wfn.org | News Briefs for February 6, 1998 issue

[ENS.parti@ecunet.org (ENS)]

February 10, 1998
Episcopal News Service
James Solheim, Director
(212) 922-5385
jsolheim@dfms.org

98-2086
Newark commends 'proper respect for the Bible'
	(ENS) The Diocese of Newark approved a resolution entitled "Proper respect for the Bible" during its annual diocesan convention in late January. Noting that the "Bible is not a club with which to beat people," the resolution stated that "God is living and continues to be revealed in new and life-giving ways." It also states that "our faithfulness to the past is best measured by our willingness to be guided as God continues to invite us into a personal relationship with Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior and to inspire us to do justice, love mercy, and walk humbly." Co-sponsors of the resolution were Louie Crew, founder of Integrity, a ministry to gay and lesbians in the church, and the Rev. John Donnelly-"two persons generally viewed as being on the opposite sides of almost any issue," quipped Dale Gruner, diocesan communications officer. Other issues approved by the convention included: opposing capital punishment, affirming rights for women to seek medical care, including abor!
tions; and favoring abolition of public funding for non-public schools. In his convention address, Bishop John Spong called for development of Christian education programs for children and adults to "renew and refocus the Christian church for life in a new century," especially in light of contemporary biblical, theological, ethical and social issues. 

Kenyan churches call for peace despite election chaos
	(ENI) Roman Catholic and Protestant church leaders in Kenya recently urged the country's opposition parties to accept the result of December's parliamentary and presidential elections in which the incumbent president and his ruling party were returned to power, despite the many economic and social problems the country faces. Daniel arap Moi, aged 73, was sworn in as president on January 5 for what he said will be his fifth and final term in office after gaining more than 40 percent in the vote. The church leaders urged both the government and the opposition to start healing the "traumatic" experiences of the elections. In the parliamentary elections, the ruling Kenya African National Unity won 107 seats to the combined opposition total of 100 seats. The country's two main opposition leaders have complained of irregularities in the election and that the vote was neither free nor fair. However, in a sermon on January 11, the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Nairobi, Ndingi Mwana'a !
Nzeki, said: "We may not respect the results, but we must accept them.  I am not saying there were no irregularities, but we cannot keep dwelling on bygones.  The onus is on us to prepare ourselves for the next elections." Kenya's Anglican leader, Archbishop David Gitari, said that all Kenyans, including the president and the opposition, "were guilty of the irregularities and suspicions that characterized the elections."
Episcopal Divinity School announces search for new president
	(ENS)  Episcopal Divinity School (EDS) in Cambridge, Massachusetts, recently announced the commencement of its search for a new president and dean to lead the school in its commitments to parish leadership, feminist liberation theologies, globalism and anti-racism. The Very Rev. William Rankin is leaving the post after five years to become vice-president of the United Religious Initiative in San Francisco, California. Anyone with nominations should contact the President and Dean Search Committee, Episcopal Divinity School, 99 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138-3494, 617-868-3450.
Ndungane condemns South African military deal
	(ENI) Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane of Capetown, South Africa recently denounced a South African deal that will supply military aircraft to Algeria. The deal, worth about $20 million, was announced by Denel, a South African arms manufacturer. The South African government has already approved the sale. "Africa is already awash with arms and military equipment. It provides no solutions to the challenges facing the continent," Ndungane said. "South Africa has many products to export which would enrich the world," he continued. "Military hardware is not one of them."
Deeper understanding of Anglicanism needed, group says
(ENS) Church leadership throughout the Anglican Communion needs to have a deeper understanding of Anglican heritage, Bishop David Birney told the governing council of the African Network of Institutions of Theological Education Preparing Anglicans for Ministry (ANITEPAM) at a recent meeting in Harare, Zimbabwe. Birney, who is the Anglican Consultative Council's (ACC) envoy to ANITEPAM, said that Canon John Peterson, secretary general of the ACC, was concerned that the substantial number of priests who prepared for the ordained ministry in non-Anglican institutions need training in Anglican polity, liturgy and history if they are to be effective in African provinces. The council proposed to address this issue by circulating a soon-to-be-published workbook on Anglicanism among the residential programs in Africa and by developing a coordinated approach to placing Anglican resources in the hands of theological educators.
Australian group joins traditional communion
	(Christian Challenge). Approximately 5,000 Melanesians from the Torres Strait Islands off the coast of Australia left the Anglican Church of Australia (ACA) recently to join the Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC), an international association of continuing churches. Clerical and lay representatives of the group cited a recent dispute over the selection of a bishop for the Torres Strait, along with the merger of the group's orthodox diocese of Carpenteria with the liberal diocese of North Queensland, as events precipitating their departure. Owen Buckton, spokesman for the Traditional Anglican Communion, said the church's encouragement of "an all-embracing ecumenical liberal approach" also contributed to a "growing feeling of betrayal" among the Torres Strait Anglicans. The newly-formed Church of the Torres Strait comprises 17 parishes with property valued at $5 million.
Kenyan churches accuse government of complicity in murders
	(ENS) The Roman Catholic Church and the National Council of Churches of Kenya (NCCK) bitterly criticized the government of Daniel arap Moi recently, accusing it of complicity in recent murders of dozens of people in Kenya's Rift Valley. Those killed belong to the Kikuyu ethnic group, most of whom support the opposition Democratic Party that failed to oust Moi's ruling Kenyan African National Union in elections in December 1997. Kenya's 22 Roman Catholic bishops have signed a statement, "In God's Name Please Stop This Genocide," vigorously denying the government's claim that the deaths were the work of cattle-rustlers from other ethnic groups. The bishops said the killings demonstrated a "well-orchestrated, planned and executed design of death that is beyond the capacity of locals." In a statement entitled "The Butchering of Kenyans," the NCCK expressed its deep concern over the killings. The NCCK's general secretary, Mutava Musyimi, said reports he had received "point to" gov!
ernment complicity in some of the deaths.
Pope ends Cuba visit with a call for change
	(ENI) Pope John Paul II completed his recent visit to Cuba with a call for greater political freedom and a criticism of the embargo of the communist country by the United States. The Pope called on the Cuban people to overcome the roots of material and moral poverty which were to be found in "unjust inequalities, in limitations to fundamental freedoms" as well as in "unjust and ethically unacceptable" oppressive economic measures "imposed from outside the country"-a reference to the U.S. embargo.  Some observers drew a parallel between the Pope's trip to Cuba and a visit early in his pontificate to Poland. Many believe his Polish visit helped to rally the opponents of communism and ultimately led to the downfall of communism in eastern Europe. Referring to this, Castro said that both he and the Pope had given a "good example" to the world: "You by visiting what some chose to call communism's last bulwark; we by receiving the religious leader who has been [credited with] the d!
estruction of socialism in Europe."
Church of the Advent lawsuit dismissed
	(Living Church) A long struggle over the governance of the Church of the Advent in Boston came to a conclusion recently with a unanimous decision by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court to dismiss the case brought by members of Advent's corporation. The dispute came about in 1993 when a majority of the members of the corporation passed a vote of no confidence in the rector, the Rev. Andrew C. Mead. Following that vote, Mead asked then-Bishop David Johnson of Massachusetts to intercede. After a failed attempt at mediation, Johnson accepted Mead's resignation, ordered the entire vestry to resign and empowered the communicants of the parish to elect a new vestry. The 20-member corporation representing the parish had appointed the previous vestry. Thirteen members of the corporation voted to institute a lawsuit contesting the bishop's jurisdiction over the parish. The state supreme court upheld the defendants' claim that the Episcopal Church is hierarchical, that the dispute !
is one of internal discipline and government, and that the First Amendment prohibits the court from deciding the dispute.

African women educators call for 'a community of equals'
(ENS) African Anglican women theological educators recently appealed for a series of actions by both the church and its theological education programs that would demonstrate greater concern for justice for women. The women were delegates from Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, South Africa, Tanzania, Uganda and Zimbabwe attending the consultation, "Nurturing Our Calling... Strengthening Our Ministry," in Harare, Zimbabwe. Participants also looked beyond the boundaries of traditional theological education to embrace a broad role for women theological educators in African society.  "Women in theological education must be in solidarity with women in other areas of society to make claims and work for justice for women," their final communiqué declared.  Further, women "must take courage to challenge aspects of traditional African culture and church practices that are used to oppress them, and to risk making changes for equal opportunities for women and men." The statement concluded with a dec!
laration to "commit ourselves to a transformational church, a community of equals in the church of women and men, and one which models God's peace, love and justice for the whole world."
Cardinal preaches in Ecuador's Anglican cathedral
	(ENI) Catholic Cardinal Bernardino Echeverria preached recently in Ecuador's main Anglican church, El Salvador Cathedral, in the capital of Quito. The 85-year-old cardinal's visit to the cathedral marks a watershed in the history of churches in Ecuador, according to the Latin American and Caribbean church news service. Echeverria gave the homily at an Anglican service to mark the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity (January 18-25). "It is the first time that I have participated in worship in a non-Catholic Church, and I have realized how much we have in common," he said. He pointed out that the Second Vatican Council stressed the importance of ecumenism, and that Pope John Paul II called for Christians to pray for church unity.
Episcopal discipline review committee appointed
	(ENS) Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold recently appointed the following five bishops as members of the review committee designated to consider any canonical disciplinary charges that may be brought against a bishop of the church:  
Bishop Gethin B. Hughes of San Diego, Bishop Robert Moody of Oklahoma, Bishop Creighton Robertson of South Dakota, Bishop Robert Rowley of Northwest Pennsylvania and Bishop Catherine Waynick of Indianapolis. Pamela Chinnis, president of the House of Deputies, appointed the following two priests and two lay people to the committee: The Very Rev. H. Scott Kirby of Eau Claire, The Rev. Anne Robbins of Southern Ohio, Mr. J.P. Causey, Jr. of Virginia and Ms. Mary Lou Crowley of Central New York.
Worship will inaugurate Lutheran-Reformed full communion
	(ENS) A festival worship service at Chicago's Rockefeller Chapel on October 4 will formally declare that the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is entering into "full communion" with three U.S. churches of the Reformed tradition, if the relationship is ratified by the presbyteries of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.). Assemblies of those two church bodies and of the Reformed Church in America and United Church of Christ approved "A Formula of Agreement," a proposal for full communion, in 1997. A planning committee representing the four church bodies announced initial plans for the worship service which will be broadcast on a national cable network. "Full communion" includes recognition that "the sacraments are rightly administered according to the word of God" in each other's churches. The Lutheran-Reformed planning committee asked the four churches to work together on several short-term projects, such as a brochure for congregations to describe the nature of full c!
ommunion, and several long-term projects, including conversations among staff and governing bodies on the necessary provisions to implement full communion. 
Pan African Anglican-Lutheran commission planned
	(ACNS) The establishment of a Pan African Anglican-Lutheran commission to work toward a relationship of full communion as a stage along the way to full visible unity recently was discussed in a consultation held in Johannesburg, South Africa. "Specific to the Anglican-Lutheran dialogue in Africa is its emphasis on the pastoral and diaconal dimensions to the church's life, which participants affirmed as being central to the life of a visibly united church in the African context," according to Canon David Hamid of the Anglican Consultative Council, co-secretary of the interim commission established to set up the actual commission. Regarding issues related to the understanding of the church, sacraments and ministry, Hamid said that the Pan African dialogue will benefit from the international Anglican-Lutheran dialogue as well as the considerable progress made in Anglican-Lutheran relations in other regions of the world, such as Europe, the United States, and Canada. 
New election procedure for Kenya's Anglican church
	(ENS) A special synod of the Church of the Province of Kenya (CPK) recently voted to change its name and to create three new archbishops. The name will be changed from CPK to the Anglican Church of Kenya. In response to the rapid expansion of the church and the increased need for pastoral services, the synod resolved that the church will be divided into two or three ecclesiastical provinces each with an archbishop and each having a number of dioceses. CPK, which is the second largest denomination in Kenya, has an estimated membership of three million. It is administered through 26 dioceses, up from the original seven in 1970 when the CPK became independent of the larger East African Province.
People

The Rev. Canon John Yamazaki, rector emeritus of St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Los Angeles, died on January 29th of complications from stroke and a brain tumor. He was 83. He began his 56 years of ministry as pastor to Japanese-Americans interred in the United States during World War II. He became vicar of St. Mary's in 1946 and was elected rector of that parish in 1956. "This church has lost one of its great leaders and a devoted pastor, not only among Japanese-Americans from the time of internment and 50 years thereafter, but to us all," said Bishop Frederick Borsch of Los Angeles. Yamazaki chaired the Episcopal Church's Asiamerican Ministries group from 1975 to 1984, and served as a staunch advocate for the ordination of women to the priesthood as adopted by the General Convention in 1976. "John was a dear friend and a role model to me in his selfless service to the church," retired Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning said in a statement. "I give thanks for his ministry."

The Rev. Dr. Christopher Duraisingh was appointed recently to the Episcopal Divinity School's (EDS) newly endowed chair established in honor of Bishop Otis Charles, who served as the school's president and dean from 1985 to 1993. "Dr. Duraisingh's knowledge of the global church is without peer, and he will be a tremendous resource for both our students and our faculty," said EDS dean William Rankin. Before his appointment, Duraisingh was executive secretary for gospel and culture of the World Council of Churches and editor of the International Review of Mission. He received his doctorate from EDS in 1965 and is an ordained minister of the Church of South India. The Otis Charles Chair in Applied Theology was established by a $1.3 million grant from the Rev. Marta Weeks, a Salt Lake philanthropist who became friends with Charles when he served as bishop of the Diocese of Utah from 1971 to 1985. Duraisingh is the first person named to the chair.

The Rev. Peter Gunn Cheney, senior associate rector at St. Philip's in the Hills Church, Tucson, Arizona, was recently appointed executive director of the National Association of Episcopal Schools, effective July 1, 1998. He was director of admissions at St. Paul's School, Concord, New Hampshire, and founding rector of the parish preschool at St. George's Episcopal Church, Hellertown, Pennsylvania. 

The Rev. Dr. James E. Griffiss, a professor of philosophical and systematic theology at Nashotah House seminary who also serves as editor of the Anglican Theological Review, has been named theological consultant to Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold.  Griffiss has also served as a consultant to several ecumenical dialogues, and is general editor of A New Church Teaching Series. In making the appointment, Griswold said that he has asked Griffiss to "help articulate theological conversations that will involve the presiding bishop and groups of theologians reflecting a wide range of sensibilities." He noted that doing theology is central to the ministry of a presiding bishop, and must not be lost in the midst of ecclesial concerns.