wfn.org | Episcopalians: News Briefs

[dmack@episcopalchurch.org]

November 14, 2002

2002-263

Episcopalians: News Briefs

Harold Jones, first American Indian bishop, dies at 92

(AP) The Rt. Rev. Harold Jones, retired bishop of the Episcopal 
Diocese of South Dakota, died November 12 at a hospital in 
Chandler, Arizona. He was 92.

Jones was the first American Indian to be elevated to the office 
of bishop by any Christian denomination.

"He lived the Native American concept of generosity," said the 
Rev. Ron Hennies of Rapid City, an Episcopal priest and longtime 
friend of Jones. "He'd give you literally the shirt off his 
back, and he'd never check to see if he had a spare," Hennies 
said. "He brought many of the characteristics of the best of 
Native American culture with him to this Christian expression."

Jones was consecrated as a suffragan bishop of the Episcopal 
Church on January 11, 1972. His consecration marked the 
highlight of a career that began in 1938 with his ordination.

He served at the Pine Ridge Mission, the Cheyenne River Agency, 
Gettysburg, Dupree, Pine Ridge, and Wahpeton, North Dakota; Fort 
Defiance, Arizona; and Rapid City, South Dakota. 

"Women of the Table" ECW video filming concluded

(ECW) Filming has just concluded for the ECW video project 
"Women of the Table" and the production has moved into the 
scripting and editing phase. Produced by Katie Sherrod, award 
winning independent television producer and Fort Worth 
Episcopalian, "Women of the Table" is a 20 minute video telling 
the stories of women doing ministry in and through the Episcopal 
Church using narration, interviews, footage and photos of the 
various featured ministries. The inspiration for the project was 
a vision of the ECW National Board to create a video that would 
offer an inspirational and educational tool for use by ECWs and 
other groups across the church to tell the good news of the work 
of the women of this great church being done on behalf of the 
gospel. 

"Because Episcopal Church Women are rooted in tradition, the 
video opens with images of an altar guild setting the table, one 
of the most beloved of traditional women's ministries," said ECW 
board member Susan Russell. "But Episcopal Church Women also are 
moving into God's future in exciting and sometimes unexpected 
ways. From the altar we move to images and stories of women 
feeding people in many ways: women teaching Sunday School 
classes and creating literacy projects; women reaching out 
through prison and hospice ministry, doing peace and justice 
work and working for economic justice. What binds them all 
together is their love of God, their foundation in the faith and 
their commitment to be the Body of Christ in the world."

Location shooting took place during the month of September in 
the dioceses of Fort Worth, Lexington and Los Angeles, and the 
live interviews with women doing amazing and inspiring ministry 
will be woven with historical photos and archival footage. The 
production is scheduled for release at the Triennial Meeting in 
Minneapolis next summer.

Global stock markets force churches to cut back on social 
projects 

(ENI) Sagging global stock markets have caught churches and 
church organizations in a double bind, forcing investment income 
down and making donors reluctant to give because of financial 
problems, and leading to cuts in social programs.

Dipping into reserves is commonplace for churches. Some have 
done this for years as routine, but financial advisers point out 
that selling investments during a slump means losses are 
crystallized and assets may be surrendered at less than their 
purchase price. 

For the Church Commissioners, the Church of England's main 
funding body, the effect of the stock market slump has been 
lessened by their relatively large holdings in property - 28 per 
cent in 2001. Assets shrunk by 5.7 per cent in 2001 compared 
with a loss of 8.9 per cent recorded by a national "benchmark" 
of comparative returns. "In the past the commissioners were 
criticized for the size of their property holdings, but now it 
looks decidedly better," said Lou Henderson, a spokesperson for 
the commissioners. With investments and reserves worth 4 billion 
pounds sterling at the end of 2001, the commissioners are 
responsible for stipends of bishops and deans, some clergy 
pensions and support for parish ministry.

The same financial problems are seen internationally. The 
World Council of Churches is projecting a deficit for 2002 of 
CHF (Swiss francs) 7.5 million ($5.2 million) - CHF 1.8 million 
worse than expected, partly due to reductions in contributions, 
the WCC said. At the Geneva headquarters of the world's largest 
church grouping, which has about 180 employees, staff fear 
drastic cutbacks in jobs and programs following a task group 
review whose findings are being considered at an officers' 
meeting on November 14-15. The WCC also has contingency plans to 
take out a mortgage on its headquarters building, but officers 
have been instructed to try to avoid using this source of credit 
"by all means possible." 

Nigerian leader praises efforts towards reconciliation by 
victims

(ENI) Church and political leaders at a memorial service held 
November 7 to mark the anniversary of the massacre of hundreds 
of Tiv civilians by soldiers in the central state of Benue 
praised efforts towards reconciliation and called for an end to 
ethnic conflicts in Nigeria. 

The slaughter of members of the Tiv community came at the 
hands of government peace-keeping troops and took place in the 
midst of the ethnic violence that has rocked the region since 
Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999.

The interdenominational memorial service in the town of Gboko 
organized by leaders of the Tiv community was, however, marked 
by pleas for reconciliation. Nathaniel Inyom, the Anglican 
bishop of the Makurdi diocese, said that more than 500 people in 
his diocese had been killed in religious and ethnic conflicts.

Inyom said hopes that had risen with the arrival of democracy 
in 1999 had been dashed by religious and ethnic violence. But he 
applauded the decision of Tiv religious and community leaders to 
seek reconciliation with other ethnic groups. "Forgiveness is an 
act of God. It comes from within," the bishop said.

The Anglican bishop also appealed to the Nigerian government 
to act immediately to enact a law addressing the country's 
conflicts, saying that "there is no laid down policy or 
procedure for handling conflicts in Nigeria."

In October last year federal troops were sent to quell ethnic 
bloodshed in the central Nigerian states of Benue, Taraba, 
Nasarawa and Plateau which had already left dozens of people 
dead and thousands homeless. The conflict came to a head after 
19 soldiers were slain by militiamen believed to be from the Tiv 
community. In an apparent act of revenge, soldiers attacked the 
Tiv settlement of Zaki-Biam, killing hundreds of people and 
destroying property worth millions of dollars. 

About 2.7 million people claim Tiv ethnicity in Nigeria, a 
country with a population of 89 million, of whom about 50 per 
cent are Muslims and 40 per cent Christians. 

Canadian priest resigns in protest over same sex blessings 

(ENI) A Canadian Anglican priest who is opposed to his bishop's 
approval of same-sex blessings has resigned from his British 
Columbia parish and will leave to serve a Reformed congregation 
in Switzerland next year.

The Rev. Timothy Cooke of St Martin's Anglican Church in 
North Vancouver resigned effective January 2003 due to the 
impasse with diocesan Bishop Michael Ingham. Cooke's parish has 
voted at three successive meetings to reject the diocese's 
decision in June this year to "celebrate permanent, intimate, 
loving relationships between persons of the same sex."

The unresolved controversy over blessing homosexual unions has 
afflicted the Diocese of New Westminster, near Vancouver, and 
the Anglican Church of Canada since the middle of this year. The 
clash erupted after the western Canadian diocese voted 215 to 
129 on 15 June to approve blessings for lesbian and gay couples. 
Leaders of eight congregations walked out of the diocesan synod 
meeting in protest against the decision. They pledged to 
withhold financial commitments to the diocese and to take church 
properties worth millions of dollars with them if they seceded. 
The eight protesting parishes--which represent 25 per cent of 
the membership--are among the wealthiest of the diocese's 81. 

The New Westminster synod's decision was also condemned by 13 
Canadian bishops and then archbishop of Canterbury Dr George 
Carey. The primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, Archbishop 
Michael Peers, also entered the fray with letters that pleaded 
for unity.

Cooke said he could not accept his diocese's provision of a 
"temporary conscience" clause which would allow dissenting 
priests and parishes to decline from using the blessing. He said 
it meant remaining under an authority, that of diocesan Bishop 
Michael Ingham, that he felt had removed itself from the 
consensus of the wider church.

"The parish has been very supportive and understanding," the 
departing priest said. " I don't think there will be a quick 
ending to this. My sense is that the hemorrhaging of members and 
financial support will continue."

Cooke is not the first priest to resign because of the 
situation in the Diocese of New Westminster. The Rev. Colin 
Goode, rector of Holy Trinity, Vancouver (not one of the 
dissenting parishes), left at the end of October for Olympia, 
Washington in the United States to serve a parish there. 

------