Episcopal Life Online Newslink November 16, 2007
Episcopal Life Online is available at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/elife.
Today's ELO Newslink includes:
* TOP STORY - At Korea's Anglican peace forum, Presiding Bishop calls for 'tearing down barriers' * TOP STORY - Support the Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act, EPPN urges * DIOCESAN DIGEST - GEORGIA: Diocese files petition to regain Christ Church, Savannah property * DIOCESAN DIGEST - SAN JOAQUIN: Diocese invited to join Anglican Church of the Southern Cone * DIOCESAN DIGEST - SOUTHERN OHIO: 'Listen to the Spirit,' bishop tells his first convention * PEOPLE - Former Ambassador Warren Clark named executive director of Churches for Middle East Peace * PEOPLE - Roger Ferlo to head Virginia Seminary's new Institute for Christian Formation and Leadership * OPINION - In a moment of crisis, The Book of Common Prayer does the heavy lifting * ARTS - Audio book features dramatic readings of Advent meditations
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TOP STORIES
At Korea's Anglican peace forum, Presiding Bishop calls for 'tearing down barriers'
By Neva Rae Fox
[Episcopal News Service, Seoul] "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you."
With those opening words of her sermon, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori set the tone for the five-day forum of the worldwide Anglican peace conference, Towards Peace In Korea (TOPIK), which started November 16 in Seoul, South Korea.
"We have gathered here to do just that, and to work at tearing down the barriers between us that make enemies," Jefferts Schori told almost 300 people gathered for TOPIK's Opening Eucharist. "We are here to practice peace-making, to un-learn our ability to make war, to shape communities that seek peace and harmony rather than division."
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_91922_ENG_HTM.htm
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Support the Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act, EPPN urges
[EPPN] The Episcopal Public Policy Network (EPPN) is calling on Episcopalians to contact their Senators and urge them to support legislation S. 1668, the Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act of 2007.
An EPPN alert, which is emailed to more than 16,000 Episcopalians and religious advocates, said: "In the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, Episcopalians across the country mobilized and responded in prayer, financial support and direct service to those in need in the Gulf Coast. Sadly many needs in the Gulf Coast remain unmet. Even more tragic, those who were poor and vulnerable before the storms have continued to be neglected in the recovery process."
The legislation (S. 1668), which passed the House as H. 1227 with strong bipartisan support, "is an opportunity for concerned Episcopalians across the nation to give the Gulf Coast a tremendous boost with our voices," the EPPN alert said. "The Senate could soon consider S. 1668, which will help ensure that all residents -- homeowners, renters, first-time homebuyers and public housing residents alike -- have a way to come home. Episcopalians and people of faith are doing our part; we must encourage our Government to fulfill its commitment to Gulf Coast Rebuilding."
Support the Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/3654_91886_ENG_HTM.htm
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_91933_ENG_HTM.htm
More Top Stories: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/elife
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DIOCESAN DIGEST
GEORGIA: Diocese files petition to regain Christ Church, Savannah property http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_91934_ENG_HTM.htm
SAN JOAQUIN: Diocese invited to join Anglican Church of the Southern Cone http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_91935_ENG_HTM.htm
SOUTHERN OHIO: 'Listen to the Spirit,' bishop tells his first convention http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_91914_ENG_HTM.htm
More Diocesan news: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_ENG_HTM.htm
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PEOPLE
Former Ambassador Warren Clark named executive director of Churches for Middle East Peace http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81831_91921_ENG_HTM.htm
Roger Ferlo to head Virginia Seminary's new Institute for Christian Formation and Leadership http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81831_91936_ENG_HTM.htm
More People: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81831_ENG_HTM.htm
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OPINION
In a moment of crisis, The Book of Common Prayer does the heavy lifting
By Douglas LeBlanc
[Episcopal News Service] In early June, on an otherwise routine Monday morning, I received a call from my friend Sam, who lives in Arkansas. I felt a chill at the sound of Sam's voice, and with good reason: Sam had called to tell me that his wife, Dana, had died in her sleep the previous night.
Dana was not just a casual friend. She had become part of my family's life about 30 years ago, when she joined St. Augustine's Episcopal Church in northern Baton Rouge, Louisiana. In time, Dana bonded with my father so deeply that she came to call him Papa. (She would emphasize the second syllable in honor of Dad's Cajun heritage.)
For years I knew that Dana considered Dad her father by informal adoption and that Dad considered Dana his honorary daughter. Still, I resisted considering Dana my sister, thinking that this title (apart from its generic use in many church circles) meant that we shared a childhood and the unique torments of sibling rivalry.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/80050_91923_ENG_HTM.htm
More Opinion: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/80050_ENG_HTM.htm
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ARTS
Audio book features dramatic readings of Advent meditations
By Episcopal Life staff
[Episcopal News Service] Waiting for the Wonder: Voices of Advent, meditations written by Katerina Whitley and first published in 2005, now can be enjoyed in audio format.
An author and retreat leader who has performed in plays and given mono-dramas on women in the Old Testament, Whitley gives dramatic readings of her 27 meditations, with musical accompaniment, for her first audio book, released November 14.
Whitley places herself in the hearts and minds of the biblical characters -- both real and imagined -- who played a part in the Christmas narrative.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81827_91916_ENG_HTM.htm
More Arts: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81827_ENG_HTM.htm