Episcopal Life Daily April 11, 2008
Episcopal Life Online is available at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/elife.
Today's Episcopal Life Daily includes:
* TOP STORY - Australia appoints first woman bishop * DIOCESAN DIGEST - CALIFORNIA: Andrus, Tutu join advocacy for Tibet * WORLD REPORT - ENGLAND: Archbishop of York's 'Leap of Faith' to support families of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan * WORLD REPORT - SOUTHERN AFRICA: In Namibia, Episcopal Relief and Development responds to floods * PEOPLE - Province VIII appoints Bryan Krislock as Executive Council representative * TEACHING - ENGLAND: Postcolonialism, Anglican identities focus of May 1-2 conference in Manchester * TEACHING - Virginia Theological Seminary announces availability of Kreitler Environmental Scholarships * OPINION - The Gospels' truth: Nondenominational megachurches not so conservative after all * ARTS - Exploring art through a videographer's eye * DAYBOOK - April 14, 2008: Today in Scripture, Prayer, History * CATALYST - In the Eye of the Storm: Swept to the Center by God
_____________________
TOP STORIES
Australia appoints first woman bishop
Kay Goldsworthy to serve as assistant bishop in Perth
By Matthew Davies
[Episcopal News Service] With the April 11 announcement that the Venerable Kay Goldsworthy has been named assistant bishop for the Anglican Diocese of Perth, the Anglican Church of Australia becomes the fourth province in the Anglican Communion to appoint or elect a woman to serve in the episcopate.
Archbishop of Perth Roger Herft, in announcing the appointment of Australia's first woman bishop, said the decision came after prayerful deliberation, "obtaining advice from others and with the unanimous endorsement of the Diocesan Council."
"In making this announcement I am delighted that we in the church of Perth continue our unwavering commitment to Christ's gospel by recognizing women and men as equal partners in the world," Herft continued.
Goldsworthy, 51, will be consecrated May 22 at St. George's Cathedral in Perth.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_96404_ENG_HTM.htm
More Top Stories: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/elife
_____________________
DIOCESAN DIGEST
CALIFORNIA: Andrus, Tutu join advocacy for Tibet http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_96402_ENG_HTM.htm
More Diocesan news: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_ENG_HTM.htm
_____________________
WORLD REPORT
ENGLAND: Archbishop of York's 'Leap of Faith' to support families of British soldiers killed in Afghanistan http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_96419_ENG_HTM.htm
SOUTHERN AFRICA: In Namibia, Episcopal Relief and Development responds to floods http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_96408_ENG_HTM.htm
More World news: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_ENG_HTM.htm
_____________________
PEOPLE
Province VIII appoints Bryan Krislock as Executive Council representative
By Pat McCaughan
[Episcopal News Service] Bryan Krislock, 24, the operations officer of the Episcopal Diocese of Spokane, has been appointed to represent Province VIII on Executive Council.
The Rev. Jack Eastwood, Province VIII President, said Krislock was selected from a field of seven applicants because, "he represents to us a younger person in the church who has definite leadership--not only potential but actuality. He is very knowledgeable about the province and is able to represent it well in council."
In addition Krislock, "is strong as a communicator and very effective in our work in the province," Eastwood said. "A lot of people look to him for leadership, especially among the younger folks in the province."
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81831_96403_ENG_HTM.htm
More People: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81831_ENG_HTM.htm
_____________________
TEACHING
ENGLAND: Postcolonialism, Anglican identities focus of May 1-2 conference in Manchester
By Matthew Davies
[Episcopal News Service] Considering colonial legacies associated with the history of Anglican churches and analyzing the future of the postcolonial Church will be the focus of a May 1-2 conference hosted by the University of Manchester's Lincoln Theological Institute in England.
"Church, Identity/ies and Postcolonialism" will bring together an international group of scholars and experts in Anglican history and colonial theory for two days of lectures and discussions -- an opportunity to broaden the postcolonial conversation in the Anglican Communion "to demonstrate its relevance for every Anglican, not just professional theologians and bishops," says the Rev. Joseph Duggan, an Episcopal priest from the Diocese of Los Angeles and a doctoral researcher at the University of Manchester focusing on postcolonial Anglican ecclesiologies.
Conference participants will be encouraged to make a contribution through short paper sessions. Further information and registration details are available at http://www.arts.manchester.ac.uk/lti/events/conference.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_96407_ENG_HTM.htm
- - - - -
Virginia Theological Seminary announces availability of Kreitler Environmental Scholarships
[Virginia Theological Seminary] Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS) April 11 announced the availability of the first Kreitler Environmental Scholarships.
Established through the Kreitler Environmental Fund, the Kreitler Environmental Scholarships will provide financial assistance for VTS students to participate in significant international or national consultations, conferences, or events related to the environment on a per-need basis. The overall purpose of the scholarships is to enhance students' appreciation and stewardship of the environment through informed theological beliefs. Scholarship recipients will represent VTS at the consultation, conference or event, and be required to submit a report to the entire Seminary community at an appropriate time. Applications for the Kreitler Environmental Scholarships for the academic year 2007-2008 must be made to the Seminary's Financial Aid Office no later than May 15, 2008.
"It is wonderful that the Seminary is able to announce the availability of these important scholarships as we approach Earth Day and the first Kreitler Environmental Lecture at Virginia Seminary on April 22, 2008," said the Very Rev. Ian Markham, dean and president of VTS. "The future leaders of our church must understand the sacred responsibility we have to safeguard and preserve 'this fragile earth our island home.' We are thankful for the generosity and vision of the Kreitler family, and hope the availability of these scholarships will inspire environmental stewardship of our students in their future ministries."
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/78650_96412_ENG_HTM.htm
_____________________
OPINION
The Gospels' truth
Nondenominational megachurches not so conservative after all
By Charles Flexner
[Episcopal Life] A friend of mine who is a Harvard-educated attorney and former Episcopalian recently announced that she had become an "evangelical Christian." What she meant by that statement was that she had joined the growing ranks of Americans attending a non-denominational megachurch, this one in Southern California.
I have struggled to clarify my feelings about this important movement in American Christianity. Are megachurches a valuable avenue for evangelism, bringing the young and disenfranchised into the practice of our faith? Or are they a threat to Christian traditions and teachings that have -- thus far -- withstood the test of time? I conclude that the answer to both of these questions is a resounding, "Yes."
Evangelical megachurches are person-centered communities. They offer exciting and action-packed Sunday services, as well as a variety of social and recreational activities that entertain and educate in a welcoming atmosphere emphasizing Christian themes. At its best, this is an attractive form of worship with more appeal to contemporary families than much of what is offered by a centuries-old denomination like ours. At its worst, this is Christianity-meets-the-Mall-of-America.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/80050_96417_ENG_HTM.htm
More Opinion: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/80050_ENG_HTM.htm
_____________________
ARTS
Exploring art through a videographer's eye
By Jerry Hames
[Episcopal News Service] An Episcopal artist, who frequently uses video as another means for seeing and making art, screened her work to the accompaniment of original music at the latest Great Music event at St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church in mid-town Manhattan on April 1.
Gwyneth Leech, known primarily as a New York painter, presented a cycle of 20 short videos exploring innocence, mood, perception, nature and the city which she shot and edited since her arrival in New York in 1999. The show, titled "Generation," with music written and performed by Martha Sullivan and percussionist, keyboard player and composer Ben Wittman, was presented in two time frames -- before and after September 11, 2001, the date when planes struck the twin towers of the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
"The most significant event in the city [the 9/11 tragedy] is not addressed at all," said Leech in an interview. "I never made any artwork about 9/11 at the time. I made no art at all for months," she said, describing a paralysis that affected not only her, but many of the city's artists at that time.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81827_96413_ENG_HTM.htm
More Arts: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81827_ENG_HTM.htm
_____________________
DAYBOOK
On April 14, 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 April 14, 1582, the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, was chartered. The founding of the University is attributed to Bishop Robert Reid of St. Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall, Orkney, who left the funds on his death in 1558 that ultimately provided the University's endowment.
_____________________
CATALYST
"In the Eye of the Storm: Swept to the Center by God" from Church Publishing, Inc., by Gene Robinson, foreword by Archbishop Desmond Tutu, 192 pages, paperback, c. 2008, $25
[Church Publishing, Inc.] Gene Robinson is bishop of the tiny, rural Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire, but he's at the center of a storm of controversy raging in the Episcopal Church and throughout the worldwide Anglican Communion involving homosexuality, the priesthood, and the future of the Communion. This book offers an honest, thoughtful portrait of Robinson, the faith that has informed his life, and the controversy that continues to rock his Church.
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