wfn.org | [ELD] Listening Process a 'gift' to church

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

>Episcopal Life Daily
>August 31, 2009

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

>Today's Episcopal Life Daily includes:

* TOP STORY - Listening Process a 'gift' to church
* PEOPLE - Ecumenical officer Christopher Epting announces retirement
* OPINION - Lutherans: sexuality in the headlines
* DAYBOOK - September 1: Today in Scripture, Prayer, History
* CATALYST - Claiming the Beatitudes - Nine Stories from a New Generation

>_____________________

>TOP STORIES

>Listening Process a 'gift' to church

>By Matthew Davies

[Episcopal News Service] Listening to the experiences of gay and
lesbian Christians may have been commonplace in some dioceses and
congregations for decades, but no official Anglican Communion-wide
effort got underway until just over three years ago.

A second phase of the process, called the Continuing Indaba and Mutual
Listening Project, now is launching with the help of a $1.5 million
grant. It will allow clergy and laity to share their experience of
listening to homosexual Christians and offer the opportunity for
Episcopalians to hear stories of mission in contexts far removed from
their own, says the Rev. Canon Phil Groves, who will facilitate the
project. "The vision of the project is to make mutual responsibility a
reality, hard though that may be."

The Anglican Communion Listening Process is essential to continuing
"to open up conversations that we've really not had," said Bishop John
Chane of the Diocese of Washington. "Before you can get into changing
hearts and minds, you need to come to the table for conversation.
That's the gift it can present to the church."

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_114085_ENG_HTM.htm

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

>_____________________

>PEOPLE

Ecumenical officer Christopher Epting announces retirement

[Episcopal News Service] The Rt. Rev. C. Christopher Epting, Presiding
Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori's deputy for ecumenical and
interreligious relations, has announced his retirement at the end of
2009, according to a release from the Episcopal Church's Office of
Public Affairs.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81831_114100_ENG_HTM.htm

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

>_____________________

>OPINION

>Lutherans: sexuality in the headlines

>By Peter W. Marty

[Episcopal News Service] The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
(ELCA) made headlines in mid-August, and it wasn't for its new
commitment to try to wipe out malaria in sub-Saharan Africa by 2015.
It was for actions taken regarding the eligibility or fitness of
homosexual persons who may have gifts for ministry. Specifically, the
buzz emanating from the Minneapolis Convention Center revolved around
Resolution 2: "Resolved, that the ELCA commit itself to finding a way
for people in publicly accountable, lifelong, monogamous, same-gender
relationships to serve as rostered leaders of this church."

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/80050_114089_ENG_HTM.htm

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

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>DAYBOOK

On September 1, 2009, the church remembers David Pendleton Oakerhater,
deacon and missionary of the Cheyenne (c. 1847-1931).

* 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 September 1, 1908, Lewis H. Redne, organist and
active Sunday school leader, died. He spent 19 years at Holy Trinity
Episcopal Church in Philadelphia. On September 1, 1525, Martin Luther
published his defense against English King Henry VIII.

>_____________________

>CATALYST

"Claiming the Beatitudes - Nine Stories from a New Generation" from
the Alban Institute, by Anne Sutherland Howard, foreword by Marcus J.
Borg, 150 pages, paperback, c. 2009, $17

[The Alban Institute] In Claiming the Beatitudes: Nine Stories from a
New Generation, Anne Sutherland Howard uses Jesus's beatitudes to
challenge us to live as the "salt of the earth" and the "light of the
world," recognizing that God is present and active in our lives today.

Though Jesus spoke the words of the beatitudes thousands of years ago,
people throughout our society are continuing to adjust their way of
modern living in the hopes of changing the world around them. With her
experience both as an Episcopal priest and as executive director of
The Beatitudes Society, Howard meets these people around the world and
shares their inspiring stories.

"In troubled times, hope often seems elusive, a vague promise of the
future. But Anne Howard transforms hope into a tangible practice of
faith by sharing the stories of young adults who take Jesus'
beatitudes both literally and seriously. Read Claiming the Beatitudes
and glimpse a transformational wisdom for church that grounds life in
God's beauty, truth, and goodness." -- Diana Butler Bass, author,
Christianity for the Rest of Us and A People's History of Christianity

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