Episcopal Life Online Newslink August 14, 2007
Episcopal Life Online is available at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/elife.
Today's ELO Newslink includes:
* DIOCESAN DIGEST - CENTRAL NEW YORK: Retired priest suspended for sexual abuse * DIOCESAN DIGEST - DALLAS: Labyrinth brings new life to parish hall * DIOCESAN DIGEST - WESTERN NEW YORK: Diocese deposes former Batavia priest * WORLD REPORT - MIDDLE EAST: Communiqué from the Anglican Jewish Commission's inaugural meeting * OPINION - Reflections on praying for our armed forces
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DIOCESAN DIGEST
CENTRAL NEW YORK: Retired priest suspended for sexual abused http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_89069_ENG_HTM.htm
DALLAS: Labyrinth brings new life to parish hall http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_89067_ENG_HTM.htm
WESTERN NEW YORK: Diocese deposes former Batavia priest http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_89059_ENG_HTM.htm
More Diocesan news: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_ENG_HTM.htm
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WORLD REPORT
MIDDLE EAST: Communiqué from the Anglican Jewish Commission's inaugural meeting http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_89058_ENG_HTM.htm
More World news: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_ENG_HTM.htm
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OPINION
Reflections on praying for our armed forces
By David Chandler
[Episcopal Life] The Book of Common Prayer has a familiar prayer that likely we have all prayed. It is titled "For those in the Armed Forces of our Country," and is on p. 823:
Almighty God, we commend to your gracious care and keeping all the men and women of our armed forces at home and abroad. Defend them day by day with your heavenly grace; strengthen them in their trials and temptations; give them courage to face the perils which beset them; and grant them a sense of your abiding presence wherever they may be; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
I confess that I struggle praying this prayer, on moral and theological grounds. Morally, it seems to me that any realistic assessment of praying for our troops necessarily entails a prayer that sooner or later those who are against our troops will be injured or killed. Morally, I have become my enemy in such a situation. I have adopted their morality. This is simply wrong, not an option. Put another way, as a Kantian in ethics, I must treat the enemy as an end in herself or himself, never merely as a means. To me that means they are of absolute value, regardless of any danger they may pose to me or my cause.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/80050_89065_ENG_HTM.htm
More Opinion: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/80050_ENG_HTM.htm