Friday, May 18, 2007
Rowan Williams in Singapore
Now, some parts of the Communion would be happy if we could be just a federation of loosely connected local bodies. I’m not happy with that. We could be more than that. We should be more than that. We should be living out of each other’s life and resources and vision and be more closely connected. Because I think that is what the New Testament assumes the local church should do and not live in isolation. They lived with each other, from each other’s life. So, that’s my vision.
Rowan Williams
Archbishop of Canterbury
During recent visit to Singapore, May 2007
More from Singapore with Rowan Williams:
Q: In your opinion, what is the Bible¹s view on homosexuality?
RW:I'm surprised there's only one question on this subject! The Bible tells us three significant things here, I think.
First of all, the Bible begins by setting out a model of human relationship, human sexual relationship between man and woman in the Garden of Eden and that seems to be the model from which everything else is understood and seen as the Scripture unfolds.
Second, in the law code of the Old Testament intercourse between man and man is described as something which is like ritually untouchable, it¹s something that pagans do and Jews, the covenant people, don¹t do it.
Third, in the first chapter of Romans we have Paul taking for granted the argument that this is an example of human unfaithfulness to the order of nature. But I think those taken together explains why the Christian church has historically, thought as it has thought, reacted as it has reacted, to homosexuality.
In the last 30 years or so, some Christians have raised the question of whether what we now see as the phenomenal of homosexuality in the world is exactly what the Bible has in view when it makes these prohibitions and these comments. And that is a debate that is by no means at an end yet. As you know, the position of the Anglican church is that corporately the Anglican church has not been persuaded let's say to change the traditional view on this and that's where our church stands.
That I think is how the biblical view unfolds and I do want say in fairness to those who have raised questions in the last 30 years or so, not all of them want to overturn the authority of the Bible but are simply asking, "Have we got it right? Have we understood it right?" But it's a long, painful discussion and you won¹t need me to say to you at this juncture that some of us in position of leadership in the Anglican church feels the force of the debate very powerfully but also the importance of not rushing into a change that will divide us, that will increase our difficulties in ecumenical interfaith discussion.
Rowan Williams
Archbishop of Canterbury
During recent visit to Singapore, May 2007
More from Singapore with Rowan Williams:
Q: In your opinion, what is the Bible¹s view on homosexuality?
RW:I'm surprised there's only one question on this subject! The Bible tells us three significant things here, I think.
First of all, the Bible begins by setting out a model of human relationship, human sexual relationship between man and woman in the Garden of Eden and that seems to be the model from which everything else is understood and seen as the Scripture unfolds.
Second, in the law code of the Old Testament intercourse between man and man is described as something which is like ritually untouchable, it¹s something that pagans do and Jews, the covenant people, don¹t do it.
Third, in the first chapter of Romans we have Paul taking for granted the argument that this is an example of human unfaithfulness to the order of nature. But I think those taken together explains why the Christian church has historically, thought as it has thought, reacted as it has reacted, to homosexuality.
In the last 30 years or so, some Christians have raised the question of whether what we now see as the phenomenal of homosexuality in the world is exactly what the Bible has in view when it makes these prohibitions and these comments. And that is a debate that is by no means at an end yet. As you know, the position of the Anglican church is that corporately the Anglican church has not been persuaded let's say to change the traditional view on this and that's where our church stands.
That I think is how the biblical view unfolds and I do want say in fairness to those who have raised questions in the last 30 years or so, not all of them want to overturn the authority of the Bible but are simply asking, "Have we got it right? Have we understood it right?" But it's a long, painful discussion and you won¹t need me to say to you at this juncture that some of us in position of leadership in the Anglican church feels the force of the debate very powerfully but also the importance of not rushing into a change that will divide us, that will increase our difficulties in ecumenical interfaith discussion.
Ok, the TEC stuff is 911 but this just rocks!
We think this couldn't be coming out at a better time.
Bishop Howe calls for patience in preparation for meetings of Windsor Bishops and with the Archbishop of Canterbury
BB NOTE: As many know, John Howe is a longtime dear friend. We present his letter in full here. But we do ponder - in addition to the important points he raises here in his letter, namely the issues of love and patience - the issue of trust. What has been broken over and over again has been trust. We've learned in the last few days from Archbishop Drexel Gomez that the Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori did, indeed, agree to the Communiqué - only to come home and tell us that she just said she'd pass it on (and of course, she failed to do that at Camp Allen in March). When does trust become wishful thinking? Neville Chamberlain springs to mind. At the same time, reading the bishop's letter reminds us that is important we trust those who have shown themselves to be trustworthy - and a call to patience and love is indeed timely. One never knows what surprise is around the corner.
From the May, 2007 Central Florida Episcopalian
Dear Diocesan Family,
Two months ago I asked Joe Thoma, our Communications Officer, to publish the “Communiqué” issued by the Primates of the Anglican Communion following their meeting in Dar es Salam, Tanzania. It requested clarifications by the Bishops of The Episcopal Church regarding two specific concerns that have been before the Communion for the past several years: a) are the Bishops willing to give “unequivocal” assurances that they will not authorize any more blessings of same-gender unions? And b) are the Bishops willing to give the same kind of assurances they will not consent to the election of any more non-celibate persons in same-gender relationships?
They also said that they would create a “Pastoral Council” that would work with a “Primatial Vicar” to provide pastoral oversight for those congregations who cannot accept the ministry of their Bishops and those Dioceses that cannot accept the ministry of the Presiding Bishop.
We were initially told that all of the Primates meeting in Tanzania had agreed to these proposals, including our own Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori. However, when the American Bishops met in Texas last month, Bishop Schori told us that she had only agreed to “present” the proposals to us for our consideration.
If you have followed the news, you already know that the American Bishops rejected the Primates’ proposals as an unconstitutional intrusion into the oversight of The Episcopal Church. (I thoroughly disagree with that assessment, but it passed by a significant majority.) We have not given a collective answer to Primates’ two questions, but approximately two thirds of the American Bishops have given their own answers, individually. Approximately thirty of the American Bishops have said “Yes” to the Primates’ questions, and about an equal number have said “No.”
Whatever those still “in the middle” decide, it is clear there will be no “unequivocal” assurances from the House of Bishops as a whole as we move toward the deadline the Primates set, September 30 of this year.
There are many questions, and a great deal of speculation, as to what all of this means for The Episcopal Church and The Anglican Communion.
I proposed that the House of Bishops invite the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the members of the Primates” Standing Committee, to meet with us sometime between now and September 30. Many of the Bishops believe the Archbishop needs to hear from us directly. All of the Bishops believe we need to hear from him. The proposal passed unanimously, and on April 16, Archbishop Rowan Williams announced he will accept that invitation, and join our Bishops at their September meeting at the Kanuga Conference Center in North Carolina.
Between now and then there will be at least two more meetings of the “Windsor Bishops” (those committed to being compliant with the requests of the Windsor Report and the Primates). The first is scheduled for June 17 – 19 in St. Louis, and the second for the first week in August at Camp Allen, Texas.
I cannot tell you how any of this will continue to unfold, but I ask your prayers as we seek the mind of Christ.
These are some of the things I know are true: 1) Many of our Bishops believe that the “full inclusion” of gay and lesbian people in the life and ministry of The Episcopal Church is not only a matter of “justice,” it is a “gospel imperative.” 2) Many other Bishops, including myself, believe that sexual orientation is not the issue, but sexual behavior is. Holy Scripture and the nearly unanimous witness of Christian tradition say that sexual intimacy is appropriate within marriage, one man and one woman in Christ, and not outside it. 3) However much we can respect the sincerely held positions on both sides of this issue (and I do), both cannot be true at once. 4) The Primates have repeatedly declared the position of the Anglican Communion, and asked The Episcopal Church to comply with it, and they have warned us that a refusal to do so will have consequences regarding our standing in the Communion.
I met with our clergy during Holy Week, and I told them (yet again) that I am committed to remaining both an Episcopalian and an Anglican as long as it is possible to do so. But ultimately, all of us may have to make choices. We will not all make the same choices, and we will not all make them at the same time. What is imperative is how we treat each other.
“By this will everyone know that you are my disciples,” our Lord declared, “if you have love for one another.”
It is not by all the sermons we preach, not by all the books we publish, not by the cathedrals we build, the missionaries we send out, the bold actions we take, or even the purity of our doctrine, but it is by the quality of our relationships with others who name the name of Christ that we will prove we truly belong to him.
We reflected together on what it means to “love one another,” and I suggested we use as a template the great “love chapter,” 1 Corinthians 13, and I shared four reflections with the clergy that I want to repeat today.
1) There is not a single “feelings” word in all of 1 Corinthians 13. The kind of agape love that Jesus calls us to, and that St. Paul attempts to describe, is entirely a matter of attitude and behavior; it is a matter of choice. I don’t have to feel a certain way toward you; I have to behave a certain way toward you. (There are a lot of feelings in eros; there are none in agape.)
2) The “love chapter” is a remarkable description of the Lord Jesus himself. You can actually substitute his name every time Paul uses the word “love.” (“Jesus is patient; Jesus is kind; Jesus is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. Jesus does not insist on his own way; he is not irritable or resentful; he does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. Jesus bears all things, believes all things, hope all things, endures all things.”) The corollary is that when I run out of my own supply of agape love for you, I can ask Jesus to love you through me!
3) There are sixteen synonyms or synonymous phrases in the chapter, and nine out of the sixteen are negative: Love is NOT envious, boastful, arrogant, rude, irritable, resentful; it does NOT insist on its own way or rejoice in wrongdoing, and it never ends. Evidently, then, there are things I need to work on NOT doing toward you.
4) Notice how many of the synonyms are also synonyms for patience (or heavily dependent on it). You cannot be kind without being patient. You cannot bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, endure all things, without being patient. By my count at least eight of the sixteen words or phrases are synonymous with patience – which is to say that extending agape love toward someone is at least half a matter of being patient with him or her. The old phrased, “Please be patient, God isn’t finished with me,” is really a plea for an expression of Jesus’ agape love from each other!
I suggested that it is no accident that patience is the first word on the list; it is like getting the top button of your shirt right; if you don’t all the other buttons will be wrong, as well.
So, I say to you, as I said to the clergy: please be patient. Let’s trust the Lord. Let’s see what comes out of the meetings of the “Windsor Bishops” and the House of Bishops. Let’s hear what Archbishop Rowan has to say to us. And if and as we make difficult decisions, sometimes perhaps not in agreement with each other, let us do our very best to comply with our Lord’s instructions.
Jesus shared his Last Supper with the one who would betray him and the others who would desert him, and then he went to the cross for them – and us. And he said, “Love one another as I have loved you.”
My love to all of you,
John W. Howe
Bishop, Diocese of Central Florida
From the May, 2007 Central Florida Episcopalian
Dear Diocesan Family,
Two months ago I asked Joe Thoma, our Communications Officer, to publish the “Communiqué” issued by the Primates of the Anglican Communion following their meeting in Dar es Salam, Tanzania. It requested clarifications by the Bishops of The Episcopal Church regarding two specific concerns that have been before the Communion for the past several years: a) are the Bishops willing to give “unequivocal” assurances that they will not authorize any more blessings of same-gender unions? And b) are the Bishops willing to give the same kind of assurances they will not consent to the election of any more non-celibate persons in same-gender relationships?
They also said that they would create a “Pastoral Council” that would work with a “Primatial Vicar” to provide pastoral oversight for those congregations who cannot accept the ministry of their Bishops and those Dioceses that cannot accept the ministry of the Presiding Bishop.
We were initially told that all of the Primates meeting in Tanzania had agreed to these proposals, including our own Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori. However, when the American Bishops met in Texas last month, Bishop Schori told us that she had only agreed to “present” the proposals to us for our consideration.
If you have followed the news, you already know that the American Bishops rejected the Primates’ proposals as an unconstitutional intrusion into the oversight of The Episcopal Church. (I thoroughly disagree with that assessment, but it passed by a significant majority.) We have not given a collective answer to Primates’ two questions, but approximately two thirds of the American Bishops have given their own answers, individually. Approximately thirty of the American Bishops have said “Yes” to the Primates’ questions, and about an equal number have said “No.”
Whatever those still “in the middle” decide, it is clear there will be no “unequivocal” assurances from the House of Bishops as a whole as we move toward the deadline the Primates set, September 30 of this year.
There are many questions, and a great deal of speculation, as to what all of this means for The Episcopal Church and The Anglican Communion.
I proposed that the House of Bishops invite the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the members of the Primates” Standing Committee, to meet with us sometime between now and September 30. Many of the Bishops believe the Archbishop needs to hear from us directly. All of the Bishops believe we need to hear from him. The proposal passed unanimously, and on April 16, Archbishop Rowan Williams announced he will accept that invitation, and join our Bishops at their September meeting at the Kanuga Conference Center in North Carolina.
Between now and then there will be at least two more meetings of the “Windsor Bishops” (those committed to being compliant with the requests of the Windsor Report and the Primates). The first is scheduled for June 17 – 19 in St. Louis, and the second for the first week in August at Camp Allen, Texas.
I cannot tell you how any of this will continue to unfold, but I ask your prayers as we seek the mind of Christ.
These are some of the things I know are true: 1) Many of our Bishops believe that the “full inclusion” of gay and lesbian people in the life and ministry of The Episcopal Church is not only a matter of “justice,” it is a “gospel imperative.” 2) Many other Bishops, including myself, believe that sexual orientation is not the issue, but sexual behavior is. Holy Scripture and the nearly unanimous witness of Christian tradition say that sexual intimacy is appropriate within marriage, one man and one woman in Christ, and not outside it. 3) However much we can respect the sincerely held positions on both sides of this issue (and I do), both cannot be true at once. 4) The Primates have repeatedly declared the position of the Anglican Communion, and asked The Episcopal Church to comply with it, and they have warned us that a refusal to do so will have consequences regarding our standing in the Communion.
I met with our clergy during Holy Week, and I told them (yet again) that I am committed to remaining both an Episcopalian and an Anglican as long as it is possible to do so. But ultimately, all of us may have to make choices. We will not all make the same choices, and we will not all make them at the same time. What is imperative is how we treat each other.
“By this will everyone know that you are my disciples,” our Lord declared, “if you have love for one another.”
It is not by all the sermons we preach, not by all the books we publish, not by the cathedrals we build, the missionaries we send out, the bold actions we take, or even the purity of our doctrine, but it is by the quality of our relationships with others who name the name of Christ that we will prove we truly belong to him.
We reflected together on what it means to “love one another,” and I suggested we use as a template the great “love chapter,” 1 Corinthians 13, and I shared four reflections with the clergy that I want to repeat today.
1) There is not a single “feelings” word in all of 1 Corinthians 13. The kind of agape love that Jesus calls us to, and that St. Paul attempts to describe, is entirely a matter of attitude and behavior; it is a matter of choice. I don’t have to feel a certain way toward you; I have to behave a certain way toward you. (There are a lot of feelings in eros; there are none in agape.)
2) The “love chapter” is a remarkable description of the Lord Jesus himself. You can actually substitute his name every time Paul uses the word “love.” (“Jesus is patient; Jesus is kind; Jesus is not envious or boastful or arrogant or rude. Jesus does not insist on his own way; he is not irritable or resentful; he does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. Jesus bears all things, believes all things, hope all things, endures all things.”) The corollary is that when I run out of my own supply of agape love for you, I can ask Jesus to love you through me!
3) There are sixteen synonyms or synonymous phrases in the chapter, and nine out of the sixteen are negative: Love is NOT envious, boastful, arrogant, rude, irritable, resentful; it does NOT insist on its own way or rejoice in wrongdoing, and it never ends. Evidently, then, there are things I need to work on NOT doing toward you.
4) Notice how many of the synonyms are also synonyms for patience (or heavily dependent on it). You cannot be kind without being patient. You cannot bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, endure all things, without being patient. By my count at least eight of the sixteen words or phrases are synonymous with patience – which is to say that extending agape love toward someone is at least half a matter of being patient with him or her. The old phrased, “Please be patient, God isn’t finished with me,” is really a plea for an expression of Jesus’ agape love from each other!
I suggested that it is no accident that patience is the first word on the list; it is like getting the top button of your shirt right; if you don’t all the other buttons will be wrong, as well.
So, I say to you, as I said to the clergy: please be patient. Let’s trust the Lord. Let’s see what comes out of the meetings of the “Windsor Bishops” and the House of Bishops. Let’s hear what Archbishop Rowan has to say to us. And if and as we make difficult decisions, sometimes perhaps not in agreement with each other, let us do our very best to comply with our Lord’s instructions.
Jesus shared his Last Supper with the one who would betray him and the others who would desert him, and then he went to the cross for them – and us. And he said, “Love one another as I have loved you.”
My love to all of you,
John W. Howe
Bishop, Diocese of Central Florida
Thursday, May 17, 2007
I was thinking of a series of dreams
Where nothing comes up to the top
Everything stays down where it's wounded
And comes to a permanent stop
Wasn't thinking of anything specific
Like in a dream, when someone wakes up and screams
Nothing too very scientific
Just thinking of a series of dreams
Thinking of a series of dreams
Where the time and the tempo fly
And there's no exit in any direction
'Cept the one that you can't see with your eyes
Wasn't making any great connection
Wasn't falling for any intricate scheme
Nothing that would pass inspection
Just thinking of a series of dreams
Dreams where the umbrella is folded
Into the path you are hurled
And the cards are no good that you're holding
Unless they're from another world
In one, numbers were burning
In another, I witnessed a crime
In one, I was running, and in another
All I seemed to be doing was climb
Wasn't looking for any special assistance
Not going to any great extremes
I'd already gone the distance
Just thinking of a series of dreams
B. Dylan 1991
A Reflection
When I arrived at Shrine Mont last weekend, I was so excited to be back to a place I've been going to for over twenty years. As I came over the hill, knowing that Shrine Mont was just over the next bend in the road I burst into tears. I felt the sense of loss I've felt so many times over the course of this sorrow-filled journey. We have our first hearing regarding the Virginia lawsuits on Monday and the knowledge of that, as I drove closer to Shrine Mont grieved me even more. There must be some better way through this - for more than twenty years of building friendships, only to find that they were built in sand.
Wednesday, May 16, 2007
Lambeth Invites
We are thinking this morning that we are having a media war underway with TEC and the Anglican Communion office (click on headline above for more info). Notice that Ruth Gledhill is reporting that everyone is coming to Lambeth ("Let's put on a show!" shouts Mickey Rooney). We see this as bate (sorry about the pun, Stephen). The next step is for the orthodox to pop their corks - that the progressives can say "look how schismatic those orthodox are, so non-inclusive, so blue meanieish, yada, yada, yada." Jim Rosenthal (who is not a Lambeth Palace spokesman, by the way - he works for a different "instrument of unity" - the one most closely aligned with TEC) does not issue the invites to Lambeth. Advice from the Union Station Starbucks this morning: keep watch and keep your powder dry.
Washington Post: Missionaries in N. Virginia
Missionaries in Northern Virginia
By Michael Gerson
Wednesday, May 16, 2007; A15
The Washington Post
An epoch-dividing event recently took place in the religion that brought us B.C. and A.D. Too bad hardly anyone noticed.
For years, a dispute has boiled between the American Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion it belongs to, with many in the global south convinced that Episcopalians are following their liberalism into heresy. This month, Archbishop Peter Akinola, shepherd of 18 million fervent Nigerian Anglicans, reached the end of his patience and installed a missionary bishop to America. The installation ceremony included boisterous hymns and Africans dressed in bright robes dancing before the altar -- an Anglican worship style more common in Kampala, Uganda, than in Woodbridge.
The American presiding bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, condemned this poaching of souls on her turf as a violation of the "ancient customs of the church." To which the archbishop replied, in essence: Since when have you American liberals given a fig about the ancient customs of the church?
Such conflicts used to be decided in the Church of England by the king putting someone in the Tower of London. That does not appear to be an option in this case.
The media, as is their habit, reported this story as another front in the American culture war: conservative Anglicans seeking refuge in the arms of like-minded African opponents of homosexual marriage. Those debates on sexuality are real enough -- but this explanation is far too narrow.
The intense, irrepressible Christianity of the global south is becoming -- along with Coca-Cola, radical Islam and Shakira -- one of the most potent forms of globalization. When I visited Martyn Minns, the missionary bishop installed by Akinola, his first reference was not to St. Paul or to St. John but to St. Thomas: Thomas Friedman of the New York Times. "The Church is flat," Minns told me, paraphrasing the title of Friedman's bestselling book. Rigid, outdated church bureaucracies are proving unable to adjust to the shifting market of world Christianity. "People used to pronouncing from on high," he said, are now "gasping for air."
In 1900, about 80 percent of Christians lived in North America and Europe; now, more than 60 percent live on other continents. There are more Presbyterians in Ghana than in Scotland. The largest district of the United Methodist Church is found in Ivory Coast. And many of the enthusiastic converts of Western missions have begun asking why portions of the Western church have abandoned the traditional faith they once shared. Liberal Protestant church officials, headed toward international assemblies, are anxiously counting African votes, because these new voters tend to take their Bible both literally and seriously.
This emerging Christianity can be troubling. Church leaders sometimes emphasize communal values more than individual human rights, and they need to understand that strongly held moral beliefs are compatible with a commitment to civil liberties for all. Large Pentecostal churches are often built by domineering personalities promising health and wealth.
But the religion of the global south has a great virtue: It is undeniably alive. And it needs to be. A mother holding a child weak with AIDS or hot with malaria, or a family struggling to survive in an endless urban slum, does not need religious platitudes. Both need God's ever-present help in time of trouble -- which is exactly what biblical Christianity claims to offer.
Some American religious conservatives have embraced ties with this emerging Christianity, including the church I attend. But there are adjustments in becoming a junior partner. The ideological package of the global south includes not only moral conservatism but also an emphasis on social justice, an openness to state intervention in markets, and a suspicion of American economic and military power. The emerging Christian majority is not the Moral Majority.
But the largest adjustments are coming on the religious left. For decades it has preached multiculturalism, but now, on further acquaintance, it doesn't seem to like other cultures very much. Episcopal leaders complain of the threat of "foreign prelates," echoing anti-Catholic rhetoric of the 19th century. An activist at one Episcopal meeting urged the African bishops to "go back to the jungle where you came from." Not since Victorians hunted tigers on elephants has the condescension been this raw.
History is filled with uncomfortable turnabouts, and we are witnessing one of them. Serious missionary work began in Nigeria in 1842, conducted by a Church Mission Society dedicated to promoting "the knowledge of the Gospel among the heathen." In 2007, the Nigerian outreach to America officially began, on the fertile mission fields of Northern Virginia. And the natives here are restless.
Michael Gerson, a former assistant to President Bush for policy and strategic planning, is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. He will be writing a twice-weekly column for The Post. His e-mail address ismichaelgerson@cfr.org.
By Michael Gerson
Wednesday, May 16, 2007; A15
The Washington Post
An epoch-dividing event recently took place in the religion that brought us B.C. and A.D. Too bad hardly anyone noticed.
For years, a dispute has boiled between the American Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion it belongs to, with many in the global south convinced that Episcopalians are following their liberalism into heresy. This month, Archbishop Peter Akinola, shepherd of 18 million fervent Nigerian Anglicans, reached the end of his patience and installed a missionary bishop to America. The installation ceremony included boisterous hymns and Africans dressed in bright robes dancing before the altar -- an Anglican worship style more common in Kampala, Uganda, than in Woodbridge.
The American presiding bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, condemned this poaching of souls on her turf as a violation of the "ancient customs of the church." To which the archbishop replied, in essence: Since when have you American liberals given a fig about the ancient customs of the church?
Such conflicts used to be decided in the Church of England by the king putting someone in the Tower of London. That does not appear to be an option in this case.
The media, as is their habit, reported this story as another front in the American culture war: conservative Anglicans seeking refuge in the arms of like-minded African opponents of homosexual marriage. Those debates on sexuality are real enough -- but this explanation is far too narrow.
The intense, irrepressible Christianity of the global south is becoming -- along with Coca-Cola, radical Islam and Shakira -- one of the most potent forms of globalization. When I visited Martyn Minns, the missionary bishop installed by Akinola, his first reference was not to St. Paul or to St. John but to St. Thomas: Thomas Friedman of the New York Times. "The Church is flat," Minns told me, paraphrasing the title of Friedman's bestselling book. Rigid, outdated church bureaucracies are proving unable to adjust to the shifting market of world Christianity. "People used to pronouncing from on high," he said, are now "gasping for air."
In 1900, about 80 percent of Christians lived in North America and Europe; now, more than 60 percent live on other continents. There are more Presbyterians in Ghana than in Scotland. The largest district of the United Methodist Church is found in Ivory Coast. And many of the enthusiastic converts of Western missions have begun asking why portions of the Western church have abandoned the traditional faith they once shared. Liberal Protestant church officials, headed toward international assemblies, are anxiously counting African votes, because these new voters tend to take their Bible both literally and seriously.
This emerging Christianity can be troubling. Church leaders sometimes emphasize communal values more than individual human rights, and they need to understand that strongly held moral beliefs are compatible with a commitment to civil liberties for all. Large Pentecostal churches are often built by domineering personalities promising health and wealth.
But the religion of the global south has a great virtue: It is undeniably alive. And it needs to be. A mother holding a child weak with AIDS or hot with malaria, or a family struggling to survive in an endless urban slum, does not need religious platitudes. Both need God's ever-present help in time of trouble -- which is exactly what biblical Christianity claims to offer.
Some American religious conservatives have embraced ties with this emerging Christianity, including the church I attend. But there are adjustments in becoming a junior partner. The ideological package of the global south includes not only moral conservatism but also an emphasis on social justice, an openness to state intervention in markets, and a suspicion of American economic and military power. The emerging Christian majority is not the Moral Majority.
But the largest adjustments are coming on the religious left. For decades it has preached multiculturalism, but now, on further acquaintance, it doesn't seem to like other cultures very much. Episcopal leaders complain of the threat of "foreign prelates," echoing anti-Catholic rhetoric of the 19th century. An activist at one Episcopal meeting urged the African bishops to "go back to the jungle where you came from." Not since Victorians hunted tigers on elephants has the condescension been this raw.
History is filled with uncomfortable turnabouts, and we are witnessing one of them. Serious missionary work began in Nigeria in 1842, conducted by a Church Mission Society dedicated to promoting "the knowledge of the Gospel among the heathen." In 2007, the Nigerian outreach to America officially began, on the fertile mission fields of Northern Virginia. And the natives here are restless.
Michael Gerson, a former assistant to President Bush for policy and strategic planning, is a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations. He will be writing a twice-weekly column for The Post. His e-mail address ismichaelgerson@cfr.org.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
Cafe Dramatic Reading: BabyBlue Reads the 815 New York Times Ad
Traditionally in cafes there are opportunities not only for music, but also for dramatic readings. The Beat Poets (and when we say the name Jack Kerouac we always offer a toast: "To Jack!").
Today we hear from BabyBlue as she presents a dramatic reading of the 815 New York Times Ad that ran in the paper on Sunday. It is also available at iTunes at the BabyBlueOnline podcast.
But please, do keep your banana cream pies on your plates. Otherwise it's kitchen duty for you.
LATER: The more we think about this 815 "ad" the more we think it's not aimed at those who might be thinking of becoming an Episcopalian - but at the wealthy donors who all ready are. One wonders if the wealthy and established Episcopalians (the ones who's roots actually stem back to the early pre-Revolution - you know who you are) may perhaps be needing a little encouragement from 815 not to rock the boat lest it completely capsize. This ad run in the New York Times seems to be aimed at the Episcopalian laity who are starting to figure out - with the September 30 deadline on the horizon - that things aren't so happy in Whoville after all and that there is indeed a deep division (notice how it poo poo's the "headlines" even as it is itself a "headline" in the fuu fuu New York Times).
Notice also how it emphasizes English - the foreigners it's okay to love - and not those other foreigners of color. Yes, this is aimed at the Old Families and perhaps the Radical Chic - the ones who trusted that their church would not be harmed, where George Washington's pews are carefully marked and the pedigree is chiefly defended (we went to one in college after all, box pews, 1698, the whole shabang).
We do wonder then, if 815 had to go to all the trouble to start a campaign called "Marking a Milestone" (which Ralinda humorously remarks in the comments that it's more like "Marking a Millstone") to rehabilitate the image of TEC (all those unfortunate lawsuits, those inhibitions, those defrockings - pay no attention to the man behind the curtain). Again, what makes this ad so fascinating is what it doesn't say - and what it doesn't say makes all the difference.
Gin & Tonic anyone?
Today we hear from BabyBlue as she presents a dramatic reading of the 815 New York Times Ad that ran in the paper on Sunday. It is also available at iTunes at the BabyBlueOnline podcast.
But please, do keep your banana cream pies on your plates. Otherwise it's kitchen duty for you.
LATER: The more we think about this 815 "ad" the more we think it's not aimed at those who might be thinking of becoming an Episcopalian - but at the wealthy donors who all ready are. One wonders if the wealthy and established Episcopalians (the ones who's roots actually stem back to the early pre-Revolution - you know who you are) may perhaps be needing a little encouragement from 815 not to rock the boat lest it completely capsize. This ad run in the New York Times seems to be aimed at the Episcopalian laity who are starting to figure out - with the September 30 deadline on the horizon - that things aren't so happy in Whoville after all and that there is indeed a deep division (notice how it poo poo's the "headlines" even as it is itself a "headline" in the fuu fuu New York Times).
Notice also how it emphasizes English - the foreigners it's okay to love - and not those other foreigners of color. Yes, this is aimed at the Old Families and perhaps the Radical Chic - the ones who trusted that their church would not be harmed, where George Washington's pews are carefully marked and the pedigree is chiefly defended (we went to one in college after all, box pews, 1698, the whole shabang).
We do wonder then, if 815 had to go to all the trouble to start a campaign called "Marking a Milestone" (which Ralinda humorously remarks in the comments that it's more like "Marking a Millstone") to rehabilitate the image of TEC (all those unfortunate lawsuits, those inhibitions, those defrockings - pay no attention to the man behind the curtain). Again, what makes this ad so fascinating is what it doesn't say - and what it doesn't say makes all the difference.
Gin & Tonic anyone?
Monday, May 14, 2007
Asbury President writes of Tory Baucum's call to Truro
From: Communications Office
To: ATS Info, Staff News, Faculty News
Subject: Congratulations to Dr. Tory Baucum
May 14, 2007
To our community:
Customarily any notices regarding faculty matters come, appropriately, from our provost. In this instance, however, I have asked Dr. Arnold's permission to break with customary practice because of my long ties with the subject of this communication, Dr. Tory Baucum.
I first met Tory and Elizabeth a decade ago when Dale Galloway and I flew to Kansas City to interview them for possible admission to the Beeson program. They came a year later, and almost immediately found a special place in the Asbury Community. Several years later I chanced to be chair of the faculty committee that interviewed Tory for a position with our faculty.
So it is with a sense of loss for Asbury Seminary and for me personally that I congratulate Tory and Elizabeth as they take a unique step in their journey of service. Tory has included me as a confidante as he has sought the guidance of the Holy Spirit regarding a call from the Truro Church (Fairfax, VA). His love for Asbury and his loyalty to our work has made difficult for him a decision which otherwise would be quite simple, because the historic Truro church is one of the most significant congregations in the Anglican tradition in America.
I believe in the decision Tory has made in accepting this call, in spite of my sense of personal and institutional loss. Our loss is diminished somewhat however in that Tory has asked if Asbury will include him as an adjunct member of our faculty, so that he can maintain a continuing relationship with the place that he now looks upon as a spiritual home. Believe me, Asbury will see a lot of Tory in the years ahead. In that knowledge, I join you in wishing him and Elizabeth and their girls godspeed.
J. Ellsworth Kalas
President
To: ATS Info, Staff News, Faculty News
Subject: Congratulations to Dr. Tory Baucum
May 14, 2007
To our community:
Customarily any notices regarding faculty matters come, appropriately, from our provost. In this instance, however, I have asked Dr. Arnold's permission to break with customary practice because of my long ties with the subject of this communication, Dr. Tory Baucum.
I first met Tory and Elizabeth a decade ago when Dale Galloway and I flew to Kansas City to interview them for possible admission to the Beeson program. They came a year later, and almost immediately found a special place in the Asbury Community. Several years later I chanced to be chair of the faculty committee that interviewed Tory for a position with our faculty.
So it is with a sense of loss for Asbury Seminary and for me personally that I congratulate Tory and Elizabeth as they take a unique step in their journey of service. Tory has included me as a confidante as he has sought the guidance of the Holy Spirit regarding a call from the Truro Church (Fairfax, VA). His love for Asbury and his loyalty to our work has made difficult for him a decision which otherwise would be quite simple, because the historic Truro church is one of the most significant congregations in the Anglican tradition in America.
I believe in the decision Tory has made in accepting this call, in spite of my sense of personal and institutional loss. Our loss is diminished somewhat however in that Tory has asked if Asbury will include him as an adjunct member of our faculty, so that he can maintain a continuing relationship with the place that he now looks upon as a spiritual home. Believe me, Asbury will see a lot of Tory in the years ahead. In that knowledge, I join you in wishing him and Elizabeth and their girls godspeed.
J. Ellsworth Kalas
President
Sunday, May 13, 2007
The Rev. Tory Baucum called to be new Rector of Truro
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Vicki Robb
703-329-3356
Truro Vestry unanimously calls the Rev. Tory Baucum as the new Rector of Truro Church
Fairfax, VA, May 13—Jim Oakes, Senior Warden of Truro Church (2005-2007), announced today to the Truro family that the Vestry has unanimously called the Rev. Tory Baucum as the new rector of Truro. This follows a unanimous recommendation of Baucum by the Search Committee.
“After a two-year intensive search that spanned the Anglican Communion worldwide we are grateful to God for the amazing way in which the Truro Vestry was so unified in its decision to call Tory to Truro,” said Oakes.
“I am delighted with this decision to call Tory as rector,” said the Rt. Rev. Martyn Minns, Bishop of CANA (Convocation of Anglicans in North America) and current rector of Truro. “Tory is a gifted pastor and teacher with a demonstrated passion for evangelism. I am looking forward to seeing how God will use his gifts at Truro.”
Baucum is currently Associate Professor of Preaching and Church Renewal at Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, KY. He has a PhD in Intercultural Theology with expertise in the catechumenate, Christian revitalization movements and the history of preaching.
"I have watched with delight as Tory's gifts as a Christian communicator, as a leader, and as a compelling voice for Christ have indicated just how great an impact, under God, he may be for our Lord and for the Church,” said J. Ellsworth Kalas, President, Asbury Theological Seminary. “I rejoice in the door of opportunity that has opened for him at Truro."
The Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Lexington, KY agrees. “I have been truly blessed by my friendship with Dr. Tory Baucum,” said the Most Rev. Ronald W. Gainer. “The depth of Tory’s learning and love for Christ and the Church makes him a wonderful bridge-builder among believers,”
Baucum received his MA (1986) and M.Div (1988) from Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry, Ambridge, PA, and his doctorate from Asbury in 2005. Prior to teaching at Asbury, Baucum was the rector of All Saints Church, Kansas City, MO, and has served on the clergy staffs of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Kansas City and Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Little Rock, AR.
In addition to his position at Asbury, Baucum also serves as the Alpha International Associate Missioner, London, England.
Baucum, 47, was born in Pratt, KS. He is married to Elizabeth Tyndall Baucum, Esq., and they have three daughters, Isabelle Rose, 11; Amelia Tyne, 9; and Bridget Flanagan, 7.
"Tory Baucum is a true and gracious servant of God,” said the Rt. Rev. Prebendary Sandy Millar, Assistant Bishop of London and former Vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton, where the Alpha Course was founded. “His appointment to Truro is good news for everyone who looks forward to the growth of the church and the coming of God's Kingdom. Praise God!"
Letter from Truro Vestry Senior Warden
I will not forget that Saturday in April when the Vestry met together in retreat after receiving the Search Committee’s unanimous recommendation of Tory Baucum as Rector of Truro. We had spent the morning candidly sharing with one another, praying together, and reading scripture to each other. When it became clear that we were ready to take a vote, we went instead to the church and spent an extended time praying, reading the Word, and asking the Lord “What do You want us to do?”
When we returned to the Upper Room, it was clear that God had unified us in the most amazing way. We shared with one another what we learned in our prayer time in the church and then we voted.
The result was a unanimous decision to call Tory.
Tory is a man who deeply loves his family, his wife Elizabeth and their three daughters, Isabelle, Amelia, and Bridget. Tory is a pastoral leader profoundly centered on Jesus Christ. He has a passion for evangelism and is dedicated to teaching biblical orthodoxy while encouraging the transforming power of corporate worship centered on God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Tory and his family will arrive in August. We ask for your prayers for Tory and Elizabeth and their family as they prepare to move here from Asbury. May the Lord be glorified as we give thanks to Him for leading us through this extraordinary journey. Thanks be to God!
Jim Oakes, Senior Warden (2005-2007)
Truro Vestry
Tory Baucum's Acceptance Letter to the Vestry
Dear Truro Vestry,
This is an easy and joyous letter to write.
Over the past several months of conversations I have grown to feel a deep pastoral concern and affection for Truro Church. Like Paul, I found myself desiring “to share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen you—or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine” (Romans 1:11–12). I am honored and thrilled that you have called me to be the spiritual leader of your parish family so this desire may be fulfilled.
So it is with great joy that we accept your unanimous call to be the Rector of Truro Church. We sense God’s call in your call; indeed, Elizabeth and I both believe that God has been preparing us for Truro as well as preparing Truro for us. Truro is a wonderful parish with an equally wonderful heritage. We are eager to build on that heritage for the kingdom of God. We believe that at this particular time in the life of the Anglican Communion, Truro holds great promise to bind up the wounds of the church and its tradition rather than exacerbate them; a vocation which lies very much at our core.
I can’t wait to work and walk with you. See you in August!
Very Warmly in Christ,
The Rev. Tory Baucum
CONTACT: Vicki Robb
703-329-3356
Truro Vestry unanimously calls the Rev. Tory Baucum as the new Rector of Truro Church
Fairfax, VA, May 13—Jim Oakes, Senior Warden of Truro Church (2005-2007), announced today to the Truro family that the Vestry has unanimously called the Rev. Tory Baucum as the new rector of Truro. This follows a unanimous recommendation of Baucum by the Search Committee.
“After a two-year intensive search that spanned the Anglican Communion worldwide we are grateful to God for the amazing way in which the Truro Vestry was so unified in its decision to call Tory to Truro,” said Oakes.
“I am delighted with this decision to call Tory as rector,” said the Rt. Rev. Martyn Minns, Bishop of CANA (Convocation of Anglicans in North America) and current rector of Truro. “Tory is a gifted pastor and teacher with a demonstrated passion for evangelism. I am looking forward to seeing how God will use his gifts at Truro.”
Baucum is currently Associate Professor of Preaching and Church Renewal at Asbury Theological Seminary, Wilmore, KY. He has a PhD in Intercultural Theology with expertise in the catechumenate, Christian revitalization movements and the history of preaching.
"I have watched with delight as Tory's gifts as a Christian communicator, as a leader, and as a compelling voice for Christ have indicated just how great an impact, under God, he may be for our Lord and for the Church,” said J. Ellsworth Kalas, President, Asbury Theological Seminary. “I rejoice in the door of opportunity that has opened for him at Truro."
The Roman Catholic Bishop of the Diocese of Lexington, KY agrees. “I have been truly blessed by my friendship with Dr. Tory Baucum,” said the Most Rev. Ronald W. Gainer. “The depth of Tory’s learning and love for Christ and the Church makes him a wonderful bridge-builder among believers,”
Baucum received his MA (1986) and M.Div (1988) from Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry, Ambridge, PA, and his doctorate from Asbury in 2005. Prior to teaching at Asbury, Baucum was the rector of All Saints Church, Kansas City, MO, and has served on the clergy staffs of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Kansas City and Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Little Rock, AR.
In addition to his position at Asbury, Baucum also serves as the Alpha International Associate Missioner, London, England.
Baucum, 47, was born in Pratt, KS. He is married to Elizabeth Tyndall Baucum, Esq., and they have three daughters, Isabelle Rose, 11; Amelia Tyne, 9; and Bridget Flanagan, 7.
"Tory Baucum is a true and gracious servant of God,” said the Rt. Rev. Prebendary Sandy Millar, Assistant Bishop of London and former Vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton, where the Alpha Course was founded. “His appointment to Truro is good news for everyone who looks forward to the growth of the church and the coming of God's Kingdom. Praise God!"
Letter from Truro Vestry Senior Warden
I will not forget that Saturday in April when the Vestry met together in retreat after receiving the Search Committee’s unanimous recommendation of Tory Baucum as Rector of Truro. We had spent the morning candidly sharing with one another, praying together, and reading scripture to each other. When it became clear that we were ready to take a vote, we went instead to the church and spent an extended time praying, reading the Word, and asking the Lord “What do You want us to do?”
When we returned to the Upper Room, it was clear that God had unified us in the most amazing way. We shared with one another what we learned in our prayer time in the church and then we voted.
The result was a unanimous decision to call Tory.
Tory is a man who deeply loves his family, his wife Elizabeth and their three daughters, Isabelle, Amelia, and Bridget. Tory is a pastoral leader profoundly centered on Jesus Christ. He has a passion for evangelism and is dedicated to teaching biblical orthodoxy while encouraging the transforming power of corporate worship centered on God, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.
Tory and his family will arrive in August. We ask for your prayers for Tory and Elizabeth and their family as they prepare to move here from Asbury. May the Lord be glorified as we give thanks to Him for leading us through this extraordinary journey. Thanks be to God!
Jim Oakes, Senior Warden (2005-2007)
Truro Vestry
Tory Baucum's Acceptance Letter to the Vestry
Dear Truro Vestry,
This is an easy and joyous letter to write.
Over the past several months of conversations I have grown to feel a deep pastoral concern and affection for Truro Church. Like Paul, I found myself desiring “to share with you some spiritual gift to strengthen you—or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine” (Romans 1:11–12). I am honored and thrilled that you have called me to be the spiritual leader of your parish family so this desire may be fulfilled.
So it is with great joy that we accept your unanimous call to be the Rector of Truro Church. We sense God’s call in your call; indeed, Elizabeth and I both believe that God has been preparing us for Truro as well as preparing Truro for us. Truro is a wonderful parish with an equally wonderful heritage. We are eager to build on that heritage for the kingdom of God. We believe that at this particular time in the life of the Anglican Communion, Truro holds great promise to bind up the wounds of the church and its tradition rather than exacerbate them; a vocation which lies very much at our core.
I can’t wait to work and walk with you. See you in August!
Very Warmly in Christ,
The Rev. Tory Baucum
Saturday, May 12, 2007
Stand Up
We're up here at Shrine Mont in Orkney Springs, VA for the annual Truro retreat. We have nearly 530 of the Truro family up here and tonight we're here in the Hotel checking in. It's been quite a weekend so far, excellent teaching, exuberant worship, lots of fun and laughter, opportunities for prayer and encouraging one another. Our speaker is the Rev. Tom Herrick, Church Planter with the Anglican Communion Network and his talks have been terrific - sharing of his own journey and encouraging us in ours. It's so wonderful to be back at Shrine Mont. I've been coming up here every year since 1984.
The weather has been spectacular - summer-like. Tonight the place is filled, just overflowing, with the sounds of children - running and playing and laughing. Life in abundance! For 90 folks this year it's their very first Shrine Mont retreat. Excitement fills the air. Sunday will be here soon.
Joshua 7:10
Friday, May 11, 2007
Wednesday, May 09, 2007
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
The Elephant in the Room
Here is a great video available on YouTube that is both humorous and thoughtful. We think it's a video that all can enjoy whatever place we find ourselves in the current divisions. The video description: "Fr. Steve Rice gives a BRIEF background on the Anglican Communion and the current controversies." We got to wondering if Fr. Steve will pull out his old Risk board game to explain what happens next.
Personally, we like the spinning mitres best.
Personally, we like the spinning mitres best.
Ruth Gledhill Covers the CANA Installation
Great posting at The Times Online filed withe lots of links over at Ruth Gledhill's excellent and always interesting blogsite at the The Times (London) here.
Thanks, Ruth - while we are busy flinging and ducking pies on this side of the Atlantic (though here at the Cafe only Shrove Tuesday Pancakes are authorized for such things), it's always good to know that there are others out there watching and taking notes. Just keep an eye on the skies for a sign of the Pie.
Thanks, Ruth - while we are busy flinging and ducking pies on this side of the Atlantic (though here at the Cafe only Shrove Tuesday Pancakes are authorized for such things), it's always good to know that there are others out there watching and taking notes. Just keep an eye on the skies for a sign of the Pie.
Musings on TEC Task Forces
"Wake Me Up When September Ends"
Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
wake me up when september ends
like my fathers come to pass
seven years has gone so fast
wake me up when september ends
here comes the rain again
falling from the stars
drenched in my pain again
becoming who we are
as my memory rests
but never forgets what I lost
wake me up when september ends
summer has come and passed
the innocent can never last
wake me up when september ends
ring out the bells again
like we did when spring began
wake me up when september ends
here comes the rain again
falling from the stars
drenched in my pain again
becoming who we are
as my memory rests
but never forgets what I lost
wake me up when september ends
Summer has come and passed
The innocent can never last
wake me up when september ends
like my father's come to pass
twenty years has gone so fast
wake me up when september ends
wake me up when september ends
wake me up when september ends
-Green Day
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