wfn.org | Episcopal News Service Briefs

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2001-64

Wanted: Episcopalians 

     (ENS) The Joint Standing Committee on Nominations for the General 
Convention of the Episcopal Church is looking for a few good Episcopalians.

     Scratch that: they're looking for a lot of good Episcopalians.

     The committee has developed a two-stage process for identifying nominees 
to serve on the Executive Council, the General Board of Examining Chaplains, 
trustees for the Church Pension Fund, and trustees of the General Theological 
Seminary. First, they've decided to issue a series of calls to individuals to 
offer themselves for nomination. Second, they'll distribute forms for 
nominations by others, in much the same way it was done last year.

     "In addition to asking for nominations by some people of other people, 
we want to give people the opportunity to offer themselves," said committee 
member Lee Davis Thames, deputy from the Diocese of Mississippi.

     "We believe that this will provide the national church with a new and 
expanded reservoir of people who are willing to serve at that level as part 
of their individual ministries. So we will provide the President of the House 
of Deputies with the names of all those who indicate a willingness to serve, 
as well as those who are nominated," said Thames.

     If you would like to nominate yourself or someone else go to 
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/governance/GC/service.html

     

Female circumcision on the decline in Uganda

     (ENS) After years of campaigning by the church, government and non-
governmental organizations, the rate of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM), or 
female circumcision, has dropped in Uganda.

     Statistics show that in 2000, less than 4,000 girls went through the 
brutal ritual in which the clitoris and labia of young girls are circumcised 
before they are 14 years old, compared to an average of 10,000 in 1999.

     Elders in Uganda's eastern Sebei sub-region say that the origin of the 
practice is not known, but it remains a central part of their culture and a 
prerequisite for marriage. Some also say it is used to discourage women from 
enjoying sex, hence curbing promiscuity on the part of married women.

     Churches in Ugandan areas that still practice FGM say that, although the 
instances of FGM are decreasing, government and international community 
support are still needed.

     "We have campaigned vigorously since the 1960s and we are realizing that 
there are changes now, but this is not enough for a practice that is not only 
bad because it dehumanizes women, but also denies them their human rights," 
said an Anglican clergyman. He added, "Many of these girls are coerced into 
the practice and sometimes they are blackmailed that unless they undergo the 
practice, they will never get married."

  
   

Historians gather in Toronto

     (ENS) The triennial Anglican/Episcopal Church History Conference, 
commemorating the 300th anniversary of the Society for the Preservation of 
the Gospel in Foreign Parts (SPG), will be held June 23-27, in Toronto, 
Ontario, Canada.

     The event is hosted by Trinity College and Wycliffe College of the 
University of Toronto and is sponsored by the Canadian Church Historical 
Society, Episcopal Women's History Project, Historical Society of the 
Episcopal Church USA, and National Episcopal Historians and Archivists.

     The conference will explore Christian traditions in a variety of 
cultures and their historical changes from a number of perspectives. Some 30 
scholars from four countries will deliver papers around the following themes:

     *Change and diversification in North American Anglicanism;

          *The church and public culture;

          *Anglicanism, the New World, race and gender;

          *The church and the SPG in North America

     Workshops for archivists and historians, demonstrations, church tours, 
displays, exhibits, dramatic programs and multicultural worship services are 
planned to round out the conference.

     For further information, contact Gary Graber, conference coordinator, at 
gary.graber@utotonto.ca or call 416/585-7749.

     

Man poses as an Anglican bishop to smuggle arms

     (BBC) According to a report, police in Ecuador have arrested a man 
posing as an Anglican bishop, on charges of arms smuggling.

     Walter Crespo was detained the week of March 4, with two former army 
colonels, after police intercepted a shipment of rockets and anti-personnel 
mines on the border with Colombia. Ammunition and coded documents were also 
discovered in his home.

     The report also stated that Crespo wore ecclesiastical robes and had 
established a following in Ecuador over several years, even though the 
Anglican Church denies any association with him.