wfn.org | Episcopal News Service Briefs

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2002-031

News Briefs

Church of England vicars underreporting attendance to avoid tax 

     (ENS) London's Daily Telegraph reports that Church of England vicars have 
"deliberately" underestimated attendance at services to reduce the amount of 
apportionment they pay to their dioceses.

     The newspaper says that true average attendance in the Church of England is 
almost 1,400,000, significantly higher than the most recent reported figure of 
995,700.

     Two years ago, when official annual statistics revealed that usual Sunday 
attendance had dropped below one million for the first time, the church undertook 
a revision in the way statistics were collected. The figures were used by many 
dioceses to calculate the "parish share" or annual tax levied on each church. 
Some vicars apparently used figures from sparsely-attended services to keep their 
parish share as low as possible, and there was no common method used for 
collecting the figures.

     Under the new system, coordinated by the church's internal statistics 
department, all clergy make the count over a four-week period in October, and 
include weekly services and the growing number of elderly and housebound people 
receiving communion at home.

     The new figures show that attendance figures approach three million during 
some seasons of the year, and the research will be hailed by church leaders as 
evidence that the church is far from the moribund institution depicted by its 
critics.

     The research has also established that Sunday services have declined in 
popularity, and that many more people attend midweek services or just once a 
month, using other Sundays in the month for shopping or visiting families.

   

  Archbishop of Canada to be chosen by e-mail

     (Anglican Journal) In a move designed to save thousands of dollars in travel 
expenses, eliminate an extra meeting and preserve summer vacations, the 
Ecclesiastical Province of Canada plans to vote for a new metropolitan by fax and 
e-mail. 

     The idea came from the Rev. Alan Perry, an Internet-savvy priest from 
Pierrefonds, Quebec, who also set up and maintains the ecclesiastical province's 
website at http://www.province-canada.anglican.org. 

     Perry figured the province would save more than $20,000 in travel costs 
alone by taking the electronic route in the election to replace Archbishop Arthur 
Peters of Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, whose retirement as metropolitan 
becomes effective in February. 

     The province was founded in 1860, and predates the national church by three 
decades. It includes seven dioceses: Montreal, Quebec, Fredericton, Nova Scotia 
and Prince Edward Island, Western Newfoundland, Central Newfoundland and Eastern 
Newfoundland and Labrador. 

     Timing also motivated Perry, who said in an interview that Archbishop 
Peters' scheduled retirement date would have forced either a summer meeting of 
the provincial council, or an extra one in May ahead of the regularly scheduled 
provincial meeting usually held in September or October. The e-mail election has 
tentatively been scheduled for May. 

     The metropolitan chairs the house of bishops of his province, and presides 
over both provincial synod and provincial council meetings. He also serves as 
pastor to diocesan bishops. 

     The thorniest problem was how to set up a protocol to protect the anonymity 
of the vote. That was addressed with the planned introduction of two scrutineers, 
both from outside the province and neither a member of council, with e-mail and 
fax capabilities. "For less than the cost of a council we could buy them each a 
computer and a fax," Perry said. 

     Each voter will submit a ballot to both scrutineers, he said, who will in 
turn check with each other. People will have three days to submit their vote 
after receiving a list of candidates. In order to be elected, the candidate must 
receive a majority in each of the three orders-- bishops, clergy and laity. Perry 
said scrutineers preserve the anonymity of the vote by destroying faxes and 
erasing e-mails after the voting is over. 

Bush names new head of faith-based initiatives office

     (RNS) President George W. Bush has named Jim Towey, an attorney who has 
worked on end-of-life issues and served as legal counsel to Mother Teresa, as the 
new director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives.

     In an announcement February 1 attended by dignitaries from religious groups, 
Bush praised Towey for working with both Republicans and Democrats as well as the 
famous nun. "He understands there are things more important than political 
parties," the president said. "And one of those things more important than 
political parties is to help heal the nation's soul."

     Bush said Towey will work with Congress to pass legislation to enhance 
governmental aid for faith-based and other community organizations. Towey will 
serve on a new Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, chaired 
by USA Freedom Corps Director John Bridgeland and involving five Cabinet 
secretaries and the chairman for the Corporation of National and Community 
Service.

     Towey, founder of the Florida-based Aging With Dignity, ran the state's 
health and social service agency during a Democratic administration and earlier 
worked as legal counsel for former Sen. Mark O. Hatfield, R-Oregon.

     "I'm deeply grateful to God and to you, sir, for entrusting me with this 
honor to serve my country, particularly those Americans who are hurting and in 
need," Towey said after the president's introduction. "Mother Teresa introduced 
me to this joy that comes from befriending those in need, and discovering their 
tremendous dignity."

     While groups like the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations welcomed 
Towey's appointment, critics such as Americans United for Separation of Church 
and State continue to question aspects of Bush's initiative. "The faith-based 
initiative is stalled on the tracks," said the Rev. Barry W. Lynn, executive 
director of Americans United. "It will take more than a new conductor to get it 
rolling again."

     Towey succeeds John DiIulio, a prominent University of Pennsylvania 
professor who became the center of controversy as groups with concerns about 
church-state separation questioned aspects of the initiative. 

Carey travels to Denver for friend's installation as dean

     (ENS) Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey, in Denver January 27 for the 
installation of his friend Peter Eaton as the ninth dean of St. John's Cathedral, 
declared that "religion has got to be part of the solution" to the problem of 
innocent people being killed in the name of religion. In particular, he said, 
Christianity and Islam must play an integral role in the war on terrorism and 
establishing Middle East peace. 

      Bishop Jerry Winterrowd of Colorado performed the installation ceremony 
before a congregation of more than 1,200. Eaton, raised in New England, the West 
Indies and Great Britain,  carries dual US and British citizenship.

     During a news conference at Denver's Brown Palace Hotel, according to 
reports in the Denver Post, Carey said September 11 "triggered something" in 
people who are now realizing "there are much more important things in the world 
than going to work and having a job." 

     Following the attacks, Carey initiated discussions with British Prime 
Minister Tony Blair on "what can religions do to create lasting healing." As a 
part of that effort, he recently hosted a seminar bringing together nearly 40 
Christian and Muslim scholars and theologians from more than a dozen countries. 
"The Palestinians have been driven away from their homes," he said. And 
"honorable people are . . . seeing their children blown up." 

     Asked about the Anglican Mission in America, for which Colorado is a major 
source of breakaway congregations, Carey  told reporters, "Anything which divides 
us can only be seen as a wrong step outside the church. They've created enormous 
problems for the Anglican Communion."

Churches for Middle East Peace writes President Bush on Mideast peace

      (ENS) Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP), an ecumenical coalition of 16 
churches and agencies--including the Episcopal Church--has written to President 
George Bush asking his administration "to reconsider the tactic of focusing blame 
and demands on Mr. Arafat [of the Palestinian Authority] while ignoring the 
provocative policies of Israeli Prime Minister Sharon."

     The letter, which was also sent to key people in Congress and the State 
Department, asks the president, in his meeting with Sharon, to "insist that all 
violence, including the violence of military occupation--house demolitions, 
repressive closures, land confiscation, destruction of trees, torture of 
detainees, and settlement activity--end immediately." It called "the destruction 
of the infrastructure of Palestinian self-rule, through targeted assassinations, 
reoccupation of land, and other measures," with financial support from the United 
States, "a serious policy error."

     CMEP's letter asked for "clarity that the United States intends to take 
steps that will end Israel's military occupation and fulfill the explicit goal of 
the Administration to reach a two-state settlement based on the pre-1967 
boundaries" as directed by resolutions of the United Nations. "To deny this 
vision to the suffering and angry Israeli and Palestinian people is cruel and 
dangerous; to offer hope for peace and the common good of the two peoples and 
three faiths would be a blessing for them and for all," the letter concluded.

     Referring to a declaration recently signed in Alexandria, Egypt, by 
Christian, Jewish and Muslim leaders, CMEP endorsed the call "for a religiously 
sanctioned cease-fire, respected and observed on all sides, and for 
implementation of the Mitchell and Tenet recommendations, including the lifting 
of restrictions and a return to negotiations."

     Thomas Hart, director of the Office for Government Relations in Washington, 
DC, signed the letter on behalf of the Episcopal Church.

     The letter in its entirety can be found at 
http://www.cmep.org/letters/BushLetter.html

Anglicans in Zimbabwe and Kenya address upcoming elections

     (ENS) The Anglican Council of Zimbabwe and the primate of the Church in 
Kenya have expressed hopes and concerns about upcoming presidential elections.

     In Zimbabwe, Anglicans said in a statement that they were "alarmed at the 
wanton violence that is tearing the country apart. We appeal for a culture of 
tolerance amongst the contestants. There should be an end to violence and the 
state machinery must deal firmly with the offenders without fear or favor."

     The statement also said that "all players must be granted equal coverage on the 
media. All should be allowed to hold their rallies without disruption. Parties should 
be able to state their views, positions and present their manifestoes, thereby giving 
the electorate options from which to choose."

     The statement also appealed to political leaders "to refrain from inflammatory 
and derogatory language which may stir the flames of violence People should 
speak freely, choose freely and vote freely for a brighter future that lies ahead for 
Zimbabwe."

     Archbishop David Gitari, the primate of the Anglican Church of Kenya, cautioned 
his country's government to guard against a resurgence of ethnic clashes leading to 
the general election. He lamented that "ethnic cleansing" had become a tradition since 
the advent of a multi-party political system.

     "Why should there always be ethnic clashes, especially in the Rift Valley, instigated 
by politicians?" he asked in a sermon. He said that a government that did not protect its 
people had no reason for being in power and those who ascend to power through 
"blood votes" were sinners.