wfn.org | [ELD] House of Bishops calls economic crisis an invitation to 'deeper simplicity, broader generosity

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

>Episcopal Life Daily
>March 18, 2009

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

>Today's Episcopal Life Daily includes:

* TOP STORY - House of Bishops calls economic crisis an invitation to
?deeper simplicity, broader generosity'
* TOP STORY - House of Bishops issues pastoral letter
* TOP STORY - Luis Fernando Ruiz elected bishop of Ecuador Central on
first ballot
* WORLD REPORT - ENGLAND: Lambeth Palace hosts DfID White Paper
consultation on international development
* CALENDAR - Upcoming special events and services
* SPIRITUAL REFLECTION - March 22 - Fourth Sunday in Lent - Year B
* DAYBOOK - March 19, 2009: Today in Scripture, Prayer, History
* CATALYST - An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith

>_____________________

>TOP STORIES

House of Bishops calls economic crisis an invitation to ?deeper
simplicity, broader generosity'
Luis Fernando Ruiz elected Bishop of Ecuador Central on first ballot

>By Pat McCaughan

[Episcopal News Service] Members of the House of Bishops concluded
their six-day retreat at Kanuga Conference Center on March 18 by
unanimously approving a pastoral letter about the hope the church
offers despite "a culture of scarcity" and a deepening crisis "both
economic and environmental."

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori described the meeting,
framed in daily worship, bible study, and prayer, as a "wonderful"
time with discussions ranging from economics to politics, from the
Anglican Communion to full communion with the Moravian Church, and
electing the Rev. Luis Fernando Ruiz of Colombia as bishop of Ecuador
Central.

The meeting "showed a church that has moved beyond strife and (that
is) getting ready for the next phase of our mission in the world and
the country," said Bishop Tom Shaw of Massachusetts during a
post-meeting telephone briefing with members of the media.

On a more personal note, "bishops spoke from the heart" at the
gathering, said Bishop Ed Little of Northern Indiana. "Somehow, it
seemed extraordinarily more intense the way bishops showed
respectfulness in the listening. That was most encouraging ? we
listened profoundly to one another and to God," he said.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_106037_ENG_HTM.htm

>- - - - -

>House of Bishops issues pastoral letter

[Episcopal News Service] Members of the House of Bishops, gathering
March 13-18 at the Kanuga Conference Center in North Carolina, issued
the following pastoral letter at the conclusion of their meeting. An
ENS story will follow.

Pastoral letter may be read here:

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_106036_ENG_HTM.htm

>- - - - -

Luis Fernando Ruiz elected bishop of Ecuador Central on first ballot

Election requires House of Deputies consent at General Convention

>By ENS staff

[Episcopal News Service] The Rev. Luis Fernando Ruiz was elected March
17 as bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Ecuador Central.

Ruiz, 52, rector of the Catedral de San Pablo, Bogotá, in the Diocese
of Colombia, was elected on the first ballot out of a field of three
nominees. Ruiz received 102 of the 117 ballots cast among the
Episcopal Church's bishops at their retreat meeting at Kanuga
Conference Center in North Carolina. A simple majority of the votes
cast by the bishops was necessary for the election.

Ruiz's election requires the House of Deputies consent because it
occurred within 120 days of the Episcopal Church's General Convention,
which will be held July 8-17 in Anaheim, California.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_105989_ENG_HTM.htm

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

>_____________________

>WORLD REPORT

ENGLAND: Lambeth Palace hosts DfID White Paper consultation on
international development

[Lambeth Palace] A consultation between faith communities and the U.K.
Government's Department for International Development (DfID) was held
at Lambeth Palace, London March 17 to discuss the forthcoming White
Paper that will set out the focus for development and how to stop the
financial crisis reversing the progress made in recent years.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_105988_ENG_HTM.htm

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

>_____________________

>CALENDAR

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/calendar.htm

>_____________________

>SPIRITUAL REFLECTIONS

>March 22 - Fourth Sunday in Lent - Year B

Numbers 21:4-9; Psalm 107:1-3, 17-22; Ephesians 2:1-10; John 3:14-21

>By the Rev. Dr. Frank Hegedus

[Sermons That Work] Quick, what is another name for today, the Fourth
Sunday in Lent?

Give up? Actually, there are several possible answers to this
question, all of them correct, and all of them originating in
ecclesiastical history and liturgical practice.

In some quarters, especially among our Roman Catholic friends and
neighbors, the Fourth Sunday in Lent is known as Laetare [pronounced,
"lay-TAH-ray"] Sunday, from the Latin word meaning "rejoice." It may
at first seem odd to speak of rejoicing in the middle of Lent, a
season of penitence and sacrifice. After all, we have put away our
alleluias and festive faces for the duration. Yet, in ancient times,
the special, or proper, parts of the service on this day began with
the single word "rejoice," reminding worshippers that the Church is
more than halfway through its Lenten discipline and well on the way to
Easter joy.

Full reflection:

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/sermons_that_work_105830_ENG_HTM.htm

More Spiritual Reflections:  http://www.episcopalchurch.org/82457_ENG_HTM.htm

>_____________________

>DAYBOOK

On March 19, 2009, the church calendar remembers Saint Joseph.

* 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 19, 1263, Hugh of St. Cher, a Dominican
friar who made the first significant concordance of the Bible, died.
On March 19, 1825, John J. Husband, English-born American music
teacher and sacred music chorister, died in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania. Husband taught music in Philadelphia and worked as the
clerk at St. Paul's Episcopal Church.

>_____________________

>CATALYST

"An Altar in the World: A Geography of Faith" from HarperCollins
Publishers, by Barbara Brown Taylor, 216 pages, hardcover, c. 2009,
$24.99

[HarperCollins Publishers] In her critically acclaimed Leaving Church,
Barbara Brown Taylor wrote about leaving full-time ministry to become
a professor, a decision that stretched the boundaries of her faith.
Now, in her stunning follow-up, An Altar in the World, she shares how
she learned to encounter God beyond the walls of any church.

>From simple practices such as walking, working, and getting lost to
deep meditations on topics like prayer and pronouncing blessings,
Taylor reveals concrete ways to discover the sacred in the small
things we do and see. Something as ordinary as hanging clothes on a
clothesline becomes an act of devotion if we pay attention to what we
are doing and take time to attend to the sights, smells, and sounds
around us. Making eye contact with the cashier at the grocery store
becomes a moment of true human connection. Allowing yourself to get
lost leads to new discoveries. Under Taylor's expert guidance, we come
to question conventional distinctions between the sacred and the
secular, learning that no physical act is too earthbound or too humble
to become a path to the divine. As we incorporate these practices into
our daily lives, we begin to discover altars everywhere we go, in
nearly everything we do.

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

>_____________________

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