CANADA: Ottawa churches settle dispute

{Anglican Journal] A three-year dispute between the Diocese of Ottawa and two historic churches that left the Anglican Church of Canada over the blessing of same-sex unions has ended. A negotiated settlement will divide assets between the two parties.

In 2008, the parishes of St. Alban the Martyr and St. George's voted to join the Anglican Network in Canada (ANiC), saying the Anglican Church of Canada "no longer adhered to the clear teaching of Scripture."

As part of the agreement, the diocese will disestablish the parish of St. George's and sell the property to ANiC. Once the sale is completed by March 1, the property will be renamed St. Peter & St. Paul's Anglican Church.

At St. Alban's, ANiC clergy will leave the parish by July 1, "with the understanding that members of the congregation are welcome to stay and become part of a renewed parish" with the diocese. The ANiC congregation at St. Alban's has chosen the new name, Church of the Messiah, and plans to begin meeting in the Ottawa Little Theatre building.

The settlement also includes "a further undisclosed division of assets" between the parishes and the diocese, said ANiC in a statement.

The agreement, approved Jan. 16 by diocesan council and the congregations of St. Alban's and St. George's in downtown Ottawa, is the first of its kind in the Anglican Church of Canada.

"We worked together in good faith, mindful that the people of God deserve nothing less," said a statement by Bishop John Chapman of the Diocese of Ottawa. "We now look forward to renewing our ministry at St. Alban's and investing the money received from the sale of St. George's in new ministry elsewhere in the diocese."

The Rev. George Sinclair, rector of St. Alban's, said, "We are looking forward to not having to deal with this issue any longer. We see ourselves as giving up the building for the cause of Christ."

The Rev. David Crawley, rector of St. George's, said, "While each party had to compromise, we are grateful to have reached an agreed-upon division of assets in order to avoid the further cost and acrimony of litigation."

Established in 1865, St. Alban's is the second oldest Anglican parish in Ottawa, and has had among its distinguished parishioners, Canada's first prime minister, Sir John A. Macdonald, and his wife, Lady Macdonald.

Between 1976 and 2000, St. Alban's also was home to Centre 454–Anglican Social Services, a drop-in for homeless people. The plan is for the centre, currently in leased quarters, to return to St. Alban's.

St. George's parish began in 1885, and among its early parishioners was Sir Charles Tupper, who later became the sixth prime minister of Canada.

The congregations of St. Alban's and St. George's voted to leave the Anglican Church of Canada months after the synod of the Diocese of Ottawa approved a motion requesting its bishop to allow clergy "whose conscience permits, to bless duly solemnized and registered civil marriages between same-sex couples" and to authorize rites for such blessings.

In 2009, Chapman announced that he had given permission to one church, St. John the Evangelist, "to begin offering a rite of blessing to those same-sex couples civilly married where at least one part is baptized."

-- Marites Sison is staff writer of the Anglican Journal.

Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori elected to Anglican Communion Primates Standing Committee

Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori was elected for a three year term to the Anglican Communion Primates' Standing Committee.

The election was held among the Primates of the Anglican Communion during the group’s recent meeting in Dublin, Ireland.

“I am grateful to my colleagues in the Americas for their confidence, and look forward to working with partners around the Communion as we seek to heal a broken and hurting world,” Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori said. “I have every hope that the primates can be models and leaders of that work, as variously-gifted members of the Body of Christ.”

Elected to the Primates' Standing Committee were:

Africa

Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul Yak (Sudan) - alternate Archbishop Bernard Ntahoturi (Burundi)

Central, North, South Americas and the Caribbean

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori (The Episcopal Church) - alternate Archbishop John Holder (West Indies)

Europe

Archbishop David Chillingworth (Scotland) - alternate Archbishop Alan Harper (Ireland)

Middle East and West Asia

Bishop Samuel Azariah (Pakistan) - alternate Bishop Paul Sarker (Bangladesh)

South East Asia and Oceania

Archbishop Paul Kwong (Hong Kong) - alternate Archbishop Winston Halapua (Aotearoa, New Zealand & Polynesia)

The Episcopal Church welcomes all who worship Jesus Christ in 109 dioceses and three regional areas in 16 nations. The Episcopal Church is a member province of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Episcopal Church Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music to conduct church-wide consultation

March 18, 19 in Atlanta, Georgia

The Episcopal Church Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music (SCLM) will conduct a two-day consultation on March 18 and 19 on the 2009 General Convention Resolution C056 to collect and develop theological and liturgical resources for same-gender blessings.

Participating will be nearly 200 clergy and lay deputies from almost 100 dioceses of the Episcopal Church.

“This consultation is designed to report on work that is underway and invite responses, with an opportunity for dioceses from throughout the Church to participate,” explained the Rev. Ruth Meyers, Ph.D., SCLM Chair. “This is an important step in our process, as mandated in Resolution C056.”

The event will be held at the Atlanta Hilton Airport (Diocese of Atlanta).

Media are invited to all plenary sessions; small group or private sessions are closed to the media. There will be a media conference with phone accessibility on Saturday, March 19 from 2 pm to 2:30 pm. Expected to participate are Meyers, House of Deputies President Bonnie Anderson, and Bishop of Vermont Thomas Ely, a SCLM member.

The Episcopal Church welcomes all who worship Jesus Christ in 109 dioceses and three regional areas in 16 nations. The Episcopal Church is a member province of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Must See TV About David Kato From Rachel Maddow

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

New Hospice Foundation of America Program Focuses on Aging and End-of-Life Challenges in the LGBT Community

The Hospice Foundation of America today released "Aging and End-of-Life Challenges in the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Community," a free online webinar, written by Kimberly Acquaviva, PhD, MSW, that can help organizations better serve older LGBT adults and their loved ones who are coping with progressive illness, loss and grief.

"Aging and death don't discriminate. This webinar examines obstacles faced by individuals who are aging or living with advanced illness and addresses how hospice providers and other healthcare organizations can better serve the LGBT population. We are pleased to include this important webinar in our online resource library."

In addition to the program, additional resources and Fact Sheets can be downloaded for sharing with staff, students, and community members at no charge. Free Continuing Education credits are available for a wide range of professionals.

This program is part of HFA's Hospice Information Center, an extensive online library that also includes programs such as Understanding Hospice, Family Caregiving, Understanding Grief, and Coping with Cancer at the End of Life. The programming provides hospices and other community organizations the opportunity to educate staff and volunteers about the basics of hospice care, caregiving, and grief, and links are provided to guide viewers to more information on a variety of subjects. Other resources are available for consumers, to help family and friends learn about hospice and how it can help people cope with some of life's most challenging situations, in a format that is accessible and understandable. Resources are also available in Spanish and Chinese.

Hospice Foundation of America (www.hospicefoundation.org) is a non-profit organization whose mission is to help those who cope personally or professionally with terminal illness, death, and the process of grief and bereavement. This project is provided through the support of a grant from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to support hospice and end-of-life care outreach and education. CMS funds of $571,000 with HFA in-kind services of $5,710 are funding a variety of outreach and educational programs, including this project.

Mixed Messages from ABofC Dangerous for LGBT in Uganda

Words Matter

by

Louise Brooks

Integrity USA

Board Member & Director of Communications

In his press conference yesterday in Dublin, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, condemned the actions of the Ugandan rag "Rolling Stone" (not to be confused with the US magazine) for calling for the hanging of "homos". He pointed out that words matter ..... when uttered by what he called "this rotten, disgraceful Ugandan publication" and they have serious consequences. Responsibility needs to be taken, he said.

The same goes for the Archbishop. Words matter. In the same press conference he defended Ugandan Archbishop Henry Orambi's anti-gay stance. The Irish Times put it this way: "Defending Bishop Orombi, Archbishop Williams, head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, emphasised that, as with other relevant Anglican primates, Bishop Orombi’s position concerned “exclusion from ministry on grounds of behaviour, not orientation”.

Those words uttered by the Archbishop, supporting the institutionalized homophobia in the Church of Uganda, matter. They send a dangerous mixed message that does nothing but perpetuate an atmosphere of fear and discrimination. An atmosphere that could lead to violence and death. He needs to take responsibility for muddy-ing the waters.

Here is the Church of Uganda's position on homosexuality:

From a plain reading of Scripture, from a careful reading of Scripture, and from a critical reading of Scripture, homosexual practice has no place in God’s design of creation, the continuation of the human race through procreation, or His plan of redemption. Even natural law reveals that the very act of sexual intercourse is an experience of embracing the sexual “other”. The Church of Uganda, therefore, believes that “Homosexual practice is incompatible with Scripture” (Resolution 1.10, 1998 Lambeth Conference). At the same time, the Church of Uganda is committed at all levels to offer counseling, healing and prayer for people with homosexual disorientation, especially in our schools and other institutions of learning. The Church is a safe place for individuals, who are confused about their sexuality or struggling with sexual brokenness, to seek help and healing.

The Archbishop supports Orambi's exclusion of homosexuals. How does excluding people for who they are even pretend to be Christian?

Word matter. Our words matter as well. We need to continue to urge the Archbishop of Canterbury and all faith leaders to step up and speak out against homophobia. We need to ask the Archbishop to stop speaking out of both sides of his mouth. He needs to hear words that say: Supporting those who support homophobia is no different than supporting homophobia yourself.

Yesterday the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Katharine Jefferts-Schori, called upon us all to "heal the world". A giant step toward healing is ending homophobia. A good start would be for the Archbishop of Canterbury to recognize his words matter. No more mixed messages. Please!!!!!!


Louise Brooks is a Media & Messaging Consultant.

U.S. Religious Leaders Urge National Prayer Breakfast to Pray for Slain Gay Rights Activist

David Kato Honored as 'Fallen Hero' for Fighting Uganda's Anti-Gay Death Penalty Bill

Key religious leaders are calling for ‘A Prayer for David Kato' on February 3rd, the first day of the National Prayer Breakfast, to honor the Ugandan gay rights activist who was killed last week, amidst a storm of anti-gay sentiment in his country. Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson and Auburn Theological Seminary are spearheading this national call for prayer and remembrance.

Mr. Kato was one of the few openly gay Ugandans willing to speak out against the anti-gay fervor spawned by a bill that proposes life sentences and even the death penalty in some cases for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Members of “The Family,” the private group that organizes the influential National Prayer Breakfast, were widely reported as having inspired this legislation last year.

"Coming off of the brutal murder of David Kato, and with this death penalty legislation potentially heading for a vote, it is vital now more than ever that the organizers of the National Prayer Breakfast join us in ending this hatred and violence," said Bishop Robinson. "As an act of good faith, we urge that at the National Prayer Breakfast this Thursday, they lead a prayer of compassion and concern for the family, friends and colleagues of David Kato, and pray for their protection from further harm."

Bishop Robinson and a coalition of religious leaders organized the American Prayer Hour as an alternative to the National Prayer Breakfast last year, and asked President Obama to use his appearance at the National Prayer Breakfast to denounce the anti-gay legislation in Uganda. He did, calling the legislation "odious"; and this past week the President released a statement about David Kato's recent murder: "David showed tremendous courage in speaking out against hate... The United States mourns his murder, and we recommit ourselves to David’s work."

Building on Mr. Kato’s work for LGBT people and others, Auburn Seminary in collaboration with the organizers of last year’s American Prayer Hour, are gathering faith leaders committed to justice nationwide to come together across region, religion, demographic and issue, to embody the majority and stand with all those whom religious extremists have shunned or persecuted, such as Muslim-Americans, immigrants and LGBT people.

"Many participants of the National Prayer Breakfast recognize that prejudice and violence against any group of persons goes against all of our faiths," said The Reverend John Vaughn, Executive Vice President of Auburn Theological Seminary. "However, the Breakfast’s organizers have embarked on a path that has led to dangerous situations in places like Uganda. We implore them to change course and they can begin with a prayer in memory of David Kato.”