Episcopal Life Daily March 27, 2008
Episcopal Life Online is available at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/elife.
Today's Episcopal Life Daily includes:
* WORLD REPORT - MELANESIA: Mothers' Union to implement socio-economic strengthening program in Solomon Islands * TEACHING - Desmond Tutu Center to host conference on God and politics * TEACHING - Divinity in the human body focus of Episcopal Divinity School course * FEATURE - Small church, big heart: Church members make ministries happen in San Juan, Puerto Rico * WEEKS AHEAD - Upcoming special events and services * DAYBOOK - March 28, 2008: Today in Scripture, Prayer, History * CATALYST - The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus: What's So Good About the Good News?
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WORLD REPORT
INDIAN OCEAN: Mothers' Union to implement socio-economic strengthening program in Solomon Islands http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_96012_ENG_HTM.htm
More World news: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_ENG_HTM.htm
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TEACHING
Desmond Tutu Center to host conference on God and politics
[General Theological Seminary] "Caesar's Coin: The Politics of God in a Pluralistic Society," is set for April 30-May 1 at the Desmond Tutu Center, located on the campus of The General Theological Seminary in New York City.
"Caesar's Coin" will bring together a variety of experts, including Senator John Danforth and Ambassador Carol Mosely Braun, to explore questions such as:
* In the political arena, is Christianity a source of healing or division? * How may Christians speak of and work toward political understanding in a secular and pluralistic society? * Is it possible that Christianity offers a vision of reconciliation, rather than polarization, in political life?
The aim of this conference is not to rehash old positions and polarizations, but to stimulate new thinking and initiatives.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/78650_96010_ENG_HTM.htm
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Divinity in the human body focus of Episcopal Divinity School course
[Episcopal Divinity School] The exploration of divinity in the human body will be the focus of a course offered at Episcopal Divinity School (EDS) in Cambridge, Massachusetts June 2-13 and 16-27.
Dr. Mark Jordan, Asa Griggs Candler Professor at Emory University, will be teaching "Queer Incarnation" which will use accounts of Jesus to illustrate how little we understand divinity or bodies or how bodies can show, act, and become divine.
"We are incredibly lucky to have a scholar the stature of Mark Jordan as adjunct faculty here at EDS in June," said the Rev. Dr. Sheryl Kujawa-Holbrook, EDS' academic dean. "It also says something about the respect academics have for the EDS program. It is my hope that as many people as possible, interested in systematic theology, patristics, and queer theologies, will take this opportunity to study with Professor Jordan while he is here."
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/78650_96018_ENG_HTM.htm
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FEATURES
Small church, big heart
Church members make ministries happen in San Juan, Puerto Rico
By Ivette Linares
[Episcopal Life] I recently told our mission congregation of St. Francis of Assisi (San Francisco de Asís) in San Juan, Puerto Rico, that we are the small church with a big heart. I am very convinced of this. There are no "buts" in the phrase. We are not the church that is small but that has a big heart. We are the small church with a big heart.
I have served St. Francis of Assisi for three years now, and it has been a great and beautiful experience. I was raised in a big church. My dad's side of the family has a long Episcopal tradition, yet I am the only one to answer God's call to the ordained ministry.
I was baptized and confirmed in St. John's Cathedral in San Juan and served there as an acolyte and many other things. When one of our priests started a church in his home, which was in the same area where I lived, we decided to support his work in this small mission, and I stayed there for my youth and young adult life.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81834_96005_ENG_HTM.htm
More Features: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/78936_ENG_HTM.htm
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WEEKS AHEAD
A round-up of upcoming special events, services, concerts and diocesan conventions taking place throughout the Episcopal Church is available at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/78650_1669_ENG_HTM.htm
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DAYBOOK
On March 28, 2008, The Church calendar remembers Friday in Easter Week.
* 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 28, 1999, Bishop Jim Ottley officially left his post as Anglican Observer at the United Nations.
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CATALYST
"The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus: What's So Good About the Good News?" from HarperCollins Publishers, by Peter J. Gomes, 264 pages, hardcover, c. 2007, $24.95
[Source: HarperCollins Publishers] Jesus came preaching, but the church wound up preaching Jesus. Why does the church insist upon making Jesus the object of its attention rather than heeding his message? Esteemed Harvard minister Peter J. Gomes believes that excessive focus on the Bible and doctrines about Jesus have led the Christian church astray. "What did Jesus preach?" asks Gomes. To recover the transformative power of the gospel-"the good news"-Gomes says we must go beyond the Bible and rediscover how to live out Jesus' original revolutionary message of hope:
"Dietrich Bonhoeffer once warned against cheap grace, and I warn now against cheap hope. Hope is not merely the optimistic view that somehow everything will turn out all right in the end if everyone just does as we do. Hope is the more rugged, the more muscular view that even if things don't turn out all right and aren't all right, we endure through and beyond the times that disappoint or threaten to destroy us."
This gospel is offensive and always overturns the status quo, Gomes tells us. It's not good news for those who wish not to be disturbed, and today our churches resound with shrill speeches of fear and exclusivity or tepid retellings of a health-and-wealth gospel. With his unique blend of eloquence and insight, Gomes invites us to hear anew the radical nature of Jesus' message of hope and change. Using examples from ancient times as well as from modern pop culture, The Scandalous Gospel of Jesus shows us why the good news is every bit as relevant today as when it was first preached.
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