Episcopal Life Daily March 20, 2008
Episcopal Life Online is available at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/elife.
Today's Episcopal Life Daily includes:
* TOP STORY - In Gaza, Presiding Bishop sees humanitarian crisis causing hardship among Palestinians * TOP STORY - Ecuador visit, new Pro Cathedral dedication, Episcopal Church Foundation featured in 'Episcopal Life Focus' multicast * TOP STORY - Presiding Bishop washes pilgrims' feet at Maundy Thursday service in Jerusalem * TOP STORY - Episcopal Relief and Development commemorates World Water Day 2008 * TOP STORY - Changes in missionary compensation prompted by concerns over equity, budget constraints * DIOCESAN DIGEST - CHICAGO: Keiskamma Altarpiece returns to Chicago cathedral * MULTIMEDIA - Image Gallery: Presiding Bishop visits Gaza, Al Ahli Arab Hospital * MULTIMEDIA - Image Gallery: Presiding Bishop visits the Holy Land * MULTIMEDIA - Image Gallery: Christ's Seven Last Words as seen in Central Park by Sunday school students * DAYBOOK - March 21, 2008: Today in Scripture, Prayer, History * CATALYST - Joan: The Mysterious Life of the Heretic Who Became a Saint
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TOP STORIES
In Gaza, Presiding Bishop sees humanitarian crisis causing hardship among Palestinians
Al Ahli Arab Hospital, local churches committed to traumatized community
By Matthew Davies
[Episcopal News Service, Gaza] Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori's March 19 visit to Gaza brought a deeper understanding of the humanitarian crisis that is impacting 1.5 million Palestinians in the region and offered some signs of hope in the work of the Al Ahli Arab Hospital, local churches and human rights organizations.
Throughout the day, Jefferts Schori heard a constant message of Muslims and Christians united in their witness and common mission for peace, justice and reconciliation.
Joined by Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem Suheil Dawani, who was visiting Gaza for the first time since his installation in April 2007, Jefferts Schori was encouraged by the hospital's commitment to providing essential healthcare in the Palestinian territory that has been severely affected by Israel's blockade of Gaza.
Israeli officials have said the blockade, which began on January 17, has been necessary to put pressure on militant Palestinians to stop firing rockets into southern Israel. But regular power cuts, food and water shortages, lack of fuel and attacks from the Israelis are placing immense pressure on the local population.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_95876_ENG_HTM.htm
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Ecuador visit, new Pro Cathedral dedication, Episcopal Church Foundation featured in 'Episcopal Life Focus' multicast
[Episcopal News Service] The March edition of "Episcopal Life Focus" -- a half-hour video "multicast" featuring church mission, ministries and news -- is posted for online viewing at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/eLifeFocus. This month's edition features members of the Episcopal Church's Executive Council, the Church Center staff and their guests traveling to one of eight venues in and around Quito, Ecuador to learn about...and briefly participate in...the mission of the Diocese of Ecuador Central.
Anchored by Episcopal Life Media executive editor Jan Nunley and produced by Michael Collins, the March Focus edition also includes a conversation with Donald Romenik, director of the Episcopal Church Foundation.
An additional segment includes the dedication of St John's Church as the new Pro Cathedral in the Diocese of Los Angeles...and a visit to the thriving congregation at the historic African Church of St. Thomas in Philadelphia.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_95927_ENG_HTM.htm
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Presiding Bishop washes pilgrims' feet at Maundy Thursday service in Jerusalem
By Matthew Davies
[Episcopal News Service, Jerusalem] On Maundy Thursday, the holy day commemorating Jesus' last supper with his apostles, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori washed the feet of pilgrims and local Christians during an evening service at St. George's Cathedral in Jerusalem.
A procession to Gethsemane followed the March 20 service at which Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem Suheil Dawani preached.
The ritual of foot washing follows John's account of the Last Supper, when Jesus "got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him."
Dawani, who preached in Arabic and English, said that Jesus offered his disciples a new word "agape" meaning unconditional love; a new symbol in the master taking the role of servant in washing the apostles' feet; and a new motive to love: "love one another as I have loved you."
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_95904_ENG_HTM.htm
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Episcopal Relief and Development commemorates World Water Day 2008
[ERD] Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) is joining in the commemoration of World Water Day 2008 on March 22. The theme of this year's celebration is "Sanitation Matters!"
Clean water is a basic necessity for human life, yet 2.6 billion people around the world suffer from daily water shortages and struggle for access to safe drinking water, according to an ERD news release. In developing countries, more than 4,000 children die each day from preventable, water-borne diseases such as diarrhea, hepatitis, and typhoid. Accessing clean water -- as easy as turning on a tap for residents of the western world -- is a challenging and time-consuming endeavor for nearly a third of the world's population, an activity that keeps children out of school and families shackled by poverty.
Access to clean water is a basic human right and ERD is especially committed to ensuring that communities have safe water sources and functional sanitation systems. By implementing innovative programs around the world that address basic needs, ERD works in partnerships with communities, members of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and ecumenical agencies to build wells, water systems, and latrines, educate communities on hygiene and sanitation, and reforest watershed lands to protect natural water sources.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_95912_ENG_HTM.htm
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Changes in missionary compensation prompted by concerns over equity, budget constraints
One missionary worries about cuts' impacts
By Mary Frances Schjonberg
[Episcopal News Service] Missionaries who work outside of the United States under the auspices of the Episcopal Church will soon see major changes to their compensation.
According to a letter from the Rev. David Copley, Anglican and Global Relations mission personnel officer, sent to all overseas missionaries, the church will no longer pay them a monthly stipend (about $500, in most cases) or cover their airfare, relocation expenses, language study, vaccinations, and any health expenses not covered by insurance.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_95913_ENG_HTM.htm
More Top Stories: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/elife
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DIOCESAN DIGEST
CHICAGO: Keiskamma Altarpiece returns to Chicago cathedral http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_95911_ENG_HTM.htm
More Diocesan news: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_ENG_HTM.htm
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MULTIMEDIA
Image Gallery: Presiding Bishop visits Gaza, Al Ahli Arab Hospital
[Episcopal Life] Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori visited Gaza March 19 and witnessed the humanitarian crisis that is impacting 1.5 million Palestinians in the region. Jefferts Schori also visited the Al Ahli Arab Hospital, local churches and human rights organizations.
An image gallery is available at
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81991_95860_ENG_HTM.htm
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Image Gallery: Presiding Bishop visits the Holy Land
[Episcopal Life] Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori is visiting the Holy Land March 16-24 at the invitation of the Rt. Rev. Suheil Dawani, Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem.
The Presiding Bishop is accompanied by her husband, Richard Schori; Bishop Christopher Epting, the Episcopal Church's ecumenical and interfaith officer; Maureen Shea, director of government relations; and Matthew Davies, editor of Episcopal Life Online.
An image gallery of the visit is being updated daily at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81991_ENG_HTM.htm
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Christ's Seven Last Words as seen in Central Park by Sunday school students
[Episcopal Life] Christians have for centuries meditated on the last words Christ uttered from the cross. Now a group of Sunday School students in New York City have created contemporary illustrations of them.
Looking for a way meditate on God's word during Lent, to make their Bible study come alive and perhaps inspire others, middle and high school students from the Church of St. Matthew's and St. Timothy's Sunday school took their cameras into nearby Central Park to find Jesus' last seven words in their world.
An image gallery is available at:
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81991_95914_ENG_HTM.htm
More Multimedia: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/80056_ENG_HTM.htm
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DAYBOOK
On March 21, 2008, The Church calendar remembers Good Friday and Thomas Ken, Bishop of Bath and Wells (1637-1711).
* 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 March 21, 1556, Thomas Cranmer, Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury and architect of the Book of Common Prayer, died in Oxford, England.
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CATALYST
"Joan: The Mysterious Life of the Heretic Who Became a Saint" from HarperCollins Publishers, by Donald Spotto, 222 pages, hardcover, c. 2007, $24.95
[Source: HarperCollins Publishers] During the tumultuous Hundred Years' War between England and France, a teenage peasant girl followed her heart and helped save a nation. A vision from God, received in her parents' garden, instructed her to take up arms and help restore the kingdom of France. Without consulting her family, Joan left home on one of the most remarkable personal quests in history. As a young girl in a world of men, she faced unimaginable odds, yet her belief in her mission propelled her forward. Within months Joan was directing soldiers and bravely fighting for her nation. Before long she had become a national hero and was the guest of honor at her king's coronation. Yet fame ultimately became her undoing. The English shrewdly realized that Joan's demise and defamation would disgrace France and provide a more direct route to victory. Captured in war, Joan became a pawn in one of the longest and bloodiest wars in history.
Since her death at the age of nineteen in 1431, Joan of Arc has maintained a remarkable hold on our collective imagination. She was a teenager of astonishing common sense and a national heroine who led men in battle as a courageous warrior. Yet she was also abandoned by the king whose coronation she secured, betrayed by her countrymen, and sold to the enemy. In this meticulously researched landmark biography, Donald Spoto expertly captures this astonishing life and the times in which she lived. Neither wife nor nun, neither queen nor noblewoman, neither philosopher nor stateswoman, Joan of Arc demonstrates that anyone who follows their heart has the power to change history.
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