Episcopal Life Daily January 14, 2008
Episcopal Life Online is available at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/elife.
Today's Episcopal Life Daily includes:
* TOP STORY - Martin Luther King, Jr., focus of January 20 Episcopal Life Weekly bulletin inserts * TOP STORY - In San Joaquin, conflicting responses to bishop's inhibition issued on his behalf * TOP STORY - Williams, Kearon condemn state disruption of Zimbabwe's Anglican church services * TOP STORY - Alabama consecrates Sloan as bishop suffragan * WORLD REPORT - KENYA: Anglican leaders welcome peace mediation team, urge open-minded talks * WORLD REPORT - NEW ZEALAND: Church responds to draft Anglican covenant * WORLD REPORT - SCOTLAND: Church responds to draft Anglican covenant * TEACHING - 'Theological Education for All' offers inserts for Theological Education Sunday * DAYBOOK - January 15, 2008: Today in Scripture, Prayer, History * CATALYST - A Time to Turn: Anglican Readings for Lent and Easter Week
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TOP STORIES
Martin Luther King, Jr., focus of January 20 Episcopal Life Weekly bulletin inserts
[Episcopal Life Weekly] The national Day of Service in honor of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., is the focus of the January 20 Episcopal Life Weekly bulletin inserts. Offered in color and black/white formats on either a full 8.5" by 11" sheet or half of an 8.5" by 11" sheet double-sided, Episcopal Life Weekly inserts are available for download at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/78650_8852_ENG_HTM.htm
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In San Joaquin, conflicting responses to bishop's inhibition issued on his behalf
By Mary Frances Schjonberg
[Episcopal News Service] Conflicting statements about Bishop John-David Schofield's understanding of his place in the Episcopal Church were issued on his behalf the day after Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori inhibited him from the exercise of episcopal duties in the Diocese of San Joaquin.
In the end, Schofield claims that since he is no longer a member of the Episcopal Church, its canons do not apply to him or his actions.
The first statement, emailed to various websites and bloggers by a southern California public relations firm during the morning of January 12, said in part that "Bishop Schofield is currently a member of both the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church and the House of Bishops of the Southern Cone, a position not prohibited by either house."
A few hours later, Schofield's canon to the ordinary, the Rev. Canon Bill Gandenberger, emailed a "point of clarification" that said the Presiding Bishop and the Episcopal House of Bishops have no jurisdiction over Schofield because he is no longer a member of that House or of the Episcopal Church.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_93913_ENG_HTM.htm
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Williams, Kearon condemn state disruption of Zimbabwe's Anglican church services
By Matthew Davies
[Episcopal News Service] Two of the Anglican Communion's pivotal leaders have expressed their outrage and concern following reports that church services in Harare, Zimbabwe have been disrupted by state officials.
A January 14 statement from Lambeth Palace said that Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams "condemns unequivocally the use of state machinery to intimidate opponents of the deposed bishop of Harare, Nolbert Kunonga."
Williams is appalled by the recent reports of Zimbabwean police "forcibly stopping Sunday services in several churches in Harare where clergy have publicly and bravely refused to acknowledge Kunonga's Episcopal authority."
The Rev. Canon Kenneth Kearon, Anglican Communion secretary general, described the situation January 14 as "a matter of grave concern to all in the Anglican Communion."
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_93912_ENG_HTM.htm
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Alabama consecrates Sloan as bishop suffragan
Diocese of 'great vitality, hospitality' welcomes Presiding Bishop
By Michael Rich
[Diocese of Alabama] Symbols and voices from summer church camp were woven into the consecration service for the Rt. Rev. John McKee Sloan as bishop suffragan of the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama. More than 1,000 people attended the January 12 liturgy in Birmingham's Cathedral Church of the Advent.
Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori was chief consecrator, offering prayers while laying hands on the head of the new bishop.
Co-consecrators were Alabama's Diocesan Bishop Henry N. Parsley Jr.; Robert O. Miller, retired bishop of Alabama; Duncan M. Gray III, bishop of the Diocese of Mississippi; and Duncan M. Gray Jr., retired bishop of Mississippi. Nine more bishops from around the Southeast joined in the service.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_93572_ENG_HTM.htm
More Top Stories: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/elife
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WORLD REPORT
KENYA: Anglican leaders welcome peace mediation team, urge open-minded talks http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_93577_ENG_HTM.htm
NEW ZEALAND: Church responds to draft Anglican covenant http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_93575_ENG_HTM.htm
SCOTLAND: Church responds to draft Anglican covenant http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_93576_ENG_HTM.htm
More World news: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_ENG_HTM.htm
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TEACHING
'Theological Education for All' offers inserts for Theological Education Sunday
[Episcopal News Service] In preparation for Theological Education Sunday (TES) on February 3, a bulletin insert, titled "Celebrating Christian Formation across the Lifespan," has been written and designed by the Rev. Gus Boone, canon for Lifelong Christian Formation and Ministry in the Diocese of Western North Carolina.
The insert is intended for congregational use in celebrating and giving thanks for all laity and clergy who accept the responsibility for teaching in the Episcopal Church -- those responsible for parenting; in local congregational, diocesan, and national church formation ministries; in Episcopal-sponsored childcare centers and preschool programs, Episcopal schools, seminaries, colleges, and universities; and those who teach and guide in Episcopal retirement and care centers.
"Any congregation's vitality is tied to how fully it becomes a learning community," said the Rev. Lynne A. Grifo, producer of TEforALL and associate coordinator of the Episcopal Church's Office for Ministry Development. "People are hungry for challenging and inspiring ways to learn more about the Bible, religion and science, spiritual practices and the like."
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/78650_93563_ENG_HTM.htm
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DAYBOOK
On Tuesday, January 15, 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 15, 1535, Henry VIII declared himself head of the Church of England.
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CATALYST
"A Time to Turn: Anglican Readings for Lent and Easter Week" from Church Publishing, Inc., by Christopher L. Webber, 131 pages, paperback, c. 2004, $11.95
[Source: Church Publishing, Inc.] For centuries Lent has been a time when Christians stop and take stock of their lives. It is a time for revisiting the story of Jesus' life, death, and resurrection. It is a time of focusing on our sinfulness and the need to repent, as well as a season in which we focus on putting aside our luxuries and making sure that others have what they need. All of these themes, and more, are explored in this collection of Anglican readings that begin with Ash Wednesday and end on the Saturday of Easter Week.
These readings are arranged in a regular sequence through each week of Lent. Sunday readings focus on God's love, Mondays on the need for discipline, Tuesdays on fasting, Wednesdays on prayer, Thursdays on sin, Fridays on the cross, and Saturdays on baptism.
A Time to Turn draws on the best sermons, books, poems, and hymns of Anglican writers throughout the centuries, with a reading for each day, followed by the brief suggestion for focusing the reader's meditations. Writers include Christina Rossetti, John Donne, Philips Brooks, John Keble, Thomas Traherne, Harriet Beecher Stowe, and many others. Brief biographies are included, along with a bibliography for those who would like to read more from a given writer.
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