Episcopal Life Daily January 10, 2008
Episcopal Life Online is available at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/elife.
Today's Episcopal Life Daily includes:
* TOP STORY - Directors named for three new Mission Centers * TOP STORY - Scam emails from Sudan target U.S. Episcopalians * TOP STORY - In Kenya, Episcopal Relief and Development responds to civil unrest * DIOCESAN DIGEST - FORT WORTH: Bishop, Standing Committee give preliminary approval to joining Southern Cone province * WORLD REPORT - KENYA: Church leaders, U.N. officials, fear violent impact on children * PEOPLE - Award-winning communicator Susan Elliot retires from St. Columba's Church, Washington * PEOPLE - Parker J. Palmer to address National Association of Episcopal Schools biennial conference * MISSION - Episcopal Health Ministries to host first conference in March * DAYBOOK - Friday, January 11, 2008: Today in Scripture, Prayer, History * CATALYST - Not by Bread Alone 2008: Daily Reflections for Lent
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TOP STORIES
Directors named for three new Mission Centers
Experienced priests will lead Advocacy, Mission Leadership, Evangelism and Congregational Life work based at Episcopal Church Center
[ENS] Continuing to reorganize the Episcopal Church Center staff to achieve new levels of service and collaboration, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori has named directors for three of four new churchwide Centers for Mission.
Director for the new Advocacy Center is the Rev. Canon Brian J. Grieves, who has led Peace and Justice Ministries at the Church Center since 1988. Concurrently, Grieves will serve as interim director of mission, the Presiding Bishop said, until completion of the search for a successor to the Rev. James Lemler, who has accepted a new position as rector of Christ Church, Greenwich, Connecticut.
The Rev. Suzanne E. Watson, the Church Center's staff officer for congregational development, will lead its new Center for Evangelism and Congregational Life, and the Rev. Margaret Rollins Rose, the Church Center's director of women's ministries, is director for the new Center for Mission Leadership, the Presiding Bishop said.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_93511_ENG_HTM.htm
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Scam emails from Sudan target U.S. Episcopalians
By staff
[Episcopal News Service] Numerous dioceses and individuals in the United States are being targeted in an email scam using the names of clergy and bishops in the Episcopal Church of Sudan, often pleading for immediate financial help for a family member who is purported to be ill.
People in the dioceses of Chicago, Milwaukee, North Carolina, Southwestern Virginia, and Virginia, among others, have been receiving emails during the past few months, all sent under the names of legitimate individuals in Sudan. Some of the emails are "check-ins," asking the recipients why they haven't responded to earlier emails. Others claim that family members of the sender are ill, and ask that money be transferred to accounts immediately to pay for medicine or hospital stays.
"We don't know where these emails are coming from," said the Rev. Lauren R. Stanley, an Episcopal Church missionary who has served in Sudan. "They all come with the names of legitimate members of the clergy, sometimes from bishops, in Sudan, but they're all fake."
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_93507_ENG_HTM.htm
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In Kenya, Episcopal Relief and Development responds to civil unrest
[ERD] Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) is providing emergency assistance to people in Kenya impacted by ongoing election-related civil unrest. Violent protests between supporters of President Mwai Kibaki and opposition leader Raila Odinga have erupted across the country since the outcome of the contested presidential election was announced on December 27, 2007.
Since then the official death toll has topped 600, though some believe the real number is much higher, an ERD release said. More than 250,000 people have fled their homes. Temporary camps have been established for refugees in the country while thousands of others have crossed into Uganda and are seeking sanctuary there. Clean water supplies are already dangerously low and health experts fear a health crisis is looming.
"The events of the last week in Kenya have been grieving to witness," says Janette O'Neill, ERD's senior director for Africa Programs. "The marginalized and desperately poor have been bitterly let down by the politicians. The ferocious violence unleashed by the despoiled election process has left so many dead and whole communities fearful for their safety. Businesses have been burned to the ground, thousands are left without shelter."
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_93506_ENG_HTM.htm
More Top Stories: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/elife
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DIOCESAN DIGEST
FORT WORTH: Bishop, Standing Committee give preliminary approval to joining Southern Cone province http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_93508_ENG_HTM.htm
More Diocesan news: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_ENG_HTM.htm
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WORLD REPORT
KENYA: Church leaders, U.N. officials, fear violent impact on children http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_93510_ENG_HTM.htm
More World news: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_ENG_HTM.htm
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PEOPLE
Award-winning communicator Susan Elliot retires from St. Columba's Church, Washington
[Washington Window] Susan Elliott, perhaps the most highly regarded parish communications director in the Episcopal Church, resigned in December after more than 20 years at St. Columba's Church, Washington, D.C., where she won dozens of national awards for excellence in writing, editing and design.
In a letter to parishioners, the Rev. Janet Vincent, St. Columba's rector, praised Elliott's knack for "celebrating, with grace and clarity and charm, the comings and goings of this restive enterprise.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81831_93513_ENG_HTM.htm
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Parker J. Palmer to address National Association of Episcopal Schools biennial conference
[Episcopal News Service] Dr. Parker J. Palmer, founder and senior partner of the Center for Courage and Renewal, in Bainbridge Island, Washington, will offer three plenary addresses and two workshops at the National Association of Episcopal Schools' (NAES) biennial conference, set for November 6-8, in Tampa, Florida. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, honorary chair of the NAES governing board, will serve as celebrant and preach the sermon at the conference's opening Eucharist.
Held in the fall of even number calendar years, the biennial conference serves as the primary public forum for the examination of the leadership, governance and Episcopal identity of Episcopal schools and for the professional development of the dedicated men and women from around the Episcopal Church and parts of the Anglican Communion who lead, support and teach in them.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81831_93504_ENG_HTM.htm
More People: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81831_ENG_HTM.htm
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MISSION
Episcopal Health Ministries to host first conference in March
[Episcopal News Service] National Episcopal Health Ministries (NEHM) will hold its first conference March 27-29, at Kanuga Retreat Center in Hendersonville, North Carolina.
NEHM aims to promote health ministry in Episcopal congregations, assisting them to reclaim the Gospel imperative of health and wholeness.
"Seasons of Health Ministry," the conference theme, will focus on the various stages of health ministry, from planting the seeds to harvesting the rewards of a fruitful health ministries program.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81799_93509_ENG_HTM.htm
More Mission: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81799_ENG_HTM.htm
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DAYBOOK
On Friday, January 11, 2008...
* Today in Scripture: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/82457_ENG_HTM.htm * Today in Prayer: Anglican Cycle of Prayer: http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acp/index.cfm * Today in History: On January 11, 1986, Edmond Lee Browning was consecrated as the 24th Presiding Bishop.
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CATALYST
"Not by Bread Alone 2008: Daily Reflections for Lent" from Church Publishing, Inc., by Katherine Howard, O.S.B., 102 pages, paperback, c. 2008, $2
[Source: Church Publishing, Inc.] Lent reminds Christians to refocus their vision on the life, death, and glorious resurrection of Jesus. In this hand pocket-sized book, readers will find the help they need to do just that. Includes seasonal scripture readings, brief inspirational essays, and reflection questions - a prayerful companion for this holy season.
To order: Episcopal Books and Resources, online at http://www.episcopalbookstore.org, or call 800-903-5544 -- or visit your local Episcopal bookseller, http://www.episcopalbooksellers.org
More Catalyst: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/83842_ENG_HTM.htm