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Daybook -- Today is Friday, June 9, 2006, in ordinary time.
* Today in Scripture: Daily Office meditation http://eds.libsyn.com * Today in Prayer: Anglican Cycle of Prayer http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acp/index.cfm * Today in History: On this day in 1926, the cornerstone was laid for St. Columba's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C. http://www.columba.org
Note: There are four days until the 75th General Convention opens June 13 in Columbus, Ohio. For information, see "Toward Columbus" reports http://www.episcopalchurch.org/ens and the website of the General Convention http://www.episcopalchurch.org/53785_ENG_HTM.htm
For reports from Columbus, ENS will release NewsLink twice daily to subscribers via email. ENS will also post to its website http://www.episcopalchurch.org/ens PDF files of the Convention Daily newspaper, and streaming video of the Convention Nightly newscast.
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Friday Forum
Comprehensive immigration reform: Episcopal Migration Ministries director comments on Senate version; House 'bias toward enforcement-only legislation' noted
[ENS] While the U.S. Senate on May 25 passed legislation that included many of the key provisions of comprehensive immigration reform that had been proposed by immigrant rights groups across the country, including the Episcopal Church, Richard Parkins, director of Episcopal Migration Ministries (EMM), notes that the measure will likely face "serious assault" in the House of Representatives.
"The Senate, while modifying the legalization strategy proposed by advocates at least made a pathway to permanent residence a possibility for approximately 8 million undocumented persons," said Parkins. "This step is encouraging. However, even this watered-down and more complicated approach to legalizing undocumented workers will face a serious assault in the House where the bias toward enforcement-only legislation is strong."
The Senate bill provides for an enhanced guest worker program as well as important steps in removing the staggering backlog of family visas.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_75428_ENG_HTM.htm
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Catalyst: "Remember the Future: Financial Leadership and Asset Management for Congregations," new from Church Publishing Inc., by Gerald W. Keucher, paperback, 160 pages, $15.
Church Publishing Inc: http://www.churchpublishing.org
[Source: Church Publishing Inc.] "Remember the Future" is a result of years of hands-on consulting work with struggling congregations by Jerry Keucher, controller of the Diocese of New York. Keucher notes that many, if not most, congregations in mainline churches have declined in the past forty years and that this shrinkage in numbers "has deeply affected the psyches" of congregational leaders. Using a positive tone and attitude to help congregations imagine health instead of decline, Keucher offers clear, step-by-step methods and advice on analyzing and managing all aspects of congregational assets.
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