Episcopal Life Daily April 2, 2008
Episcopal Life Online is available at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/elife.
Today's Episcopal Life Daily includes:
* TOP STORY - Presiding Bishop calls for House of Representatives to pass global health legislation * DIOCESAN DIGEST - NEW YORK: New York-area Episcopalians unite for 2008 AIDS Walk New York * WORLD REPORT - NIGERIA: Pastoral Letter from the Church of Nigeria Standing Committee and The Most Revd Peter J. Akinola * PEOPLE - Thomas Moore III to lead Society for the Increase of the Ministry * PEOPLE - Trinity Cathedral, Cleveland, to honor musician Daniel Hathaway on conclusion of 31-year ministry * SPIRITUAL REFLECTION - Third Sunday of Easter - Year A [RCL] * DAYBOOK - April 3, 2008: Today in Scripture, Prayer, History * CATALYST - 2000 Years of Amazing Grace
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TOP STORIES
Presiding Bishop calls for House of Representatives to pass global health legislation
[Episcopal News Service] Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori sent a letter to the House of Representatives on April 2 calling for passage of the U.S. Global HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria Act, which has been approved by the Foreign Affairs Committee and is awaiting consideration by the full House. The full text of the letter follows.
April 2, 2008
Dear Members of the House of Representatives:
As Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, I write to offer our Church's strong endorsement of the U.S. Global HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Malaria Act passed by the Foreign Affairs Committee and awaiting House floor consideration. The committee-passed bill builds on the successes of our nation's efforts to fight deadly disease around the world over the past five years, and forges a new bipartisan consensus for expanding and intensifying those programs in the years to come.
The Episcopal Church is a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion, more than half of whose members live in countries hardest hit by AIDS, TB, and malaria. Through our relationships with churches around the world, we are deeply aware of the suffering and upheaval experienced by communities affected by deadly disease, and we are actively involved in efforts to restore health and healing through prevention, care, and treatment. A world that has conquered AIDS, TB, and malaria would be not just healthier and more prosperous, but more stable and secure.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_96236_ENG_HTM.htm
More Top Stories: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/elife
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DIOCESAN DIGEST
NEW YORK: New York-area Episcopalians unite for 2008 AIDS Walk New York http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_96235_ENG_HTM.htm
More Diocesan news: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_ENG_HTM.htm
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WORLD REPORT
NIGERIA: Pastoral Letter from the Church of Nigeria Standing Committee and The Most Revd Peter J. Akinola http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_96234_ENG_HTM.htm
More World news: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_ENG_HTM.htm
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PEOPLE
Thomas Moore III to lead Society for the Increase of the Ministry
[Episcopal News Service] The Society for the Increase of the Ministry (SIM) has announced the appointment of Thomas Moore III as its new Executive Director.
Moore comes to SIM after working most recently with the Friends of Canterbury Cathedral in the United States (FOCCUS); the Church Pension Group (CPG); and the Episcopal Church Center at 815 Second Avenue, New York.
As executive director, Moore helped to establish FOCCUS as an independent not-for-profit organization, which produces publications and a website, sponsored a recent pilgrimage to Canterbury and organizes fund-raising events at congregations around the country.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81831_96231_ENG_HTM.htm
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Trinity Cathedral, Cleveland, to honor musician Daniel Hathaway on conclusion of 31-year ministry
[Episcopal News Service] Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland, Ohio, will honor musician and liturgist Daniel Hathaway on Sunday, June 29 at its 10 am service as he concludes his 31-year of ministry as Canon for Music, Art and Worship.
The celebration, open to all, will include a festival Eucharist at which Hathaway, a graduate of the Episcopal Divinity School, will preach. Singers who have performed in Trinity's choir under Hathaway's direction are invited to join a reunion choir for the day, and a reception will follow the service.
"Daniel's gifted ministry at Trinity has provided our cathedral with worship that glorifies God and our city with excellent classical music for all people," said the Very Rev. Tracey Lind, dean of Trinity. "His artistic vision has been essential to Trinity's growth and civic mission, and although we will miss him terribly, we celebrate his new opportunities and wish him great joy in his new life."
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81831_96225_ENG_HTM.htm
More People: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81831_ENG_HTM.htm
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SPIRITUAL REFLECTIONS
Third Sunday of Easter - Year A [RCL]
Acts 2:14a,36-41; Psalm 116:1-3, 10-17; 1 Peter 1:17-23; Luke 24:13-35
By Frank Hegedus
[Sermons That Work] "He took bread, blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them."
Meals and food play an important part in the tradition of post-Resurrection stories -- or narratives -- found in the gospels.
In one such narrative, for instance, Jesus suddenly appears among the disciples as they are huddled together in Jerusalem. After showing them the wounds on his hands and feet, he abruptly asks them, "Have you anything here to eat?" The disciples, no doubt dumbfounded that he could be thinking of food at a moment like this, give him "a piece of broiled fish" and watch him eat. In the Gospel of John, on the other hand, Jesus himself prepares a breakfast of fish and bread on the shore as he awaits the disciples' return from fishing. "Come and have breakfast," he calls out nonchalantly. For someone so recently dead, our Lord certainly seems to have a healthy appetite.
Full reflection: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/82478_96111_ENG_HTM.htm
More Spiritual Reflections:
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/82457_ENG_HTM.htm
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DAYBOOK
On April 3, 2008, the Church calendar remembers Richard, Bishop of Chichester (1197--1253).
* 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 3, 1593, George Herbert, Anglican priest and one of England's greatest religious poets, was born in Montgomery Castle.
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CATALYST
"2000 Years of Amazing Grace" from Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., by Paul F. M. Zahl, 471 pages, hardcover, c. 2007, $24.95
[Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.] 2000 Years of Amazing Grace is an accessible and easy-reading history of Christianity that focuses on the essentials of the Christian message, centrally, salvation by grace. It presents a luminous and enthusiastic digest of vital Christian beliefs and an account of how Christianity evolved from Jesus to the present. It also features biographical sketches of key figures, extensive citation from founding documents, and a discussion of Christianity's relationship to other world religions today.
"A MUST for anyone aspiring to an overview of Christian history and thought." -- Lord Carey, 103rd Archbishop of Canterbury
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