Another one bites the dust: Georgia Supreme Court upholds property ruling 6-1

[Episcopal News Service] The Georgia Supreme Court has affirmed a lower court ruling that the real property and other assets of Christ Church Episcopal in Savannah are held in trust for the Diocese of Georgia and the Episcopal Church.

The text of the 6-1 opinion, as well as the dissenting opinion, is here.

The court's opinion, issued Nov. 21, said that two lower courts properly applied the "neutral principals of law" approach, previously adopted by that court and approved by the U.S. Supreme Court as a constitutional method for resolving church property disputes.

The "neutral principles" approach requires courts to resolve church property disputes by examining deeds, state statutes, and the governing documents of the local and general church in order to discern whether local church property is held subject to any obligations to the larger church.

Supreme Court Justice David E. Nahmias, writing for the majority, said that "the record shows that at all times during the 180 years before this dispute began, Christ Church acted consistently with the Episcopal Church's canons regarding its property, demonstrating the local church's understanding that it could not consecrate, alienate, or encumber - much less leave with - its property without the consent of the parent church."

The opinion also said "the First Amendment allows Christ Church and its members to leave the Episcopal Church and worship as they please, like all other Americans, but it does not allow them to take with them property that has for generations been accumulated and held by a constituent church of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America."

Georgia Bishop Scott Behase said in a statement that "while we are grateful that a third court has upheld our legal rights to the property held in trust for the Episcopal Church for more than 200 years, whatever satisfaction we feel in prevailing in the courts is muted by the knowledge that this decision is painful for some of our brothers and sisters in Christ," referring to the congregation that disaffiliated from the Episcopal Church while continuing to occupy church property.

"As Christians we know that even those with whom we disagree are also seeking to follow Jesus faithfully," he added. "While we were forced to take action when the breakaway congregation deprived the thriving congregation of Christ Church Episcopal of the property we hold in trust for them on Johnson Square, we know that both groups share faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of the world."

The Rev. Michael S. White, Christ Church rector, said in a statement that he was thankful that the dispute is over but, "we remain saddened that our brothers and sisters decided to leave the Episcopal Church. Our church is diminished by their absence and by the loss of their voice in our midst.”

White added that "we will return to our church home on Johnson Square and maintain our abiding commitment to Christian grace, joy, humility and forgiveness.”

White and the continuing congregation have been worshipping on Sunday evenings since October 2007 at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church in Savannah. That gathering will continue "until further notice as we conclude certain administrative matters associated with our transitioning back to our historic home," he said.

When they return, White said, it will be as "a changed people."

"During this time in exile, we have formed as a community of faith and a Church centered in worship and service to God and God's world," he said. "Through the work of the Holy Spirit in our midst, we have also experienced the truth that we are called to be faithful stewards of his word and sacraments wherever we may meet."

The Anglican Church of the Province of Uganda-affiliated congregation said in a statement on its website that it was reviewing the ruling and that the leaders of the parish "will meet to determine our next course of action which could include an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court if warranted."

The Episcopal Church, the Diocese of Georgia and Christ Church Episcopal originally filed a lawsuit after some clergy and members of the parish voted to align with the Province of Uganda in September 2007 but refused to vacate the building and relinquish control over other church assets.

In July 2010, the Georgia Court of Appeals upheld an Oct. 27, 2009, ruling by Chatham County Court Judge Michael Karpf, which said that "a trust over the property exists in favor of the national church and the Diocese of Georgia. Accordingly, the court finds that the church property reverts to the control of the bishop of the Diocese of Georgia for the uses and purposes of the Episcopal Church and that plaintiffs are entitled to immediate possession."

Until the congregation split, Christ Church had abided by the requirements of the Episcopal Church's property canons, including after the General Convention in 1979 passed the "Dennis Canon" (Canon 1.7.4), which states that a parish holds its property in trust for the diocese and the Episcopal Church, the appeals court said.
  
The breakaway congregation now has until Dec. 1 to file a motion for reconsideration.

Amicus briefs were filed in the case by the American Anglican Council, the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty, the Church of God, the Greek Orthodox Metropolis of Atlanta, the Presbyterian Lay Committee and the South Georgia Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.

The dispute began in March 2006 when the church's former rector and members of the vestry changed the parish's articles of incorporation to disavow its affiliation with the Episcopal Church. In November 2007, the diocese filed a petition in Chatham Superior Court to regain the parish's real and personal property after the vestry voted unanimously to place the congregation under the care of John Guernsey, a former Episcopal priest who had been consecrated as a Province of Uganda bishop.

Established in 1733 by General James Oglethorpe, founder of the Georgia colony, Christ Church is known as the "Mother Church of Georgia." The church has been the home for many of Savannah's most prominent citizens, according to a statement on its website, including Girl Scout founder Juliette Gordon Low and Academy-award winner Johnny Mercer. It counts among its former rectors John Wesley and George Whitfield, and in more recent times, Bland Tucker.

The Episcopal Diocese of Georgia covers the southern two thirds of the state of Georgia, including Savannah, Augusta, Albany, Thomasville, Valdosta and Brunswick.
-- The Rev. Mary Frances Schjonberg is an editor/reporter the Episcopal News Service.

Court: Prop. 8 forces can defend measure

Court: Prop. 8 forces can defend measure

State Supreme Court rules sponsors of the gay marriage ban have the right to appeal a federal judge's ruling that struck it down.

CA Supremes to rule 10 AM Thursday Re: Standing in Prop 8 Appeal

PERRY (Kristin M.) et al. v. BROWN JR. (Edmund G.), as Governor, etc., et al.
S189476 (9th Cir. No. 10-16696; N.D. Cal. No. 3:09-cv-02292-VRW)
Argued in San Francisco 9-06-11
The court granted the request of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to address the following question: “Whether under Article II, Section 8 of the California Constitution, or otherwise under California law, the official proponents of an initiative measure possess either a particularized interest in the initiative’s validity or the authority to assert the State’s interest in the initiative’s validity, which would enable them to defend the constitutionality of the initiative upon its adoption or appeal a judgment invalidating the initiative, when the public officials charged with that duty refuse to do so.”

Opinion(s) in the above case(s) will be filed on:
Thursday, November 17, 2011 at 10:00 a.m

In Massachusetts, An Unfolding Dream

It's been a tense, exciting day in the Boston area as the legislation known as the "Transgender Equal Rights Bill" makes its way out of the Judiciary Committee for the first time in six years.  The bill is heading to the legislature with a vote expected tonight or tomorrow as the winter recess approaches.  

Yesterday the Boston Globe and Boston Herald reported on the impending vote, and this morning both papers reported on dueling press conferences in which the bill's opponents called the vote a "distraction" from economic issues.  When one such representative argued, "The goals of the advocates is to have this litigated in the courts,” he was confronted by Ken and Marcia Garber.  The Garbers' transgender son was, as the Globe explained,"bullied and discriminated against before he lost his life to a drug overdoes at the age of 20." When the representative "said he did not have time to answer their question because he was late to a meeting," the Garbers, faithful members of Dignity Boston, "challenged Lombardo’s contention that the transgender bill is a distraction from bills that would protect the state’s economic future, [saying] 'Some of these people will never have a future if they don’t do something' to pass the legislation.".

As the battle over this legislation heats up, I find myself seeking to be present to it as a holy time and space, as an invitation to be, as Bishop Shaw often puts it, opened.  It strikes me that this openness is not simply a static state of welcome and inclusion, but an ongoing process of being opened, transformed by God, ushered into new ways of being in the world, into a new time and space that Christians name as the reign or dream of God. That notion of openness is unsettling and challenging indeed, but hopeful and promising beyond our wildest imaginings.  May it be—may it become – so.

Posted by the Rev. Dr. Cameron Partridge, is the Episcopal Chaplain at Boston University and a Lecturer at Harvard University, to Walking With Integrity.

Despite surpirse legal action, Diocese of Connecticut seeks way forward with leadership of St. Paul's, Darien

Editor's note: Follow the money to understand this story. St. Paul's is very rich and very conservative. For years they have participated in diocesan convention but refused to pay their fair share of the cost of running the diocese. The parish has filed yet another suit challenging "the legitimacy of a trust that the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut claims it has regarding the Parish's Darien church grounds and assets." Big bucks are at stake here.Bishop Douglas has been very nice to St. Paul's so far, offering them oversight by a more conservative Bishop. And he has nudged them toward paying up. Their response is described below. Do they really think they look like Jesus when they sue to keep more of their money in Darien? 

The Rt. Rev. Ian T. Douglas, Ph.D., bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut, and the rector and vestry of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Darien, Conn., are working within the existing structure of the Church to find a way forward for the clergy and lay leadership of St. Paul’s to remain validly within The Episcopal Church.  The Bishop and other diocesan leaders have maintained and expressed a strong desire that St. Paul’s rector, the Rev. Christopher Leighton, and all of the present members of St. Paul’s continue their historic and present witness to the power of the Holy Spirit within The Episcopal Church.  The lay and ordained leadership of the congregation of St. Paul’s have recently expressed a similarly strong desire to continue as members of The Episcopal Church.

In recent months, Bishop Douglas has met with the Rev. Leighton, the officers of the parish, and the vestry of St. Paul’s to discuss how the present congregation of St. Paul’s can be faithful to their theological commitments within the structure of The Episcopal Church.  Bishop Douglas has outlined that all Eucharistic communities in the Diocese need to maintain a relationship with a bishop of The Episcopal Church, participate in the life of the wider Church including diocesan councils and committees, and contribute financially to the work of the diocese.  To that end, Bishop Douglas has offered St. Paul’s, Darien the possibility of Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight (DEPO) by which another bishop of The Episcopal Church who is more theologically aligned with St. Paul’s oversees the parish at the invitation of the Bishop of Connecticut.

Bishop Douglas has been working closely with the Rt. Rev. William H. Love, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany to offer pastoral oversight to St. Paul’s.  On October 19th, 2011 Bishops Douglas and Love met with the rector and vestry of St. Paul’s to consider the possibilities of Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight for the parish.  Specific steps were offered by which the people of St. Paul’s could maintain their relationship with The Diocese of Connecticut.

Nonetheless, on October 27, St. Paul's rector and vestry filed a lawsuit with the Connecticut Superior Court against the Diocese of Connecticut and The Episcopal Church. The Diocese of Connecticut believes that the lawsuit is misguided and asks the court to resolve a dispute where none exists; and that the lawsuit appears to ask the court to give its opinion on ecclesiastical questions that are not appropriate or necessary for it to consider, such as whether the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut and The Episcopal Church are part of the Anglican Communion.

Surprised by the legal action, Bishop Douglas responded: “I am shocked and saddened that the ordained and lay leaders of St. Paul’s, Darien have decided at this point to sue the Diocese and The Episcopal Church; especially as I am laboring so hard to find a way for them to remain in The Episcopal Church.  Still, I believe that the love of Jesus can redeem even the most difficult of circumstances and so I will continue to work with Bishop Love and the leadership of St. Paul’s to try and effect a Delegated Episcopal Pastoral Oversight arrangement as soon as possible.”

A 2005 suit by the same parish is described here.

Confronting The Gaystapo

"Having forcibly – and understandably – rectified the Versailles-type injustices and humiliations foisted on the homosexual community, the UK’s victorious Gaystapo are now on a roll. Their gay-rights storm troopers take no prisoners as they annex our wider culture, and hotel owners (here) and (here), registrars (here), magistrates (here), doctors (here), counsellors (here) and (here), foster parents (here), grandparents (here), adoption agencies (here) and traditional street preachers (here) and (here) find themselves crushed under the pink jack-boot."

That's how Alan Craig starts an article published in The Church of England Newspaper. The Church of England Newspaper has no official status, besides being offensive from time to time.

Medical Schools Neglect Gay and Gender Issues

NY Times reports:

Researchers from the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Medical Education Research Group at Stanford University School of Medicine surveyed medical school deans in the United States and Canada and asked about the curriculum devoted to topics like gender identity, coming out as gay and disparities in health care access for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender patients. While nearly all the students were learning to ask patients about the gender of their sexual partners, a majority of medical schools devoted only five hours to teaching anything more than that simple question. Fully one-third of schools allotted no time at all.

“These results should serve as a call to action for the health profession to include L.G.B.T. health as part of the standard curriculum,” said Dr. Desiray Bailey, an anesthesiologist and president of the Gay and Lesbian Medical Association.

See Gene on Rachel's TV Show Tonight

The Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson is scheduled to be on be on Rachel Maddow's show tonight toward the end of the hour - he is expected to be talking about Occupy Wall Street.

Church rift widens as aide attacks bishop over handling of St Paul's protest

A senior aide to the Archbishop of Canterbury has ridiculed the Bishop of London over his handling of the St Paul's protest.

An email sent from an official close to Rowan Williams expressed dismay over Dr Richard Chartres's role in the crisis and accused him of presiding over a public relations disaster.

The message, seen by the Evening Standard, is further evidence of a growing rift at the top of the Church of England over the Occupy London protest camp on St Paul's doorstep.

MORE

Liturgical tradition's return planned in New Haven

To fill that spiritual hole, as well as other pastoral needs of the neighborhood, Christ Church and the ministry interns of its St. Hilda's House program are trying to bring the liturgical tradition back to the Hill, to Church of the Ascension at Howard Avenue and Lamberton Street.

The main goal is to meet both practical and spiritual needs and to help heal the "sense of hurt and abandonment that so many churches have pulled out of here," Hendrickson said.

"We began to ask people, 'What do you need in the neighborhood?'" said Hendrickson, who has handed out cards for people to list their prayer requests. A branch of New Haven Reads now meets in the parish house behind the church, and Hendrickson said people have asked for classes in English as a second language and training to earn their high school equivalency diplomas.

MORE

Value and Values: Perceptions of Ethics in the City Today

St Pauls Institute has finally issued their report: Value and Values: Perceptions of Ethics in the City Today.

Professionals in the Financial Services sector believe that City bond traders, FTSE Chief Executives and stock brokers are paid too much, teachers are paid too little and that there is too great a gap between rich and poor in the UK, according to a survey carried out by ComRes on behalf of St Paul's Institute.

Marking the 25th anniversary of the financial 'Big Bang', the survey also indicates that the majority of Financial Services professionals do not know that the London Stock Exchange's motto is 'My Word is My Bond' and many think that deregulation of financial markets results in less ethical behaviour.
The survey of 515 professionals working in the Financial Services sector in London carried out online by ComRes between 30th August and 12th September 2011 also found that:

· The majority of FS professional think that bankers, stock brokers, FTSE 100 chief executives, lawyers and city bond traders are paid too much.
· 'Salary and bonuses' are the most important motivation for professionals working in the FS sector in London for 2 in 3 (64%) participants. 'Enjoyment of the work' comes a distant second.
· 75% agree that there is too great a gap between rich and poor.
· Only 14% of respondents correctly indicated the motto of the London Stock Exchange ("My Word is My Bond").
· Many are not familiar with what happened after the financial 'Big Bang':
1 in 3 disagree that the financial markets were deregulated
More than two-thirds (69%) did not know that the financial Big Bang happened in 1986.
· The majority of respondents feel that their companies maintain high ethical standards that are broadly in line with their personal moral standards.

Commenting on the survey Revd Michael Hampel, Canon Precentor of St Paul's Cathedral, said:

"Action is a crucial goal of the protest camp outside St Paul's Cathedral. We hope that the telling findings of this report can provide a solid foundation for future engagement and highlight issues where action might be of mutual concern for all sides of the debate."

This report can be downloaded in full here.

Catholic Official Who Linked Gays to Devil Resigns

Daniel Avila, who worked on policy and research for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, resigned — possibly under pressure — after he wrote a newspaper column that linked same-sex behavior to Satan. Advocate

Church of England vetoes services of blessing for same-sex couples

The Church of England has warned its clergy not to register same-sex relationships, following government confirmation that places of worship can host civil partnership ceremonies from next month.

Gay and lesbian couples can, from 5 December, celebrate their big day in religious premises opting into a new scheme. But there is no obligation on religious groups to take part in the initiative. MORE

How St Paul's protesters rocked Church of England leaders

Within days, two of the big four had resigned and a third was questioning the meaning of his faith. Their beloved St Paul's was derided as a joke. But the inside story of their agony has not been told, until now.

What do clergy who have resigned do next?

Riazat Butt has an interesting article in the UK Guardian that begins:

Giles Fraser and Graeme Knowles weren't just leaving their salaries when they announced their resignation over the Occupy London farrago. They were walking away from their homes and better financial and material security than mere mortals can ever hope for. In addition to their salaries and pensions, the two senior figures at St Paul's Cathedral enjoyed rent-free housing. So what happens now they've stepped down?

City lets protesters stay at St Paul's until Christmas

Protesters camped outside St Paul's Cathedral have been given permission by the Square Mile's governing body to stay until the new year. @ UK Independent.

Ed Miliband: politicians must listen to the St Paul's Cathedral protesters

Ed Miliband says the protesters camped outside St Paul's Cathedral present a stark warning to the political classes and reflect a wider national crisis in confidence about the values of those in business and politics. Guardian.

NEW ZEALAND: Maori quash Anglican Covenant

By Taonga staff, November 04, 2011

[Anglican Taonga] The Anglican Covenant is all but dead in the water in the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand & Polynesia, following a crucial vote by Tikanga Maori at its biennial runanganui (synod or convention) in Ohinemutu on Nov. 4.

The covenant will still come before the province's General Synod in July 2012, but a decision to accept it requires a majority vote in all three houses – lay, clergy and bishops – and by all three tikanga, or cultural streams: Maori, Pakeha and Pasifika.

The Nov. 4 decision effectively binds all Maori representatives on General Synod to say no to the covenant, according to a news article from Anglican Taonga.

Two of the five Maori hui amorangi (dioceses) have already rejected the covenant, largely on the grounds that it could compromise Maori rangatiratanga (sovereignty).

Moving the resolution, Archdeacon Turi Hollis noted that the covenant applied at provincial level. "If one diocese makes a decision that another objects to – then the whole province will be held accountable," he said.

"We are being asked to conform to the standards of the rest of the world. Yet we have a constitution that the rest of the world does not understand.

"Would that have been agreed to had the covenant been in force?

"The proposed covenant is trying to impose on us something that should be based on relationship – onwhanaungatanga or manaakitanga."

Seconding the motion, the Rev. Don Tamihere said the covenant was not about homosexuality.

"It is about compliance and control. We are being asked to sign over our sovereignty, our rangatiratanga to an overseas group ... To a standing committee over whom we have no choice or control. And they have the power to recommend punishment," he said. "The proposed covenant offers us nothing new – or nothing we need as Anglicans, as Hahi Mihinare, or as disciples of Jesus Christ.

"We don't need it to have faith in Jesus Christ: We already have a covenant that binds us to our savior, Jesus Christ. And that is the only covenant we need."

Philip Charles said: "Over the years, the practice has been: If you disagree with the church, you leave. And those groups who have left have often withered and died. The covenant changes that. If you disagree with a group – you kick them out. I give it two thumbs down."

The Rev. Ngira Simmonds pointed out that to be Anglican means to be in relationship with people – even if you don't like them.

"We want this church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia to focus, instead, on acting for the restoration of justice."

The full story and resolution is available here.

Anti-gay campaigner says opponents are part of “Satan’s plan”

Peter LaBarbera, the founder of anti-gay campaign group Americans for Truth, claimed this week that the people who say he fosters a “climate of hate” are part of “Satan’s plan”. Pink News UK

Murdering St Paul's Cathedral

George Pitcher has an interesting explanation of why things went so terribly wrong when St. Paul's Cathedral in the UK first tried to deal with the issue of Occupy London of its doorstep. His church,  St Bride’s, stands at the foot of Ludgate Hill, perhaps 500 yards from the camp. The distinctive tower of St. Bride's - the Cathedral of Fleet Street - is at left. He lists a series of mistakes St. Paul's made and then details how the current Bishop of London Dr. Richard Chartes has started to sort things out.

"Dr Chartres is a man that most organisations under bombardment would want in their trench. He is battle-hardened in crisis management. When the terrorist bombs exploded in London on July 7 2005, he had clergy heading against the flow of evacuees and into the crime scenes to open churches as marshalling points for the emergency services," Pitchard writes. It is a jolly good read here at the UK's Telegraph   

Episcopal Church membership shows some regional growth, overall decline

Statistics mirror trends in U.S. Protestant membership

By Mary Frances Schjonberg, November 04, 2011

[Episcopal News Service] While membership in 16 of the Episcopal Church's domestic dioceses and eight of its non-domestic ones grew in 2010, recently released data shows that overall membership has declined.

The decrease is part of a trend that has seen membership decline by just more than 16 percent since 2000.

Membership in the Episcopal Church in 2010 was 2,125,012, with 1,951,907 in its domestic dioceses and 173,105 in the non-domestic dioceses, according to a report here. Membership in the church's domestic dioceses in 2009 was 2,006,343, showing a decrease of 54,436 in 2010.

The 16 U.S. dioceses that grew in the past year were Alabama, Arkansas, Atlanta, Central Gulf Coast, East Carolina, Iowa, Kentucky, Montana, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Navajoland, North Dakota, Northwest Texas, Oklahoma, Pittsburgh and Wyoming. The eight non-U.S. dioceses that grew in membership were the Convocation of Churches in Europe, Dominican Republic, Ecuador-Central, Haiti, Honduras, Micronesia, Puerto Rico and Taiwan.

St Martin's Episcopal Church in Houston had the largest number of active congregants with 8,406.

The average pledge was $2,346 in 2010, compared with $2,314 in 2009 and $1,948 five years ago. Overall plate and pledge income declined 1.2 percent in 2010, going to $1,273,709,000 from $1,289,458,871 in 2009.

The research shows that the average Sunday attendance across the church in 2010 was 657,831 in the United States. That compares to 856,579 in 2000. Average Sunday attendance in the non-U.S. dioceses grew in 2010 to 40,049, compared to 35,572 in 2003 (the first year the report lists non-domestic ASA). The 2010 non-domestic ASA is down 4.4 percent from 2009's total of 41,882.

Sixty-eight percent of Episcopal Church congregations have an average Sunday attendance of 100 or less and 286 of the church's 6,794 parishes and missions have an ASA of 10 or less. The median ASA is 65.

"These statistics reveal something very important about the challenges we face as a church," Bishop Stacy Sauls, the church's chief operating officer, said in a press release about the research reports from the Office of Public Affairs. "One of those is that we cannot allow statistics like this to make us anxious about our survival. Earthly survival is not much a value of the Gospel. Striving for the kingdom and righteous of God is. Concentrating on the latter is likely to yield more abundant life than the former (Mt. 6:31-33)."

Sauls said that the statistics also show that "we cannot continue to pretend we are the church of the establishment entitled to the power, prestige and privilege that comes with that."

"Right now, I think the cross calls us to die to those trappings of our old establishment life, and that means turning our attention single-mindedly to God's mission and our participation in it, which means that we are going to have to restructure and reform ourselves accordingly," he said. "Churches that turn inward will die. Churches that turn outward will not only live, but thrive. The numbers call us to strengthen our commitment to turn outward."

The decrease in Episcopal Church membership reflects a trend across most other Protestant denominations. In 2008, the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life's U.S. Religious Landscape Survey reported (that its research and that of other scholars shows "the proportion of the population that is Protestant has declined markedly in recent decades while the proportion of the population that is not affiliated with any particular religion has increased significantly."

Just more than 16 percent of American adults are not affiliated with any particular religious group, the survey found.

The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America reports that its 2010 membership of 4,272,688 is a decrease of 270,349 from 2009. ELCA membership has declined every year since 1988 when there were 5,288,048 members. The 2010 decline of 5.95 percent is largest in those 22 years. There were 11,133 congregations in 1988 and 10,008 in 2010.

The Presbyterian Church USA reports that at the end of 2010 it had experienced a net loss of 61,047 members from 2009 (-2.9 percent) and a net loss of 97 congregations. There were 10,560 congregations and 2,016,091 members at the end of 2010. Total contributions for 2010 were $2,027,479,202, a loss of $74,516,440 (3.5 percent) over 2009. The average contribution per member in reporting congregations was $1,122.29.

The current membership reflects a net loss of 509,239 members, or about 20.2 percent, over the last 10 years, according to the PCUSA website. There were 11,178 congregations in 2000, 618 more than in 2010. Fifty-two percent of Presbyterian congregations have 100 or fewer members.

The United Methodist Church said earlier this year that its U.S. membership had declined while the number of Methodists in Africa, Europe and Asia grew from 3.5 million to 4.4 million in the five years ending in 2009. U.S. professing membership in 2009 was down 1.22 percent from 2008, to a 7.8 million members, according to data from the United Methodist Council on Finance and Administration. Overall UMC membership stood at 12 million in 2009, making it the third largest denomination in the United States behind the Roman Catholic Church and the Southern Baptist Convention.

-- The Rev. Mary Frances Schjonberg is an editor/reporter for the Episcopal News Service.

"Alarm bells are ringing all over the world. St Paul's has now heard that call."

The Bishop of London, Dr Richard Chartres said: "The alarm bells are ringing all over the world. St Paul's has now heard that call.

"Today's decision means that the doors are most emphatically open to engage with matters concerning not only those encamped around the cathedral but millions of others in this country and around the globe."

Members of the Chapter met representatives from the protest camp this morning in a bid to engage "directly and constructively with both the protesters and the moral and ethical issues they wish to address, without the threat of forcible eviction hanging over both the camp and the church", a spokesman for the cathedral said.

The Bishop has invited investment banker Ken Costa, formerly chairman of UBS Europe and chairman of Lazard International, to spearhead an initiative which aims to reconnect the financial with the ethical.
Mr Costa will be supported by a number of City, Church and public figures, including Dr Giles Fraser, who resigned as the chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral last week. MORE @ UK Independent

London Cathedral Stops Legal Action Against Protesters

LONDON — St. Paul’s Cathedral has suspended legal action to evict hundreds of anti-capitalist protesters camped outside its doors, according to a statement on Tuesday. MORE

Protesters To Be Given 48 Hours To Move Tents From St Paul's Or Face Eviction

The City of London Corporation will hand over a letter warning the group that it has 48 hours to clear its campsite or High Court action will be taken to secure their eviction.

On Monday the row claimed another victim as the cathedral's Dean, the Right Rev Graeme Knowles, resigned saying his position was "untenable". His departure followed those of Canon Chancellor of St Paul's Giles Fraser and part-time chaplain Fraser Dyer. MORE

The Bullying Academy, a Web-based Program for Schools, Takes Aim at a Social Epidemic

Developed by a NYU law school student who is openly gay, The Bullying Academy is quickly becoming the tool of choice by schools to teach students how to recognize bullying and cyber-bullying, and what to do about it
As an openly gay young man, Tommy Walser, currently a New York University Law School student, watched in shock and anger as it seemed like every week a new suicide was being committed due to bullying and cyber-bullying. He states, "Cyber-cruelty is rapidly increasing in volume and complexity because adolescents and teens are never taught how to act responsibly and appropriately while communicating online or via other electronic devices."

Enter The Bullying Academy (www.bullyingacademy.com), which Tommy Walser created as a free online resource that is quickly becoming the leading web-based, interactive program designed to help parents, students and teachers deal with the dangers associated with bullying and cyber-bullying.

Tommy, now 23, is proud of his sexuality, but growing up it was a different story.  He admits that as an adolescent and teen, he was picked on by others for being "different."  He decided to channel his experience into something positive by creating a program to educate kids before bullying reaches a critical point.

The Bullying Academy does not require any additional software or extensive training. Schools register with the organization's website and students immediately have access to the program. The Bullying Academy provides a professionally developed curriculum and grade appropriate content to engage students through a scavenger hunt composed of lessons and learning links, as well as utilizing quizzes which function as assessments.  The program has been designed with a pre- and post-quiz so that participants can measure what was learned about bullying and its ramifications.

There are also contests for schools that participate, whereby the winning school gets a trophy, pizza party and certificate for the teacher. Any students who complete the program will also receive a diploma that ranges from gold to bronze depending on score. Students learn:


   --  How to avoid violence while standing up for each other
   --  How to properly respond and report bullying
   --  How to recognize the short- and long-term effects of bullying on victims
       and bullies
   --  What bullies look for in victims
   --  Characteristics and risk factors common to bullies

Dean of St Paul's Cathedral Quits

The Dean of St Paul's Cathedral, the Rt Rev Graeme Knowles, announced his intention to resign from his post this afternoon. He made his decision known to the Chapter and to the Bishop of London last night and has removed himself from Cathedral operations with immediate effect. He intended to submit his resignation as Dean of St Paul’s to HM the Queen today.
In the light of the Dean's resignation, the Chapter has unanimously voted to request the Bishop of London to assist them in providing an independent voice on the ongoing situation at St Paul's. The Bishop has had no part to date in the discussions and decisions made by Chapter and it is felt his input is now required.

The Rt Rev Graeme Knowles said:
"The past fortnight has been a testing time for the Chapter and for me personally. It has become increasingly clear to me that, as criticism of the cathedral has mounted in the press, media and in public opinion, my position as Dean of St Paul’s was becoming untenable. In order to give the opportunity for a fresh approach to the complex and vital questions facing St Paul’s, I have thought it best to stand down as dean, to allow new leadership to be exercised. I do this with great sadness, but I now believe that I am no longer the right person to lead the Chapter of this great cathedral.
"This has not been an easy decision for me to make, at this stage in my ministry, as I have very much enjoyed being at St Paul’s as dean. I am immensely grateful to the current members of the Chapter, both ordained and lay, as well as previous colleagues, for their help, support and encouragement, but above all, their friendship.
"I would also wish to place on record my thanks to all the staff of the cathedral, both paid and volunteers, who work tirelessly, day by day, to ensure that this amazing place is maintained, and that it is indeed cherished as a place of worship and pilgrimage.
"In recent days, since the arrival of the protesters’ camp outside the cathedral, we have all been put under a great deal of strain and have faced what would appear to be some insurmountable issues. I hope and pray that under new leadership these issues might continue to be addressed and that there might be a swift and peaceful resolution.”

The Right Reverend Michael Colclough said (on behalf of Chapter):
On behalf of the Chapter and the whole cathedral community here at St Paul’s, I would like to pay tribute to the dedication, diligence and pastoral care shown by Graeme Knowles during his time as Dean.
We received news of his resignation yesterday evening with a heavy heart after one of the most challenging weeks in the recent history of this great Cathedral. Graeme has led the Chapter and the Cathedral with enormous vitality, wisdom and fun. His time at St Paul’s has energised and encouraged us all by his unique, approachable way of combining focused leadership with a pastoral heart. This combination has also made him a widely-loved ambassador for the Christian faith and for the work of St Paul’s.. We will miss him deeply.
He has led the Chapter with conviction out of a sense of real responsibility entrusted to his care, not least in recent days. He has also represented the Cathedral in the City, the Diocese and the wider Church with a clear awareness of the importance of this great dome as a symbol of a Christian presence in the heart of the City. His clear belief in an inclusive Gospel of peace, justice and integrity should, at this moment, not be lost. It should be acknowledged and confirmed.
Cathedral staff and volunteers, currently being told of his resignation, will tell you of their respect for him and that he goes out of his way to make people feel appreciated and valued.
We would like to pay tribute to his wife Susan, too. The absence of her modest and strengthening presence amongst us at the Cathedral will be felt by everyone here. Together Graeme and Susan have enlarged the Cathedral with their generosity and incredibly tireless hard work for our ministry alongside the many diverse peoples, institutions and charities we have privilege and challenge of serving.
It is that ministry that remains the Chapter’s priority in these difficult days and we are committed to doing all we can to finding a way ahead that ensures the main message of the protest is not only heard but properly attended to and in such a way that people in the local community, as well as our own team, can do their work peacefully for the good of everyone who comes to this City and its cathedral.

Dr Richard Chartres, The Bishop of London, said:
"I was very sad to hear the Dean’s decision and believe he has acted honourably in a very difficult situation. During his time at St Paul’s, Graeme has accomplished a great deal that should not be overshadowed by recent events.
"The Chapter has now requested me to help them find a way forward. I have repeated over the past few weeks my own desire to shift the attention to the economic and moral challenges which our country, in common with so much of the rest of the world, is having to face. There are many diverse voices in the camp outside St Paul’s but among them, serious issues are being articulated which the Cathedral has always sought to address.
"While St Paul’s is not on any particular political side – that is not its role – it does have an important part to play in providing a place for reasoned debate within a moral and spiritual context."

Dean who shut St Paul's resigns: second cleric quits over 'tent city' protest

St Paul's was in crisis this afternoon after the dean of the cathedral sensationally resigned over his handling of the "tent city" protest.

The Rt Rev Graeme Knowles's decision was described as a "tragedy" by the Bishop of London who is stepping in to help the cathedral "find a way forward".

Dean Knowles is the second senior high-ranking Church of England cleric to step down over the issue. MORE

Church aims to fill spiritual void (video)

In order to fill that spiritual hole, as well as other pastoral needs of the neighborhood, Christ Church and the ministry interns of its St. Hilda’s House program are trying to bring the liturgical tradition back to the Hill, to Church of the Ascension at Howard Avenue and Lamberton Street.

The main goal is to meet both practical and spiritual needs and to help heal the “sense of hurt and abandonment that so many churches have pulled out of here,” Hendrickson said.

“We began to ask people, ‘What do you need in the neighborhood?’” said Hendrickson, who has handed out cards for people to list their prayer requests. A branch of New Haven Reads now meets in the parish house behind the church, and Hendrickson said people have asked for classes in English as a second language and training to earn their high school equivalency diplomas.

It is also a way for the interns of St. Hilda’s House to see if parish ministry is right for them. While living together as a community, the young people volunteer with church-related or other nonprofit programs to determine whether they will pursue clerical or lay ministry. Full Story @ New Haven Register

Occupy London could be protected by Christian ring of prayer

Christian groups have drawn up plans to protect protesters by forming a ring of prayer around the camp outside St Paul's Cathedral, should an attempt be made to forcibly remove them.

As the storm of controversy over the handling of the Occupy London Stock Exchange demonstration deepened on Saturday, Christian activists said it was their duty to stand up for peaceful protest in the absence of support from St Paul's. One Christian protester, Tanya Paton, said: "We represent peace, unity and love. A ring of prayer is a wonderful symbol." MORE

St Paul's is a national problem

What an extraordinary historical accident that the London Stock Exchange should have taken space in the new Paternoster Square office block seven years ago. Thus it was that, when the Occupy movement tried to invade what it thought was the hub of capitalism two weekends ago, it found itself on the steps of the best-known church in Britain. It being a Saturday, the hub of capitalism was closed and, Paternoster Square being private property, the police prevented the protesters from putting up their tents there.

Unintentionally, therefore, a protest against the greed of the City of London also became a separate, if related, and more engaging, debate about our national morality and the role of our established church. Although the American style of evangelical teaching – "What would Jesus do?" – puts many Anglicans' teeth on edge, the echoes of the New Testament are so strong that many Christians find themselves drawn to the tent people. Indeed, in engaging the sympathies of many non-church people, too, the biblical parallel is more effective than the message of the "99 per cent" against the establishment. Had the protesters camped out by the dealers' desks in the stock exchange itself, they would have attracted much less interest and support. The dispute would have been between some people in an office and a bunch of squatters. Instead, it has become a parable. MORE

Related articles

• Exclusive: Cover-up at St Paul's
• Authorities' impatience with Occupy movement grows
• Laurie Penny and Joan Smith: Debating the anti-capitalism protests
• 'Ring of prayer' plan to protect camp site
• Margareta Pagano: Is narcissism the new capitalism?

St. Pauls, CofE Stumble over Occupy Movement

Catherine Mayer of Time has written London Protestors 1 God 0: Anti-Capitalism Camp Scores PR Victory Against St Paul’s

Evening Standard last night: A loose Canon, his Bishop, the Dean and unholy war at St Paul’s
Nick Curtis on how the creators of BBC2 sitcom rev might have written up the theological storm of the past days…

AN Wilson C of E has lost the plot over the St Paul’s camp
The camp outside St Paul’s Cathedral has been a public relations disaster for the Church of England.

Independent this morning
Paul Cahalan and Jerome Taylor God vs Mammon: Britain takes sides

As St Paul’s reopens its doors, the City of London and the cathedral launch legal actions to evict demonstrators, another clergyman resigns in dismay, David Cameron threatens legislation to ban protest camps – and the Archbishop of Canterbury…says nothing.

Telegraph
Tim Walker Canon Mark Oakley considers his position at St Paul’s cathedral

The Rev Dr Giles Fraser’s resignation as Canon Chancellor of St Paul’s over the cathedral’s muddled response to the demonstrators on its doorstep looks unlikely to be the last.
Mandrake is reliably informed that another senior figure in the hierarchy of St Paul’s, Canon Mark Oakley, its affable Canon Treasurer as well as a well-known author and broadcaster, is this weekend wrestling with his conscience.
“I voted the same way as Giles at Chapter as I couldn’t vote for any course of action that might lead at some point to violent behaviour,” Oakley, 43, tells me.

Guardian
Lucy Mangan St Paul’s – embrace your new flock
‘When you’re dealing with protesters who bring their own portable loos, what’s the worst that can happen?’

Stephen Bates St Paul’s Cathedral resumes normal service after week of rancour (longer version of yesterday’s report)

Marina Hyde Jesus may be with Occupy London, but St Paul would have sided with health and safety
The cathedral’s namesake was a sucker for authority – as the church is and ever was.

More @ www.thinkinganglicans.org.uk 

"Putting the Protest Back in Protestant"

Diana Butler Bass writes that its time for the Protestant churches to remember their heritage. Especially so as many will be celebrating Reformation Day on Nov. 1 (in commemoration of Martin Luther's posting of the 95 Theses on the door of Wittenburg Castle Church). But as she notes, the majority of American Protestants have forgotten the meaning of their name. MORE

Shame on St. Paul's: Is This What Jesus Would DO?

Statement from the Dean and Chapter (28 October 2011)

The Rt. Rev. Graeme Knowles,
Dean of St Paul's Cathedral

The Chapter has previously asked the encampment to leave the cathedral precinct in peace. This has not yet happened and so, following the advice of our lawyers, legal action has regrettably become necessary. Email: reception@stpaulscathedral.org.uk

The Chapter only takes this step with the greatest reluctance and remains committed to a peaceful solution. At each step of the legal process the Chapter will continue to entreat the protesters to agree to a peaceful solution and, if an injunction is granted, will then be able to discuss with the protesters how to reach this solution.

Theirs is a message that the Chapter has both heard and shares and looks forward to engaging with the protesters to identify how the message may continue to be debated at St Paul’s and acted upon.

Canon of St Paul's: church cannot answer peaceful protest with violence

In his first interview since his resignation, the Reverend Giles Fraser says he was unable to reconcile his conscience with the breakup of the Occupy London camp.

The canon chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral, the Reverend Giles Fraser, spoke on Thursday about his reasons for resigning over the cathedral's stance towards the protest camp which has been established over the past two weeks.

"I cannot support using violence to ask people to clear off the land," Fraser told the Guardian. "It is not about my sympathies or what I believe about the camp. I support the right to protest and in a perfect world we could have negotiated. But our legal advice was that this would have implied consent." Full story @ the Guardian. 

Occupy London anger after resignation of St Paul's Cathedral canon

Activists react to Giles Fraser's exit and call on Archbishop of Canterbury to speak out in favour of the movement

Asked what he made of the Rev Dr Giles Fraser, the 28-year-old Anonymous activist was unequivocal: "He's stood by his principles all this time. He stood by what the Christian faith is supposed to be about. The church is meant to be there to help people and he's stood by us." Near where Woodwards was sitting, a green tent and a white banner both asked the same question: "What would Jesus do?"
As news of Fraser's departure spread , anger descended on a camp that has sat stubbornly, but generally happily, outside St Paul's for nearly two weeks. MORE

St Paul's Cathedral canon resigns

Giles Fraser quits over plans to forcibly remove Occupy London Stock Exchange protesters from outside cathedral

The canon chancellor of St Paul's Cathedral, the Rev Dr Giles Fraser, has resigned in protest at plans to forcibly remove protesters from its steps, saying he could not support the possibility of "violence in the name of the church".

Speculation grew in the last 24 hours that Fraser, a leading leftwing voice in the Church of England, would resign because he could not sanction the use of police or bailiffs against the hundreds of activists who have set up camp in the grounds of the cathedral in the past fortnight.

Just after 9am on Thursday, Fraser tweeted: "It is with great regret and sadness that I have handed in my notice at St Paul's Cathedral."

In a statement to the Guardian, Fraser, who was appointed canon in May 2009, confirmed his resignation, saying: "I resigned because I believe that the chapter has set on a course of action that could mean there will be violence in the name of the church."

MORE

• Giles Fraser interview: Church cannot answer peaceful protest with violence

Exclusion of gay couples sinks Marriage Encounter in Connecticut

A motion at the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut's convention has postponed "indefinitely" adoption of the Roman Catholic based "Marriage Encounter" program based on concerns it is not open to same gender couples.

The full text of the convention report is as follows:

Resolution #11: Diocesan Commitment to Marriage Encounter Movement: POSTPONED INDEFINITELY


The presenter stressed how the movement can help families, and convention sought to know alternatives to the current Marriage Encounter Movement, which is run by the Roman Catholic Church and does not allow gay or lesbian married couples to participate. The resolution was postponed to allow time to learn of alternatives."

Earlier the Convention approved a resolution asking their bishop to allow clergy to officiate at the marriage of same sex couples:

Resolution #6: Permitting the clergy of the Diocese of Connecticut to voluntarily officiate marriages of same sex couples: PASSED AS AMENDED

As anticipated this was much-debated and there was concern over its reach and impact. An amendment to change "permit" to "may permit" passed, as did an amendment adding "acting as legal agents of the State" to the sentence about officiating. An amendment calling for the next General Convention to propose gender-neutral language in marriage rites did not pass. There was a call to vote each resolve separately. Both passed.

Final language: RESOLVED: That the 227th Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut urges the Bishop of Connecticut to acknowledge that there are people living in same-gender relationships of mutuality and fidelity who want to be married by their clergy; and be it further

RESOLVED: That the Bishop of this Diocese may permit the clergy of the Diocese to determine the appropriate generous pastoral response to meet the needs of the members of his or her own local eucharistic community, including officiating at weddings of same-sex couples and acting as legal agents of the State in signing marriage licenses.

Property litigation involving Episcopal Diocese is over

By Ann Rodgers in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Eight years of property litigation involving the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh has ended, but most parishes that broke from the Episcopal Church still face negotiations over their buildings.After the Pennsylvania Supreme Court last week denied an appeal from the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh, which had argued that it owned the property, the Anglican decided diocese it will not appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, spokesman David Trautman said.
"This whole string of litigation is ended, is done," he said.
The lawsuit was filed in 2003 by Calvary Episcopal Church, Shadyside, whose leaders believed that Bishop Robert Duncan and many others might leave the denomination and try to take property. According to the Episcopal canons, all property -- including parish buildings -- is held in trust for the denomination.
The split occurred in 2008, when the majority at the diocesan convention voted to leave the Episcopal Church. Those who wished to remain Episcopalians immediately chose new leaders and continued that diocese. The Anglican diocese argued that it was the legitimate heir to the Episcopal Church property.
"We accept that the courts have not found in our favor and will, of course, comply with all court orders," Anglican Archbishop Duncan wrote last week.

'A chauffeur-driven bishop, and a Church that refuses sanctuary'

Mark Donne writes:

The most senior cleric to intervene so far is the Bishop of London, the Rt Hon Dr Richard Chartres, whose private residence happens to be opposite the square the protesters occupy. Dr Chartres is the primary representative of the Church in the Royal Court. He has announced he would like the protesters to leave, but has made not a single mention of safety.
Dr Chartres is renowned for his conservative political outlook, and has been criticised for his "chauffeur-driven lifestyle". Despite his professed fondness for the Oyster card, in the most recent year for which records are available he spent more than £17,000 on a private car and chauffeur. The Bishop and others in the church are entitled to a comfortable lifestyle and their own political standpoints, but when the central message of the church is called into question in a time of unparalleled greed and growing inequality, should it not do more to side publicly with the 99 per cent of the population who do not share the wealth of the few?

MORE 

Cathedral may be set to reopen, but the bitterness over the Church's attitude to protesters has deepened

St Paul's had been forced to close on Friday because of health and safety issues, the Dean said, though the cathedral refused to make public that advice or say who gave it.

Richard Chartres, the Bishop of London and third most senior cleric in the Church of England, echoed the call, saying the protesters "should leave". But one of the cathedral's chapter members, Canon Giles Fraser, was understood to have threatened to resign if the church tried to rid its grounds of the demonstrators.

His views echoed many of those in the church who felt the demonstration, campaigning against corporate greed and for a better distribution of wealth, seemed a perfect fit with Christian teaching.

Richard Harries, Baron Harries of Pentregarth, the former Bishop of Oxford, who sits in the House of Lords, said the decision to close the cathedral was "sad and mistaken". "Capitalism at the moment is working against the most vulnerable."  MORE

Update: St Paul's Cathedral set to reopen after Occupy London shuffles tents

The Dean of this cathedral is making  fool of himself.

St Paul's Cathedral is expected to reopen on Friday, in spite of its earlier claims that an anti-capitalist protest camp posed a "grave danger" to staff and visitors.

His latest announcement is all the more surprising given his strenuous assertions a week ago that the camp was a clear fire hazard.

Clergy at St Paul's have been divided over what action to take against the protest. Its canon chancellor, Giles Fraser, reportedly vowed to resign in the event of any use of force to remove protesters. He was unavailable for comment. MORE

St. Paul's Cathedral makes a bigger mess

From The Episcopal Cafe: 

The leadership of St. Paul's Cathedral, London, seems to be heading down the march of folly with their decision to ask the protesters to cease their protest so that the Cathedral can reopen:

From The Guardian (UK)

This rather messy and absurd situation has handed the dean and chapter of St Paul's a truly historic opportunity to discredit Christianity in this country. They seem determined to take it. They should think, and stop.The dean and chapter appear to have decided that health and safety considerations mean they must be rid of the makeshift camp. These grounds are frankly risible. Pretending otherwise compounds the first mistake, which was to shut the cathedral altogether, rather than expose visitors to the sight and smells of a couple of hundred
protesters. A cathedral isn't really there for the tourists, even if it can charge visitors £14.50, as St Paul's does. It is a place for prayer and worship. The congregations who come for these, the real purposes of the building, should remember that Jesus talked to
publicans and tax collectors. He might even have talked to merchant bankers. He would certainly have talked to the protesters camped outside.
Aspects of the protest camp are silly and rather squalid. But it still represents a profound and important moral revulsion which the Church of England needs to take seriously. These aren't the usual Spartist suspects. The sense that there is something outrageous, unjust and absurd about the world of modern finance has spread across the whole political and religious spectrum. Even Pope Benedict XVI has reinforced his predecessor's teaching with a demand that the markets of the world be brought under human control. The Church of England needs to be part of this discussion, for its own sake and for the sake of the country. And that is done far more effectively by theatre and by conversation than by lecturing or even preaching. It is no use having clever bishops saying clever things that no one listens to. Here at St Paul's right now, there is a chance to catch the attention of millions of people who would never listen to a bishop or recognise a Dean without a Torvill.
The protesters aren't right about everything. A lot of the time they aren't even coherent enough to be wrong. But the role of the church is to talk with them and to find out how their sense of injustice at the present slump can be refined and educated and brought out into the wider conversation. The cathedral has a chance to take Marx's taunt about religion being "the heart of a heartless world" and try to make it true, and valuable. It must not fumble this.

And, from David Allen Green at The New Statesman:

Closing the doors at St. Paul's Cathedral
How seriously is the Cathedral taking health and safety concerns?

This response of the protesters warrants careful reading, as it indicates what appears to be a serious flaw in the Cathedral's position. On the one hand, it is contended that the health and safety concerns are so serious, they required the closure of the Cathedral and nothing less. But, on the other hand, the Cathedral is refusing to provide any information to the protesters so as to allow those supposed health and safety concerns to be properly addressed since the time the Cathedral closed its doors.It would almost seem as if the Dean and Chapter, with a health and safety report in their hands, looked down the steps of St Paul's at the protesters and, rather than sharing the content of the report with those who could be affected, chose to close the Cathedral doors instead.
The position of the Cathedral seems to be a hopeless muddle. Few, if any, of the contentions advanced actually explain the two crucial decisions made -- to close the Cathedral to all visitors and to then not engage with the protesters in respect of health and safety. The revealing back story to these decisions is that before Thursday last week the Cathedral was in fact dealing with the protesters directly, and on the Wednesday there was a wide-ranging meeting where variety of health and safety concerns were discussed, and constructive solutions agreed. Attending the meeting were those directly charged with maintenance and safety of the building. It was only after what appeared to be this successful and practical exercise in identifying and managing risks that the Dean and Chapter then moved to close down the Cathedral completely and to break off further engagement with the protesters. It seemed the mood of the Cathedral changed overnight on Wednesday and Thursday of last week.

Rediscover the Seven Sundays of Advent

The Rev. Cannon Frank Logue, Canon for Congregational Missionaries in the Diocese of Georgia, has wn interesting idea. We quote:

Historically, the season of Advent was the seven Sundays leading up to Christmas, with the days in between. Currently, and in an unbroken tradition that is centuries old, those in Eastern Orthodox churches celebrate seven Sundays of Advent. The readings in the RCL do not have to be changed to observe this longer season of preparation for both the first coming in Bethlehem or Christ’s second coming at the end of time. In fact, the readings in these last three Sundays of the church year are designed for a longer Advent. One goal of this move is to reclaim the time for preaching and teaching about the second coming as was traditionally part of the season and remains so in truncated form now.
Last year, I led the congregation of King of Peace, Kingsland, in an experiment. Together with six other congregations in the US and Canada, we expanded Advent to its historic length. We used Rite II Prayer B Penitential Eucharist. The prayers of the people are changed weekly, adapted from those in Liturgy Training Publication’sIntercessions for the People. We used a seasonal blessing for Advent from the Book of Occasional Services. We also used liturgist Bill Petersen’s seven Advent collects written for this project (which I can send to interested persons).
In previous years, we has an Advent wreath on the way into worship and replaced that with a seven candle stand to show the same season is lengthened. We do not have a choir and music is by piano except on fourth Sundays when it is guitars, dulcimer and drum. I used O Come, O Come Emmanuel in the spot of a hymn of praising with verses 1 and 2 in week one, verses 1 and 3 in week two and so on.
Preaching reflected seasonal themes found in the texts each week. Music was a huge challenge, but we made it work. This needs improving over time. Some hymns from the Lutheran Book of Worship helped us expand available music on the fly.

More by


THE BLOG OF THE REV. CANON FRANK LOGUE, CANON TO THE ORDINARY FOR THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF GEORGIA

Much has changed for gay and lesbian Catholics in L.A.

"In the last 25 years, Ponnet said, the church in Los Angeles has become more accepting of gays and lesbians and, in some parishes, his ministry has faded away as members have been absorbed into regular parish life. Still, those at Saturday's Mass said the ministry was still needed, in part to educate the church, in part to show gay Catholics who have fallen away that they have a place to return.

Talk at the Mass wasn't so much of living up to church doctrine as changing it." More @ LA Times

Peter Popham: A cathedral turns its back on the people

The protesters outside St Paul's are demanding an end to the reign of naked greed over our lives. It is a proposal in which one would expect Christians of conviction to play an active part. By turning them away, St Paul's has indicated that, whatever the church's spiritual message, for those who run the place its fabric is more important. That's a bureaucratic way of saying, yes, God is dead. Full column 

Executive Council submits General Convention resolution saying church is 'unable to adopt Anglican Covenant'

[Episcopal News Service – Salt Lake City, Utah] The Episcopal Church's Executive Council will submit a resolution to General Convention next year that would have it state that the church is "unable to adopt the Anglican Covenant in its present form."
The resolution also promises that the church will "recommit itself to dialogue with the several provinces when adopting innovations which may be seen as threatening the unity of the communion" and commits to "continued participation in the wider councils of the Anglican Communion" and dialogue "with our brothers and sisters in other provinces to deepen understanding and to insure the continued integrity of the Anglican Communion."
The 77th meeting of General Convention July 5-12, 2012 will decide whether to pass, amend and pass, or reject the resolution. Convention is "the only body that can act on behalf of the whole church in this matter," Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said during a post-meeting press conference.
The unanimous decision to submit the resolution to convention came Oct. 24, on the last day of council's four-day meeting here.
A covenant task force, composed of six council members, based its recommendation to council in a report that is available in English here and Spanish here.
Jefferts Schori said the proposed resolution "goes on at significant length and with great care to remind Episcopalians and other Anglicans that we continue in solidarity, building missional partnerships, across the communion and that that is the way in which we understand our relationship – that we are bound to our brothers and sisters across the communion and we will continue to respect that."
Just after council's action on the covenant, the members passed a 2012 budget for the Episcopal Church that includes $1,178,066 in money to support missional work in the Anglican Communion and to help support the communion's administrative work.
Jefferts Schori noted that the reasons given in the report for being unable to adopt the covenant in its present form have to do with the Episcopal Church's Constitution and Canons. The task force's report noted that the Standing Commission on Constitution and Canons has said that to adopt the current version "would significantly alter our current understanding of what it means to be an autonomous province."
The presiding bishop said that the task force was also concerned "that all people of this church might be included in the life of the church."
House of Deputies President Bonnie Anderson suggested during her closing remarks to council that the communion could be better bound together by a commitment to the Five Marks of Mission, developed by theAnglican Consultative Council between 1984 and 1990, and the Covenant for Communion in Mission based on those "marks" and developed in 2005 by the Inter-Anglican Standing Commission on Mission and Evangelism and endorsed by the ACC. At Anderson's behest, the General Convention in 2009 called for the church's 2013-2015 budget to be centered on the Five Marks of Mission.
"I share with all of you a deep commitment to our sisters and brothers across the Anglican Communion and to the mission that binds us together," Anderson told the council. "I believe that the Five Marks of Mission are the covenant that will endure and strengthen our communion, and I am eager to continue the dialogue to which we have pledged ourselves and in which many of us are actively involved."
The task force's rationale for advocating the resolution, according to the report, begins with the fact that the Episcopal Church believes "when the church is faithful, the unity of the church is reflective of the unity that is in God, divinely ordered and discernable on the earth."
The Episcopal Church seeks to be faithful to that unity, the report continues, "by honoring the diversity of ministries in the Episcopal Church in multiple forms: our tradition of empowerment of all orders of ministry in governance; our identification of the interpretation of Scripture as the work of all Christian communities; and our heeding of the work of the Spirit in new understandings of how we are called to be in community and relationships."
The church's unity is "best expressed in our efforts to a church that fully welcomes those who have not always been welcomed," the report said.
"This understanding of who we are as a church does not allow the Executive Council to support any covenant that might jeopardize this vocation," the task force members said in the report.
"The covenant consistently ignores the importance of the role of the laity and their full expression of ministry in all spheres of the life of the church," the report said.
The task force members included those who were on the "extremes" of opinion in the church about the covenant, as well as people in the middle of that spectrum, Rosalie Ballentine, chair of council's committee on world mission and the task force, told the council Oct. 24.
"We have looked at this as more of a process of discernment, not just a matter of 'should we adopt a covenant' but, also looking at who are we as the Episcopal Church, what does it mean to live into our baptismal covenant, what does it mean to live in community, what does it mean to be a part of the Anglican Communion," Ballentine said.
She said that the task force purposely used the language of "unable to adopt in its present form" rather than suggesting that convention "reject" the covenant or "refrain" from adopting it.
"We still have hope for our continuing relationship, our continuing conversations, our continuing efforts to live in community and for us to move forward as part of the Anglican Communion," she said.
The Anglican Covenant first was proposed in the 2004 Windsor Report as a way that the communion and its 38 autonomous provinces might maintain unity despite differences, especially relating to biblical interpretation and human sexuality issues. The report came in the wake of the 2003 election of Gene Robinson, an openly gay priest, as bishop of New Hampshire, a development that caused some provinces to declare broken or impaired communion with the Episcopal Church.
Some Episcopalians and Anglicans, including the Executive Council, have raised concerns about the covenant, particularly in section 4, which outlines a method for resolving disputes in the communion.
The 2009 meeting of General Convention asked, via Resolution D020, that the church's dioceses study the proposed covenant and report to Executive Council, and that council report to convention with proposed legislation. Council formed the task force to help council respond to D020's requirements.
In September 2010, the task force asked dioceses to study the final text of the covenant and respond by Easter 2011. The group said in its report that the "vast majority" of the respondents are not in favor of adopting the covenant in its entirety.
The task force also recommended to convention a "new study of the foundations and boundaries of our polity and governance as we seek to deepen our communion-wide engagement and equip the leadership of the church" and to document changes in the Constitution and Canons that would be needed to adopt the covenant and analyze "how those changes may alter our identity from theological, philosophical and polity perspectives."
Previous to the current task force, a council committee, also chaired by Ballentine, reviewed and responded between 2007 and 2009 to the first three drafts of the Anglican Covenant. The response to the first draft is available here. The response to the second draft is here.
Council's October 2009 response to the so-called Ridley Cambridge draft is here. At that time, a small group appointed by Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams was considering whether the draft's fourth section needed further refinement. In December 2009, the final version of the section was released and the covenant was officially opened for consideration and adoption by the communion's provinces.
Council member Lee Crawford, who served on both groups, told the council Oct. 24 that the last six years have been a "long, long journey of reading, listening and praying."
"We pray that as we move forward between now and General Convention that the same prayerful, heartfelt discussions will continue," she said.
Some Anglican Communion provinces have adopted the covenant or are in the process of considering it. One chart of provincial action is available here.
The Executive Council carries out the programs and policies adopted by the General Convention, according to Canon I.4 (1)(a). The council is composed of 38 members, 20 of whom (four bishops, four priests or deacons and 12 lay people) are elected by General Convention and 18 (one clergy and one lay) by provincial synods for six-year terms, plus the presiding bishop and the president of the House of Deputies.

-- The Rev. Mary Frances Schjonberg is an editor/reporter for the Episcopal News Service.