Episcopal Life Daily April 1, 2008
Episcopal Life Online is available at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/elife.
Today's Episcopal Life Daily includes:
* WORLD REPORT - CANADA: Churches go dark for Earth Hour * WORLD REPORT - ECUADOR: ERD continues to respond to severe flooding * WORLD REPORT - ENGLAND: Bishops call for a greener European Union Budget * MISSION - EUROPE: St. James, 'the American Church' in Florence, to celebrate 100 years in Via Rucellai * TEACHING - Recovery Ministries of the Episcopal Church, Inc. to gather in New Orleans in May * MULTIMEDIA - Image gallery: San Joaquin Episcopalians celebrate new beginning * MULTIMEDIA - Video: San Joaquin Episcopalians celebrate new beginning * MULTIMEDIA - News conference: San Joaquin diocesan convention * OPINION - Attention (church) shoppers! Pew study a wakeup call for mainline denominations * ARTS - A noteworthy addition: Sounds of new organ fill Georgia church 'perfectly and completely' * DAYBOOK - April 2, 2008: Today in Scripture, Prayer, History * CATALYST - The Myth of the Shiksa and Other Essays
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WORLD REPORT
CANADA: Churches go dark for Earth Hour
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_96147_ENG_HTM.htm
ECUADOR: ERD continues to respond to severe flooding http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_96150_ENG_HTM.htm
ENGLAND: Bishops call for a greener European Union Budget http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_96146_ENG_HTM.htm
More World news: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_ENG_HTM.htm
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TEACHING
Recovery Ministries of the Episcopal Church, Inc. to gather in New Orleans in May
[Episcopal News Service] Information and inspiration are the focus of this year's annual gathering of Recovery Ministries of the Episcopal Church, Inc.
Set for May 8-10 in New Orleans, Louisiana, "A blend of recovery from addiction to recovery of the Gulf Coast" will feature speakers, workshops, 12-Step meetings, Eucharists, and excursions.
For three days, participants will have an opportunity to network with Recovery Ministries Commission members from across the country, share ideas and learn what others are doing to bring the message of recovery from addictive illnesses into dioceses, parishes and homes within the Episcopal community.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/78650_96144_ENG_HTM.htm
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MISSION
EUROPE: St. James, 'the American Church' in Florence, to celebrate 100 years in Via Rucellai
By Matthew Davies and Christina Caughlan
[Episcopal News Service] St. James Episcopal Church in Florence, Italy will be recognized for a century-long ministry serving the local Tuscan and broader Anglican communities when it celebrates the 100th anniversary of the laying of its sanctuary's cornerstone on Sunday, April 27.
Known locally as "The American Church," St. James' congregation is led by the Rev. Roger Featherston and typically includes English- and Italian-speakers from around the world and "people of many religious backgrounds participate fully in worship services and the broader life of the community," the parish website notes. As a parish in the Convocation of American Churches in Europe, St. James Church (http://www.stjames.it) "welcomes people of all denominations, nationalities, and backgrounds."
A series of events has been planned to celebrate this centennial year in the parish's life and ministry, including a walking tour of Florence and centennial banquet on April 23; a reception at the U.S. Consulate for St. James' American Friends and other out-of-town guests on April 24; culminating on April 27 with the rededication ceremony and Holy Eucharist. The Florence Gospel Choir and classical Chancel Choir of St. James will provide music during the service, which will be followed by lunch in the garden. There will also be a book-signing for the newly-released History of St. James, by the Rev. Clement Welsh and Horace Gibson.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81799_96148_ENG_HTM.htm
More Mission: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81799_ENG_HTM.htm
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MULTIMEDIA
Image Gallery: San Joaquin Episcopalians celebrate new beginning
[Episcopal Life] A jubilant celebration of Holy Eucharist concluded the March 29 special convention in the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin and made official Bishop Jerry Lamb's role as provisional bishop.
An image gallery of San Joaquin Episcopalians celebrating their new beginning as a diocese is available at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81991_96130_ENG_HTM.htm
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Video: San Joaquin Episcopalians celebrate new beginning
[Episcopal Life] Members of the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin who gathered for a special one-day convention on March 29 speak about their future in reorganizing the diocese.
Video: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81231_ENG_HTM.htm
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News conference: San Joaquin diocesan convention
[Episcopal Life] The Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin held a special one-day convention on March 29 at the Episcopal Church of St. John the Baptist in Lodi. A news conference following the morning session is available as streaming video here.
Video: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81231_ENG_HTM.htm
More Multimedia: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/80056_ENG_HTM.htm
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OPINION
Attention (church) shoppers!
Pew study a wakeup call for mainline denominations
By Tom Ehrich
[Religion News Service] My first reaction to the much-publicized U.S. Religious Landscape Survey by the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life was, "Hooray for common sense!"
In finding that 44 percent of Americans change their religious affiliation as they grow up, the survey proved that religious life isn't an exercise in brand loyalty but rather a dynamic process of making adult decisions about life and God.
In fact, I would find it discouraging if children passed through the ferment of adolescence and into the challenges of adulthood without rethinking their faith. After all, a primary work of adolescence is pulling away from one's parents and claiming one's own identity. Failure to differentiate tends to stunt one's adulthood. And if faith has any central place in one's childhood experiences, then faith must be part of that pulling-away. Otherwise, faith is just an unexamined habit of childhood.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/80050_96141_ENG_HTM.htm
More Opinion: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/80050_ENG_HTM.htm
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ARTS
A noteworthy addition
Sounds of new organ fill Georgia church 'perfectly and completely'
By Jerry Hames and Nan Ross
[Episcopal Life] Because it's often described as the "king of instruments," it's little wonder that parishioners of Grace Episcopal Church in Gainesville, Georgia, northeast of Atlanta, watched on computer screens for weeks as a stationary camera recorded the installation of their new pipe organ.
The church took delivery of the organ parts, unassembled and in hundreds of boxes and packing crates, last October. Its nearly 3,000 pipes, ranging in size from 20 feet to as small as a pencil and fashioned from wood, "spotted metal" or copper, were manufactured over the previous 18 months by Casavant Frères in Québec, Canada, a company that has designed and fabricated pipe organs for nearly 180 years.
By mid-November, it was being "voiced," the adjustment process that insures the organ makes the proper sounds. On January 20, before a congregation of joyful voices, Bishop J. Neil Alexander of the Diocese of Atlanta led the prayers of consecration.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81827_96142_ENG_HTM.htm
More Arts: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81827_ENG_HTM.htm
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DAYBOOK
On April 2, 2008, the Church calendar remembers James Lloyd Breck, priest (1818-1876).
* 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 April 2, 1234, Edmund was consecrated Archbishop of Canterbury.
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CATALYST
"The Myth of the Shiksa and Other Essays" from Church Publishing, Inc., by Edwin H. Friedman, 211 pages, paperback, c. 2008, $28
[Church Publishing, Inc.] "Why did I give advice to Eve instead of going directly to Adam? I knew I would never be able to stop the Creator's overall plan, but I thought I might really be able to frustrate it if I could screw up some relationships." So speaks Satan as The First Family Counselor in this new collection of Edwin Friedman's most popular essays, edited by his daughter, Shira Friedman Bogart.
Friedman's signature wit and playfulness goes straight to the heart of human relationships from one generation to another. Throughout his life, Friedman eloquently applied the insights of family therapy to churches and synagogues, rectors and rabbis, politicians and teachers, and his humor, sense of paradox, and unique style of storytelling were trademarks of his teaching style. Friedman was an ordained rabbi and practicing family therapist. His ground-breaking volume, Generation to Generation, which exposed the connections between emotional processes at home and at work in religious, educational, therapeutic, and business systems, has become a modern classic.
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