wfn.org | [ELD] Episcopal youth set to gather in San Antonio / Lambeth Conference 'reflections' process announ

["Matthew Davies" <mdavies@episcopalchurch.org>]

>Episcopal Life Daily
>July 3, 2008

Episcopal Life Online is available at  http://www.episcopalchurch.org/elife.

Editor's note: Episcopal Life Daily will observe the July 4 holiday,  with
regular service resuming on Monday, July 7.

>Today's Episcopal Life Daily includes:

* TOP STORY - Episcopal youth set to gather in San Antonio
* TOP STORY - Lambeth Conference 'reflections' process announced
* TOP STORY - ERD continues to assist recovery efforts in Myanmar,  responds
to Typhoon Fengshen in the Philippines
* DIOCESAN DIGEST - CONNECTICUT: Diocese, Episcopal Church file  complaint
against those refusing to vacate Groton church
* DIOCESAN DIGEST - FORT WORTH: 'Mobilizing the Faithful' conference to
address Anglican Communion issues
* DIOCESAN DIGEST - NORTHERN CALIFORNIA: As wildfires near containment,
diocese evaluates emergency response
* WORLD REPORT - SOUTHERN AFRICA: Archbishop calls for end to Zimbabwe's
political violence
* MISSION - First New England Beijing Circles Conference set for  September
at Episcopal Divinity School
* DAYBOOK - July 4, 2008: Today in Scripture, Prayer, History
* CATALYST - The Power of Stories: A Guide for Leading Multi-Cultural
Congregations

>_____________________

>TOP STORIES

>Episcopal youth set to gather in San Antonio

>By Joe Bjordal

[Episcopal News Service] High-school aged young people -- nearly 850  strong
-- from across the Episcopal Church are headed to San Antonio, Texas for  the
2008 Episcopal Youth Event (EYE), which will take place July 8-13 on the
campus of Trinity University. The youth delegates will be accompanied by  318
adult chaperones and resource persons.

"This event is going to have something to satisfy everyone," said Zibby
Allen, from All Saint's Episcopal Church, Northfield, Minnesota, who is  a
youth member of the EYE design team.

"The young people attending EYE can expect to have a good time while
connecting and growing with fellow Episcopalians. They can also expect  the
opportunity to grow spiritually and intellectually," she said.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_98574_ENG_HTM.htm

>- - - - -

Lambeth Conference 'reflections' process announced

Timely issues to be addressed in 'purposeful discussion' in Canterbury

>By Matthew Davies

[Episcopal News Service] The process for the Lambeth Conference bishops  to
communicate what they wish to share with the wider church at the  conclusion
of their July 16-August 3 gathering in Canterbury, England, has been
announced by the Rev. Canon Kenneth Kearon, secretary general of the
Anglican Communion and secretary of the Lambeth Conference.

In a letter to the more than 650 bishops expected to attend the Lambeth
Conference, Kearon outlined the form of discussion that will lead to the
development of a "Reflections Document," expected to be made public on  the
last day of the conference.

In his letter, Kearon says, "Among the desired outcomes anticipated by  this
diverse group from across the Communion was not so much debates,  position
papers, votes and resolutions but participation on an equal footing,
listening as well as speaking and the emergence of wisdom and a common
mind."

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_98572_ENG_HTM.htm

>- - - - -

ERD continues to assist recovery efforts in Myanmar, responds to Typhoon
Fengshen in the Philippines

[ERD] Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) continues to provide  emergency
assistance to communities devastated by Cyclone Nargis, which struck  Myanmar
(Burma) on May 2. The entire Irrawaddy Delta Region, which is home to  21.5
million of Myanmar's 53 million residents, has been declared a disaster
zone. Official figures state that 77,738 people have been killed, 55,917  are
missing and 19,359 are injured. An additional one million people are
homeless.

Working in partnership with the Anglican Church of the Province of  Myanmar
(CPM), ERD is supporting relief and recovery efforts. Prior to the  cyclone,
the agency was working with CPM on economic development, water and
sanitation, education, agriculture and livestock programs. The cyclone  has
not impacted the continuation of these programs.

CPM's relief activities are centered in multiple remote villages in the
township of Latputta in the delta region. From this base, staff members  are
able to reach out to people in the most affected zone. CPM is the only
resident agency operating in this area and is supporting medical care  and
other emergency services. "God has given us the strength to extend a  smile
amidst our tears," says Myanmar Archbishop Stephen Than Myint Oo.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_98562_ENG_HTM.htm

More Top Stories: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/elife

>_____________________

>DIOCESAN DIGEST

CONNECTICUT: Diocese, Episcopal Church file complaint against those  refusing
to vacate Groton church
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_98561_ENG_HTM.htm

FORT WORTH: 'Mobilizing the Faithful' conference to address Anglican
Communion issues
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_98571_ENG_HTM.htm

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA: As wildfires near containment, diocese evaluates
emergency response
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_98569_ENG_HTM.htm

More Diocesan news: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_ENG_HTM.htm

>_____________________

>WORLD REPORT

SOUTHERN AFRICA: Archbishop calls for end to Zimbabwe's political  violence
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_98563_ENG_HTM.htm

More World news: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_ENG_HTM.htm

>_____________________

>MISSION

First New England Beijing Circles Conference set for September at  Episcopal
Divinity School

[Episcopal Divinity School] On September 26 and 27, Episcopal Divinity
School will host the first New England Beijing Circles Conference,  sponsored
by the Episcopal Church. All are welcome to attend this important event.  The
conference is part of a growing national movement to promote and share
information on the plight of women in the struggle against poverty,  gender
inequality, and difficult living conditions around the world.

The Beijing Circles movement began in 2005, when, at the United Nations
Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW), an assessment was done to
determine if progress was being made toward resolving 12 critical areas  of
concern regarding the status of women -- areas identified in 1995 at the
Fourth World Conference on Women, sponsored by the United Nations and  held
in Beijing, China. The areas identified ranged from the increasing  burden of
poverty on women, violence against women, stereotyping and gender
inequalities, and lack of respect for the human rights of women. The 12
areas were then adopted into the Beijing Platform for Action. While the
UNCSW noted some progress in 2005, it was clear that there was still a  long
way to go.

These events inspired a small group of women from the Episcopal Church  to
dedicate themselves to finding a way to stay focused on addressing these
issues. They began inviting their U.S. sisters to gather, with the sole
purpose of educating themselves, and others about the Beijing Platform  for
Action. They called their gathering a Beijing Circle and from that, and
their subsequent commitment, the Beijing Circles were born.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81799_98576_ENG_HTM.htm

More Mission: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81799_ENG_HTM.htm

>_____________________

>DAYBOOK

>On July 4, 2008...

* Today in Scripture: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/82457_ENG_HTM.htm
* Today in Prayer: Anglican Cycle of Prayer:
http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acp/index.cfm
* Today in History: On July 4, 973, Ulrich, bishop of Augsburg from 923,
died. Twenty years later he would become the first person canonized by a
pope.

>_____________________

>CATALYST

"The Power of Stories: A Guide for Leading Multi-Cultural Congregations"
from Abingdon Press, by Jacqueline J. Lewis, 154 pages, paperback, c.  2008,
$14

[Abingdon Press] Most congregational leaders find it difficult to resist  the
dominant cultural expectation that different cultural and ethnic groups
should stick to themselves -- especially when it comes to church. But  some
congregational leaders have learned the secrets of breaking out of these
expectations to bring together communities of faith that model God's  radical
inclusiveness. What makes the difference?

Jacqui Lewis explains that it resides in the stories these leaders tell:
stories about who they themselves are, and what the communities they  lead
are about. These leaders are able to embrace the multiple, complex  stories
within these diverse communities, hearing in the many voices a  particular
echo of the living voice of the gospel. In this book, Lewis shares with  the
reader examples of congregational leaders who have successfully overcome  the
challenges of leading multicultural congregations, and the lessons that  can
be learned from them.

To order: Episcopal Books and Resources, online at
http://www.episcopalbookstore.org, or call 800-903-5544 -- or visit your
local Episcopal bookseller, http://www.episcopalbooksellers.org

More Catalyst: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/83842_ENG_HTM.htm