Pastoral Note: Pittsburgh Anglicans in the News

From Bruce Robison Rector of St. Andrew's Highland Park (Pittsburgh TEC)

So, what does all this mean? I think we at this point can have only a very preliminary view.

One thing that seems clear is that many of the various individuals and groups that have separated from the Episcopal Church in the past will now have a church structure within which to attempt a more orderly common life. This new organizational identity may thus be a real enhancement to the well-being of their Christian life and ministry.

There is some uncertainty here, though. The members of the ACNA have in common a desire to continue in some form of Anglican ministry while at the same time not being a part of the Episcopal Church. But within this group there is much diversity of churchmanship, culture, and theological perspective. Concerns about the ordination of women, the role and authority of bishops, and the importance of an eventual, formal acceptance within the Anglican Communion, for example, reflect a range of backgrounds from Protestant Evangelical to traditional Anglo-Catholic. It will be interesting to see if the new ACNA will struggle successfully (as certainly the Episcopal Church has struggled and continues to struggle) to live together in the midst of these differences.

It is probably the case as well that if an orderly common life does emerge within the ACNA, and if that life reflects a strong spirit of Anglican identity, the presence of the ACNA may further complicate the already very complicated role and status of the Episcopal Church within the wider Anglican world and within the formal bodies of our increasingly fragmented Anglican Communion.

More here-

http://revbmrobison.blogspot.com/2009/06/pastoral-note-pittsburgh-anglicans-in.html

We will, as the saying goes, "stay tuned for more news" in the months and years ahead.

Lecture at St. Andrews Higland Park

FRIDAY October 17th

HIGHLAND PARK: Historian and author Jeremy Bonner presents the free St. Andrew's Lecture, titled "Episcopal Dawn, Anglican Sunset: A Scholar's Reflections on Pittsburgh's Episcopal Experience," at 8 p.m. at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 5801 Hampton St. A reception honoring the speaker follows. For more information, call 412-661-1245

Bruce Robison Writes a Pastoral to His Parish

The afternoon of the convention Bruce sent me his wonderful pastoral response to what had happened. He now has it posted on his blog.

I would also note that the leadership of the Episcopal Church and the Presiding Bishop have been engaged, supportive, and respectful in their work with us thus far, and they have promised their continuing support as we make the decisions locally that will reconstitute the orderly life of our diocese.

As of Monday morning there will be a new office, mailing address, and phone number for the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh, and the "Across the Aisle" website will soon become our official diocesan website. You may wish to click on that link and bookmark the URL for future reference. There is information on the site now that may answer many of our questions about how the reorganization will take place. An important feature, on the "front page" of the site, is a letter from the Rev. Jim Simons, Rector of St. Michael of the Valley Church in Ligonier. As a member of our diocesan Standing Committee Jim will have a key leadership role in the coming days, as the diocese begins to reorganize according to our continuing Constitution and Canons.

http://revbmrobison.blogspot.com/2008/10/pastoral-note-following-convention.html

Good Stuff in TEC: Pittsburgh

St. Andrew's in Highland Park is pleased to announce that we are hosting the choir of men and boys from Hereford Cathedral, England this fall.

The choir is steeped in the English Choral Tradition. The cathedral, in the Diocese of Hereford, founded in 676 A.D., makes mention in its statutes as early as 1246 of the existence of a song school for choristers. The choir is known throughout the world through BBC broadcasts, recordings, and participation in the world's longest running music festival, the Three Choirs Festival. Elgar, Vaughan Williams, and Howells are but three composers who
have written music for the choir and conducted it for special performances.

The choir will sing a concert on Tuesday, October 28 at
8:00 p.m. Please contact the church office (412 661-1245)
for tickets.

In addition to the concert at St. Andrew's, the choir will also be singing at the Noonday Eucharist at First Lutheran Church, 615 Grant St. in downtown Pittsburgh, on Wednesday, October 29, as well as Choral Evensong at Calvary Church on Wednesday, October 29 at 6:30 p.m.

You can see all of the Good Stuff posts by clicking on the link to the right (top) or by typing good stuff into the blog's search engine.

Pastoral Letter from Bruce Robison

A pastoral letter Bruce Robison (Rector St. Andrews Highland Park, Pittsburgh) wrote to his congregation concerning the developments in the Diocese last week.

This has happened, as most of us are aware, in the context of the effort, led by Bishop Duncan, to promote a resolution at our upcoming convention severing the relationship between the Episcopal Church and the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh and then “realigning” the diocese with the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone of South America. Although that effort has not yet come to its conclusion, the bishops gathered in Salt Lake City for their regular fall meeting decided to act, judging that Bishop Duncan’s actions have already constituted an abandonment of his responsibilities as a bishop of the Episcopal Church.

I want to say a word about what this means and--what it doesn’t mean.

http://revbmrobison.blogspot.com/2008/09/pastoral-letter.html