Sailing the Last Voyage with Newton and Pascal
He's not much on dealing with many heterodoxies in the Anglican world, but Rowan Williams gets tough on Freemasonry: THE Principal of Pusey House, Oxford, the Revd Jonathan Baker, is to resign as a Freemason after being encouraged by the Archbishop of Canterbury to reconsider his membership before his consecration as the next Bishop of …
Continue reading "Rowan Williams Forces a Provincial Episcopal Visitor to Bail on the Masonic Lodge"
The "religious left" is abuzz--and of course aTwitter--re Jim Wallis and Sojourners' decision not to support the recent Believe Out Loud (an LGBT group) ad campaign this past Mother's Day. This has produced the predictable horror in places such as The Lead and some glee on the right. Back when I reviewed Wallis' book The …
Continue reading "Why I Think Jim Wallis Pulled the Plug on the Believe Out Loud Campaign"
My old home church has gotten into short-term missions. Although there's no doubt it broadens their horizons, the old Palm Beach attitude goes with you everywhere. Consider this statement from Rick Miessau, one of the leaders of their mission to Haïti: “Just sitting there and talking, we raise their social status,” he said. “Kids are …
Continue reading "Just Talking With a Palm Beacher is All It Takes"
Gary L'Hommedieu puts things in stark figures, based on the Episcopal Church's own figures: The real story in the recent release of statistical data by TEC is in the demographic profile of the Church that heralds itself as the living symbol of a diverse society. On the same page amidst self-congratulatory rhapsodies about antiracism, advocacy …
Continue reading "If This is Diversity, I'd Hate to See What Homogeneity Looks Like"
Bill Atwood 3:25 A.M. (Dovetail DOVE 35) 1976 It's hard to conceive of a mellower production than this, with Bill Atwood's smooth vocals and the excellent backing instrumentation from John Pantry's production (Cloud's backup vocals add the mix.) This is a favourite of mine, and it's too bad that the follow up from the UK …
Andrew Goddard, once more with feeling, points out the obvious about Parliament's governance over the Church of England: The Church of England, wrestling with internal differences over provision for opponents of women bishops and over responses to same-sex relationships, could soon find a further contentious topic being added to the mix: the question of establishment, …
This is what she tells the part of the Diocese of Pittsburgh she got to keep: Although the two churches battled over property in court, Jefferts Schori said she foresees a day when churches will become something different. "More faith communities will decide not to have a permanent dedicated structure in the coming years," she …
Every now and then a group comes along which represents the best of its genre. Its leadership, those who play and sing with it, everything seems to "click." Although picking an absolute best in the turbulent era of the 1960's and 1970's isn't easy, for college campus church based groups, it's hard to beat God …
Bethesda-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church has a new rector at last: After a year of searching, The Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea has a new rector. Tapped by the search committee, the Rev. James R. Harlan of Denver has accepted the job and will begin work the second week of June. His first Sunday in the pulpit will …
Continue reading "A Colorado Based Priest Becomes Rector at Bethesda"
While researching for another project, I came across this article in an 1896 issue of the National Magazine about vested choirs, which is now a well-established tradition on both sides of the Anglican/Episcopal world. It's hard to conceive of now, but even in Episcopal churches vested choirs were controversial. However, fashion changed, and this article …
Positive Infinity 