wfn.org | [ELD] Lambeth Conference an opportunity for bishops to strengthen partnerships, Jefferts Schori tell

["Matthew Davies" <mdavies@episcopalchurch.org>]

>Episcopal Life Daily
>May 20, 2008

>Episcopal Life Online is available at
>http://www.episcopalchurch.org/elife.

>Today's Episcopal Life Daily includes:

* TOP STORY - Lambeth Conference an opportunity for bishops to
strengthen partnerships, Jefferts Schori tells media
* DIOCESAN DIGEST - PENNSYLVANIA: Jeremiah Wright postpones revivalist
dates at Historic St. Thomas in Philadelphia
* WORLD REPORT - ENGLAND: Dalai Lama to meet Archbishop of Canterbury at
Lambeth Palace
* WORLD REPORT - ENGLAND: Archbishop of Canterbury to award 10 Lambeth
degrees
* PEOPLE - Sandye A. Wilson installed as honorary canon in Newark
* TEACHING - Union Theological Seminary graduates largest class in 16
years
* OPINION - Staying involved: Asserting their beliefs the right model
for church's conservatives
* DAYBOOK - May 21, 2008: Today in Scripture, Prayer, History
* CATALYST - Challenging Richard Dawkins

>_____________________

>TOP STORIES

Lambeth Conference an opportunity for bishops to strengthen
partnerships, Jefferts Schori tells media

>By Matthew Davies

[Episcopal News Service] The 2008 Lambeth Conference is primarily an
opportunity for bishops to get to know one another and to strengthen
partnerships, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori told media
gathered for a May 20 news briefing at the Episcopal Church Center in
New York City.

Acknowledging that partnerships throughout the Communion have grown
significantly in recent years, Jefferts Schori said her hopes for
Lambeth and the Anglican Communion are "that we encounter each other as
human beings working in vastly different contexts around the globe and
that we build relationships."

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has invited more than 800
bishops to attend the July 16-August 3 conference on the campus of the
University of Kent in southeast England and more than three quarters
have accepted.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_97255_ENG_HTM.htm

More Top Stories: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/elife

>_____________________

>DIOCESAN DIGEST

PENNSYLVANIA: Jeremiah Wright postpones revivalist dates at Historic St.
Thomas in Philadelphia
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_97251_ENG_HTM.htm

More Diocesan news: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_ENG_HTM.htm

>_____________________

>WORLD REPORT

ENGLAND: Dalai Lama to meet Archbishop of Canterbury at Lambeth Palace
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_97254_ENG_HTM.htm

ENGLAND: Archbishop of Canterbury to award 10 Lambeth degrees
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_97259_ENG_HTM.htm

More World news: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_ENG_HTM.htm

>_____________________

>PEOPLE

Sandye A. Wilson installed as honorary canon in Newark

[Episcopal News Service] The Rev. Sandye A. Wilson has been installed as
honorary canon of Trinity and St. Philip's Cathedral
(http://trinitystphilipscathedral.dioceseofnewark.org) in Newark, New
Jersey and the Diocese of Newark (http://www.dioceseofnewark.org).

Wilson, rector of St. Andrew and Holy Communion
(http://www.sahcchurch.org) in South Orange, New Jersey, is a member of
Diocesan Council, the Commission on Ministry, the Diocese of Newark's
Task Force on Reparations, Diocesan Women's Commission, deputy to the
Episcopal Church's National General Convention, and a co-convener of
District 4 of the Diocese of Newark.

A native of Baltimore, Maryland, Wilson is a graduate of Vassar College
(http://www.vassar.edu) and Union Theological Seminary
(http://www.utsnyc.edu) in New York City. She holds a Master's Degree in
business administration and a Doctor of Ministry Degree in pastoral care
and counseling. She also studied at Goethe Institute in Germany, the
University of Vienna, Austria; and the Bossey Ecumenical Institute in
Switzerland as a John M. Allin Fellow. She has also served as chaplain
and faculty in ethics at Vassar College; Faculty at Yale University
Divinity School, Iliff School of Theology at the University of Denver,
and the University of Minnesota. 

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81831_97261_ENG_HTM.htm

More People: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81831_ENG_HTM.htm

>_____________________

>TEACHING

Union Theological Seminary graduates largest class in 16 years

[Union Theological Seminary] Union Theological Seminary celebrated its
172nd Commencement on Friday, May 16. One hundred and four students were
awarded degrees, making it Union's largest graduating class since 1992.
Fifty-nine students received Master of Divinity degrees; 24 were awarded
Master of Arts degrees; 11 earned Master in Sacred Theology degrees;
four were awarded Ph.D.s, and another six received degrees presented in
cooperation with neighboring Columbia University. Approximately 600
guests attended the ceremony that was held in the Seminary's James
Memorial Chapel, located in the Morningside Heights section of
Manhattan.

"The diversity of this graduating class highlights all the options
seminarians have at Union," said a May 19 news release from Union.
"Slightly more than a third of the students are going into some type of
church-related work, ranging from pastoral services to chaplaincies, and
another 28 percent are headed into the workforce with most opting to do
work that is related to social justice or lay ministry. Thirty percent
of those who graduated are going on to work on higher degrees, the
majority pursing doctoral degrees, and most of these have been accepted
by their first choice."

This was the last commencement ceremony presided over by Union's 15th
president, Joseph C. Hough, Jr., who will retire on July 1. Hough,
widely credited with saving Union when it was experiencing financial
difficulties during the first half of his nine-year presidency, now
leaves a seminary that is on solid academic and financial ground.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/78650_97253_ENG_HTM.htm

>_____________________

>OPINION

>Staying involved

Asserting their beliefs the right model for church's conservatives

>By Douglas LeBlanc

[Episcopal Life] Since I began reporting on the Episcopal Church in the
early 1990s, conservatives have gone through a few different
regroupings: Episcopalians United begat the American Anglican Council,
which begat the Anglican Communion Network, which begat the Common Cause
Partnership. An important change since General Convention in 2003 is
that each regrouping has brought many conservatives ever closer to
leaving the Episcopal Church. I was beginning to wonder what any
remaining conservative presence within TEC might look like in the next
few years.

I was fairly sure we did not need another group with a national
headquarters, a logo and regular conferences. I believed that
conservatives within TEC needed to find some way between the poles of
departure and mere acquiescence to the more provocative resolutions of
General Convention.

I've now heard some encouraging notes for a conservative future within
TEC. Two hours of audio, posted on the website of St. Andrew's Church in
Mt. Pleasant, South Carolina (PBinSC.notlong.com), suggest that the
conservative future sounds assertive rather than aggressive and hopeful
rather than despairing.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81840_97260_ENG_HTM.htm

More Opinion: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/80050_ENG_HTM.htm

>_____________________

>DAYBOOK

>On May 21, 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 May 21, 1981, John Forsythe Ashby was consecrated
as the second bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Kansas at St.
John's Military School.

>_____________________

>CATALYST

"Challenging Richard Dawkins" from Canterbury Press Norwich, by Kathleen
jones, 221 pages, paperback, c. 2007, $14.99

[Canterbury Press Norwich] In his influential book, The God Delusion,
currently Amazon's 8th bestselling title, the atheist Richard Dawkins
argues forcefully that the world would be a far happier place without
religion, all versions of which are a massive delusion, founded on lies
and hypocrisy. His writings do challenge Christians (and people of other
faiths) to think more deeply about their beliefs and shake them out of
any complacency. Christians need to hear some of the uncomfortable
things he says and to know how to answer his alluring claims. Here is a
robust and informed challenge to Dawkin's gospel of atheism.

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