What kind of world do we live in?

Have "anti-terror " measures improved our lives? I think we've done terrible things for our common life in the name of safety. Not too long ago, I was in Denver, on my way back from the Young Adult Ministry Network 2006 meeting. This announcement came over the PA: "The Department of Homeland Security has increased our threat level to orange. Be on the alert for suspicious persons and unusual behavior." I felt like I was a character an Orwellian scene.

Now this.

A 32-year-old man speaking Tamil and some English about a sporting rivalry was questioned at Sea-Tac Airport and missed his flight Saturday because at least one person thought he was suspicious.

An exception? Hardly. This is not the only similar incident. As Christians, we must stand up for the marginalized, and it now appears that our advocacy is required for anyone who happens to be the "wrong" color speaking the "wrong" language. Sigh.

Ugandan woman named UN observer for Anglican Communion

[ACNS] Mrs. Hellen Grace Wangusa, the United Nations Africa Co-ordinator of the Millennium Development Goals, has accepted the call to be the next Anglican UN Observer. Hellen will begin her work as Anglican Observer in January 2007, in New York with her office at the Episcopal Church Center. Her appointment follows the retirement last July of Archdeacon Taimalelagi Fagamalama Tuatagaloa-Leota the former Observer.

As a lay woman, Hellen has varied and extensive experience in her field. Her undergraduate studies were taken at Makerere University in Kampala, where she worked as a teaching assistant and later as a Lecturer for the Literature Department. After leaving this post Hellen began work with the Anglican Church of Uganda as the National Women’s Co-ordinator. She co-ordinated district (Diocesan) staff of 27 women under her programme and was responsible for mobilising women as well as developing National programmes and fundraising, while also being the national link person with the global World Wide Mothers’ Union movement and the Anglican Communion.

Another stained glass ceiling shattered? Indeed. For those who have written off the Ugandan church as utterly conservative, it's worth noting that the Church of Uganda ordains women as priests and has been at the forefront of struggling with the HIV/AIDS pandemic, with medical care, pastoral care, and relevant, modern liturgical work. The witness of Uganda is why we need the Anglican Communion, and I hope the presence of a Ugandan at 815 will help foster good relations between North America and Africa.

Here's the complete release from ACNS. (Note: I'd link to the Church of the Province of Uganda website directly, but it seems to be down at the moment.)

UTO grants to be awarded

The United Thank Offering has announced they're accepting applications for grants in 2007. Grants are approved for use throughout the world. It's best to speak with folks at Diocesan House if you're interested in applying. Here's a writeup of funding priorities, etc.

The Committee gives consideration to priority ranking by the diocese or province, also to recommendations of United Thank Offering screening committees in dioceses of The Episcopal Church. We consider the Budget Priorities adopted by the 75^th General Convention, including the Millennium Development Goals. We are especially interested in overseas grants which will help achieve universal primary education for children and grants which will promote gender equality and empower women. Visit www.episcopalchurch.org/finance to view the DFMS budget, and view the budget priorities on page 3. In addition we acknowledge the priority need for Theological Education for the Anglican Communion (TEAC), as identified by the Primates.

You can learn more on the UTO website.

Dioceses are planning to leave Episcopal Church

[ENS] The Diocese of San Joaquin's December 1-2 convention will be asked
to consider constitutional amendments that would "place the Diocese of
San Joaquin in an ideal position to be part of any ecclesiastical
structure that the Archbishop of Canterbury and Primates might design,"
according to a statement posted on the diocese's website October 1.

The 13 amendments or additions are intended "with appropriate
consultation (e.g. Archbishop of Canterbury/Primates of the Anglican
Communion) to transfer all relationships and communion from ECUSA to an
Anglican Province to be determined at a Special Convention called by the
Bishop of San Joaquin," the statement said.

You can read the whole ENS article.

Will the IRS like your next sermon?

Here's a frightening thought. The IRS is cracking down on political speech in sermons. So, you say, that might be so bad. Churches shouldn't tell people how to vote. The problem lies in the gray area between electioneering and prophetic preaching. A sermon preached at All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, CA, said that the Gulf War is bad. The timing was an issue. The sermon was preached just before the 2004 elections.

What happened next? The IRS began to threaten and cajole. Lots of people, right and left, are not happy about this. All Saints isn't taking this easily. They've just announced they'll appeal.

From the LA Times article on Friday:

A liberal Pasadena church on Thursday declared that it will refuse to comply with an IRS investigation into its tax-exemption status launched after a guest speaker was critical of President Bush in a sermon.

At a news conference attended by 50 cheering supporters gathered before the marble altar at All Saints Episcopal Church, the Rev. Ed Bacon said his 3,500-member congregation did not violate tax regulations barring tax-exempt organizations from endorsing or opposing candidates when a former rector, George F. Regas, criticized the Bush administration two days before the 2004 presidential election.

I encourage you to follow this story. We need our government to stay out of the business of censoring prophetic or unpopular speech. Right or left, preachers should be able to speak out on the issues of the day. Maybe the IRS should spend more time preventing wholesale corporate fraud and less time monitoring sermons.

Here's the ENS article.

UPDATE: Maybe you'll want to buy this T-shirt.

Well, well. Two statments and many responses

This is a big day in Rhode Island blogland. On the heels of entries about two statements that have been released, ENS has a summary article of reactions to both statements.

Here's the punchline. Or punchlines.

Dr. Christopher Wilkins, facilitator of Via Media USA, said that the two statements "are hard
to reconcile" given the Camp Allen bishops' stance toward unity and what he called the Kigali
statement's "breathtaking rejection of the entire Episcopal Church, except for those segments
of it that the signatories consider truly faithful."

The Rev. Canon David C. Anderson, AAC president and chief operating officer said the
statement is "what we have hoped and prayed for since 2003."

Global South primates don't like our PB-elect

[ENS] A meeting of Global South Primates, held September 19-22 in Kigali, Rwanda, has issued
a communiqué criticizing the 75th General Convention's response to the Windsor Report and
announcing that "some of us will not be able to recognize" the Episcopal Church's next
Presiding Bishop "as a Primate at the table with us" at the next Anglican Primates' Meeting,
set for February 2007 in Tanzania.

Read the whole story.

Bishop Wolf joins with others in letter to House of Bishops

Bishop Wolf, joining with other bishops of the Episcopal Church, attended a meeting in Camp Allen, Texas. Those meeting have just issued a letter to the entire House of Bishops. Here's an excerpt, to give a flavor of the letter:

We are committed to the conciliar character of our Communion. Consistent with the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Holy Cross Day letter to the Primates, it is our clear sense that General Convention of 2006 did not adequately respond to the request made of The Episcopal Church by the Communion through the Windsor Report and the Primates at Dromantine. These requests include explicit moratoria regarding church discipline and order. We express our regret, on behalf of ourselves, for those actions with which the Windsor Report was concerned.

We accept and affirm the Windsor Report and view adherence to it as furthering the vocation to heal the breaches within our own Communion and in our ecumenical relationships. Furthermore, we endorse the recommendation of the Windsor Report, as supported by the Archbishop of Canterbury, for the development of an Anglican Covenant.

You can read the whole letter here.

Agreement signed between Archbishop and Rabbi

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams and the Chief Rabbis of Israel, Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar and Chief Rabbi Yonah Metzger today signed a joint Declaration which sets out a framework for continuing dialogue between them. Dr Williams described the agreement as historic: "This is a most significant step in developing better mutual understanding and trust between the Anglican Communion and the Chief Rabbinate and worldwide Judaism."

The agreement adds to the growing network of bilateral and multilateral dialogues between religious leaders in the Middle East and in the wider world. This network of dialogue is a major contribution to a world in which religious faith is an increasingly important dimension of people's lives and of national policies.

Read the whole story from ACNS.

Bishop Wolf protests Iranian speaker

[ENS] Iran's former president, Muhammad Khatami, has been invited to speak at Washington
National Cathedral on September 7, a move that has stirred up strong protest from three
Episcopal bishops, but one that is regarded by Cathedral officials as a gesture toward
reconciliation.

The Rev. Canon John L. Peterson, director of the Cathedral's Center for Global Justice and
Reconciliation, explained that "although former president Khatami is viewed negatively by
some, he is important as the most moderate Iranian voice willing to discourse with Americans on matters of peace among the Abrahamic faiths."

Bishops John B. Lipscomb of Southwest Florida, Edward S. Little of Northern Indiana, and
Geralyn Wolf of Rhode Island protested the scheduled speech in a September 5 statement,
describing the event as "ill-conceived" and "inappropriate," and calling for its
cancellation.

Read the full story at ENS.