wfn.org | [ELD] Presiding Bishop inhibits Fort Worth bishop / December 7 bulletin inserts mark 60th anniversar

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

>Episcopal Life Daily
>November 24, 2008

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

>Today's Episcopal Life Daily includes:

* TOP STORY - Presiding Bishop inhibits Fort Worth bishop
* TOP STORY - December 7 bulletin inserts mark 60th anniversary of Human
Rights Day
* DIOCESAN DIGEST - FLORIDA: Christ church dedicates $12 million center  for
contemporary worship
* DIOCESAN DIGEST - PROVINCE I: Pastoral resource issued for same-gender
couples counseling
* MISSION - Clergy invited to participate in unprecedented survey
* MULTIMEDIA - Image Gallery: Global warming
* PEOPLE - Francisco Reus-Froylán, former bishop of Puerto Rico, dies  at 89
* FEATURE - Be wise: Your best bets for gifts in bad times
* FEATURE - Pins, rings and icons: From prayer beads to golf balls, your
choice of gifts is wide
* DAYBOOK - November 25, 2008: Today in Scripture, Prayer, History
* CATALYST - Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity

>_____________________

>TOP STORIES

>Presiding Bishop inhibits Fort Worth bishop

Action comes after Review Committee says Iker has abandoned the  Episcopal
Church

>By Mary Frances Schjonberg

[Episcopal News Service] Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori on
November 21 inhibited Diocese of Fort Worth Bishop Jack Iker for  abandoning
the communion of the Episcopal Church.

In the text of the inhibition, the Presiding Bishop wrote that "I hereby
inhibit the said Bishop Iker and order that from and after 5:00 CST  Friday,
November 21, 2008, he cease from exercising the gifts of the ordained
ministry of this Church; and pursuant to Canon IV.15, I order him from  and
after that time to cease all 'Episcopal, ministerial, and canonical  acts,
except as relate to the administration of the temporal affairs of the
Diocese of Fort Worth,' until this Inhibition is terminated pursuant to
Canon IV.9(2) or superseded by decision of the House of Bishops."

Jefferts Schori acted the day after the Title IV Review Committee  certified
that Iker had abandoned the communion of the Episcopal Church.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_102970_ENG_HTM.htm

>- - - - -

December 7 bulletin inserts mark 60th anniversary of Human Rights Day

[Episcopal News Service] Sixty years ago, on December 10, 1948, the  United
Nations established the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which  called
for 'the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of
speech and belief and freedom from fear and want.' Episcopal Life Weekly
bulletin inserts for December 7 mark Human Rights Day with the story of  the
declaration, which was drafted by a committee that represented many  nations
and faith traditions and was chaired by former First Lady and faithful
Episcopalian Eleanor Roosevelt. Text for the inserts was written by Donn
Mitchell, editor of The Anglican Examiner, an online magazine of  religion
and public affairs.

Bulletin inserts are available at

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/95270_ENG_HTM.htm.

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

>_____________________

>DIOCESAN DIGEST

FLORIDA: Christ church dedicates $12 million center for contemporary  worship

>By Kathryn Cramer

[Episcopal News Service] When attendance at a single weekly worship  service
grows tenfold in less than a decade, that's wonderful -- and  challenging.

Christ Episcopal Church in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida, just south of
Jacksonville, met that challenge by raising $12 million to build a new
parish center with a 380-seat space dedicated to contemporary worship.  The
services feature modern music performed by a guitar-keyboard-drums trio,
casual clothing for clergy and servers, moveable chairs instead of pews  and
large video screens displaying images, lyrics and the Rite II liturgy.

When Christ Church first offered a contemporary service in the early  1990s,
20 to 30 people attended. Ten years later, the church's fastest-growing
service -- and the one attracting the most new members -- was the
contemporary one, with 250 regular attendees crowded into a small,  outdated
parish hall.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_102967_ENG_HTM.htm

>- - - - -

PROVINCE I: Pastoral resource issued for same-gender couples counseling

>By Lisa B. Hamilton

[Episcopal News Service] A Province I task force has issued "a pastoral
resource for Province I Episcopal clergy ministering to same-sex  couples."
The document is the first of its kind in the Episcopal Church.

The report was accepted at the Province I synod held November 21 at St.
Paul's Episcopal Church in Concord, New Hampshire with a resolution  stating
that its "use is to be determined by diocesan bishops."

The document consists of four parts: an historical and theological  overview
of same-gender unions; an exploration of issues specific to same-gender
couples and their congregations; a statement of legalities, which vary  from
state-to-state; and a framework for counseling same-gender couples who
desire a public commitment. An appendix of websites, books, documents  and
other resources is also included in the report.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_103018_ENG_HTM.htm

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

>_____________________

>MISSION

Clergy invited to participate in unprecedented survey

>By Mary Frances Schjonberg

[Episcopal News Service] All ordained women in the Episcopal Church --  and
1,500 male clergy -- are beginning to receive invitations to participate  in
what is one of the comprehensive studies of female clergy by any
denomination in recent years.

Every ordained woman -- deacon, priest, and bishop -- will be asked  about
her aspirations, needs, and experience of how ministry is lived out  through
her life. The Called to Serve survey is unprecedented in the Episcopal
Church for its attempt to obtain responses from those in both paid and
unpaid ministry, those actively engaged in ministry, those who are  taking
time out, and who are retired. It also seeks the input of young new  clergy,
second-career clergy, those ministering in two-career families, and  those
ministering as single parents or caregivers.

Inclusion of both women and active and retired men is meant to give
comparative data on careers, and men's needs for family leave as well as
retirement. It is also meant to help the church understand the way the  call
to ministry is being lived out in 2008.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81799_103017_ENG_HTM.htm

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

>_____________________

>PEOPLE

Francisco Reus-Froylán, former bishop of Puerto Rico, dies at 89

[Episcopal News Service] The Rt. Rev. Francisco Reus Froylán, former  bishop
of Puerto Rico (1964-1989), died on November 19 of pneumonia. He was 89.

As the first native Episcopal bishop of Puerto Rico, Froylán's  ministry was
characterized by a focus on Christian unity and social justice, and an
abiding sense of humor.

At the time of his election to the episcopate in 1964, Froylán was  dean of
the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Santurce, his home town. He had
served at the cathedral beginning in 1959, when he became rector of its
Spanish-speaking congregation and director of the Episcopal Cathedral
School. Three years later, he was called as rector of the  English-speaking
congregation as well. He served on many diocesan boards and commissions,
including the Bishop's Council of Advice, executive council, diocesan  school
board, board of examining chaplains and ecclesiastical court. He was  chair
of the department of diocesan affairs and the commission on ecumenical
relations, and as chair of the commission on youth of the Department of
Religious Education, he directed the diocese's annual youth conference  in
St. Just. He also edited the diocese's monthly journal, Credo.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81831_102968_ENG_HTM.htm

More People: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81831_ENG_HTM.htm

>_____________________

>MULTIMEDIA

>Image Gallery: Global warming

[Episcopal Life] Gathering in groups or working at home, young or old,
female or male, thousands of Episcopalians regularly wield needles as
instruments of prayer as they knit prayer shawls, crochet afghans and
embroider blankets to provide comfort and warmth for those in need.  Among
the many programs across the church, in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, a child
parishioner at Church of the Redeemer whose cousin was battling cancer
founded a group to knit caps for chemotherapy patients to wear while
receiving treatment. Trinity Episcopal Church in the Diocese of  Bethlehem
provided wool afghans for children in the war-town Middle East, while
students, families, faculty and staff of TMI -- the Episcopal School of
Texas knit scarves for veterans' centers nationwide.

In Houston, St. Dunstan's parishioners knit blankets for children in  crisis,
while St. John the Divine knitters participate in a prayer shawl  ministry
begun for end-of-life patients and their families by St. Luke's  Palliative
Care Services and the St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital Auxiliary. At St.
Alban's in Washington, D.C., one of the mainstays of the Phoebe's Circle
knitting group is Maria Shuskevich, who has been knitting since a  neighbor
in the Ukraine taught her the skill when she was 8. In Minnesota, at  Trinity
Episcopal Church, Hermantown, member Georgianna Henry has designed and
crocheted more than 100 afghans, most recently donating them to St.
Enmegaboh's Church, a parallel Native American ministry in Duluth,
Minnesota. Perhaps best known is the New York-based Seamen's Church
Institute's Christmas at Sea program, in which more than 4,000  volunteers
knit or crochet scarves, caps and other items as gifts for deep-sea and
river mariners.

Image gallery is available at

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81991_102901_ENG_HTM.htm

More Multimedia: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/80056_ENG_HTM.htm

>_____________________

>FEATURES

>Be wise

>Your best bets for gifts in bad times

[Episcopal Life Holiday Gift Guide] In this economic climate, it's wise  to
be realistic about spending, especially during the holiday season. Too  much
can drive up credit card accounts and incur payments that sometimes last
until spring. Or beyond. Here are some gift ideas for $29 or less for  those
persons on your Christmas list that you don't want to drop but who  aren't as
close to your heart as family.

Think summer. Think beach. Go to the Episcopal Media Marketplace and buy  for
$20 a set of footwear for the shore. These sandals leave the Episcopal
Shield in the sand as you walk!

Take a visit to http://episcopalbookstore.org. You'll find a love story,
Little Flowers of St. Francis of Assisi, a wise, funny and inspiring  book
for $10.95, or for $15 you can get the CD "Rotation" by Isaac Everett  that
blends electronica, jazz, rock, middle-eastern and contemporary chamber
music with ancient liturgical texts and melodies.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81834_102949_ENG_HTM.htm

>- - - - -

>Pins, rings and icons

>From prayer beads to golf balls, your choice of gifts is wide

[Episcopal Life Holiday Gift Guide] Jewelry is traditionally a popular  gift
at Christmas time, and Episcopal shoppers can find those items -- and
related inspirational gifts -- in a variety of styles and price ranges  this
year.

Terra Sancta Guild, based in Montgomeryville, Pennsylvania, offers a  wide
assortment of Christian and inspirational gifts, some with the Episcopal
shield, including crosses, lapel pins, framed art and keepsake boxes.  For
the Advent/Christmas season, Terra Sancta has wreaths, pins and  ornaments
featuring St. Nicholas, angels, and the Christ Child. In the company's
extensive online catalog at www.terrasanctaguild.com, you'll find  everything
from an Episcopal shield golf gift set ($79.95) to an Episcopal shield
letter opener ($12.95).

For something different, Full Circle Beads in Salt Lake City, Utah,  suggests
Anglican prayer beads and Indian prayer bowls. These beads are often  used by
persons who practice contemplative prayer -- Anglican prayer beads have  33
beads divided into four weeks of seven, four cruciform beads  representing
the cross, and an invitatory bead. The beads are offered in a variety of
stones including jasper, periodot, mother of pearl, malachite, Chinese
porcelain and amethyst, as well as ebony wood. See illustrations at
www.fullcirclebeads.com.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81827_102946_ENG_HTM.htm

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

>_____________________

>DAYBOOK

On November 25, 2008, the church calendar remembers James Otis Sargent
Huntington, priest and monk, 1935.

* 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 25, 1820, English poet and Oxford  Movement
leader John Keble wrote the words to the hymn "Sun of My Soul." On  November
25, 1877, William H. Bathurst, Anglican priest and hymnist, died at  Lydney
Park, England.

>_____________________

>CATALYST

"Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity" from Oxford University Press, by
Richard Hooker, edited by A. S. McGrade, 284 pages, paperback, c. 1989,
$30.99

[Oxford University Press] The great Elizabethan divine Richard Hooker  has
occupied a prominent place in the intellectual history of the Church of
England and sixteenth-century Protestantism but his wider significance  has
often been neglected. In his introduction to this selection of books  from Of
the Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity, Professor McGrade demonstrates  clearly
the continued relevance and importance of the particular  politico-religious
project Hooker undertook and shows that The Laws offer far more than  simply
an apologia for the Elizabethan religious settlement. The text of this
version is based on the authoritative Folger edition and presents those
sections of The Laws most important to an understanding of Hooker's  wider
aims and context.

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