wfn.org | [ELD] People of faith offer Obama their support, prayers and challenge / California voters approve g

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

>Episcopal Life Daily
>November 5, 2008

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

>Today's Episcopal Life Daily includes:

* TOP STORY - People of faith offer Obama their support, prayers and
challenge
* TOP STORY - California voters approve gay marriage ban
* WORLD REPORT - KENYA: Obama win is good for Africa, church leaders say
* FEATURE - 21st-century missionary: Medical assistant aids South
Africans at clinic and schools
* OPINION - Letters: Episcopal Life Monthly November 2008
* WEEKS AHEAD - Upcoming special events and services
* SPIRITUAL REFLECTION - Twenty-Sixth Sunday After Pentecost, Proper 27
- Year A [RCL]
* DAYBOOK - November 6, 2008: Today in Scripture, Prayer, History
* CATALYST - The Womb of Advent

>_____________________

>TOP STORIES

>By Mary Frances Schjonberg

[Episcopal News Service] National religious organizations pledged their
prayers and support to U.S. President-Elect Barack Obama November 5,
while noting the challenges he faces but saying, in the words of one,
that people of faith stand "ready to work with you to respond to the
realities that a loving God places before us each day."

The National Council of Churches (NCC) and Sojourners, a Christian
social-justice advocacy group, were among many organizations that placed
open letters to Obama or statements on their websites.

Diocese of Massachusetts Bishop Thomas Shaw Jr. said in a statement that
"we find ourselves at a place of intersection, where it feels as if
God's time and ours have met, not in the sense of a favored candidate's
win or loss but, instead, in that something new has happened and that
we've been reminded that history is ever calling us forward."

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_102163_ENG_HTM.htm

>- - - - -

>California voters approve gay marriage ban

Episcopal bishops had jointly opposed Proposition 8

>By Pat McCaughan

[Episcopal News Service, Los Angeles] After one of the costliest, most
rancorous and divisive campaigns in state history, California voters on
November 4 narrowly approved Proposition 8, a ban on same-sex marriage.

In a setback to gay rights advocates, 52 percent of California voters
agreed to amend the state constitution to say that, "only marriage
between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California." With 95
percent of precincts reporting Wednesday, the ban received 5,125,752
votes in favor, to 4,725,313 against.

It was not immediately clear what effect the vote would have on gay
couples who are already married. Gay-rights advocates filed a legal
challenge November 5 in California's Supreme Court, contending that the
result was an illegal attempt to change the state's constitution.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_102162_ENG_HTM.htm

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

>_____________________

>WORLD REPORT

KENYA: Obama win is good for Africa, church leaders say
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_102145_ENG_HTM.htm

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

>_____________________

>FEATURES

>21st-century missionary

Medical assistant aids South Africans at clinic and schools

>By Daphne Mack

[Episcopal Life] Twenty-six-year-old Jesse Zink considers himself a
missionary; just not a traditional one.

"I have no interest in thumping the Bible over any poor people's heads
in the middle of nowhere," he said during a recent visit to the
Episcopal Church Center in New York.

God's work is "about reconciliation and bringing people together and to
God," he said, but with the understanding that "it takes time" -- time
that he will give as he returns to the Diocese of Mthatha in South
Africa as a medical assistant to the Itipini Community Project.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81834_102160_ENG_HTM.htm

More Features: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/78936_ENG_HTM.htm

>_____________________

>OPINION

>Letters: Episcopal Life Monthly November 2008

[Episcopal Life] Letters that appeared in the November 2008 edition of
Episcopal Life Monthly are available at
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/80050_ENG_HTM.htm

Episcopal Life welcomes letters, especially those with pictures, and
will give preference to those in response to stories. Letters should be
no longer than 250 words and must include the writer's name, address and
phone number for verification. Send to Letters, Episcopal Life, 815
Second Ave., New York, NY 10017; or email to letters@episcopal-life.org.
All letters will be edited for brevity and clarity.

More Opinion: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/80050_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

Twenty-Sixth Sunday After Pentecost, Proper 27 - Year A [RCL]

Joshua 24:1-3a, 14-25; Wisdom of Solomon 6:12-16; 1 Thessalonians
4:13-18; Matthew 25:1-13

>By G. Cole Gruberth

[Sermons That Work] What are we to do with Jesus' parable of wise and
foolish bridesmaids? It's not easy to be sympathetic with any of the
characters here. The bridegroom sends out invitations, but shows up
hours late himself and then shuts the door on half of the bridesmaids.
Those maidens who get shut out are off trying to buy oil in the middle
of the night, when the wedding is about to begin. Meanwhile, the
bridesmaids who did bring extra oil won't share it, and come off looking
selfish and snotty.

And what shall we do with a parable that speaks about God closing the
door to heaven? That much seems clear -- the wedding banquet represents
the joy of being in the presence of God. A month ago we heard another
parable about a wedding feast, in which the king sends out invitations
to his son's wedding feast, only to have the invitations refused. Not to
be deterred, he invites in whoever is standing at the street corners,
and has a huge party anyway.

Once again in today's parable, everyone is invited to the banquet. So
why does anyone get shut out? They all do show up; they all do bring
their lamps; they all are ready. Could the problem be their lack of
watchfulness? True, the bridesmaids do fall asleep while they're
waiting; and Jesus admonishes us at the end of the parable to "Keep
awake...for you know neither the day nor the hour."

Full reflection: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/82478_102138_ENG_HTM.htm

More Spiritual Reflections:

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/82457_ENG_HTM.htm

>_____________________

>DAYBOOK

On November 6, 2008, the Church calendar remembers William Temple,
Archbishop of Canterbury, 1944.

* 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 November 6, 1836, Herbert Beaver, the first
Anglican priest in Oregon, arrived at Ft. Vancouver.

>_____________________

>CATALYST

"The Womb of Advent" from Church Publishing, Inc., by Mark
Bozzuti-Jones, 114 pages, paperback, c. 2007, $13

[Church Publishing, Inc.] This talented and imaginative writer offers a
unique perspective on the season of Advent. Along with Scripture
readings and prayers, he offers four weeks of meditations that focus on
the growth of Jesus in the womb of Mary as he approaches the day of his
birth, learns his mother's voice, responds to the presence of light and
dark, and begins to position himself for birth. What does this teach us
about our own spiritual journey through Advent? That waiting and
preparation is essential to the Christian life. By reflecting on our own
birth experiences and Jesus's own progress through the womb, Christians
learn how to remain intimate with God, how to approach the light, and
how to get ready for new birth in Christ.

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