wfn.org | Episcopalians: News Briefs

[dmack@episcopalchurch.org]

June 18, 2003

2003-146

Episcopalians: News Briefs

Scottish Anglicans accept women bishops, may open the way in 
England 

(ENI)Supporters of women bishops are hoping that an overwhelming 
vote in favor of women bishops by Scottish Anglicans will open 
the way for similar action by the Church of England, the mother 
church of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

The Scottish Episcopal Church's general synod voted 118-24 on 
June 12 to accept women as bishops, removing what Canon Ruth 
Edwards, a delegate, called "a stained glass ceiling" on their 
promotion.

In England, the issue of women bishops is being considered by 
the Rochester Commission, which is expected to report in 2004 or 
2005. "This vote [in Scotland] will register in England," 
Christina Rees, chair of the Women and the Church (WATCH) 
pressure group in England, told ENI. "It is a country on our 
border, and will be more meaningful than one across the world."

Anglican churches in the United States, Canada and New Zealand 
already have women bishops. The (Anglican) Church of Ireland 
accepted women bishops in principle more than 10 years ago but 
has yet to appoint one.

In Scotland, the bishopric of Argyll and the Isles falls vacant 
later this year. Women make up one-third of the Scottish 
Episcopal Church's 300 priests in full-time ministry.

The church's general synod also agreed to continue with plans 
for a "super-church,"  despite the withdrawal last month of the 
principal partner, the (Presbyterian) Church of Scotland. The 
Church of Scotland accounts for 40 per cent of all Scottish 
churchgoers, according to the polling organization Christian 
Research. It pulled out of the unity talks, known as the 
Scottish Church Initiative for Union (SCIFU), after 
congregations refused to accept the introduction of bishops. 
SCIFU is now expected to go forward with the remaining 
partners--the Scottish Episcopal Church and the Scottish 
sections of the Methodist and United Reformed churches.Methodist 
and URC representatives at the synod spoke in favor of 
continuing the unity talks. 

Al Azhar-Anglican Communion dialogue to be held in New York

(NIFCON) Arrangements are well under way for the Al 
Azhar-Anglican Communion Dialogue, which will take place in New 
York September 10-11, 2003. A small team of scholars and 
churchpeople, nominated by the archbishop of Canterbury, will be 
meeting with key representatives of Al Azhar in Cairo--which has 
a critical and authoritative position within the Muslim world. 
On the Anglican side, this year the dialogue will be 
administered on behalf of the Archbishop by NIFCON, the Anglican 
Communion's Inter Faith Network.

Finding opportunities for leading Christians and Muslims to meet 
and talk about their faiths, what they share in common--as well 
as their differences--seems particularly important in this time 
of world tension. New York, on September 11 2003, provides a 
unique location for such a meeting--and it is intended that the 
participants in the dialogue will have the opportunity to visit 
'Ground Zero.' The dialogue is part of a process to which both 
the present and former archbishops of Canterbury have been 
committed, which provides a means for the Anglican Communion to 
develop and foster positive relationships of trust and 
co-operation with Muslim communities. Such events as the meeting 
in New York will, it is hoped, help to overcome misapprehensions 
and further deepen understanding about each other's faith. It is 
also anticipated that the ongoing process will consider the 
experience both of Christians who live in predominantly Muslim 
contexts and of Muslims living in predominantly Christian 
contexts.

Danish parishioners defend priest suspended for doubting God's 
existence

(ENI) Members of a Danish Lutheran congregation are standing by 
their parish priest who was suspended from his duties after a 
newspaper quoted him as saying he did not believe in God.

Hundreds of churchgoers in the Danish town of Lyngby-Taarbaek 
rallied to protest the suspension of the Rev. Thorkild Grosboll, 
with some saying a deep cleavage had developed between the 
church and the people and expressing fear that it was growing. 
"If there is no place for our pastor in the church, then there 
is no place for many of us either," Lars Heilesen, head of the 
parish council, told a public meeting on June 10.

Grosboll has been at the centre of a controversy since the 
weekly newspaper Weekendavisen at the end of May quoted the 55 
year-old priest as saying, "There is no heavenly God, there is 
no eternal life, there is no resurrection. That kind of talk 
never appealed to me."

After the article appeared, Grosboll was called to see his 
bishop, Lise-Lotte Rebel, of the Diocese of Helsingor, who 
immediately suspended him from his parish duties. She requested 
he withdraw his statement and apologize for it. In remarks to 
the news media, Rebel said: "There should be no doubt that 
priests have committed themselves to act within the church's 
confession of faith." She accused Grosboll of "creating 
confusion about the values of the church."

Grosboll refused to apologize, saying that he had been 
misquoted. After his meeting with Rebel, the priest told the 
news media, "I believe in something divine, but not in a God 
that created Man and the ant."

The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark is the national 
church. It is supported by the state, under the Danish 
constitution, with decision-making authority resting with the 
Danish parliament. Priests are employed by the state and answer 
to the government's ministry for church affairs. Bishops, 
considered the highest authorities on spiritual matters, do not 
have legal authority to dismiss priests from their posts. 
Denmark's church affairs minister, Tove Fergo--who is also a 
Lutheran priest--has said it was not possible to be a priest 
without believing in the existence of God and the resurrection 
of Christ.

Grosboll has received support from some theologians, including 
Theodor Jorgensen, of the University of Copenhagen, who said, 
"Grosboll represents a secular theology where the neighbor is 
made divine." About 85 per cent of Denmark's approximately 5.5 
million people are Lutherans.

Australian Lutheran receives honor from Queen for ecumenical 
service 

(ENI) One of the founders of Australia's leading ecumenical body 
has been appointed a Member of the Order of Australia in the 
Queen's birthday honors list for services to ecumenism and the 
Lutheran church.

The Rev. Lance Graham Steicke is the president of the National 
Council of Churches in Australia (NCCA), which he helped found 
nine years ago. The award comes despite the council's sometimes 
clashing with the present conservative Australian government on 
issues such as the treatment of asylum seekers and 
reconciliation with Aboriginal people. The NCCA is an ecumenical 
council of 15 member churches, including Anglicans, Roman 
Catholics and the Uniting Church. It is an associate council of 
the World Council of Churches and a member of the Christian 
Conference of Asia.

Steicke, formerly president of the Lutheran Church in Australia, 
is seen as one of the leading forces in the Lutheran church 
working to overcome its comparative isolationism within 
Australia and develop a more ecumenical approach. The church 
leader from Adelaide, South Australia, played a key role in 
planning for the NCCA, which in 1994 replaced the former 
Australian Council of Churches. Even before the Lutheran church 
became a member of the organization in 1998, Steicke had been 
active as an observer on the council's executive.

The Order of Australia was created in 1975 as part of the 
initiation of an Australian system of honors, replacing the 
purely British system that had existed until then. The award is 
in recognition of services to a particular group or locality. 
Honors are traditionally bestowed on distinguished Australians 
twice a year--in January, to mark Australia Day, and in June to 
commemorate the birthday of Queen Elizabeth II.

Church leaders in Zimbabwe call for action on health service 

(ENI) Church leaders and health professionals in Zimbabwe are 
urging action to tackle the country's crumbling health system. 
"Unless the responsibility is shared between the state and the 
church, it may take long before we can meet the challenges posed 
by our health delivery system," said Anglican Bishop Sebastian 
Bakare, president of the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC).

Church-run hospitals play a significant role in Zimbabwe's 
health service, particularly in rural areas, in part because 
they offer treatment without demanding payment in advance. A 
lack of foreign currency to buy supplies from manufacturers 
abroad means government-run institutions are facing critical 
shortages of drugs and are operating with makeshift or outdated 
equipment. While churches can receive funds from partners 
abroad, certain legal obstacles hamper the importation of drugs 
and equipment. Churches want the government to relax these 
import laws.

"The situation we find ourselves in is very desperate," lamented 
a nurse identified in a ZCC statement by her surname Maruva, 
working at Epworth Mission Hospital, 10 kilometers south-east of 
Harare. "At times we have to crush tablets meant for adults and 
give them to infants as there are no syrups available to give 
the children," the nurse was quoted as saying.

Zimbabwe's public health system has been described as being in a 
critical state, with most government hospitals and clinics 
understaffed due to the exodus of key personnel--mostly doctors, 
nurses and pharmacists--to countries such as the United States 
and Australia. "There is a huge exodus of health professionals," 
noted Bakare. "Every year, young doctors go on strike while 
those who feel unhappy leave the country. If the government 
still considers health a priority, some form of incentives 
should have been offered to the professionals who are now 
leaving the country."

Dr. Saleem Farag, chair of the Interdenominational AIDS 
Committee, urged the government to work more closely with the 
church in helping church-affiliated health institutions obtain 
supplies and "remove every possible barrier to expedite the 
acquisition of drugs and recruitment of personnel."

An estimated 2,000 people die in Zimbabwe every week due to 
HIV/AIDS-related illnesses, which also account for about 90 per 
cent of hospital bed occupancy. The government sought to curb 
the flight of personnel by introducing a bonding system early 
last year, stipulating that graduate nurses are required to work 
in public health institutions for three years before they can 
transfer to the private sector or go abroad to work.

Tutu lends his name as international patron of Palestinian 
Christian group

(Sabeel) Nobel Peace Laureate Desmond Tutu has accepted the role 
of patron of Sabeel International, the Palestinian Christian 
liberation organization, in its outreach and development work 
around the world.

Sabeel is a Jerusalem-based ecumenical effort of Palestinian 
churches of the Holy Land that seeks to interpret the Bible from 
the perspective of the poor and oppressed. It has support groups 
in North America, the United Kingdom, Ireland, Scandinavia and 
Australia.

"I am honored to have been asked to be a patron of Sabeel," 
Tutu, the retired archbishop of the Anglican Church of South 
Africa, in his acceptance letter. He has participated in the 
work of the organization over the years and was keynote speaker 
at the Sabeel conference in Boston in March 2002. He has accused 
Israel of practicing apartheid against Palestinians and said 
that the United States should demand that Israel withdraw from 
the West Bank and Gaza.

"Archbishop Tutu's courageous leadership in confronting the evil 
of apartheid in South Africa makes it particuarly significant 
that he has now agreed to be our patron, because the occupation 
of Palestinians has shown itself to be similar and detrimental 
to both Israelis and Palestinians, just as apartheid was to all 
South Africans," said the Rev. James Wall, former editor of the 
Christian Century and an advisory board member.

Elizabeth Barlow of Michigan, another board member of Friends of 
Sabeel, said that "Tutu's name brings credibility to the 
struggle of the Palestinian people."

NCC's Friendship Press transfers 'Peters Map' to new 
distributor

(NCCUSA) It's been featured on the TV series "The West Wing" and 
has been discussed in mission studies in thousands of churches 
across America.

Now, the Peters Projection World Map is getting a wider 
distribution channel that will expose its concept to an even 
larger audience.

Friendship Press, the publishing arm of the National Council of 
Churches, first introduced this pioneering map of the world in 
1983 as a teaching tool to help church leaders in the NCC's 36 
denominations visualize a more accurate picture of the relative 
land mass of the world's countries and continents.

This map technique, developed by cartographer Dr. Arno Peters in 
Europe, avoids the distortions prevalent in other map 
projections which exaggerate the size of some land masses, 
especially in the northern hemisphere, and "shrink" other land 
masses. Decisions and attitudes formed by these distortions can 
thus be inaccurate. For example, on the traditional Mercator 
map, Greenland and Africa look the same size. But in reality 
Africa is 14 times larger.

Now, 20 years after bringing the Peters Map to the United 
States, the National Council of Churches has turned to ODT, 
Inc., of Amherst, Massachusetts, to become the exclusive 
distributor for all Peters Maps products, effective June 1.

Spencer Bates, NCC's chief financial officer, said the transfer 
to ODT will permit more vigorous marketing of various 
Peters-based products.

ODT maintains a full-service web site (www.odt.org) and a 
toll-free order line (800-736-1293), and has distribution 
channels to secondary schools, colleges and universities; 
wholesale supply to hundreds of stores, catalogs, and specialty 
sales outlets; and well-developed merchandising support. ODT 
president Howard Bronstein announced that his firm would offer 
Friendship Press' remaining inventory of the Peters Maps at 
discounts of 50-80% off the regular retail price to non-profit 
groups who are past Friendship Press customers, as long as 
supplies last. Details on this limited transition offer are 
available from Bob Abramms at Babramms@aol.com, or 800-736-1293.

Bronstein said ODT first offered the Peters Map more than a 
decade ago, in cooperation with Friendship Press, as a 
management consulting tool to help clients adapt to change and 
diversity. The maps ultimately became some of ODT's "best 
sellers" and now form an important part of the firm's product 
line, with distribution channels in the U.K., Australia, Belgium 
Sweden, the Netherlands and Guatemala.

Based on the success of the Peters concept, ODT has recently 
produced another equal-area map, the Hobo Dyer Projection, 
displayed by President Jimmy Carter at his Nobel Peace Prize 
ceremony in December 2002.

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