wfn.org | [ELD] Presiding Bishop challenges Episcopal youth to act for justice / Union of Black Episcopalians

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

>Episcopal Life Daily
>July 9, 2008

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

>Today's Episcopal Life Daily includes:

* TOP STORY - Presiding Bishop challenges Episcopal youth to act for  justice
* TOP STORY - Union of Black Episcopalians celebrates 40 years while
reaching 'new horizons'
* TOP STORY - England, Scotland and Wales to host bishops on the road to
Lambeth
* TOP STORY - Francophone Network issues communiqué, reaffirms  commitment to
unity
* DIOCESAN DIGEST - DALLAS: Diocese set to consecrate Paul Emil Lambert  as
its seventh bishop suffragan
* WEEKS AHEAD - Upcoming special events and services
* SPIRITUAL REFLECTION - Ninth Sunday After Pentecost, Proper 10 - Year  A
[RCL]
* DAYBOOK - July 10, 2008: Today in Scripture, Prayer, History
* CATALYST - O Clap Your Hands: A Musical Tour of Sacred Choral Works

>_____________________

>TOP STORIES

Presiding Bishop challenges Episcopal youth to act for justice

>By Joe Bjordal

[Episcopal News Service] Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori  opened
the 2008 Episcopal Youth Event (EYE) urging youth from across the church  to
"bear an abundant harvest" to put an end to "structural violence and
disposable people."

Jefferts Schori spoke at the opening plenary session of the Episcopal
Church's 10th triennial youth event on the evening of July 8 at Trinity
University in San Antonio, Texas. She was speaking to the theme of EYE  2008,
"Sown in the Heart of Christ."

The evening program was all about seeds, planting and harvesting.  Following
her introduction by the host bishop for the gathering, the Rt. Rev. Gary
Lillibridge of the Diocese of West Texas, Jefferts Schori made her way  into
Laurie Auditorium with an entourage all throwing bags of sunflower seeds
into the audience.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_98736_ENG_HTM.htm

>- - - - -

Union of Black Episcopalians celebrates 40 years while reaching 'new
horizons'

Juan Williams tells assembly to become 'agents of transformation'

>By Daphne Mack

[ENS] Celebrating four decades of accomplishments and setting new goals  for
the future, the Union of Black Episcopalians (UBE) drew hundreds of
participants for its 40th anniversary conference June 29 - July 3 at the
Crowne Plaza Hotel in Cherry Hill, New Jersey.

"The UBE Conference has been an enormous success," said the Rev. Dr.  Martini
Shaw, conference dean and rector of historic St. Thomas African  Episcopal
Church in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. "The celebratory worship  experiences
and engaging workshops have been both powerful and memorable. New
relationships and networks have been developed while the strengthening  of
existing friendships occurred through our many opportunities for
fellowship."

The four-day gathering opened at the Cathedral Church in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania with a festive Eucharist which featured stilt walkers,  drummers
and dancers. The Rt. Rev. Allen Bartlett, retired bishop of the Diocese  of
Pennsylvania, and Bishop Nathan Baxter of the Diocese of Central
Pennsylvania served as celebrant and preacher respectively. The service
included a musical tribute to Dr. Horace Clarence Boyer led by Dr. Jay
Fluellen, choir director and organist at St. Thomas and Dr. Carl  MaultsBy,
executive artistic director and founder of Rejoicensemble Songs written  by
Boyer, professor of music (emeritus) at the University of Massachusetts,
Amherst and editor of "Lift Every Voice and Sing II," an African  American
hymnal, were featured and his sister, Edith Boyer Jones, was present on  his
behalf.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_98745_ENG_HTM.htm

>- - - - -

England, Scotland and Wales to host bishops on the road to Lambeth

[ACNS] Before the bishops of the Anglican Communion arrive in Canterbury  for
the 2008 Lambeth Conference, hundreds of them will enjoy a taste of  another
part of Britain.

Through the "Hospitality Initiative," every bishop and spouse invited to  the
Lambeth Conference has also been invited to be the guest of an Anglican
diocese in England, Scotland or Wales. The response has been enormous,  with
hundreds accepting the invitation. They will spend five days in one of  57
dioceses stretching from Truro in southwest England to Moray, Ross and
Caithness in the north of Scotland and St. David's on the east coast of
Wales.

"It's a tremendous opportunity to offer the gift of hospitality to
representatives of our sister churches around the world," says the Rev.  Mark
Rodel, who is organizing the Hospitality Initiative in the Diocese of
Portsmouth, which will be hosting 11 bishops and their spouses from  Ghana
and the United States.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_98734_ENG_HTM.htm

>- - - - -

Francophone Network issues communiqué, reaffirms commitment to unity

[Episcopal News Service] The sixth meeting of the Francophone Network  took
place July 1-4 in Aylesford, England and included representatives from
Canada, Europe, Haiti, and five African dioceses.

A communiqué issued at the conclusion of the meeting acknowledged that  The
Francophone Network -- an official body of the Anglican Communion which
connects four million people throughout the world who celebrate in the
French language -- "experienced a profound desire to reaffirm the  primordial
importance of the unity of the church, especially in the context of the
difficulties that the Anglican Communion is currently facing."

Several resolutions were passed during the meeting in support of  francophone
provinces and a new executive committee elected, including Bishop Pierre
Whalon of the Convocation of American Churches in Europe as president.

The full text of the communiqué in French with an English translation  is
available at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_98795_ENG_HTM.htm

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

>_____________________

>DIOCESAN DIGEST

DALLAS: Diocese set to consecrate Paul Emil Lambert as its seventh  bishop
suffragan
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_98727_ENG_HTM.htm

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

>_____________________

>WEEKS AHEAD

A round-up of upcoming special events, services, concerts and diocesan
conventions taking place throughout the Episcopal Church is available at
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/78650_1669_ENG_HTM.htm

>_____________________

>SPIRITUAL REFLECTIONS

Ninth Sunday After Pentecost, Proper 10 - Year A [RCL]

Genesis 25:19-34 and Psalm 119:105-112; or Isaiah 55:10-13 and Psalm 65:
(1-8), 9-14; Romans 8:1-11; Matthew 13:1-9, 18-23

>By Ken Kesselus

[Sermons That Work] Today's gospel reading is very familiar - the  parable of
the four soils. Many of us learned it in Sunday school. Millions enjoyed  the
graphic enactment of the parable in the movie "Godspell." For centuries,
paintings and stained-glass art have represented it. Easy to remember
because of the vivid description, we readily envision an ancient farmer
striding through a rough field with a bag hanging on one side as he  casts
handfuls of seed on the other. We can also imagine a wider-angle view  around
the field - with birds flying over a hard-packed path, rocks among  shallow
earth, and thorny weeds growing menacingly.

At the same time, anyone familiar with a twenty-first century farming
community will recognize that the parable presents an awfully peculiar  and
unproductive method of agriculture. Modern practices include a much more
efficient operation - a neater, more productive one, with nothing but  rich
soil devoid of rocks and sprayed with weed retardant. Paths do not cross
fields; tractors even plow within a few feet of farm houses and barns.
Sophisticated implements plant seeds precisely and nothing is left to
chance.

Jesus undoubtedly would be unimpressed, because he was not really  interested
in telling us about growing crops. He simply took a familiar activity of  his
time and used it to illustrate an important factor in human life. From  this
perspective, the lessons are as important today as they were 2,000 years
ago. Though our agricultural techniques are much different from those of
former centuries, our lives are not so different from those who lived in
Biblical times.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/82478_98732_ENG_HTM.htm

More Spiritual Reflections:  http://www.episcopalchurch.org/82457_ENG_HTM.htm

>_____________________

>DAYBOOK

>On July 10, 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 10, 1974, bishops, priests, women deacons  and
lay people meet in Philadelphia to plan an "irregular" ordination of 11
women into the Episcopal priesthood. They came to be known as the
Philadelphia 11.

>_____________________

>CATALYST

"O Clap Your Hands: A Musical Tour of Sacred Choral Works" from  Paraclete
Press, by Gordon Giles, 150 pages, hardcover, includes full-length CD
featuring Gloriæ Dei Cantores, c. 2008, $26.95

[Paraclete Press] Western sacred music is filled with extraordinary
individuals who have submitted their talents to God. From Monteverdi to
Vaughan Williams, Rachmaninoff to Virgil Thomson, and from Renaissance  Italy
to contemporary America, Gordon Giles takes you on a musical journey of
discovery, exploring the spiritual and historical meaning of thirty of  the
most important anthems in Christian tradition.

Accompanied by a full-length CD by the acclaimed choir, Gloriæ Dei  Cantores,
Gordon Giles' O Clap Your Hands unlocks thirty of the great anthems of  the
church for their hidden meanings, offering spiritual reflections and
prayers, and enabling you to fully engage with the musical theology and
history of beloved choral works.

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