NewsLink, Serving the Episcopal Church
Daybook -- Today is Monday, October 23, 2006. The Church calendar remembers Saint James of Jerusalem, brother of our Lord Jesus Christ, and martyr.
* Today in Scripture: Daily Office meditation: http://www.forwardmovement.org/todaysreading.cfm * Today in Prayer: Anglican Cycle of Prayer: http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acp/index.cfm * Today in History: On this day in 1994, Bishop James Ottley of Panama assumed the role of Anglican observer at the United Nations. http://www.episcopalarchives.org/cgi-bin/ENS/ENSpress_release.pl?pr_numbe r=94188
- - -
Mission: Brazilian Diocese of Recife diocese begins new chapter, installs fourth bishop
Anglican Church of Brazil provides 'model of leadership'
By Margaret S. Larom
[ENS] The Diocese of Recife in Brazil celebrated the start of a new chapter in its complicated life with the installation on October 11 of its fourth bishop, the Rt. Rev. Sebastiao Armando Gameleira Soares. The newly elected primate of Brazil, the Most Rev. Mauricio Andrade, presided over the investiture, which was held in the auditorium of a university in the city and attended by 400 people, including ecumenical guests and leaders of the liberation theology movement in Brazil.
Soares, a theologian and professor of Biblical studies who has been bishop of the Diocese of Pelotas in southern Brazil since February 2000, was elected as bishop of Recife to replace Robinson Cavalcanti, who was deposed on June 10, 2005. The election took place at the General Synod of the Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil (IEAB) in July 2006, at which other significant actions were taken -- including the election of a new primate, the nomination of a new provincial secretary, the approval of the Missionary District of the Amazon becoming a diocese, and the election of the Rev. Saulo Mauricio de Barros as Amazonia's first bishop.
The ordination and consecration of Barros, and the inauguration of the new diocese, took place in the city of Belém on October 14 with hundreds of participants. In five short years, the missionary district of the Amazon has moved to full diocesan status, thanks to the untiring efforts of seven clergy and the laity serving four parishes and three missionary points.
Among the participants in the Recife investiture was Bishop Mark Sisk of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, a member of the Bilateral Committee for the IEAB and the Episcopal Church. As he offered greetings on behalf of Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, Sisk alluded to the significance of the event in terms of the wider Anglican Communion.
"This is a historic moment in the life of the Anglican Communion, the Church of Brazil, and this diocese," he said. "This is a wonderful and hope-filled time of rebuilding, restoration and solidarity. This is a time for a new spirit. This is a time to renew the message of love and hope which is at the heart of the Gospel. This is a time when the Church in Brazil is giving to the world a witness of clarity, courage and faithfulness. This is a witness which we all need to hear. You are providing a model of leadership that we all need to follow. God bless you."
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3577_78841_ENG_HTM.htm
_ _ _
Catalyst: "The Future of Hope: Christian Tradition amid Modernity and Postmodernity" from Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., edited by Miroslav Volf and Williams Katerberg, 235 pages, paperback, $20
[Source: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.] -- Over the last three decades a major cultural shift has taken place in the attitudes of Western societies toward the future. Modernity's eclipse by postmodernity is characterized in large part by the loss of hope for a future substantially better than the present. Old optimism about human progress has given way to uncertainty and fear. In this book, scholars from various disciplines -- theology, the social sciences, and the humanities -- explore the move from a "culture of optimism" to a "culture of ambiguity," and they seek to infuse today's jaded language of hope with a new vitality.
The Future of Hope offers a powerful critique of today's stifling cultural climate and shows why the vision of hope central to Christian faith must be a basic component of any flourishing society. The first section of the book sets the context with telling cultural criticism of modernity. The second section focuses on affinities between premodern Christian visions of hope and twentieth-century thought. The final section of the book examines the relationship between postmodern thought, Christian tradition, and biblical hope, addressing how Christians in a postmodern world can best articulate their faith.
Written by truly profound thinkers, these chapters are diverse in their content, methodologies, and temperament, yet they are united by a deep engagement with both the Christian tradition and the larger cultural and intellectual climate in which we live and work. The Future of Hope can thus be read not just as an attempt at retrieval of hope for today but as itself one small act of hope in an age when people too seldom take time to think critically and hopefully.
To order: Episcopal Books and Resources online at http://www.episcopalbookstore.org or call 800-903-5544.
- - - - - - - - -
To SUBSCRIBE to Episcopal News Service, send a blank email message, from the address which you wish subscribed, to join-enslist@epicom.org and include "subscribe" in the subject line.
Send QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS to news@episcopalchurch.org
ENS provides information and resources which we consider to be of interest to our readers. However, statements and opinions expressed in the articles and communications herein, are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of ENS or the Episcopal Church.