Episcopal Life Online Newslink December 10, 2007
Episcopal Life Online is available at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/elife.
Today's ELO Newslink includes:
* TOP STORY - Presiding Bishop's Christmas message * TOP STORY - December 16 bulletin insert features Companion Diocese Relationships * TOP STORY - Archbishop did not endorse Southern Cone's invitation to San Joaquin, Anglican Communion spokesman says * TOP STORY - House of Deputies president issues statement following San Joaquin action * DIOCESAN DIGEST - LOS ANGELES: Pasadena parish receives vindication from
IRS
* WORLD REPORT - ENGLAND: Archbishop of York won't wear 'dog collar' until Mugabe goes * WORLD REPORT - KENYA: President urges churches to preach election tolerance * PEOPLE - Australian David Richardson named Archbishop of Canterbury's Representative to the Holy See * FEATURE - Haiti-Maine: Walking together in companionship
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TOP STORIES
Presiding Bishop's Christmas message
Eyes to see: Finding Immanuel as immigrant, wanderer, child
[Episcopal News Service] In her 2007 Christmas message, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori asks the question "Where will you meet Jesus this Christmas?" and calls to mind the challenge of letting "our seasonal 'seeing' transform the way we meet our neighbors through the rest of the year, and through all the coming years."
Editor's note: For the benefit of congregations and dioceses now preparing Christmastide publications, the text of the Presiding Bishop's 2007 Christmas message is offered here in English and Spanish. The text will also be included in the Episcopal Life This Week parish bulletin insert for Sunday, December 23.
The full text of the Presiding Bishop's Christmas message is available at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_92589_ENG_HTM.htm
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December 16 bulletin insert features Companion Diocese Relationships
[Episcopal Life This Week] Walking as companions is at the heart of mission relationship, says Mary F. Brennan, World Mission Education Officer, in the December 16 bulletin insert that focuses on Companion Diocese Relationships.
Bulletin inserts are available at
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/78650_8852_ENG_HTM.htm.
Further information about Companion Diocese Relationships is available at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79704_81648_ENG_HTM.htm
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Archbishop did not endorse Southern Cone's invitation to San Joaquin, Anglican Communion spokesman says
By Mary Frances Schjonberg
[Episcopal News Service] Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams had not endorsed an invitation by Southern Cone Primate Gregory Venables to offer oversight to dioceses outside that province, a spokesman for the Anglican Communion said December 10.
"Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has not in any way endorsed the actions of the Primate of the Southern Cone, Bishop Gregory Venables, in his welcoming of dioceses, such as San Joaquin in the Episcopal Church, to become part of his province in South America," the spokesman said in an email to media outlets, including the Episcopal News Service.
Delegates attending the 48th Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin on December 8 overwhelmingly voted to leave the Episcopal Church and to align with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_92587_ENG_HTM.htm
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House of Deputies president issues statement following San Joaquin action
[Episcopal News Service] In a statement issued December 10 following the decision by the bishop and others in the Diocese of San Joaquin to leave the Episcopal Church and attempt to align with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone, House of Deputies President Bonnie Anderson said she "deeply regrets" their action and encouraged continuing Episcopalians to work with the church's leadership to move the diocese forward.
"There are continuing Episcopalians in the Diocese of San Joaquin who are anxious to work with the Episcopal Church leadership to do just that," Anderson said. "Those Episcopalians in San Joaquin are committed, faithful and creative leaders. We will all be diligent about creating the safest space possible for the largest number of Episcopalians to remain in our church and continue to use their gifts to further God's mission in our world."
The text of Anderson's statement is available at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_92585_ENG_HTM.htm
More Top Stories: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/elife
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DIOCESAN DIGEST
LOS ANGELES: Pasadena parish receives vindication from IRS http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_92590_ENG_HTM.htm
More Diocesan news: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_ENG_HTM.htm
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WORLD REPORT
ENGLAND: Archbishop of York won't wear 'dog collar' until Mugabe goes http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_92545_ENG_HTM.htm
KENYA: President urges churches to preach election tolerance http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_92568_ENG_HTM.htm
More World news: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_ENG_HTM.htm
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PEOPLE
Australian David Richardson named Archbishop of Canterbury's Representative to the Holy See http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81831_92558_ENG_HTM.htm
More People: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81831_ENG_HTM.htm
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FEATURES
Haiti-Maine: Walking together in companionship
By Brenda Hamilton
[Episcopal News Service] The Dioceses of Maine and Haiti have shared a companion relationship with one another since 2002. The roots of the companionship are in partnerships between several Maine parishes and congregations in rural Haiti that were formed even before the official relationship began.
The initiative really began with lay persons and local clergy who were seeking ways to live out the Gospel across cultural boundaries. When Maine Bishop Chilton Knudsen began searching for ways to expand diocesan outreach, the template was already present in these partnerships and the structure of the Companion Diocese Relationship program.
Conversations with Haiti Bishop Jean Zaché Duracin revealed similarities between the two dioceses that would help to foster understanding. Both dioceses encompass predominantly rural areas, dependent on agronomy and sustainable use of natural resources. Both are places where the French language and culture are important. Although on different scales, both are communities in which people struggle to find work and to feed, house and clothe themselves.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81834_92552_ENG_HTM.htm
More Features: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/78936_ENG_HTM.htm