A Pastor Fights Against Government Restrictions on Political Sermons

From The Daily Signal-

In a matter that deals more directly with what pastors oppose, the All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, California, faced a near two-year investigation from the IRS after a 2004 sermon opposing the war in Iraq. The IRS dropped its investigation, but the church reportedly spent $200,000 in legal bills.

Tax-exempt status should not be conditioned on what a pastor says from the pulpit, contends Christiana Holcomb, ADF legal counsel, calling the law an unconstitutional infringement on free speech and the Establishment Clause.

“We have welcomed the IRS to really enforce this so we can make a challenge to the law, and make the public aware that any regulation of a pastor’s sermon is a clear violation of the Constitution,” Holcomb told The Daily Signal in a phone interview. “But even without going to court, the IRS has used intimidation, bullying, and harassment tactics.”

More here-

http://dailysignal.com/2016/07/22/a-pastor-fights-against-government-restrictions-on-political-sermons/

Anglican churches provide aid to thousands of victims of South Sudan's civil war

From The Christian Times-

The Anglican community extended assistance for thousands of those who are affected in the devastated Juba region of South Sudan that recently escalated in its state of unrest.

According to the Anglican Communion News Service, Sudra (the Sudanese Development and Relief Agency) announced Tuesday that it planned to extend its food assistance to around 14,400 internally displaced people from the affected areas of Juba, Kajo Keji, Yei, Lainya, and Rajaf.

More here-

http://www.christiantimes.com/article/anglican-churches-provide-aid-to-victims-of-south-sudans-civil-war/59506.htm

St. John's curate placed on leave

From Massachusetts-

The curate of St. John's Episcopal Church is on administrative leave following "alleged violations of clergy 'standards of conduct,'" according to church officials.

The Rev. Stephen Scarff allegedly drank alcoholic beverages before transporting young church members during a mission trip, according to a letter to the church community dated July 12 and signed by the Rev. Stephanie Bradbury, rector elect; Senior Warden Steve MacKinnon; and Junior Warden Jeannie McIntyre.

The letter follows a complaint the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts received July 10, according to a prepared statement from the diocese.

"In keeping with the Episcopal Church’s clergy disciplinary process, Bishop Alan Gates placed the Rev. Mr. Scarff on immediate administrative leave, a standard precautionary response, while the facts of the situation are being determined," the statement said.

More here-

http://www.salemnews.com/news/local_news/st-john-s-curate-placed-on-leave/article_a0a70362-7698-51e9-9337-6fcac36033da.html

Former government worker now Episcopal bishop in Pennsylvania

From New Mexico-

People who knew Daniel Gutierrez during his years of government service in Bernalillo County say they expected the Albuquerque native to run for elected office one day.

Nobody, including Gutierrez himself, expected that he would be elected bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania.

“It’s funny, because the bishop is elected by the clergy and the laity of the Episcopal Church,” Gutierrez said in a phone interview from Philadelphia, where he was consecrated Saturday as bishop.

More here-

http://www.abqjournal.com/812636/former-government-worker-now-episcopal-bishop-in-pennsylvania.html

Cambridge’s Episcopal Divinity School to stop awarding degrees

From The Boston Globe-

Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, facing ongoing budget deficits, said Thursday that it will no longer award degrees after June 2017, and will spend the next academic year exploring options for its future.

The decision was approved by an 11-4 vote of the school’s trustees on Thursday. Following the vote, the Rev. Frank Fornaro, the interim dean and president, announced his resignation, effective in November, the school said in a statement.

“I totally disagree with this resolution,” Fornaro said in the statement.

The Very Rev. Gary Hall, the trustees’ chairman, said mounting financial pressures required the board to “act quickly, while the seminary still has sufficient assets to bring to bear in the next phase of its life.”

More here-

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/07/21/episcopal-divinity-school-cambridge-stop-awarding-degrees/uczs33LoKbVE7m3e4FoMCI/story.html

Episcopal Divinity School to stop granting degrees in June 2017

From ENS-

Episcopal Divinity School will cease to grant degrees at the end of the upcoming academic year, the seminary’s board of trustees decided July 21 on a 11-4 vote. During the next year, the board will explore options for EDS’s future, some of which were suggested by a specially convened Futures Task Force to make plans for EDS’s future.

“A school that has taken on racism, sexism, heterosexism, and multiple interlocking oppressions is now called to rethink its delivery of theological education in a new and changing world,” said the Very Rev. Gary Hall ’76, chairman of the board, in introducing the resolution. “Ending unsustainable spending is a matter of social justice.”

The options suggested to the task force include merging with another theological seminary, establishing a center for Abrahamic studies, becoming a center for continuing education, fostering lay ministry, and using the seminary’s assets to fund scholarships for seminarians devoted to working on issues of peace and justice.

More here-
 
http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2016/07/21/episcopal-divinity-school-to-stop-granting-degrees-in-june-2017/

Anglican Archbishop of Perth Roger Herft allegedly failed to report paedophile Peter Rushton to police

From Australia-

One of the nation's most senior Anglicans, the Archbishop of Perth, Roger Herft, received complaints about a priest involved in a paedophile ring but allegedly failed to formally report him to police, according to an Anglican Church insider.

7.30 has obtained a confidential note showing Archbishop Herft received a complaint about Father Peter Rushton's abuse when they both worked in the Hunter region of New South Wales in 2002.

Archbishop Herft wrote that the complaint "left me in an unenviable position" because "Father Peter had my licence [to be a priest] and if he reoffended I would be held liable as I now had prior knowledge of his alleged behaviour".

More here-

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-07-21/archbishop-allegedly-failed-to-report-paedophile-ring-'kingpin'/7649154

NH Supreme Court to hear Durham church's tax appeal

From New Hampshire-

The New Hampshire Supreme Court is set to hear a Durham church's appeal regarding taxes paid for the leasing of parking spaces to University of New Hampshire students.

Foster's Daily Democrat reports St. George's Episcopal Church appealed to the high court after a Strafford County judge ruled that the church was obligated to pay a property tax to the town.

Church officials say they've been leasing parking spaces to UNH students since 1998 and the town had never levied a tax on the church before. But in 2013, Durham Tax Assessor Jim Rice issued a property tax bill to the church.

More here-

http://www.nh1.com/news/nh-supreme-court-to-hear-durham-church-s-tax-appeal/

Episcopal Church weighs in on NEK counselor accused of sex assault

From Vermont-

A family therapist is accused of preying on kids he was supposed to help. The Northeast Kingdom counselor says the accusations of sex assault are untrue, but as investigative reporter Jennifer Costa found out, he's been accused before.

During his 20-year career, Armand Henault has counseled countless kids, many from broken homes. In June, police arrested him. They say some of his behavior is criminal and some unethical. Henault says it's a witch hunt. Now, the Episcopal Church is weighing in.

"It's totally devastating and sad for us," said Bishop Thomas Ely, Episcopal Diocese of Vermont.

Ely is not hiding from a harsh reality. One of his own is accused of sexually assaulting a child. He says the allegations against Henault are a blow to the Episcopal Church, but not entirely surprising.

"So, many others whose trust in Mr. Henault must be understandably shaken by the allegations, including me," said Ely. 

More here-

http://www.wcax.com/story/32491347/episcopal-church-weighs-in-on-nek-counselor-accused-of-sex-assault

Norwich police say treasurer took church funds for food, golf, liquor

From CT-

The former treasurer of the Grace Episcopal Church was arrested on a first-degree larceny charge Monday after allegedly admitting making repeated withdrawals of church funds for “pretty much anything he needed,” including rounds of golf at the Norwich Golf Course.

Andrew Rushford, 58, of 4 Chapel Hill Road — near the church, also on Chapel Hill Road — was charged with one count of first-degree larceny.

He initially was held on a $50,000 bond, but was released on a promise to appear after his arraignment in Norwich Superior Court on Tuesday.

He was released on a condition that he cooperate with a veterans' program, according to the court record.

More here-

http://www.theday.com/local/20160719/norwich-police-say-treasurer-took-church-funds-for-food-golf-liquor

For some Christians talking about race is tough, and long overdue they say

From The Washington Post-

At Washington National Cathedral on Sunday, an interracial group of clergy gathered to discuss the role of the white church in perpetuating racism. And what the church might do to heal the wounds. A tough subject, but dealt with unflinchingly.

They began with church complicity in the nation’s original sins — genocide of indigenous peoples and the enslavement of Africans.

“We Christians — British and Americans — said we can’t do those things to people we believe are made in the image of God,” said the Rev. Jim Wallis, founder of Sojourners, a D.C.-based social justice organization. “So we will throw away Imago Dei. And that’s what we did. We threw away the image of God and said that these indigenous and African peoples are less than human.”

More here-

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/for-some-christians-talking-about-race-is-tough-and-long-overdue-they-say/2016/07/19/4b3d85b0-4dd4-11e6-a7d8-13d06b37f256_story.html

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church & Property Up for Sale in Augusta

From Maine-

“We’d love to see it continue as a church, obviously as you look around with the windows and everything, it’s beautiful,” said Reverend Rebecca Grant, with the St. Mark’s Church.

Since 1885, the St. Mark’s Episcopal Church has been worshipping with, and caring for, the Augusta community.

For 150 years, the St. Mark’s home next door has housed elderly, indigent women. But the building has been closed since December of 2014, and now the entire property, including the church, a historic rectory, and a parish hall, is now up for sale.

“Because we simply can’t afford it any longer. We have a small congregation and these buildings cost tremendous amounts of money to heat, to maintain. If you look around this one, you’ll see early signs of deterioration and we just don’t want that to happen to it,” said Grant.
More here-

https://wabi.tv/2016/07/19/st-marks-episcopal-church-property-up-for-sale-in-augusta/

Anglican church 'erred grievously' in gay marriage vote, say Northern bishops

From The CBC-

A group of bishops, including two from the Diocese of the Arctic, are "publicly dissenting" the dramatic results of a vote to allow members of the Anglican Church of Canada to perform same-sex marriages.

Last week, initial results showed the resolution failed by a single vote, but a subsequent recount showed a dramatic reversal.

Seven bishops from Nunavut, the Northwest Territories, Yukon, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Ontario say they are concerned the result is "a fundamental departure from the faith and teaching held by the majority of the Anglican communion."

"We believe that our General Synod has erred grievously," the bishops wrote in a statement.

More here-

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/nunavut-reaction-anglican-church-gay-marriage-1.3683820

Married Lesbian Ordained as Methodist Bishop, 'Led by the Holy Spirit'

From Charisma News-

The Western Jurisdiction of the United Methodist Church consecrated a married lesbian bishop in a move that could split the denomination. 

Greater Northwest Episcopal Area Bishop Grant Hagiya claims the Holy Spirit led the move that the church bylaws expressly forbid. 

"We understand there may be some political implications, but in our mind this was the best person. It was not a question of (sexual) orientation, it was a question of who was the best spiritual leader. The body spoke and said 'Yes, this is the one.' " Hagiya said.

Yet the denomination's Book of Discipline cites "self-avowed practicing homosexuals are not to be certified as candidates, ordained as ministers, or appointed to serve in The United Methodist Church." 

More here-

http://www.charismanews.com/us/58669-married-lesbian-ordained-as-methodist-bishop-led-by-the-holy-spirit

Pastor posts photos of shooting victims in sanctuary

From Michigan-

Death is draped on the walls of St. Thomas Episcopal Church.

From the front door of the sanctuary, around the back wall and up across the pulpit are photographs of dead people. Each week the Rev. Brian Coleman tapes photos of those who have died in mass shootings to the sanctuary walls. He said the church will continue to do so through the end of the year. To the pastor, it’s a form of accountability as the national debate on gun violence heightens.

“I’m sure there are people in the congregation who wish I hadn’t started this,” Coleman said. “Sometimes when I put new pictures up, I hear people in the congregation saying ‘Oh my, more dead people.’”

At first, not all of the church members agreed it was the right thing to do. But after more mass shootings and listening to Coleman preach about why he felt it was an important issue, more have started to agree with his methods, he said.

More here-

http://www.battlecreekenquirer.com/story/news/2016/07/18/pastor-posts-photos-shooting-victims-sanctuary/86990054/

Orthodox Anglican bishops oppose same-same marriage decision

From Canada-

Seven Canadian Anglican bishops are speaking out against a recent decision to allow clergy to officiate at same-sex marriage ceremonies.

In an open letter released late last week, the bishops took issue with the way the July 13 vote was handled at the faith's General Synod. After a vote recording error was corrected, the Synod narrowly approved the resolution.

That didn't sit well with the seven bishops, who represent Anglicans in Algoma, two in the Arctic, Athabasca, Caledonia, Saskatchewan and the Yukon.

More here-

https://www.sudbury.com/local-news/orthodox-anglican-bishops-oppose-same-same-marriage-decision-339109

Founded by freed slaves, St. Matthias marks 150 years

From Western North Carolina-

 Founded as the Freedmen's Church after the Civil War and built by a former slave, St. Matthias Episcopal Church marks its 150th anniversary as a congregation where whites and African-Americans can come together in worship.

In celebration, St. Matthias will open its doors to all of Asheville for a special service at 3 p.m. July 23 at 1 Dundee St., across from the city of Asheville Public Works Building on Charlotte Street.

At the close of the Civil war in 1865, Capt. Thomas Patton and General James Martin, who had served in the defeated Confederate Army, wanted to provide worship opportunities for their former slaves. Black congregants began to worship at Trinity.

More here-

http://www.citizen-times.com/story/news/local/2016/07/17/founded-freed-slaves-st-matthias-marks-150-years/87042004/

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church, properties for sale in Augusta

From Maine-


St. Mark’s Episcopal Church and related church-owned properties are for sale, a move that could displace the city’s food bank, a warming shelter and a pantry that provides soap and toiletries to the needy.

Also for sale is a historic home the church used as a rectory.

And the adjacent St. Mark’s Home, which provided housing for decades after it was donated to the church in 1871 to serve as a home for poor and indigent women, will be given away by church officials, along with a roughly $340,000 endowment. That’s if an organization comes forward with a solid plan to take over the facility and continue its mission of helping people in need.

More here-

http://www.pressherald.com/2016/07/17/st-marks-episcopal-church-properties-for-sale-in-augusta/

‘God break racism!’ Evangelicals on D.C. Mall pray for hope and reconciliation

From The Washington Post-

Rappers and pastors, spoken word poets and authors appealed Saturday to thousands of evangelicals gathered around the Washington Monument in baking heat to recommit to prayer and hope at a time of intense racial and political polarization and growing secularism.

People streamed into prayer tents, asking volunteers for prayers to “reset” their lives, their families, their country. They got on their knees by the thousands, appealing to God to “break racism” at the call of charismatic evangelist Lou Engle, one of dozens of preachers in the hours-long lineup. They told personal stories of division in their lives that brought them to America’s capital for what aimed to be one of the bigger faith outreach events in the United States in years. Possibly an entire Bible’s worth of verses was written on the t-shirts in the crowd.

More here-

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/acts-of-faith/wp/2016/07/16/major-evangelical-revival-aims-to-uplift-traditional-christians-with-rap-rock-and-prayer/

United Methodist Church Elects First Openly Gay Bishop, In Defiance Of Church Rules

From NPR-

Representatives of the United Methodist Church have elected their first openly gay bishop, in defiance of church prohibitions on homosexuality.

Rev. Karen Oliveto, senior pastor of Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco, was elected bishop of the church's Western Division at a conference Friday night in Scottsdale, Arizona.

"I think at this moment I have a glimpse of the realm of God," 58-year-old Oliveto said after her election, according to a news story from the church. "Today we took a step closer to embody beloved community and while we may be moving there, we are not there yet. We are moving on to perfection."

More here-

http://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2016/07/16/486300173/united-methodist-church-elects-first-openly-gay-bishop-in-defiance-of-church-rul

Same-sex vote only the first step for Anglican Church

From Alberta-

A vote on same sex marriage by the General Synod of the Anglican Church is just the start of a long process that will take years, says St. Barnabas Church in Medicine Hat.

The count at first indicated a rejection of the same sex marriage motion by one vote. An error was then discovered after delegates asked for a copy of the electronic voting records. The vote was then declared in favour of same-sex marriage.

“This actually does not change anything,” said Rev. Oz Lorentzen who came to St. Barnabas Church in May this year.

It is a “parliamentary process” and the General Synod voted on only the first reading of a proposed amendment, said Lorentzen.

More here-

http://medicinehatnews.com/news/local-news/2016/07/16/same-sex-vote-only-the-first-step-for-anglican-church/

Canada’s vote on same-sex marriage: What went wrong?

From ENS-

One miscounted vote reversed the Anglican Church of Canada’s rejection of same-sex marriage, July 12.

So how did the error occur?

Incorrect information sent to Data-on-the Spot, the electronic voting services provider contracted to manage the voting by clickers, led to the mistake, according to Archdeacon Michael Thompson, general secretary.

The vote to change the marriage canon (church law) to allow the solemnization of same-sex marriages required a two-thirds majority in each of the Orders of Laity, Clergy and Bishops, but the original count of the vote on the night of July 11 showed the motion had failed to pass by one vote in the Order of Clergy.

The error, according to Thompson,  originated with an Excel spreadsheet compiled by his office, which listed him and General Synod Chancellor David Jones as being non-voting members of General Synod. The spreadsheet had listed Thompson as “clergy, non-voting.” According to the Constitution of General Synod, both the general secretary and the chancellor have full voting privileges.

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2016/07/15/canadas-vote-on-same-sex-marriage-what-went-wrong/

St. Stephens Episcopal Church needs partner to make use of facility

From Western North Carolina-

A church building that has been used to serve the Bouchelle Street community in Morganton for decades needs a new servant-minded occupant.

St. Stephens’ Episcopal Church currently sits vacant in its spot where members congregated from 1949 to 2014. In 2014, the church combined congregations with St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, located on St. Mary’s Church Road, and became known as St. Mary’s and St. Stephens’ Episcopal Church, according to the church rector, the Rev. Jim Dahlin. The combined congregation now meets at the St. Mary’s facility.

Church members do not want to sell the St. Stephens’ building, but are looking for another church, ministry or nonprofit organization to partner with them in using the building as a base to make a positive impact in the immediate community, said church member Allen Fullwood.

More here-

http://www.morganton.com/community/st-stephens-episcopal-church-needs-partner-to-make-use-of/article_0c648c30-4ac8-11e6-880d-479f1bce61df.html

New bishop of Pa. Episcopal Diocese is the Rev. Canon Daniel Gutierrez

From Philadelphia-

One sits in the high desert surrounded by mountains and the other is a sprawling blue-collar city, but the Rev. Canon Daniel Gutierrez says the similarities between his native Albuquerque, N.M., and Philadelphia are greater than the differences.

Gutierrez, 51, said the problems his parishioners faced in the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande, based in Albuquerque, are universal - problems he will also face after he is ordained Saturday as bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania at New Covenant Church in Germantown. The ceremony will begin at 11 a.m.

"I've fallen in love with Philadelphia and the Diocese of Pennsylvania in a relatively short time. When a child is crying and suffering in pain, it's up to the church to reach out and touch them," Gutierrez said Friday afternoon at the Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral in University City. "There is so much hope and potential here."

More here-

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20160716_New_bishop_of_Pa__Episcopal_Diocese_is_the_Rev__Canon_Daniel_Gutierrez.html

Retired Miss. Episcopal Bishop Duncan Gray Jr. dies

From Mississippi-

The Rt. Rev. Duncan Montgomery Gray Jr., a civil-rights advocate and retired bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi, died Friday. He was 89.

Gray died at his home in Jackson after having been in hospice care, said one of his sons, Lloyd Gray of Meridian. He said a funeral will be at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Cathedral in Jackson, but plans were still pending.

As rector of St. Peter’s Church in Oxford in the autumn of 1962, Gray called for calm as violence broke out in response to the court-ordered integration of the University of Mississippi in that city. Gray had been a chaplain on campus until 1961 and was known to students. According to Episcopal archives, Gray held onto the statue of a Confederate soldier near the main administrative building on campus and implored people not to riot.

In the pulpit of St. Peter’s, Gray denounced racism.

More here-

http://www.clarionledger.com/story/news/local/2016/07/15/retired-miss-episcopal-bishop-duncan-gray-jr-dies/87164428/

also here-

https://djournal.com/news/duncan-gray-jr-retired-bishop-activist-dies-jackson/

and here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2016/07/16/former-mississippi-bishop-duncan-m-gray-jr-dies-after-brief-illness/

The agony and ecstasy of Saint Theresa, the vicar’s daughter

From The Guardian-

The Reverend Hubert Brasier died in a car accident on a notoriously dangerous stretch of dual carriageway on the fast-moving A40 approach to Oxford. On his way to take evensong at the tiny Norman church of St Nicholas the Confessor, in the hamlet of Forest Hill, Mr Brasier edged his Morris Marina out of the slip road, not noticing the Range Rover speeding towards him. His daughter, Theresa, was 25 at the time. Mr Brasier had named her after a 16th-century Spanish nun who went on to become a great reformer of the Carmelite order. I wonder how long before cartoonists start depicting the new prime minister’s face superimposed on Bernini’s notorious sculptural depiction, The Ecstasy of Saint Teresa?

The parish of St Mary the Virgin in Wheatley (pictured), where Theresa May’s father was the vicar, is deep in the Anglican heartlands and a place of agreeably slow-moving traffic. A mile up the hill is the sleepy village of Cuddesdon, where generations of Anglican clergy have trained for the priesthood (me included) and which one former archbishop, Lord Runcie of Cuddesdon, has described as the nearest thing to heaven this side of death. But Mr Brasier trained at the distinctly high church college of Mirfield in Yorkshire. And, to many, that made him Father Brasier.

More here-

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/belief/2016/jul/14/the-agony-and-ecstasy-of-saint-theresa-the-vicars-daughter

Anglican Church will weather divide on same-sex marriage, officials say

From The CBC-

A passionate divide within the Anglican Church of Canada doesn't threaten its unity, officials say, after a dramatic vote first appeared to reject, but then approved, same-sex marriage earlier this week.    

"As long as there's been a church there's been a controversy somewhere in it," Archdeacon Michael Thompson, general secretary for the church, told CBC News, citing as examples past debates about contraception and the ability of divorced people to remarry.

It was actually Thompson's vote in favour of the resolution to allow same-sex marriage that was miscounted in error, leading to an emotional roller-coaster of elation and despair for church members on both sides of the debate. The church appeared to have rejected same-sex marriage after the mistake on Monday night, but a recount led to the reversal that supported the same-sex marriage resolution.   

More here-

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/anglican-church-same-sex-marriage-divide-1.3679056

California Supreme Court upholds ruling in San Joaquin property case

From ENS-

The California Supreme Court on July 13 “declined to review” a decision made in April by a state appellate court putting an end to eight years of litigation and awarding 28 properties worth an estimated $50 million to the continuing Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin.

“Accordingly, the original judgment in favor of the Diocese and ordering the return of the properties and funds (approximately twenty-eight properties, including ECCO and the Cathedral, and various Diocesan funds) stands,” said Michael Glass, diocesan chancellor, in a July 14 statement to the diocese.

“It is my belief that the leadership of the Anglican Diocese intends to work with the Diocese to provide for an orderly, thoughtful, and pastoral transition of the properties,” he added.

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2016/07/14/california-supreme-court-upholds-ruling-in-san-joaquin-property-case/

Edmond L. Browning, an Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop, Dies at 87

Old news from The New York Times-

Edmond L. Browning, who as the presiding bishop in the United States welcomed women into the hierarchy of the Episcopal Church, supported a role for gay and lesbian congregants, and lobbied aggressively for civil rights and against the nuclear arms race, died on Monday at his home in Dee, Ore. He was 87.

His death was announced by the Episcopal Church.

When he was elected in 1985 to lead the 2.8-million-member Christian denomination, which broke from the Church of England after the American Revolution, he immediately set the tone for his 12-year tenure by declaring, “I want to be very clear: This church of ours is open to all — there will be no outcasts — the convictions and hopes of all will be honored.”

More here-

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/15/us/edmond-l-browning-an-episcopal-church-presiding-bishop-dies-at-87.html?_r=0

How a gay Ottawa Anglican got the same-sex marriage vote overturned

From Ottawa-

The course of Anglican church history shifted this week, in part because an Ottawa layman seized on a tiny procedural moment to effect the change of a lifetime.

Ron Chaplin, 64, is an openly gay man who has fought for equal rights — including same-sex Christian marriage — for a good part of his adulthood.

He was part of a 10-person delegation from the Ottawa diocese that attended the church’s General Synod held in Richmond Hill, the meeting that ended with the bizarre miscount — then flip-flop — on a critically-important change in the Anglican canon.

If not for Chaplin’s attention to detail, the historic approval of same-sex marriage might have been lost.

“I was pretty happy with myself,” he said later, before laughing.

Chaplin used to be a parliamentary aide, so he has a grasp of rules and process, the guy in the crowd who reads the fine print.

More here-

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/egan-how-a-gay-ottawa-anglican-got-the-same-sex-marriage-vote-overturned