[ENS] Presiding officers, Executive Council member urge congregations to study the Anglican Covenant

[<mdavies@episcopalchurch.org>]

>Episcopal News Service
>September 3, 2010

Episcopal News Service is available at 
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/ens.

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>Today's Episcopal News Service includes:

* TOP STORY - Presiding officers, Executive Council member urge
congregations to study the Anglican Covenant
* DIOCESAN DIGEST - EAU CLAIRE: Diocese elects Edwin Leidel as
provisional bishop
* DIOCESAN DIGEST - MARYLAND: Bishops issue call to welcome the
'other' in pastoral letter on immigration
* OPINION - Peace in our time, By Anne K. Lynn
* DAYBOOK - September 6: Today in Scripture, Prayer, History
* EPISCOPAL BOOKS & RESOURCES PICK - "Martyrs, Saints and Sinners"

>_____________________

>TOP STORIES

Presiding officers, Executive Council member urge congregations to
study the Anglican Covenant

>By Matthew Davies

[Episcopal News Service] Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori,
House of Deputies President Bonnie Anderson and Executive Council
member Rosalie Simmonds Ballentine are calling on all Episcopal
congregations to engage in discussion of the proposed Anglican
Covenant at some time during the next two years.

The Episcopal Church leaders suggested in a Sept. 3 letter that
congregations consider organizing a discussion group on the covenant
during Advent (2010 or 2011) or Lent (2011 or 2012) or at another time
before General Convention in 2012.

"In order for General Convention to reflect the mind of the whole
church, the bishops and deputies who participate in General Convention
need to know the thoughtful and faithful reactions of the many and
varied faith communities represented in this church," the church
leaders said.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79425_124323_ENG_HTM.htm

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

>_____________________

>DIOCESAN DIGEST

EAU CLAIRE: Diocese elects Edwin Leidel as provisional bishop

>By ENS staff

[Episcopal News Service] A special convention of the Diocese of Eau
Claire, meeting on August 28 at Christ Church Cathedral, Eau Claire,
elected the Rt. Rev. Edwin M. Leidel, Jr., retired Bishop of Eastern
Michigan, as its provisional bishop, according to a release from the
diocese that has also been posted on its website.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_124334_ENG_HTM.htm

>- - - - -

MARYLAND: Bishops issue call to welcome the 'other' in pastoral letter
on immigration

>By ENS staff

[Episcopal News Service] The bishops of the Episcopal Diocese of
Maryland have issued a pastoral letter addressing the need for
comprehensive immigration reform.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_124327_ENG_HTM.htm

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

>_____________________

>OPINION

>Peace in our time

>By Anne K. Lynn

[Episcopal News Service] As the world focuses on the U.S.-brokered
Middle East peace talks, we're all cautiously hopeful that this could
be the time. Let's all pray for peace now. The political issues in
that volatile region get the headlines, but we as Christians and as
human beings can't lose sight of the humanitarian price that has been
paid on all sides. How can we address the suffering?

Lives are lost in many ways. Some involve violent death; but others
are lost to despair, wasted potential and preventable tragedy. A
significant proportion of the Christian population in the Middle East
falls into that second category. They're a small and shrinking
community and they need help stabilizing their future. Why should that
matter to us?

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/80050_124325_ENG_HTM.htm

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

>_____________________

>DAYBOOK

On September 6, 2010, the church remembers Labor Day.

* 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 September 6, 1528, the visitation of the
churches and pastors in Saxony was launched by Prince John the
Constant, elector of Saxony, following guidelines published on March
2, 1528.

>_____________________

>EPISCOPAL BOOKS & RESOURCES PICK

"Martyrs, Saints and Sinners" from Areopagite Press, by Dennis B. A.
Berk, 216 pages, paperback, c. 2009, $11.95

[Areopagite Press] This collection of six plays provides an
unconventional look at a variety of saintly and sinful protagonists
spanning the range of time from the 3rd through the 21st centuries.
Suitable for personal reading or for public performances, these plays
offer refreshingly new perspectives on their historical characters who
are portrayed with an undiluted realism.

The author boldly strips away the sanctimonious gloss so often applied
to the saints. In his strikingly vivid representations both the sacred
and the sordid aspects of life are illustrated. His portrayals are not
compromised by the polite platitudes that so often have hidden these
individuals behind the veil of piety.

Through these plays you will journey beyond the golden halos and the
serene smiles of the stained glass images. Enjoy encountering an
amazing assortment of characters whose faults and foibles are conveyed
with a startling honesty that is simultaneously shocking and
inspirational.

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