Episcopal Life Online Newslink August 24, 2007
Episcopal Life Online is available at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/elife.
Today's ELO Newslink includes:
* TOP STORY - Presiding Bishop unaware of Wikipedia edit; allegations discredited * DIOCESAN DIGEST - LOUISIANA: Churches to hold special services, events in memory of Katrina's landfall * WORLD REPORT - ENGLAND: Lambeth Conference impetus for international mission in the Midlands * ARTS - Eco-documentary calls into question the very future of humanity
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TOP STORIES
Presiding Bishop unaware of Wikipedia edit; allegations discredited
[Church Times] A suggestion that Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori ordered the removal of information from the Wikipedia website has been discredited, according to a report by Simon Sarmiento in the U.K.-based Church Times newspaper.
The story, which originated on an American conservative website in May, resurfaced last Saturday in The Independent newspaper, which reported that Barbara Alton, personal assistant to Bishop Charles Bennison of Pennsylvania, "deleted information concerning a cover-up of child sexual abuse [by the bishop's brother], allegations that the bishop misappropriated $11.6 million in trust funds, and evidence of other scandals. When challenged about this, Alton claims she was ordered to delete the information by Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori."
Alton confirmed this week that she was acting on her own initiative as the bishop's personal assistant, the Church Times reported. She had edited the bishop's biography on the website, because of changes that others had made which she described as "a frightening mess," according to the newspaper. She did not have the time to follow the Wikipedia process for correcting misinformation, however, and so had simply replaced it with the standard official text. This had led to her being banned by Wikipedia.
She had never received an order from Jefferts Schori, however, nor from anyone else at the Episcopal Church Center in New York City, the Church Times article reports. "Church officials in New York confirmed that the Presiding Bishop had never spoken to Barbara Alton."
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_89447_ENG_HTM.htm
More Top Stories: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/elife
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DIOCESAN DIGEST
LOUISIANA: Churches to hold special services, events in memory of Katrina's landfall http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_89443_ENG_HTM.htm
More Diocesan news: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_ENG_HTM.htm
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WORLD REPORT
ENGLAND: Lambeth Conference impetus for international mission in the Midlands http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_89445_ENG_HTM.htm
More World news: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_ENG_HTM.htm
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ARTS
Eco-documentary calls into question the very future of humanity
By Jerry Hames
[Episcopal Life]
THE 11TH HOUR An eco-documentary Produced and narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio. Directed by Nadia Conners and Leila Conners Petersen. Time: 91 minutes. Rating: PG (disturbing images and thematic elements).
One message that becomes shockingly clear in "The 11th Hour," Leonardo diCaprio's feature length documentary released in theaters nationwide on August 24, is the fragility of the human species.
Despite the arguments by some stubborn politicians and corporate leaders who cling to their denial of the existence of global warming, it is all too evident -- after spending 90 minutes witnessing the consequences of harrowing natural disasters and hearing the wakeup call from many of the world's top scientists -- that we that live in an enormously challenging time.
"The 11th Hour" is not a movie to be enjoyed. It's compelling and sobering in its description of the devastating effect of human industry on the planet.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81827_89436_ENG_HTM.htm
More Arts: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81827_ENG_HTM.htm