wfn.org | [ENS] Episcopal Migration Ministries holds conference in D.C. / Seamen's Church Institute embarks on

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>Episcopal News Service
>April 16, 2010

Episcopal News Service is available at  http://www.episcopalchurch.org/ens.

>Today's Episcopal News Service includes:

* TOP STORY - Episcopal Migration Ministries holds conference in D.C.
* TOP STORY - Seamen's Church Institute embarks on novel study of
piracy's effects
* TOP STORY - Episcopal Church offers many ways to mark Earth Day
* DIOCESAN DIGEST - OREGON: Portland church unveils bicycle liturgy
* PEOPLE - Kittredge named academic dean at Seminary of the Southwest
* MULTIMEDIA - Video: Seamen's Church Institute responds to the needs
of seafarers
* DAYBOOK - April 19: Today in Scripture, Prayer, History
* EBAR PICK - "Sacred Treasures II, Choral Masterwork from the Sistine  Chapel"
* EBAR PICK - "Why Is God Laughing? The Path to Joy and Spiritual  Optimism"

>_____________________

>TOP STORIES

Episcopal Migration Ministries holds conference in D.C.
Affiliates visit elected officials on behalf of refugees

>By Lynette Wilson

[Episcopal News Service -- Washington, D.C.] Nine months after
arriving in Seattle, Washington, from Jordan, where she spent the last
six years of her life after fleeing her home in war-torn Baghdad,
Iraq, in 2004, Nada Abood called on three members of Congress in their
offices on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., asking that they support
refugees and act to reform the nation's refugee resettlement program.

An electrical engineer by training, Abood, 36, is now a part-time case
worker for the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia's Refugee Resettlement
Office, helping others make the transition into American life. (She
also works a full time security job.)

Abood was one of more than 110 people attending the annual Episcopal
Migration Ministries (http://www.episcopalchurch.org/emm.htm)
Conference April 13-16 at the Washington Plaza Hotel. EMM oversees the
arrival of about six percent of all refugees entering the United
States, organizing the refugees' case before they arrive and assigning
them to one of its 31 resettlement partner agencies in some 27
dioceses.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79425_121687_ENG_HTM.htm

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Seamen's Church Institute embarks on novel study of piracy's effects

>By Lynette Wilson

[Episcopal News Service] For many people, the word "pirate" conjures
images of the Walt Disney franchise's Pirates of the Caribbean movies,
featuring Johnny Depp as Captain Jack Sparrow, and its theme-park
attractions. Halloween partygoers don't dress as merchant mariners.

In reality, pirates wreak havoc on the maritime shipping industry. In
2009, 406 incidences of piracy and armed robbery were reported -- 217
of those attacks attributed to Somali pirates. It was the first time
since 2003 that reported incidences surpassed 400, according to the
International Maritime Bureau Piracy Reporting Centre.

Despite media coverage of marauding Somali pirates and the world's
dependency on shipping, the rights and safety of merchant mariners --
the men and women who staff the ships -- often are overlooked, said
Doug Stevenson, director for seafarers' rights for the Seamen's Church
Institute (SCI).

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79425_121579_ENG_HTM.htm

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Episcopal Church offers many ways to mark Earth Day

>By ENS staff

[Episcopal News Service] Looking ahead to Earth Day on April 22, the
Episcopal Church is suggesting a number of ways to honor the 40th
anniversary of the event.

The latest entry in the church's Sermons That Work series is written
by Michael Schut, Episcopal Church economic and environmental affairs
officer, for the Third Sunday after Easter (April 18).

"Our role here on God's good earth is to be servants of creation," he
says in the sermon. "Following the celebration of Easter, Earth Day
comes along. The timing, frankly, seems a little off. Those who
proposed and celebrated the first Earth Day probably didn't consult
the Christian calendar. If they did, they may well have chosen to mark
Earth Day during the season of Lent."

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79425_121569_ENG_HTM.htm

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

>_____________________

>DIOCESAN DIGEST

OREGON: Portland church unveils bicycle liturgy
Parish dedicates 'ghost bike,' adds new logo for bicycle shrine

>By Pat McCaughan

[Episcopal News Service] The Episcopal Church

(http://www.episcopalchurch.org) has liturgies to commemorate many of
life's significant moments-blessings of marriages and civil unions,
for animals and pets, even for rites of passage such as going off to
college and obtaining a driver's permit.

Now an Oregon parish has developed what is believed to be the church's
first liturgy for two-wheeled commuters-for bicyclists.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_121653_ENG_HTM.htm

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

>_____________________

>PEOPLE

Kittredge named academic dean at Seminary of the Southwest

[Episcopal News Service] Cynthia Briggs Kittredge will assume
responsibilities of academic dean at Seminary of the Southwest on June
1.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81831_121542_ENG_HTM.htm

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

>_____________________

>MULTIMEDIA

Video: Seamen's Church Institute responds to the needs of seafarers
http://episcopalchurch.org/multimedia/wadinginthewaters

More Multimedia: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/80056_ENG_HTM.htm

>_____________________

>DAYBOOK

>On April 19, 2010...

* 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 19, 1823, Anna L. Waring, Welsh Anglican
hymn writer, was born in Glamorganshire, South Wales.

>_____________________

>EBAR PICK

"Sacred Treasures II, Choral Masterwork from the Sistine Chapel" music
CD. 14 musical selections. $16.98.

[Valley Entertainment] The psalm "Miserere Mei Deus" is a prayer for
mercy, contrition and renewal. Since the 1630s, Gregorio Allegri's
famous setting has been sung at dawn during Holy Week, while the Pope
kneels in prayer in the solemn candlelit atmosphere of the Sistine
Chapel. This contemporary version, recorded in the spectral grandeur
of Osnabruck Cathedral, adds new material composed by Vladimir Ivanoff
to the ethereal harmonies of the Osnabruck Youth Choir and the elegiac
brass tones of the cornetto, recreating the mysterious beauty of this
sacred classic.

>- - - - -

"Why Is God Laughing? The Path to Joy and Spiritual Optimism" by
Deepak Chopra, foreword by Mike Myers, paperback, 192 pages, c. 2009.
$12.

[Random House] In this refreshing new take on spirituality,
bestselling author Deepak Chopra uses a fictional tale of a comedian
and his unlikely mentor to show us a path back to hope, joy, and even
enlightenment -- with a lot of laughter along the way.

Meet Mickey Fellows. A successful L.A. comedian, he's just a regular
guy, with his fair share of fears, egocentricities, and addictions.
After his father's death, Mickey meets a mysterious stranger named
Francisco, who changes his life forever. The two begin an ongoing
discussion about the true nature of being. Reluctantly at first,
Mickey accepts the stranger's help and starts to explore his own life
in an effort to answer the riddles Francisco poses. Mickey starts to
look at those aspects of himself that he has hidden behind a wall of
wisecracks all his life. Eventually Mickey realizes that authentic
humor opens him up to the power of spirit -- allowing him to finally
make real connections with people.

After taking the reader on a journey with Mickey, Chopra then spells
out the lessons that Mickey's story imparts to us: ten reasons to be
optimistic, even in our challenging world. Chopra believes that the
healthiest response to life is laughter from the heart, and even in
the face of global turmoil, we can cultivate an internal sense of
optimism. Rich with humor and practical advice, Why Is God Laughing?
shows us without a doubt that there is always a reason to be grateful,
that every possibility holds the promise of abundance, and that
obstacles are simply opportunities in disguise. In the end, we really
don't need a reason to be happy. The power of happiness lies within
each of us, just waiting to be unleashed. And Mickey Fellows' journey
shows us the way.

To order, please visit Episcopal Books and Resources online at
http://www.episcopalbookstore.org, call 800-903-5544, or visit your
local Episcopal bookstore.