wfn.org | [ELD] NORTHERN MICHIGAN: Bishop-elect, election process scrutinized / IRELAND: Archbishops deplore m

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

>Episcopal Life Daily
>March 10, 2009

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

>Today's Episcopal Life Daily includes:

* DIOCESAN DIGEST - NORTHERN MICHIGAN: Bishop-elect, election process
scrutinized
* WORLD REPORT - IRELAND: Archbishops deplore murderous terrorist  attacks
* OPINION - Virtual is still real: Prayer is prayer, online or in the  pew
* DAYBOOK - March 11, 2009: Today in Scripture, Prayer, History
* CATALYST - The Gospel of Father Joe - Revolutions and Revelations in  the
Slums of Bangkok

>_____________________

>DIOCESAN DIGEST

NORTHERN MICHIGAN: Bishop-elect, election process scrutinized

>By Joe Bjordal

[Episcopal News Service] The process used to elect a bishop in the  Episcopal
Diocese of Northern Michigan and the bishop-elect's meditation practice  have
come under scrutiny as diocesan bishops and standing committees are  being
asked to consent to the election.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_105800_ENG_HTM.htm

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

>_____________________

>WORLD REPORT

IRELAND: Archbishops deplore murderous terrorist attacks

>By Matthew Davies

[Episcopal News Service] The Anglican archbishops of Armagh and Dublin,
Church of Ireland, have issued a joint statement in which they express  shock
and outrage the March 7 terrorist attack at Massereene Barracks that  left
two British soldiers dead, and another shooting March 9 at Craigavon  where a
policeman was killed.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81808_105798_ENG_HTM.htm

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

>_____________________

>OPINION

>Virtual is still real

>Prayer is prayer, online or in the pew

>By Josh Thomas

[Episcopal Life] Editor's note: The October 2008 issue of Episcopal Life
carried an article about various church manifestations on the Internet.  The
January 2009 issue carried a column expressing the opinion that a  worship
service on the Internet isn't the same as attending a "real" church.  This
month, Episcopal Life presents two other views, which will be published
online this week. The first opinion column follows.

>- - - - -

Online prayer is a wonderful alternative for people who find it  convenient -
especially when structured around the daily office, which few churches
bother with anymore because nobody comes.

One wouldn't criticize those who read the office at home by themselves  with
books. Is there much difference?

You can flip back and forth through the prayer book, to the Psalter,  then to
the lectionary, the Old Testament, to the front of the prayer book, back  to
the lectionary, New Testament, prayer book, Collect of the Day - or you  can
see the service all laid out in a continuous flow online, because the
website has done your flipping for you.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/80050_105774_ENG_HTM.htm

More Opinion: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/80050_ENG_HTM.htm

>_____________________

>DAYBOOK

>On March 11, 2009...

* 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 March 11, 1979, Constancio B. Manguramas, bishop  of
Southern Philippines, was installed as Prime Bishop of the Philippine
Episcopal Church.

>_____________________

>CATALYST

"The Gospel of Father Joe - Revolutions and Revelations in the Slums of
Bangkok" from John Wiley & Sons, Inc., by Greg Barrett, foreword by the  Most
Reverend Desmond M. Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus, 321 pages, hardcover, c.
2008, $25.95

[John Wiley & Sons, Inc.] Three decades ago in a cordoned-off corner of  the
developing world an angry Catholic priest armed only with pencil, paper,  and
crayons, declared a revolution. From a shanty school shared with  Buddhists
and Muslims in Bangkok's squatter slums, Father Joe Maier began his  advance
on abject poverty. Today, his Human Development Foundation and Mercy  Centre
charity is responsible for thirty-two preschools that have taught more  than
twenty thousand children how to read and write. Despite the crippling
neglect found in impoverishment, he is raising international scholars  and
injecting a sense of purpose into shantytowns and squatter camps that  used
to have neither.

While extremists and jihadists rant, rave, and wrestle over the first  rights
to God, "Father Joe" quietly exudes God's universal, selfless spirit.  The
Johnny Appleseed of Bangkok built his preschools in the city's worst  slums
without permission or legal permits. He then kept planting despite  orders
from the Thai government and Catholic Church to stop. Whenever police  were
dispatched to shut construction down, Father Joe would shrug and say go
ahead. "But you'll have to explain it to them," he'd growl, pointing to  the
children, "and to them," pointing to the grandmothers and mothers.

The people and the priest grew a slum oasis this way and, today, the  Mercy
Centre counts forty-two hundred preschool seats in a three-year program  that
graduates seven hundred students yearly. It also has Thailand's largest  free
AIDS hospice, several orphanages, a school for older street kids, youth
sports leagues, and more.

In The Gospel of Father Joe, journalist Greg Barrett tells the inspiring
story of a remarkable and ecumenical holy man in a way that will  encourage
readers to believe that they too can make a world of difference.

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

>_____________________

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