed two years ago in which the Church of England recognized and affirmed ACNA’s desire “to remain in the Anglican family,” but said it was not yet ready to be in full communion with the breakaway entity.

The archbishops said that theirs was “a report on work in progress since the consequences of the establishment of ACNA some two and a half years ago are still emerging and on a number of issues any assessment at this stage must necessarily be tentative.” They offer some details on three issues: the range of possible relationships between other Christian churches and the Church of England, how a “particular local Church” can be accepted as part of the Anglican Communion, and under what circumstances the orders of another church might be recognized and accepted by the Church of England.

They noted that General Synod determines the nature of its relationship with other Christian churches and that the Anglican Consultative Council‘s constitution allows for new members by decision of the Standing Committee of the Communion and with the assent of two-third of the primates of the Churches already listed in the constitution. And, they said, people ordained in churches that accept the historical episcopate may be received into the Church of England and be authorized to minister.

The February 2010 resolution referred to “the distress caused by recent divisions within the Anglican churches of the United States of America and Canada,” and the archbishops said that that distress will continue “for some considerable time.” The divisions occurred over the decisions of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada related to full inclusion of LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) people in the life of the church, the ordination of women and the authority of scripture.

“Wounds are still fresh,” Sentamu and Williams write. “Those who follow developments in North America from some distance have a responsibility not to say or do anything which will inflame an already difficult situation and make it harder for those directly involved to manage the various challenges with which they are still grappling.”

Thus, they said, the outcome of the open-ended engagement that they suggest “is unlikely to be clear for some time yet, especially given the strong feelings on all sides of the debate in North America.”

The two men stressed that the Church of England “remains fully committed to the Anglican Communion and to being in communion both with the Anglican Church of Canada and the Episcopal Church.”

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One spiritual family living in two houses

Posted on January 24, 2012 by cherie

[Ed. Note:  The all Saints Sisters of the Poor were received into the Ordinariate a few weeks ago and today, and Mt. Calvary Church was received. On January 18, the diocese of Maryland released the following statement about the Mt. Calvary property: "The agreement states that the property currently occupied by Joseph Richey House, a hospice that started as a joint ministry by Mount Calvary and the All Saints’ Sisters of the Poor, will be permanently deeded to Joseph Richey House along with the parking lot shared by the congregation and Joseph Richey House. The Anglican Use Congregation will be deeded the church building, adjacent offices, and rectory, will keep all furnishings and personal property, and will retain the right to use the parking lot shared with Joseph Richey House. The Episcopal Diocese of Maryland will receive a monetary sum as part of the settlement, and will retain first right of refusal if the congregation vacates the property."  The amount of the settlement was not released.  Cheryl M. Wetzel]

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-episcopalian-20120122,0,2874454.story

Amid movement between Episcopalians and Catholics, the bottom line should be Christian unity

By Eugene Taylor Sutton   feedback@episcopalmaryland.org
8:00 a.m. EST, January 21, 2012

Each January, many followers of Jesus observe the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity. It was begun more than 100 years ago by the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement. Originally, the friars were an order of Episcopal priests who joined the Roman Catholic Church. Christian unity has been a part of their mission since the order’s founding, as it should be for every Christian.

You may have heard that the Episcopal All Saints’ Sisters of the Poor in Catonsville were officially received into the Roman Catholic Church. And today, members of Baltimore’s Mount Calvary Church, an Anglo-Catholic parish founded in 1842, are being received into the Roman Catholic Church’s Anglican Ordinariate.

In 2010, 24 of 28 Mount Calvary members present (out of a congregation of 45) voted to join the Ordinariate, following a long-standing tradition of the Episcopal Church: democracy. Negotiations over real and church property ensued, and an amicable agreement was reached last month. It states that the Anglican Use Congregation (the term for a Roman Catholic congregation that is able to retain its Anglican worship rites) will be deeded the church building, adjacent offices and rectory; will keep all furnishings and personal property; and will retain the right to use the parking lot shared with Joseph Richey House, a hospice that started as a joint ministry by Mount Calvary and the All Saints’ Sisters of the Poor. The Episcopal Diocese of Maryland will receive a monetary sum as part of the settlement, and will retain first right of refusal if the congregation vacates the property. Mount Calvary Church officially ends its 170-year history as an Episcopal parish in the Diocese of Maryland when it joins the Roman Catholic Church.

Rome has established a separate Anglican “rite” (worship tradition) similar to several Eastern rites that are in union with Rome. This Anglican “ordinariate,” as it is called in the Vatican, has two congregations in Maryland: Mount Calvary and St. Luke’s Church in Bladensburg, formerly in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington. The head of the ordinariate is a former Episcopal bishop who became a Roman Catholic priest three years ago.

The Episcopal Church is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion, formed more than 450 years ago. Since its founding, many Anglicans and Episcopalians have chosen to continue their spiritual journeys in the Roman Catholic Church. And many Roman Catholics have chosen to become Episcopalians. I have often said we are one spiritual family living in two houses.

For instance, the dean of our Cathedral of the Incarnation in Baltimore is a former Roman Catholic priest. Some of the more notable priests who became Episcopalian are Father Matthew Fox, the theologian and teacher of creation spirituality, and Father Alberto Cutié, a television personality and parish priest in Florida. There are currently more than 400 former Roman Catholic priests and deacons now serving in the Episcopal Church. And recently I received two Roman Catholic deacons into our diocese who are currently serving in parishes.

But for me, the bottom line is not which denomination is winning members from the other, but rather whether we are doing the work that Jesus called us to do. I’m an Episcopalian because the Baptismal Covenant in The Book of Common Prayer is all about living out the Gospel, or “good news.” When I was confirmed into the Episcopal Church, I was asked if I would seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving my neighbor as myself, and would I respect the dignity of every human being. I have found I can best do that work in the Episcopal Church, while others have found the Roman Catholic Church or other denominations better suited for them.

Wherever we are on our spiritual journeys, there is work to be done. Too many children in Baltimore City will go to bed hungry tonight. Too many people will not find jobs, or housing, or medical care, or a quality education; and these are the people with whom Jesus most closely identifies in the Gospel.

After the dust settles over who’s on which team, let us all remember we’re still on the same team. It is all Christ’s one, holy, catholic and apostolic church working to build up what Jesus called the Kingdom of God here on earth. That’s Christian unity.

The Right Rev. Eugene Taylor Sutton is the 14th bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland. His email is feedback@episcopalmaryland.org.

Copyright © 2012, The Baltimore Sun

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Mt. Calvary, Baltimore, joins Ordinariate this Sunday

Posted on January 19, 2012 by cherie

[Ed. Note:  Another parish going to the Ordinariate.  Cheryl M. Wetzel]

Posted by Robert Stowe England,  rengland@us.net

January 19, 2012

Gary Schenk from St. Luke’s Bladensburg, Maryland send this message:
Mt. Calvary Church in Baltimore, Md. will be received into the Catholic Church this Sunday, Jan 22, 2012, during the morning mass by Msgr. Steenson, the new ordinary.

Then there will be a service of evensong at 4:30 PM that same day. 

Many of us at St. Luke’s will attend the evening service to welcome them into the Catholic Church. If you are interested in attending with us, please let me know and we can arrange a car pool.  Please read the message below and let me know if you want to travel with us.

By this step, Mt. Calvary will come under the jurisdiction of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter.

Mt. Calvary is located at 816 N. Eutaw Street in Baltimore. 

 

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Presiding Bishop interviewed on Lutheran Public Radio “Issues, Etc”

Posted on January 19, 2012 by cherie

[Ed. Note:   Read this very carefully.  The Presiding Bishop is on a book promotion tour, and  has become expert at answering questions with opinions that are non-specific.  If you accept the fact that she is not a theologian, some of her answers are easier to understand. But not being able to cite the catechism answer for the definition of sin is sad.  Her answers apply  directly to her understanding  that TEC is autonomous within the Anglican Communion, is in  a way its own Communion, with the correction that we are not just a national church, but have other countries involved, too; and culture provides the guidelines for how the poor and defenseless are defined and ministered to today.  The reassertion that the governing people in this church are listening to God and acting on His word is a false assumption.  David Virtue's comments are in italics.  Cheryl M. Wetzel]

The following interview with Katharine Jefferts Schori took place on Lutheran Public Radio with Issues, Etc. hosted by Todd Wilkens, Lutheran Missouri-Synod Church.

Reprinted with permission By David W. Virtue
www.virtueonline.org
January 10, 2012

TODD WILKEN Issues, Etc. Host: They (the Episcopal Church) have been busy in the last decade or so. They say they have been listening to the “Voice of God” … first back in the ’70s they were among the first of the Protestant denominations to ordain women to the priesthood. Within the last decade they approved the ordination of active homosexuals – lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered persons — and they have made an active and partnered gay man a bishop in one of their dioceses – Gene Robinson. So they have made the news. Why and where is The Episcopal Church headed especially with its relationship with worldwide Anglicanism? Joining us this Wednesday afternoon, January the fourth, to talk about the intersections of faith with issues like poverty, climate change and the economy is Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori. She is the Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church USA and author of the news book “The Heartbeat of God: Finding the Sacred in the Middle of Everything.” Bishop Jefferts Schori, welcome to Issues, Etc.

WILKEN: What do you mean by that phrase “Heartbeat of God”?

JEFFERTS SCHORI: That’s how I’ve talked about our understanding of God’s “mission” to heal the world and that when people-of-faith are engaged in that work they’re participating in the lively creativity of God.

VOL: What and where exactly is TEC healing the world? Pouring its limited resources into Haiti (largely into a cathedral) is a pittance compared to what agencies like World Vision Inc., Food for the Poor and multiple evangelically based organizations are doing in that country. Most congregations in TEC are now in double digits with the average age in the mid 60s. They are running out of time and money and they are more engaged in getting Medicare and Social Security than “healing the world.” Those socially (read sexually) engaged are pushing the LGBTQI agenda with liberal bishops led by Jefferts Schori and her compliant HOB getting in the faces of dioceses like South Carolina to make them conform to their agenda.

WILKEN: On that issue of “people-of-faith” the subtitle of the book is “Finding the Sacred in the Middle of Everything.” so it might sound to some like pantheism. Do you believe that the “sacred”, as you define it, is found in all religions?

JEFFERTS SCHORI: Yes, I think it probably is. We’re not pantheists, many Episcopalians might be understood to as “panentheists”. The difference being that pantheists see everything as God and panentheists see God reflected in all of God’s creation. When we talk about human beings being made in the image of God that’s a piece of what we are talking about and we would extend that to all of creation.

VOL: So Episcopalians are now panentheists. Really. Panentheism is a belief system, which posits that God exists, interpenetrates every part of nature and timelessly extends beyond it. While pantheism believes that God is the whole; in panentheism, the whole is in God. In panentheism, God is viewed as the eternal animating force behind the universe. Some versions suggest that the universe is nothing more than the manifest part of God. In some forms of panentheism, the cosmos exists within God, who in turn “pervades” or is “in” the cosmos. Panentheism claims that God is greater than the universe. Much Hindu thought is highly characterized by panentheism and pantheism. Theism, on the other hand, conceives of God as personal, present and active in the governance and organization of the world and the universe but is distinct from it. Episcopalians, by and large, that is those who have not completely lost their minds believing what Jefferts Schori, Jack Spong, William Countryman and Mott the Hoople are still orthodox in their faith. For a full and complete analysis of Jefferts Schori’s book read Sarah Francis Ives, Ph. D. two articles here: http://tinyurl.com/83ndbph and here: http://tinyurl.com/7nhuupx

WILKEN: But you contrast, or appear to contrast Jesus of Nazareth with the Christ of generations and millennia to come. Is there is difference of the “Jesus of Nazareth’ and “the Christ of generations and millennia to come”?

JEFFERTS SCHORI: Christians would understand both terms. Non-Christians would not necessarily. Jesus as a human figure is someone about Whom Muslims can speak and understand and certainly recognize and revere. And people of other faith traditions would as well. They’re not going to have access or interest in “the Christ of millennia to come” the way that Christians do.

VOL: Separating the Jesus of History from the Christ of Faith is an old saw. The truth is there is no dichotomy between the Christ of Faith and the Jesus of History. Anglican theologian N.T. Wright In his book Jesus and the Victory of God, Christian Origins and the Question of God, Volume 2, says that the historical Jesus is very much the Jesus of the gospels: a first century Palestinian Jew who announced and inaugurated the kingdom of God, performed “mighty works” and believed himself to be Israel’s Messiah who would save his people through his death and resurrection. “He believed himself called,” in other words says Wright, “to do and be what, in the Scriptures, only Israel’s God did and was.” So you have a choice dear readers, believe what Jefferts Schori says or N.T. Wright.

WILKEN: You talk about hearing the “Voice of God”; I think you devote a whole chapter to it. Where is The Episcopal Church USA today hearing the Voice of God?

JEFFERTS SCHORI: OK, let me correct that. We are not The Episcopal Church in the USA. We’re The Episcopal Church in 16 different nations including the United States. So we’re certainly hearing the Voice of God and meeting God in Ecuador and Honduras and Venezuela and Taiwan and in Europe, as well as we are in the United States. There is an ancient understanding that God is met, perhaps most intensely in the poor and the marginalized. I know that St. Francis [of Assisi] called the poor “our treasure”; and that when we encounter the poor the marginalized, we’re more likely to meet Jesus, we’re more likely to see God present with us in the midst of suffering as well as joy. VOL: Prior to the year of our Lord 2006 (when Jefferts Schori was consecrated) no Presiding Bishop touted TEC’s offshore ecclesiastical holdings, but with the rise of the Global South and Mrs. Jefferts Schori’s face offs with Dr. Rowan Williams, she has pushed this handful of “overseas” Episcopalians to let the whole Anglican world know that she has some muscle and must be reckoned with even as TEC innovates over sexuality issues and its fortunes sink. It no doubt gives her a feeling of power. For the record TEC has a total of 487 churches in “foreign” dioceses and territories, with an overall ASA of 11,258. There are single churches almost as big as this. St. Martins Episcopal Church in Houston has 7,812 baptized members and nearly 3,000 ASA.

WILKEN: What then is The Episcopal Church hearing in that Voice of God?

JEFFERTS SCHORI: A call to attend to the people on the margins as well as creation that is being abused. Our work, as part of God’s mission, is to respond to the needs of the suffering – human beings as well as the rest of creation.

VOL: TEC talk. This is spin for pushing for the acceptance of a variety of pansexual behaviors which the Global South find revolting and unacceptable and which Rowan Williams waffles over. She taunts the Archbishop for being double-minded which is usually termed a ‘failure of nerve’ for not coming out totally for gay priests, same-sex marriage and rites for same.

WILKEN: You also talk about climate change – manmade climate change I should say – and the Church’s obligation there. Do you regard it as sinful to deny manmade climate change or to not take part in combating man’s part in that change?

JEFFERTS SCHORI: Well, human beings have certainly been responsible for accelerating the pace of climate change. I only have to look at the carbon dioxide affluent that has been produced since the Industrial Revolution to see that. I think it is incredibly short sighted, in the sense of blind, to refuse to see evidence in the change of climate. The scientific evidence is overwhelming. There are clearly people who choose not to see that. I think that is not using all the gifts that God has given us.

VOL: And she took her House of Bishops to Quito, Ecuador for an expensive gabfest, which increased the global carbon footprint enormously. She could have held a FREE conference call (dot com) with her bishops then she would never have had to see who was falling asleep listening to her whine about “marginalized peoples” and push the church’s pansexual agenda one more time and listen to her liberal bromides about saving the world for God.

WILKEN: Short sighted, but is it sinful in your opinion?

JEFFERTS SCHORI: Sin, in our understanding, is separation from God. And if you cannot see the abuse that human beings have caused to creation, I think that you are in some sense separating yourself from God’s creation.

WILKEN: So, is that a yes?

JFFERTS SCHORI: That’s certainly a way in which I would understand it.

VOL: Sin is much more than that. It is about rebellion against God himself, against the moral order, selfishness, and unrepentance. It is about missing the mark. One might also add this: “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[a] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 8: 38-39)

WILKEN: When I spoke a moment ago and said Episcopal Church USA, you corrected me and said Episcopal Church in a number of nations. Do you make the distinction between The Episcopal Church and worldwide Anglicanism?

JEFFERTS SCHORI: We’re [The Episcopal Church] a separate province of the worldwide Anglican Communion. There are 38 national or regional provinces in the Anglican Communion. We’re a part of Anglicanism, but we’re one part in relationship with a number of other parts.

VOL: …and a very small part at that. TEC now has an average weekly ASA of less than 700,000 and declining yearly. That is the size of a small diocese in Rwanda.

WILKEN: There has been some tension between The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. How would you say that tension has been created? How do you think it resolved, if possible?

JEFFERTS SCHORI: Well, you know, churches going back to the First Century of Christianity have always been in tension, because people never share all of the same ideas and understandings. You know the first great Church fight was about whether or not Gentiles could join the “Jesus Movement”. Those tensions have continued through the ages. We’re not going to finish with them until the Second Coming. And they can be creative, if they are used creatively. If conflict simply results in division, then it is not creative; it’s destructive, generally. But when we can stay in relationship and explore our differences and continue to dialogue about them, usually everybody grows in the process and it ends up being creative rather than destructive.

VOL: The early church attended to Judaizers and those who wanted to keep some aspect of the law in order to be saved. The “differences” today also involve salvation issues. Dialogue is all but dead. There is already a de facto schism if not a de jure one. The vast majority of the Global South primates are in “impaired and/or broken communion” with TEC. GAFCON/FCA was formed to declare that the Global South was no longer in communion with the ABC. A Lambeth Conference and a Primates meeting in Dublin saw one third of the Archbishops of the Communion in a no show thus declaring that the Anglican Communion was broken. Whether it can be repaired with Dr. Rowan Williams still at the helm is the issue. With him gone and an Evangelical at the head of the Communion it would be a whole new ball game. What about that does Jefferts Schori not understand?

WILKEN: In 2003, I believe, you consented to the election of Gene Robinson as the first openly gay bishop in The Episcopal Church, Now that’s been almost 10 years, I think. Do you have any regrets about that move?

JEFFERTS SCHORI: I knew at the time that it would be a very difficult decision for the wider church, both in The Episcopal Church and across the world. But, no, I believe that I, and others who voted to do that, understood that we were doing that out of a sense of great faithfulness to where we are in this church and to the Call of God in the midst of it. It’s not been easy, but at the same time I think that people across the [Anglican] Communion and within this [The Episcopal] Church – a number of them who disagreed with that decision have to realize that it is not a decision that has to divide a community, that we can continue to exist together in a community even if we don’t agree.

VOL: Total nonsense. A third of the all Anglican Primates are no longer in communion with her over the Robinson consecration and they represent nearly 80% of the entire Anglican Communion. TEC is a sideshow with only money to manipulate poor Anglican African provinces.

WILKEN: You said that the issue of whether or not to ordain active lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgendered persons should not be a “church dividing issue”. But, Bishop, as you know, many disagree entirely. Dioceses, parishes, many individuals have left The Episcopal Church for that and other reasons believing that they are “church dividing issues”.

JEFFERTS SCHORI: Some people have left some congregations and some people have left some dioceses over this issue, that’s correct. And, yes, they do believe that it is a “[church] dividing issue”. At the same time, many people who disagreed with the decision – most people who disagreed with the decision – have remained in The [Episcopal] Church and continue to make common cause with their fellow Episcopalians in the work of healing the world. They believe that our engagement in mission together is more important than disagreement about that [homosexual] issue.

VOL: Really. Then how can she explain four entire dioceses leaving TEC, hundreds of individual churches leaving, with four bishops heading to Rome (with one now heading up the Pope’s personal Ordinariate)…and millions of dollars spent on litigation for properties. Two thirds of the entire Diocese of Pittsburgh has left TEC, nearly 80% of the Diocese of Ft. Worth. Those orthodox Episcopalians who stay do so because they don’t want to get into a legal battle over property issues like the Church of the Good Samaritan in Paoli, PA and prefer to remain under the radar of a revisionist bishop like Charles Bennison. Another group of Episcopalians quietly scream, “Not in my parish” and politely go their way. The doctrine of inclusion is also not for them.

WILKEN: What are the similarities, how would you describe the similarities and the differences between your church body [The Episcopal Church] and the newly formed Anglican Church in North America?

JEFFERTS SCHORI: Well, the Anglican Church in North American seems to have its primary identity as being opposed to decisions of The Episcopal Church. I certainly hope that they will come to have an identity that’s positively rooted in their unique identity, and I think that when they come to do that, that we should be able to build some ecumenical relationships with them.

VOL: That is a false characterization of ACNA. At the beginning when the AMIA was formed it was in reaction to TEC. ACNA was formed as a safe place for orthodox Episcopalians being hounded out of TEC because of TEC’s theological and sexual innovations. More than 100,000 in nearly 1,000 parishes have fled TEC in the last few years and there is no sign that is letting up.

WILKEN: In the last generation – 40 years or so – The Episcopal Church has seen the ordination of women. I think that was in the early 70s. It’s first openly gay bishop more recently; and the ordination of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered persons to the priesthood. Where do you see The Episcopal Church headed in the next generation – the next 40 years?

JEFFERTS SCHORI: I think the next 40 years are going to be time of significant reformation in the sense of expanding the variety of faith communities — expanding the ways in which we “make a church” together. You can see examples of that already – things like [the] Common Cathedral Movements; where groups of people gather outside it on a regular basis for church services that those communities often serve the homeless. Where you see people who gather — there’s an example in New York City. Something called a “Dinner Church” where primary beginning of the community has been to gather to cook a meal, and out of that has grown a worshipping community. The phrase that is often used is “emergent” or “emerging church” communities, and I think we are going to see a great flourishing of that. And those communities may or may not be tied to permanent buildings in the way that most mainline denomination congregations are today.

VOL: At the present rate of decline there is every reason to believe that within 26 years The Episcopal Church will cease to exist in any sense as a denomination unless there is serious reformation, renewal and revival. Numbers don’t lie. The evangelically driven ACNA will only prosper, but not without problems and “issues” like the ordination of women yet to be resolved. Narrow pathways always come with thorns and sharp rocks.

WILKEN: Do you see a connection the early 70s ordination of women [the Philadelphia 11 on July 29, 2974] to the priesthood of The Episcopal Church and the early 2000′s ordination of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered persons to the priesthood?

JEFFERTS SCHORI: Yes, and I would certainly take it farther back. I think it is deeply connected with the ordinations of the first African-Americans [Absalom Jones in 1804] to this tradition and the first Native Americans [Enmegahbowh of the Ottawa Tribe in 1867] in this tradition and the first Asians [Wong Kong-chai in 1863] in this tradition. The challenge particularly in the United States, a part of our context has been expanding the understanding of what a normative human being is. And it is not just a “white man”. It includes people of other ethnic origins, includes people of the other gender, it includes people of other sexual orientations. One of the significant changes in our prayer book of the late 1970s was our admission of children to [Holy] Communion before they were confirmed. You use to have to wait until you were a teenager and had been confirmed before you could come to Communion. We said: “No, children as soon as they are baptized are full members of this community.” I don’t know what the next iteration of that journey will look like. But I think there will be one.

VOL: Dumbing down the Prayer Book and lowering entry requirements will not build churches, and comparing a person’s skin color with same sex attractions angers a lot of Black people who don’t like the comparison.

WILKEN: What do you see the central message of Scripture is, Bishop?

JEFFERTS SCHORI: Love God and love your neighbor.

VOL: One wonders if that applies to Archbishops Bob Duncan, Rowan Williams or Nicholas Okoh. Talk is cheap.

WILKEN: I think that the central message is: of man’s sin …his fallen condition – alienation from God, thereby loss of the image of God, thereby… And it’s complete restoration in the Incarnation … the perfect life — sinless life … death and resurrection … the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ. And I think that is the central thread of Scripture. Am I wrong?

JEFFERTS SCHORI: I think that is a piece of it. But clearly God is at work communities and contexts beyond the Christian one. If you see that as the primary thrust of the Jewish Scripture I think that is a misreading. Certainly the Jews are understood as “Chosen People” in our Biblical texts. God is clearly at work in all of creation and part of our task as Christians is to discern and affirm at where we find God at work beyond our comfortable places.

VOL: In other words Christianity is not exclusively the way to the Father there are other pathways – Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu. The Presiding Bishop is on record saying she would never seek to convert a Muslim to Christ as their pathway to God is just as valid as her pathway, which, presumably, is still Christian. She also publicly denied the need for personal salvation.

WILKEN: The passage that I guess I go to repeatedly in taking that position is to Jesus, Himself, where He says: “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and no one comes to the Father except through Me.” [John 14:6] Jesus is claiming to be the ONLY revelation of God; the ONLY revelation of the sacred in His Incarnation; and most certainly, the ONLY way to the True God. What are your thoughts there?

JEFFERTS SCHORI: He also says in another place [John 10:16] that He has flocks, that He is called to care for flocks – sheep that aren’t already in a particular fold, and that He has words of truth for them as well.

WILKEN: So what do you think He is referring to there, specifically?

JEFFERTS SCHORI: I think He is referring to people beyond our comfort zone.

WILKEN: Beyond Christianity?

JEFFERTS SCHORI: Could be…

WILKEN: Well, do you think it is beyond Christianity?

JEFFERTS SCHORI: I think the work of Jesus has changed reality for all human beings whether they acknowledge themselves Christians or not.

VOL: Scripture says, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed and no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit. (1 Cor. 12:3). So if she cannot say unequivocally that “Jesus is Lord”, can she be called a Christian? Again St. Paul: “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”

Jesus did not die on a cross “to change reality for all human beings,” He came to change hearts and lives through his death and resurrection.

END

Issues, Etc. is Christ-centered, Cross-focused Talk Show Radio program of Lutheran Public Radio a ministry of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod

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Supreme Court Rejects NC County ‘Jesus’ Prayer Appeal

Posted on January 19, 2012 by cherie

[Ed. Note:  The Free Legal Dictionary on the web defines nonsectarian as unaffiliated with any religious denomination. No more prayers that mention Jesus.  Of course, the court said that the county could still have prayer prior to/during their meetings, as long as they are not linked to any particular religion.  The counties' carefully constructed policy apparently wasn't inclusive enough.  Another judicial win for the ACLU and Americans United for Separation of Church and State.  Cheryl M. Wetzel]

http://www.christianpost.com/news/supreme-court-rejects-nc-county-jesus-prayer-appeal-67449/

By Michael Gryboski | Christian Post Reporter
January 18, 2012

The United States Supreme Court has refused to hear an appeal from a North Carolina county government regarding a lower court decision barring sectarian prayer at its meetings.

The Board of Commissioners for Forsyth County, N.C., will not be allowed to appeal a decision by the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals against its prayer policy. Although the decision still allows prayers at the board’s meetings, they must now be nonsectarian.

“I am very disappointed in the decision by the U.S. Supreme Court to deny review of our prayer lawsuit,” said Debra L. Conrad, vice chair of the board, to The Christian Post.

“No elected official ever gave a sectarian prayer. We had an open door policy.”

Alliance Defense Fund Senior Counsel David Cortman, who was one of the attorneys representing Forsyth County, said that the Supreme Court’s decision would result in less inclusiveness rather than more.

“The irony is that the Fourth Circuit’s decision will now result in the exclusion of many people with devout religious belief simply because of the way they pray,” said Cortman.

In 2007, Americans United for Separation of Church and State and the American Civil Liberties Union sued the Forsyth County Commission on behalf of Forsyth residents who said they were offended by hearing prayers that referenced Jesus Christ or other deities.

By a vote of two to one, a three judge panel agreed in 2011 with a district court’s ruling against the board’s prayer policy.

Joe Conn, a spokesman for Americans United for Separation of Church and State, told CP that the Supreme Court’s decision to not hear the case was not surprising since it “only takes a small fraction of the cases that come before it.”

“I think most judges know that the Constitution does not permit government officials to play favorites when it comes to religion,” said Conn.

“When government officials or school authorities try to impose prayer, they are overstepping their bounds. Decisions about religious belief and practice should be made by individuals and families, not the government.”

According to Forsyth board member Debra Conrad, there was no exclusivity in the selection process of clergy who would perform sectarian prayers before board meetings.

“We invited a wide variety of both Christian and non-Christian churches to send someone. Our latest written policy was an open invitation for any of the hundreds of yellow page listings,” said Conrad.

“We did not censor or review their prayers prior to hearing them as we believe in freedom of speech. However no one who has come in the last 18 years has disparaged any other faith, tried to convert anyone to their religion or made any negative comments.”
Cortman believed that although the Supreme Court refused to hear this case, other similar cases on sectarian prayer may still make their way to the highest court in the land.

“There are several cases across the country that are currently addressing the permissibility of ‘sectarian’ references in legislative prayer, including some that ADF is litigating, that will make their way to the Supreme Court in due time,” said Cortman.

“We are hopeful that the court will not only agree to hear one of those case to eliminate the conflicting decisions by the lower courts, but in doing so uphold legislative prayer, including any that may be deemed ‘sectarian.’”

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Special treatment hurts both church and state

Posted on January 18, 2012 by cherie

[Ed. Note:  In this primary season and election year, you can't refute what you don't know.  This post discusses tax exempt donations and status of churches and church hiring practices recently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court (see http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/10-553.pdf  ) for the decision on the ELCA school firing of a teacher.  This decision was generally regarded as a positive decision, defending the First Amendment rights of religious institutions.  However, Fr. Ehrich's comment that society is underserved by competition between churches for members and dollars and lack of ethical guidance to achieve the same is well founded.  A thought provoking read.  Cheryl M. Wetzel]
By TOM EHRICH, Episcopal priest in New York City

c. 2012 Religion News Service

post released January 17, 2012
(RNS) It’s time for religion to lose its special treatment in the Constitution and in tax codes.
Not because religion has ceased to matter, but because it matters more than ever in our increasingly unethical society, and the special treatment ends up hurting both religion and state.
Three examples: hiring practices, tax-exempt property, and tax-deductible donations.
The Supreme Court, continuing its string of unwise decisions, affirmed religious institutions’ right to discriminate in hiring practices. They play by their own special rules, the court reasoned, saying, in effect, that the so-called “separation clause” guards religion’s right to do the wrong thing.
Unfortunately, just as presidential candidates use religion to batter opponents and to appeal to the dark side of human nature, so will religion become an excuse to seek other exceptions to civil rights. If churches can discriminate, others will say, why can’t we? Bigots and unjust employers will have an open field for hurting the vulnerable.
Meanwhile, religion will stand out as a special preserve where children can be molested without legal consequence, and the usual rules of financial accountability and simple justice don’t apply. That won’t help religion’s cause one bit.
Their historic exemption from property taxes has encouraged faith communities to see property as their purpose, not mission and ministry. Many a church has clung to deteriorating facilities while mission languished and people seeking more than maintenance budgets departed. Finally the church closes its doors — and the community evaporates.
Yes, religious facilities have contributed much to architecture and scenic street corners, but both religion and society would be better served if those institutions saw their purpose as mission, their work as offering ministry, and each other as companions in a movement, not as disputatious property owners.
Tax-deductible donations, meanwhile, have virtually destroyed responsible Christian stewardship in many major denominations. Instead of following the biblical model of “harvest giving” and the biblical standard of the tithe, churches have fallen into treating their donations as “charitable giving.” Instead of first fruits, they get last fruits, whatever remains after everything else has been purchased.
Churches end up competing with museums, schools and medical causes for leftovers. That is a competition they cannot possibly win, because they don’t have the budget to do charitable fundraising effectively and religion’s prophetic cause — “comforting the afflicted and afflicting the comfortable” –  isn’t as appealing as good music or fighting cancer.
To protect tax exemption, religious leaders refrain from meddling in society’s doings. The Gospel demands such meddling. Society needs boldness, not self-protective hedging, from its faith communities. It needs strong preachers in the public square, even if that means violating the first rule of charitable giving: Be nice to the wealthy.
That weakened voice, in turn, deprives society of the ethical guidance that it badly needs. Not shrill scolding on esoterica, but bold words on justice and compassionate deeds to bind up society’s victims.
Whatever Thomas Jefferson meant by “separation of church and state,” it’s clear from our own history that we need God to be more active in the public square, not walled up in a special tax-sheltered preserve where, in exchange for staying silent, the religious are free to discriminate, play landowner and appease the wealthy.
Our special status has made us soft and, to our growing dismay, irrelevant.
(Tom Ehrich is a writer, church consultant and Episcopal priest based in New York.

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Abp. Wabukala of Kenya releases report on January meeting in Nairobi

Posted on January 18, 2012 by cherie

[Ed. Note:  This meeting was held in early January, 2012 in Nairobi.  Archbishop Eliud Wabukala, Kenya, agreed to mediate the conflict between the Anglican Mission and Rwanda and released this communique on that meeting yesterday.  It accentuates many of the points heard last week at the Anglican Mission's Winter Conference.  some of the details expressed last week differed.   My comments are in italics after each point. Once again, we'll pray/hope for reconciliation and wait for the outcome.  Cheryl M. Wetzel]
January 17, 2012

The following is a communique from the Church of Kenya recalling conversations that took place in Nairobi Kenya to discuss the broken relationship between Rwanda and the AMiA.

COMMUNIQUE FROM ARCHBISHOP ELIUD REGARDING THE JANUARY 4TH RECONCILIATION MEETING BETWEEN THE ANGLICAN CHURCH OF RWANDA AND AMiA

On Wednesday January 4th, 2012 a reconciliation meeting was in Nairobi, Kenya, held between the leaders of the Anglican Mission in America (AMiA) and the Province of the Anglican Church of Rwanda [la Province de l'Eglise Anglicane au Rwanda - PEAR] at the invitation of the Most Rev’d Dr. Eliud Wabukala, Archbishop of the Anglican Church of Kenya [ACK] and Chairman of the Primates Council of the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans [GAFCON/Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans-FCA]

Present were the Most Rev’d Dr. Elîud Wabukala (Anglican Church of  Kenya- ACK), the Most Rev’d Onesphore Rwage (PEAR), the Rt. Rev’d Lauren Mbanda (PEAR), Rt. Rev’d Chuck Murphy (AMiA) and the Rt. Rev’d John Miller (AMiA). Also present were the Most Rev’d Ikechi Nwosu (Church of Nigeria), the Rt. Rev’d Ioseph Kanuku (AC Kenya), the Rt. Rev’d Timothy Ranji (AC Kenya), the Rt. Kalu (AC Kenya) and the Rt. Rev’d Dr. Gideon Githiga (AC Kenya).

The Chairman made it clear that while there had been a painful and very public breakdown in the relationship between the leadership of the Anglican Mission in America and the Anglican Church of Rwanda he was confident that by God’s grace reconciliation could be achieved and harmony restored. He invited both sides to present their concerns openly and urged all present to listen prayerfully.

Bishop Chuck Murphy began by expressing his profound regret for the broken relationship and stressed his commitment to lead AMiA as a single-minded mission agency. He was deeply distressed by the public accusations made against him but remains determined to fulfill the mandate that had been given to him and Bishop John Rodgers when they were consecrated in Singapore in January 2000, by Archbishops Kolini and Tay.

Archbishop Onesphore Rwaje also acknowledged his deep distress at the broken relationships since he counted Bishop Murphy to be a friend of many years. He also expressed his appreciation for the amazing work that has been accomplished by the AMiA. His concerns were focused on the confusion brought about by the continuing role of the former Archbishop, the lack of financial transparency and the recently announced plans to separate from the Church of Rwanda and function independently without adequate prayer or consultation.

After a lengthy discussion between all parties, including those present as observers, the following points were agreed to:

1. They were all resolved that forgiveness should come from both sides of the divide. [ This was clearly stated on several different occasions.]

2. The founding Fathers (Archbishops Kolini, Young and Tay) should work together with the incumbent Archbishop of Rwanda with the former acknowledging the ecclesiastical authority of the latter.   [These three archbishops were at the Winter Conference and did not appear to be less involved in the functioning of the Anglican Mission than previously.  There was no indication that they would relinquish authority to Abp. Rwaje.]

3. The Church of Rwanda agreed to stop looking at AMiA’s mistakes and look forward and walk together for the sake of the Gospel.

4. AMiA agreed that they remain canonically under the Church of Rwanda and accept the doctrine of forgiveness.  [Accept the doctrine of forgiveness, yes; continue under Rwanda's canonical authority was not clearly expressed or denied.]

5. The Archbishop of Rwanda and Bishop Murphy agreed to start the process of forgiveness with both acknowledging that things went wrong between them. They both agreed that when they start talking together the misunderstandings will be clarified and corrected.  [Clearly expressed by Chairman Murphy on several different occasions.]

6. AMiA agreed to continue to work with the Church of Rwanda and that other plans for restructuring will be put on hold for six [6] months to allow time for healing and for other fruitful discussions.   [Talks with continue.  No time span was stated.]

7. The next steps for the two leaders would be for the Archbishop of Rwanda to talk with his House of Bishops and for Bishop Chuck Murphy to meet with his Council of Bishops to begin the work of reconciliation between both groups.  [Bishop Murphy met with his bishops last week and had phone conversations prior to the meeting in Houston. No report to date from Rwanda.]

Archbishop Eliud commended those gathered for their hard work and determination to allow the Holy Spirit to break down barriers of misunderstanding and begin the process of healing and restoration. He assured them of his prayers as they move forward together Walking in the light of God’s amazing grace.

On behalf of all those who gathered

The Most Rev’d Eliud Wabukala
January 17, 2012

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RI School to Remove Prayer Banner After Atheist Teen Wins Lawsuit

Posted on January 17, 2012 by cherie

[Ed. Note:  Another example of religious liberties under fire.  The banner is a prayer penned by a member of the first graduating class.  It has hung in the school for 50 years, without objection.  Ahlquist sued through the ACLU.  The school board is deciding if they should appeal.  We will watch for a decision and post it here.  Cheryl M. Wetzel]

http://www.christianpost.com/news/ri-school-to-remove-prayer-banner-after-atheist-teen-wins-lawsuit-67067/
Thu, Jan. 12 2012 07:15 PM EDT
By Ravelle Mohammed | Christian Post Reporter

A 16-year-old Rhode Island girl and self-described atheist has won a legal battle against her high school over a prayer banner displayed on campus, with a federal court ruling Wednesday that the Christian mural, erected more than 50 years ago, has to be removed.

The banner’s removal is a reflection of “what true American values are,” said Jessica Ahlquist, who attends Cranston High School West in Cranston. The teen insisted that the banner had no place in the high school and church and state had to remain separate.

“When I saw it there, I knew it didn’t belong,” Ahlquist told reporters, according to The Associated Press. “And every time that I saw it, it was a reminder that my school wasn’t doing the right thing and that my school didn’t necessarily support me and my views.”

Meanwhile, the city’s attorney Joseph Cavanagh Jr. said the prayer banner will be covered up, while the school committee decides whether to appeal the ruling. According to the AP, the lawsuit will be discussed at the committee’s next meeting.

Michael Traficante, a committee member, said he was “extremely disappointed” in the ruling and that the banner was removed because of “one” person’s opinion.

“What’s ironic is this banner has to be removed because one individual after 50 years believed it to be offensive because of her disbelief in any religion,” Traficante stated.

The city argued that the banner had no religious significance and was part of the school’s history. It was given to Cranston High from the class of 1963, the first to graduate from the school. Former student David Bradley – now in his 60s – wrote the prayer banner, which calls on students to reach their academic potential. However, it begins with “Our Heavenly Father” and ends in “Amen.”

The full prayer reads:

Our Heavenly Father. Grant us each day the desire to do our best. To grow mentally and morally as well as physically. To be kind and helpful to our classmates and teachers. To be honest with ourselves as well as with others. Help us to be good sports and smile when we lose as well as when we win. Teach us the value of true friendship. Help us always to conduct ourselves so as to bring credit to Cranston High School West. Amen.

Gov. Lincoln Chafee has said he agrees with the court ruling and that the banner is inviolation of the Constitution’s statement on separation of church and state.

The Rhode Island sector of the American Civil Liberties Union sued the city and Cranston High on Ahlquist’s behalf in 2011. According to court filings, the 16-year-old first noticed the banner in her freshman year and started a Facebook petition for its removal.

Now in her junior year, Ahlquist has reportedly received criticism for causing the prayer’s removal and is unsure about whether she will return to finish out her senior year at Cranston High School West.

Critics and supporters alike have taken to the web to express their views regarding this case.

“So, this atheist forces her warped belief system down everyone else’s throat, by thwarting the laws and twisting them to suit her own views,” wrote Barney Collier. “She taught them a useful lesson in civics? What’s that, how to twist and contort the laws to rape the justice system?”

“Blouise,” another commenter, however disagreed, saying, “It is shameful that so many are completely clueless as to what ‘separation between church and state’ means. The ORIGINAL INTENTION was to KEEP THE GOV’T OUT OF THE CHURCH BUSINESS.”

The First Amendment of the Constitution reads regarding the issue of “church and state,” which does not appear in the text: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof…”

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Judge: Christian Group Can’t Bar Same-Sex Ceremony on NJ Property

Posted on January 17, 2012 by cherie

[Ed. Note:  This case has been in the courts since 2008 when the lesbian couple sued the camp over their refusal to allow their commitment ceremony at the camp. Initially, the court upheld a ruling that the Methodist Book of Order does not allow gay ceremonies and the camp was not liable.  This judge stated that the camp allows many different groups/religious entities to use their facilities and cannot refuse the lesbian couple because that is discrimination.  The decision goes to a panel for further review prior to finalization of the case.  We will watch for a determination on this and publish the results here.  Cheryl M. Wetzel]

http://www.christianpost.com/news/judge-christian-group-cant-bar-same-sex-ceremony-on-nj-property-67298/

By Michael Gryboski | Christian Post Reporter

A New Jersey judge has recently ruled that a Christian organization must perform same-sex ceremonies on its property despite its views regarding the practice.

Judge Solomon A. Metzger of the Office of Administrative Law ruled last Thursday that Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association violated state anti-discrimination laws when it did not allow a lesbian couple to use its boardwalk pavilion in 2007.

Jim Campbell, Alliance Defense Fund litigation staff counsel who represented the OGCMA, told CP that he “disagrees with the judge’s recommended decision.”

“The government cannot prohibit a private Christian organization from declining to use its property in a way that would violate its own religious beliefs,” said Campbell.

“If the director of the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights accepts this recommended decision, it would be an example where the constitutional rights of religious liberty have been cast aside in favor of the homosexual legal agenda.”

The American Civil Liberties Union of New Jersey, who represented the lesbian couple, celebrated the result of the case.

“The Camp Meeting Association could have used the pavilion exclusively for its own purposes,” said Lawrence Lustberg of Gibbons, a cooperating attorney from the ACLU of NJ who was involved in the case, in a statement.

“The judge found, however, that the association opened the pavilion up to the public and thus was obligated to follow anti-discrimination laws.”

“We think the judge made the right call in this case,” said ACLU of NJ attorney Jeanne LoCicero, who represented the lesbian couple in court.

LoCicero explained that the OGCMA had “a history of not discriminating on any other religious issue” when allowing different groups to use their pavilion space. LoCicero did not believe the case revolved around “religious liberty issues” since the OGCMA had agreed to have the pavilion space to be open for “public use” and to therefore be subject to state antidiscrimination laws.

In 2007, Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association denied a permit for Ocean Grove residents Harriet Bernstein and Luisa Paster, who wanted to hold their civil union ceremony on the OGCMA’s seaside boardwalk pavilion.

Ocean Grove Camp Meeting Association identifies itself as Methodist in its religious affiliation and cited the United Methodist Church’s official opposition to homosexual unions as a reason for the denial of the permit.

According to Judge Metzger’s opinion, the OGCMA had made their property public space in return for a tax exempt status. The Judge also wrote that the OGCMA had long considered the boardwalk space secular in nature, therefore lacking in a religious purpose that would justify excluding events on religious grounds.

Bruce Hausknecht, judicial analyst for CitizenLink, told CP that he was concerned about the conclusions reached by the judge in the case regarding religious freedom.

“The notion that receiving a tax break acts as a waiver of a religious community’s First Amendment liberties is dangerous thinking,” said Hausknecht.

“As last week’s terrific Supreme Court decision in the Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church case re-emphasized, the First Amendment does not take a back seat to anti-discrimination statutes.”

Judge Metzger’s decision will be sent to the director of the Division on Civil Rights for New Jersey who has 45 days to adopt, modify or reject the decision as part of a final decision.

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4 candidates for bishop of Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh

Posted on January 17, 2012 by cherie

[Ed. Note:  My guess is that the election will be held within the "90-days prior window" to the General Convention in July, 2012.  The Convention will vote to approve the bishop-elect.  I regret that the Rev. Canon Jim Simon, a great defender of this diocese, is not on the list.  General information on the process is available at http://www.episcopalpgh.org.  Cheryl M. Wetzel]

http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/12016/1203914-100.stm

Monday, January 16, 2012
By Ann Rodgers, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh has announced a preliminary slate of candidates for the bishop election to be held April 21.

All are parish rectors, none of them in Pennsylvania. They were chosen from 125 names submitted to a 16-member nomination committee.

The four candidates named by the committee are:

The Rev. Michael N. Ambler, Jr., rector of Grace Episcopal Church, Bath, Maine.

The Rev. Dorsey W.M. McConnell, rector of the Church of the Redeemer, Chestnut Hill, Mass.

The Rev. R. Stanley Runnels, rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church, Kansas City, Mo.

The Rev. Ruth Woodliff-Stanley, rector of St. Thomas Episcopal Church, Denver, Colo.

Members of the Diocese of Pittsburgh have three weeks to submit other nominations. Such nominations require the consent of the person nominated and a petition with 10 signatures from individuals representing at least three parishes, four clergy and six parishioners.

Nominations close Feb. 5, after which such candidates will go through the same vetting process the earlier candidates did before they can be added to the ballot.

The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh reorganized in 2008 after a majority at its diocesan convention voted to leave the Episcopal Church over doctrinal issues and join the last full diocesan bishop, now-Archbishop Robert Duncan, in forming the theologically conservative Anglican Church in North America.

Bishop Kenneth Price, Jr., a suffragan or assistant bishop from Cincinnati, has served as an interim bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh since 2009.

Ann Rodgers: arodgers@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1416.

 

Posted in Bishop Elections, Diocese of Pittsburgh, General Religious News | 2 Comments