Episcopal Life Online Newslink December 12, 2007
Episcopal Life Online is available at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/elife.
Today's ELO Newslink includes:
* TOP STORY - International Anglican group initiates 'strategy of inclusion' * TOP STORY - ERD responds to flooding in Cuba, South Dakota * DIOCESAN DIGEST - NEBRASKA: Cathedral offers 'Liturgy of Lament and Hope' after mall shooting * WORLD REPORT - ENGLAND: Archbishop hosts three teenage journalists for tea and toast * MISSION - Fund for Theological Education supports programs cultivating call to ministry among youth
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TOP STORIES
International Anglican group initiates 'strategy of inclusion' Chicago Consultation celebrates contributions of gay Christians, calls homophobia 'a sin whose end time is now'
[Chicago Consultation] Anglicans from around the world met near Chicago December 5-7 to build international coalitions and develop a strategy for the full inclusion of gay and lesbian Christians in the life of the church.
Meeting at Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, the 50-member group known as the Chicago Consultation urged leaders of the Episcopal Church to permit the blessing of same-gender relationships and to remove barriers that keep gay candidates from being elected as bishops, according to a news release from the group.
"Some people call it the gay agenda, but we call it the Gospel Agenda," the Rev. Bonnie Perry, rector of All Saints Episcopal Church, Chicago, co-convener of the Consultation, said in the release. "We are asking our church and our communion to see what God has created and know that it is good."
The Consultation also called upon Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams to invite New Hampshire Bishop Gene Robinson as a full participant to the 2008 Lambeth Conference.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_92649_ENG_HTM.htm
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ERD responds to flooding in Cuba, South Dakota
[ERD] Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) is providing critical assistance to people affected by severe flooding in South Dakota and Cuba.
Heavy rains this summer caused severe flooding in South Dakota, causing President Bush to issue a disaster declaration covering 11 counties in the eastern part of the state. Thousands of families were affected. The city of Aberdeen (population 25,000) was one of the hardest hit areas of the state, where an estimated 75-95 percent of the town was flooded.
ERD has partnered with the Diocese of South Dakota to provide temporary shelter, emergency repairs and other emergency-related services to families still struggling in the aftermath of the disaster in Brown, Spink, and Marshall counties.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_92653_ENG_HTM.htm
More Top Stories: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/elife
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DIOCESAN DIGEST
NEBRASKA: Cathedral offers 'Liturgy of Lament and Hope' after mall shooting http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_92828_ENG_HTM.htm
More Diocesan news: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_ENG_HTM.htm
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WORLD REPORT
ENGLAND: Archbishop hosts three teenage journalists for tea and toast http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_92664_ENG_HTM.htm
More World news: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_ENG_HTM.htm
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MISSION
Fund for Theological Education supports programs cultivating call to ministry among youth Eight grants announced for 2007
[Religion News] Church of the Apostles, in Seattle, Washington, and St. John's Episcopal Church, in Ellicott City, Maryland, are two of eight congregations with innovative ideas for cultivating the call to ministry among youth that will receive grants from the Fund for Theological Education (FTE).
Selected from a pool of 60 grant proposals, each congregation will receive an award ranging from $5,000 to $12,000, according to a news release. The grants total $73,000.
FTE will award $200,000 in grants through 2009 as part of its Calling Congregations initiative, which is funded by Lilly Endowment Inc. Calling Congregations is a national, ecumenical effort to encourage and equip churches to play a leading role in the vocational discernment of young men and women -- and to increase the number of gifted young people considering ordained ministry as a profession.
Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81799_92829_ENG_HTM.htm
More Mission: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81799_ENG_HTM.htm