Openly Episcopal in Albany

Tory Baucum's Cloudy Past

 

It was reported recently in the Anglican press, and re-posted on the Albany Via Media Facebook page, that the Archbishop of Canterbury has appointed the Rev. Dr. Tory Baucum to the position of preacher at Canterbury Cathedral.  Dr. Baucum, formerly an Episcopal priest, is now the rector of Truro Church in Fairfax, Virginia, an ACNA parish.  He is remembered in the Diocese of Albany as a candidate for bishop in 2006 at the convention that ultimately elected our current bishop, William Love.

Mark Harris, in his blog Preludium, writes (posting of Jan. 21) that Dr. Baucum may have been licensed to officiate in the Diocese of Albany, but proof of that is "now nicely lost in the internet cloud of unknowing."

What is known is that "Baucum was licensed in the Diocese of Lexington. In 2005 there was something of a mess having to do with removal of license in Lexington and his being 'taken in' to the diocese of Albany." The next thing anyone knew, Dr. Baucum had transferred to the Diocese of London, England.

In a 2005 statement regarding these developments, Bishop Stacy Sauls, formerly bishop of the Diocese of Lexington and now Chief Operating Officer of The Episcopal Church, stated that the transfer to London was done without his consultation or consent.  Bishop Sauls went on to say that he would not re-license Baucum "unless he transfers back to an American jurisdiction that will cooperate with me in keeping Tory accountable to our church."

Bishop Sauls acknowledged that Baucum "has offered to transfer to the Diocese of Albany, which I have told him would require further conversation between the Bishop of Albany, Tory, and me."  But Sauls was reluctant to accept that offer because "it has been reported to me that the Bishop of Albany has apparently been unwilling to cooperate in stopping priests of his diocese from functioning in other dioceses contrary to our canons."  The Bishop of Albany at that time was Daniel Herzog.  Sauls continued, "I do not know if these reports are accurate, but I know that licensing a priest from his diocese would require me to inquire further about that situation."  Clearly, Bishop Sauls was more than a little suspicious of the Diocese of Albany.

Mark Harris, writing in his blog, concludes that "Baucum's standing in Albany was/is unclear. The matter of his canonical residence and place where he was licensed is unclear. He was a candidate for bishop in Albany in 2006.  In 2007 he became rector of  Truro Church.  At that point he is clearly no longer a priest in The Episcopal Church."

Was the Rev. Dr. Tory Baucum still a priest of The Episcopal Church when he stood for bishop of our diocese in 2006?  Was he then licensed to officiate in our diocese?  If anyone knows for sure, the question can be answered by a reply to this post.  At present it appears that Dr. Baucum got in trouble in Lexington, fled to London, hoped to reinvent himself in Albany, but eventually left the Episcopal Church altogether for ACNA.

And now, without a hint of irony, the Archbishop of Canterbury announces the appointment of Baucum to Canterbury Cathedral with the hope that he "will help promote 'reconciliation and unity'."

Vote on 815 Relocation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Survey Asks Your Opinion: The Location of the Episcopal Church Center  

 

The Executive Council Subcommittee on the Location of the Episcopal Church Center has issued a survey and is inviting Episcopalians to offer their input.

 

In announcing the survey the subcommittee notes, "In 2012, the General Convention expressed its desire that the Episcopal Church Center be moved out of its current building located at 815 Second Ave. in New York City. In response to this call, the Executive Council has charged a subcommittee to explore and report back options for the relocation of the Episcopal Church's staff. This survey will gather broad input from the Church in choosing a future that best serves the mission and ministry of our Church."

 

The survey is available at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/EpiscopalLocationSurvey

 

The deadline to take the survey is Jan. 19.

The History of Nine Lessons and Carols

 

 

 

 

During Advent and Christmas, many Episcopal churches join an Anglican tradition in offering a service of nine lessons and carols.  The Albany Cathedral of All Saints, for example, offers their service of lessons and carols today, December 22.

Interestingly, the tradition is relatively recent.  An article in The Guardian newspaper explains that it began at Truro Cathedral, Cornwall, the year that the new cathedral was built.  The motivation behind the innovative service was, in part at least, to distract parishioners from indulging in "the wrong kind of festive spirit" at Christmas.

The Guardian explains:

"For Christmas Eve in 1880, Edward White Benson, the first Bishop of Truro, devised a new service: the Nine Lessons with Carols. His intention was at least partly to keep his flock from enjoying too much of the wrong kind of festive spirit in the local pubs. Taking nine biblical passages from the old and new testaments he interspersed them with various carols, hymns and three "anthems" from Handel's Messiah (For Unto Us a Child is Born, There Were Shepherds Abiding in the Field and the Hallelujah Chorus) to tell the Christmas story.

"The service began by setting out mankind's need for a Redeemer – the first lesson recounting Adam's original sin in eating an apple from the tree from which God has commanded him not to eat. The account of Jesus's birth is from St Luke's gospel. And the final readings focus on what it birth means for us. Benson also decided that the first reader should be a humble chorister, each subsequent one progressing through the cathedral hierarchy up to the bishop, a tradition that continues to this day.

"But it was King's College, Cambridge, with its celebrated choir that really put it on the map. Eric Milner-White, dean of King's, took up the service in 1918.  Ten years later, the BBC broadcast the King's service on the radio, as they have done every year since."

A Christmas Message from Bishop Adams

 

 

 

 

The good news of Christmas is that "no one is beyond God's all-encompassing embrace."  Here is the Christmas message from Bishop Skip Adams of the Diocese of Central New York:

 

Dear Friends in Central New York,

 

Mary and Joseph found no place of comfort to rest from their journey and resorted to a stable.  The message of the angels was sung to a group of shepherds out in the fields, beyond notice and at the edge of respectable society.  No wonder Jesus would end up teaching that the place to see his presence most clearly was among the poor and marginalized - the least of these.

 

When I was a teenager the rector of my parish challenged us in a sermon.  He wondered with us if the people of the streets of Baltimore were welcome at the altar of our parish.  Memory tells me that most of us, even if with some trepidation, wanted God's altar open to all. 

 

Then it got more serious.  He went on to wonder if those same people, welcome at God's table, would be welcome to dine at the family tables of our homes.  Can you detect a little squirming?

 

The Good News of the Christmas Gospel is that God is available to us as shown forth in the flesh of Jesus of Nazareth, born in Bethlehem.  His presence among us is a sign of hope that God desires to be in relationship with everyone and everything.  No one is beyond God's all-encompassing embrace.

 

We are now called to live the Christmas truth.  How will we see Christ in those who have no place to stay and find comfort?  How will we sing "Glory to God" on the edges of our world through the unwelcome, the dispossessed and those most different from us?  This is scary territory for sure.  The great promise is that it is precisely there that it is most likely we will find Christ himself, in a manger not of our own making.

 

Blessings to all for a most holy Nativity with gratefulness for you and your faithfulness. 

 

Bishop Skip

The Presiding Bishop's Christmas Message

 

 

 

 

 

 

From Episcopal News Service.  Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori prays: "May that royal inheritance and authority of the stable be born in you, enliven your heart, and rest on your shoulders."

Christmas Message 2013

For a child has been born for us, a son given to us; authority rests upon his shoulders; and he is named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.    Isaiah 9:6

Isaiah pronounces these words to a people who remember the yoke of slavery laid on their shoulders.  They’ve been waiting for this child, whose birth transforms that yoke into a mantle of authority.  They are promised that this authority will continue to grow as the peaceable commonwealth is established – with justice and righteousness for all, and for ever.

This promise is spoken anew to people in every age, to those who have lived under oppression or in dark depression, to the hungry and ill and imprisoned.  The birth we celebrate offers hope, in Word made flesh, who comes among us to heal and walk this way with us.  The mantle of authority on his shoulders begins in the swaddling clothes of a child born in the humblest of circumstances.  Yet that authority is recognized even by foreigners from far away.  That mantle of authority does continue to grow, through a life offered for others, raised into new life, and passed on to new generations of fleshly God-bearers.  Wherever justice and righteousness is done, that authority is growing, borne on the shoulders of the Prince of Peace.

He comes again, bearing the grace of the One whose image he wears in flesh.  Seek him, sing his new song, declare his glory, and tell out the good news to all the nations:  God reigns, and he is coming bearing righteousness and truth on his shoulders.

May you discover that humble authority born again on the edges of the world’s notice.  May that royal inheritance and authority of the stable be born in you, enliven your heart, and rest on your shoulders.  Bear it abroad in peace, this year and throughout the ages.

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church

More Changes to Parish Choice

 

In a message to parishes of the diocese on December 11, the lay canon for administration, Jerry Carroll, announced a change in the Parish Choice program for 2014.  You will recall that Parish Choice is the instrument that allows parishes to redirect outreach funds that would otherwise go to The Episcopal Church to other programs recommended by the diocese.

In other words, the 21% of  revenues that The Episcopal Church encourages each diocese to remit to the national church is further divided up by the Diocese of Albany so that much of this pass-through money is redirected to programs favored by the diocese.

We remarked on this scheme here when it was reaffirmed by diocesan convention in 2009.  The effect of this new hange is to increase the number of diocesan programs that can be chosen instead of directing outreach to The Episcopal Church.  The suggested tithe to the national church is still 10%, but the total outreach allocation, instead of 21% or revenues, is now only 19%.  All the rest of parish assessments is used for administration, or "keeping the lights on." 

More evidence of the "spirit of poverty" that prevails in the diocese, as Bishop Love has often alluded to.  Only it is the work of The Episcopal Church in the world that suffers, not local administrative needs.

Canon Jerry Carroll's letter:

December 11, 2013

To: Rectors, Vicars, Priests-in-Charge, Churchwardens, and Vestries

Subject: Parish Choice Elections for 2014

1. The Diocesan Council, at its meeting on Saturday, December 7, approved a change in the Parish Choice options for 2014. The options had not been revisited since they went into effect with the 2002 Budget. Each of these Parish Choice options will become a line item on the Diocesan Budget.
2. Here is the new list of parish choice options and a description of each:
   
   1. The Episcopal Church: Each Diocese and all of its parishes are asked to support the wider ministry of The Episcopal Church.  This category is in response to that request.  The minimum amunt should be a title (10%) and these funds are sent to The Episcopal Church each month.
   2. Missions -- Domestic and Foreign: Funds designated for this category go to support Diocesan missionary efforts overseas and within the United States.  The Missions Committee oversees these funds.  Funds not expended in a given year are carried over to the next year's budged cycle.
   3. Christ the King Spiritual Life Center: Funds designated for this category support the ministry of Christ the King Spiritual Life Center, which reaches all parts of the Diocese and the larger Body of Christ.  The Center's year-round Christian programs, Healing Ministry, Christian library, worship spaces, conference facilities, recreational activities, Christian outreach and other ministries reach thousands of people of all ages annually.  You can visit the website of Chrsit the King Spiritual Life Center by clicking here.
   4. Oaks of Righteousness: Funds designated for this category support the ministry of Oaks of Righteousness, which is led by Mother Hannah Mudge and Mother Christina Vance. Operating out of the Oaks Café, located in one of the poorest and most crime-ridden areas of North Central Troy, they minister to the neighborhood children and their parents, sharing the love and healing grace of Jesus Christ through youth activities, feeding programs, teaching, and worship. You can visit the Oaks of Righteousness Facebook page by clicking here or the Oaks of Righteousness blog by clicking here.
   5. Cathedral of All Saints: Funds designated for this category go to further the ministry of the Cathedral which brings the Gospel of Jesus Christ to the wider community through works of mercy to the poor, through the music program featuring the Cathedral Choir of Men and Boys, through Christ-centered worship in an historic building, and by supporting the Diocesan Acolyte Festival and Bible Symposium. You can visit the Cathedral's website by clicking here.
   6. Diocesan Youth Ministry: Funds designated for this option go to the Diocesan Youth Ministry, which focuses on helping kids, teens and young adults experience the love of Jesus Christ in their lives; learn to grow in their relationship with Christ; establish and build Christian relationships with other youth from around the diocese; and provide a firm foundation for their present and future witness in Christ's Church as they enter adulthood. You can visit the website of the Diocesan Youth Ministry by clicking here.
   7. New Church Plant: Funds designated for this category go towards the planting of a new church starting in the Malta area, which begins to implement the vision for church planting shared by Bishop Love in his 2013 Convention Address. God has lifted up the Rev. Ryan Delaney to lead this church plant. You can e-mail Rev. Delaney by clicking here.
   8. Diocesan Initiatives: Funds designated for this category go to the area of most need within the budget at the discretion of the Bishop, assisted by the Diocesan Treasurer and staff.

The revised 2014 Parish Choice Election form is available for download by clicking here.

Faithfully in Christ,

Jerry Carroll
Lay Canon for Administration

An Advent Message from Bishop Skip Adams

 

 

 

 

 

 

Bishop Adams is the DEPO bishop for some parishes in the Diocese of Albany.  Here is his Advent message to his diocese and for us, from The Messenger, CNY diocesan newsletter for Dec. 6:

Dear People of Central New York,

 

I am not one to throw water on the parade of holiday festivities and cultural celebrations at this time of the year.  I do lament the acts of violence which occurred in various stores over the last few days and shown on CNN over and over, but I am no scrooge.  It does lead me to ask, however, at least rhetorically:  Is the attempt to keep a faithful Advent in a culture such as ours worth it?  After all, Advent didn't even exist on the liturgical calendar in a universal way until the 6th century.  Why bother?

 

Advent is a season of contradiction and contrast.  It begins at the end, that is, with the consummation of all history, and it ends at the beginning, with the birth of the Messiah.  It is a season of soberness and restraint in the midst of conspicuous consumption where we get our identity not by what we produce, but by what we consume.  Advent is a season of waiting and patience in a world of frenzy and mania - back to images on CNN. 

 

Advent is definitely counter-cultural.  It is swimming against the tide.  So again I ask, do we need it?  I would suggest that it indeed offers us something that is good for our soul's health.  Perhaps in its flow it can assist us "to cast away the works of darkness and put on the armor of light."  I am not saying that we must give up the parties or the decorating, but we do need the balance it offers. It helps us keep perspective.  Advent remains as a call off of the treadmill to a place where we wait, we hope and prepare in the darkness for Christ's coming into the very life we live, in the day-to-day ordinariness of all we do and are.  I believe it was Blaise Pascal who said that the most radical thing we can do is be quiet for ten minutes.

 

Ours is the work of holiness.  As long as peace and justice remain elusive on this earth and in our communities, we must be on the watch and be ready to respond.  Advent?  It is good for the soul.  It is good for the world.

 

 

                Bishop Skip

Advent Journey

 

 

The Rev. Scott Gunn is an Episcopal priest, Executive Director of Forward Movement, and author of the blog Seven Whole Days.  He invites us to journey through Advent with the help of Forward Day by Day:

 

As many readers will know, I serve at Forward Movement, a ministry of the Episcopal Church whose mission is to reinvigorate the life of the church. We do this by offering resources that encourage discipleship and support evangelism. Lately we've been doing more edgy things like Lent Madness and formation offerings like Confirm not Conform. There are partnerships with Episcopal Church Foundation and the Society of St. John the Evangelist. But the most well-known offering of Forward Movement is Forward Day by Day.

It's our core offering, and about 90% of Episcopal congregations have subscriptions, not to mention individuals and congregations around the world (in nearly every province of the Anglican Communion). As executive director, my role is usually taken up with work other than writing and editing. We have amazing editors on staff, and we're able to call upon tremendously gifted writers. So usually others are doing the writing and editing. But for various reasons, it seemed like a good idea for me to have a crack at writing a month of meditations for Forward Day by Day.

My month is here, starting December 1. I picked Advent (the benefit of knowing people) before I remembered what's in the daily office lections for the month. Zoinks. It's not all fun and games. Woe to those who say Advent isn't penitential! And, as I've now learned, it's incredibly hard to write a bunch of 200-word meditations. That's a long enough chunk to require some shape, but short enough that every word counts! I have fresh appreciation for the difficult task that our writers face with each month of meditations.

Anyway, if daily devotions might be part of your Advent scheme, I invite you to give Forward Day by Day a try. Let me know what you think. I'll be following the comments on our social media channels. Just be gentle with me. Mostly, I hope Forward Day by Day will be a blessing to you. If you don't care for my writing, there's always next month!

SUNDAY, December 1. Advent 1

Isaiah 2:3. Come, let us go up to the mountain of the LORD, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways and that we may walk in his paths.

Mountaintop experiences in scripture often bring people to extraordinary encounters with God. In Isaiah’s vision, people will stream to the mountain, marching to meet their God. The whole season of Advent could be seen as a journey to a mountaintop experience at Christmas.

I think we often forget that in order to have the mountaintop experience, you have to climb the mountain. The most amazing encounters between God and God’s people in the scriptures are almost never convenient or instantly accessible. We have to go on a journey first, and that work prepares us...

Read the rest of the first day's meditation online.

Some fun facts: Forward Day by Day is read by over 300,000 print subscribers and thousands of others on the web, Facebook, Twitter, Kindle, Nook, and iTunes. And it's in Spanish in all those forms, including print, Facebook, Kindle, Nook, and iTunes.

Have a blessed Advent. Please pray for the ministry of Forward Movement. If you have questions, comments, or suggestions, let us know. We love to hear from our readers and friends.

Why Make Disciples?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rob Moss, pastor of the Lutheran Church of the Master in Lakewood, Colorado, argues that the church should stop making disciples -- at least the way it is mostly done now.  Instead of converting and assimilating, Jesus accepted and loved.  Loving others serves the world as well as the church.  Let's do it the way Jesus did.  Rob Moss writes:

It's time to quit making disciples. At least, in the way we've recently come to understand it. In Matthew 28, Jesus does tell us to "Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." Let's be honest, we've historically took that to mean "converting" them, getting them to believe what "we" believe, getting them to come to church and become one of us. Is that what Jesus really meant? Or is that our own cultural self-righteousness and judgment oozing forth--quite in contrast to pretty much everything Jesus said and did.

The church's typical understanding of making disciples sounds more like the Borg--"We will assimilate you. Resistance is futile."

Instead, I think, Jesus lived and spoke about loving people. It would seem that authentic, caring relationships do that best. If we approach the people of the world with an attitude of changing them, "saving" them, or making them somehow better if they believe a certain (my) way, we are in opposition to the gospel that Jesus was all about. And in opposition to him.

Loving them, however, looks much different. Typical discipleship-making serves the church, loving others serves the world. Consider the difference in the following statements, and see which way best conveys your approach to making disciples.

--Get them to serve the church, or get the church to serve them.
--Change their beliefs, or see God already present in their beliefs.
--Point out the errors of their lack of faith, or listen authentically while they point out the errors in yours.
--Preach to them, or get to know them.
--Continue to refer to them as "them," or recognize the ever-blurring lines between those who serve with a church community and those who serve in other ways.
--See boundaries between who's in and who's out, or see all people as created in the image of a God who loves all of us.

So, how'd you do? See the difference? Something to think about, anyway.

It seems to me that following Jesus means going where he goes. With his love. For all. Unconditionally. Period.

Province II News

The November edition of In Prov 2, the newsletter of Province II of the Episcopal Church, is now available.

The section "Around the Province" includes news from each of the dioceses of Province II.  The Diocese of Rochester awarded the Presiding Bishop, The Most Reverend Doctor Katharine Jefferts Schori, with Hobart and William Smith Colleges' Elizabeth Blackwell Award on November 10.  The Diocese of New Jersey reports on the consecration of the Rt. Rev. William "Chip" Stokes as their 12th diocesan bishop.  The Diocese of New York updates us on the election process for selecting their suffragan bishop.  The Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe talk about full communion relationship with the Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht.

The newsletter also contains links to to other ministries and resources of The Episcopal Church.  It is all very interesting.  Please take a moment to read the news of our province and the larger Church.

Prayers for the People of the Philippines

From The Messenger, newsletter of the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York, November 15, 2013 edition:

 

Episcopal Relief & Development has been in contact with its local partner, the Episcopal Church in the Philippines, in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Haiyan.  The storm made landfall in the central Philippines on the morning of November 8, causing widespread damage and disabling power and communications lines.  Rescue and relief efforts are reportedly being hampered due to roads being clogged with debris.

The Episcopal Church in the Philippines is working with the National Council of Churches in the Philippines, an ecumenical group of which it is a member, to develop a coordinated response strategy.  Episcopal Relief & Development plans to offer technical and financial assistance to aid these efforts.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori offered the following prayer for the people of the Philippines: 

O God our help in time of trouble, we pray for the Filipino people who have suffered this grievous natural disaster. We pray that survivors may find water, food, and shelter, and news of their missing loved ones. There is trauma and destruction in many places, and little news from some of the areas hardest hit. Give peace and confidence, O Lord, to those in the midst of the whirlwind. Open hearts and hands around the world to respond sacrificially to the urgent need. Help us to remember that we are connected, one to another, the living to the dead, the comfortable to the suffering, the peaceful to the worried and anxious. Motivate us to change our hearts, for our misuse and pollution of the earth you have given us to share has something to do with this disaster.  Show us your suffering Son in the midst of this Calvary, that we might love one another as he has loved us.  In your holy name we pray.  Amen.

Earlier in the day, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby sent a message of prayer and solidarity.  According to ACNS, "The Archbishop said the Church is praying for those who are 'most vulnerable in this crisis' - children separated from their parents, the sick and injured, the disabled and the elderly - and will 'stand beside the people of the Philippines'."

Fifty Years Later: The State of Racism in America

This year will mark significant anniversaries in the long struggle for civil rights, according to Episcopal News Service.  It is the 150th anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation; the 50th anniversary of the pivotal March on Washington; the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Medgar Evers, and the 100th birthday of Rosa Parks.  In 1964 the Civil Rights Act was signed into law.

To mark these anniversaries, The Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Mississippi will bring together distinguished expert panelists for a 90-minute forum to be held at St. Andrew's Episcopal Cathedral in Jackson, Mississippi, and webcast live on the Episcopal Church website.  The webcast will begin at 2:00 PM, Eastern Time. 

There is no fee to view this live forum.  Access is available through the Episcopal Church website here.

The moderator will be journalist and PBS commentator Ray Suarez.  Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori will give the keynote address. Panelists include The Rt. Rev. Michael Curry, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, and Honorable Byron Rushing, Massachusetts State Representative and vice president of the Episcopal Church House of Deputies.  Questions for the panelists will be accepted prior or during the forum, and may be emailed to Neva Rae Fox, Public Affairs Officer, at [email protected].

On Saturday, November 16, faith leaders and educators will gather to discuss and create curriculum and tools on the topics raised in Friday’s forum. The day-long event will be held at St. Andrew’s Cathedral.  These workshops and plenary sessions will be videotaped for viewing on demand after the event.

This is a significant contribution by the church to the current discussion of race relations in America.  If you have the time on Friday, the webcast will be well worth viewing.  When the Saturday sessions become available for viewing, we will try to provide the link here on this blog.

Women Against War at St. Andrew's

The organization Women Against War will hold its annual meeting at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Albany on Thursday, November 14.

Women Against War is a coalition of Capital Area women advocating for changed US foreign policies through lobbying, leafleting, vigils, media outreach and educational events.

Rachel Smolker will speak at the meeting on "Bombs Bases and Biofuels: The Pentagon and Global Warming".  Rachel Smolker is the co-director of Biofuelwatch, and organizer with Energy Justice Networks.  She also  writes for the Huffington Post and works with the Mobilization for Climate Justice, and Climate Justice Now.

The meeting will also honor Pat Beetle as the Women Against War's Woman of Peace 2013.  Pat has been a valiant advocate on every community peace and justice issue for years.  She is active in Women Against War as a member of Women Against War's Iran Project and Grannies for Peace.

There will be a potluck dinner beginning at 5:30 (bring a dish to share), and a silent auction.  Please RSVP by Nov. 11 to Maud Easter at [email protected].

Could You Survive on Food Stamps?

On Saturday I joined with a group of Lutherans to formulate a social witness ministry team for their church in Upstate New York.  I had responded to the call in the synod newsletter, and even though I am an Episcopalian, I was invited to join the planning session.  The gathering at the synod offices of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Camillus, near Syracuse, proposed both congregation initiatives and lobbying efforts for social justice, focusing initially on issues of hunger and poverty. 

One of the team's lay members cited a legislative representative who had recently attempted to live on a food stamp budget as example of raising congregational awareness of poverty's effects.  Then, when I returned home, I found this article about Bishop Ousley of the Diocese of Eastern Michigan.  He is taking that very action in order to increase awareness of the plight of the poor in our country who depend on decreasing food programs.  The Port Huron Times Herald reports that:

Bishop Todd Ousley wants people to know what it’s like to live on $30.97 worth of food per week.

So Ousley, bishop for the Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Michigan, is doing what he calls a Fast from Excess — and he’s encouraging everyone, not just Episcopalians, to join in.

Ousley is eating only the groceries he was able to purchase with $30.97 — the average benefit for individuals on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. He started Friday, and his fast continues through Nov. 7.

The diocese, with its headquarters in Saginaw, includes the Episcopal churches in St. Clair County and the Thumb.

The bishop said his purpose is to call attention to the automatic 5.5 percent reduction in SNAP benefits that started Friday.

“Our diocese, the Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Michigan, has identified poverty as one of the primary areas of focus in our justice and mercy ministry,” he said.

“Most of us live a life experiencing plenty on a daily basis,” he said. “I can’t become someone on food stamp benefits overnight. About the best I can do ... is have a short-term experience of what it might be like with limited resources.”

By the way, anyone who is interested in Social justice as a Christian outreach is welcome to become a member of the Lutheran social witness ministry team in Upstate New York.  Just contact the Rev. David Preisinger, who will put you in touch with the others involved in this ministry.

Christian Dominionism and its Implications

Senator Ted Cruz, architect of the government shutdown

Over a week ago I posted a link at the Albany Via Media Facebook group to a Huffington Post article on The Theology of Government Shutdown: Christian Dominionism.  I have been asked, what is dominionism?  While a government shutdown seems at this moment to have been avoided, at least for a while, dominionism continues to be a dangerous dogma that guides the thinking of the Christian Right in the halls of Congress.

The Rev. Dr. Elizabeth Keaton posted a comment at the House of Bishops/Deputies listserv on the philosophy of Christian Dominionism, which she compares with the guiding principals of the Taliban.  She has graciously allowed me to repost her comments here:

"In 2005, Frederick Clarkson enumerated the following characteristics shared by all forms of dominionism:

1.  Dominionists celebrate Christian nationalism, in that they believe the United States once was, and should once again be, a Christian nation.  In this way they deny the Enlightenment roots of American democracy.

2.  Dominionists promote religious supremacy, insofar as they do not generally respect the equality of other religions, or even other versions of Christianity.

3.  Dominionists endorse theocratic visions, insofar as they believe that the Ten Commandments, or "biblical law", should be the foundation of American law, and that the U.S. Constitution should be seen as a vehicle for implementing Biblical principles.

"Dominionists also hold equality of the sexes as contrary to scripture,which has led to 'strange bedfellows' of the Religious (Protestant) Right and Roman Catholics with regard to the movements for Reproductive Justice and the ordination of women.

"The Taliban is a group of right-wing Muslim fundamentalist extremists who believe in government by Religious Dictatorship. People who live under the Taliban are not free to choose their own religious expression or practice.  Their treatment of women is particularly, notoriously brutal."

To be fair, I do not think that Dr. Kaeton accuses anyone in the American government of holding Taliban beliefs.  But in another country and culture, this is what a group opposing the laws of a legitimately elected government in the name of religious belief can devolve to.

 

Conditional Healing? What Would Jesus Say?

In the Diocesan Update email of October 17 (“a compendium of miscellany regarding things going on in the Diocese of Albany”) an announcement appears of the upcoming healing service at the diocesan Spiritual Life Center on Tuesday, October 22.  Pastor Jim French, the rector of St. Luke’s Church, Cambridge, will be the guest preacher.  According to the announcement, Pastor Jim will preach on “The Conditions for Healing: What is it that God Requires of Us to be Healed?”

I was immediately put in mind of the Gospel on Sunday, the story of the lepers who were healed in Luke, chapter 7, vs. 11 to 19.  Only one of them stayed to give thanks to Jesus, which is the usual focus of the preaching on this passage.  But another striking feature of the Gospel is that all ten were healed.  No strings attached.  Their only plea was “Jesus, have mercy on us.”  One of the ten healed lepers returned to give praise to God, and received Jesus’ assurance that “your faith has made you well,” in the words of the RSV.  But the only requirement for all ten to be healed was that they called upon Jesus, the Master, and asked for His mercy.  Reading between the lines, this simple request revealed their faith.  And their faith, expressed in those simplest terms, was all that God required.

I know nothing more about Pastor Jim than the assurance that he “has a deep passion to release the healing power of the Lord Jesus Christ into a hurting world.”  But I do hope he also has the humility and compassion to acknowledge that Jesus himself, in his earthly ministry, placed no conditions on His healing.

Placing conditions on healing, let alone discipleship, was not Jesus’ way.  It should not be the job of diocese, either.

Diocesan Partnership Representative to Albany Named

                                                                                Dr. Winfred Vergara

I had read in July of the new initiative by The Episcopal Church called The Diocesan Partnership Program.  Announced by the church’s COO, Bishop Stacy Sauls, the purpose is to offer resources to dioceses and parishes, and to build networks across geographic boundaries.  The initiative was to commence in September, but having heard nothing about it since July, I called the Episcopal Church Center (815) and left a message at the office of the Presiding Bishop. 

A couple of days later I received a call from The Rev. Dr. Winfred Vergara.  His position with the national church is as Missioner for Asiamerica Ministries, though I doubt that he is often at 815, since his duties take him mostly to the West Coast and to other large cities with significant Asian American populations.  He told me that he had been assigned as diocesan partner for the Albany, Easton and Rochester dioceses.  Each member of the staff at Church Center had been assigned at least three dioceses to partner with, and this was his assignment. 

When I asked what he knew of Albany, he admitted that he had never visited our area.  I do hope that my encouragement for him to visit us was warm and sincere.  He said that he had written Bishop Love around about September 20, introducing himself and his mission.  In his letter to Bishop Love, Fr. Vergara offered “to listen to you, respond to your missionary priorities, help identify resources that may support your priorities and help establish a dialogical relationship between the diocese and the Church Center.” To me, our new diocesan partner expressed the hope that he might receive an invitation to diocesan convention as a guest.

I  hope as well that Bishop Love will accept this offer and participate in a program that offers the possibility of building bridges between dioceses and the national church.  I have written to Bishop Love with the wish that he respond soon to this offer of partnership in mission, and extend Fr. Vergara an invitation to our diocese.   I am sure that Fr. Vergara would welcome the best wishes of other members of our diocese who want to reach out and welcome him.

Lecture at First Presbyterian Church

The Rev. Dr. Thomas G. Long

From the FOCUS Churches newsletter, an announcement of an upcoming lecture on the state of "mainline" churches today.  FOCUS is a coalition of churches in Albany concetratng on outreach to our communities.

First Presbyterian, Albany (corner of State and Willett) continues its 250th anniversary celebration with the Lamar Lecture on Saturday, October 12, at 4:00 PM.

The speaker will be the Rev. Dr. Thomas G. Long, professor of preaching at Candler School of Theology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia.  Professor Long will speak on "Trouble in the Old Mainline Churches: Parabolic answers to Honest Questions."

The lecture is FREE and open to the public.  For further information call the church office at 449-7332, email: [email protected].

What Shall We Become?

It is only a press release, but this certainly sounds like a book that would be of interest to Episcopalians who wonder about the future of our church.  One of the larger issues that the next General Convention will consider promises to be structural reorganization.  This book is a consideration of the options, and may be a strong influence on what TEC eventually becomes.  Available from Church Publishing, the book can be ordered online now. 

In the wake of profound differences that some speculated would split the Episcopal Church, a diversity of church leaders has contributed to a new book that explores what changes may be needed to serve a modern, diverse society.

This book, "What We Shall Become: The Future and Structure of the Episcopal Church,” is published as the governing bodies of the Episcopal Church USA are anticipating formal recommendations that will outline the future character and structure of the Church.

Edited by The Reverend Winnie Varghese, rector of the historic St. Mark’s Church in-the-Bowery, the collection of essays examines the issues that restructuring raises for the church,

“We have struggled for a generation to find our bearings, structurally, as the circles defining who we are are drawn wider and wider and our expectations and norms as well as our gifts become even more abundantly diverse and at times in apparent conflict within themselves,” Varghese writes. “Some essays argue that significant change to our structures is needed for effective ministry; others illustrate what can be accomplished within the structures we currently inhabit. All call us to consider where we fall short as a church and challenge us to perceive barriers in our current system and eliminate them.”

There You Go Again, GAFCON

Attendees of the Anglican Back to the Future Conference in Toronto

In advance of the second annual Global Anglican Future conference next month in Nairobi, Anglican leaders from the Global South met on September 18 in Toronto to prepare.  Their "Back to the Future Conference" shows that the rift in the Communion shows no sign of abating.  If anything, the third-world conservatives have even retreated from their support of an Anglican Covenant because it promises not to be draconian enough in its treatment of the American church.  What these conservatives clearly demand is a "clear mechanism for dealing with diversity."  Is that really what you want to see for our Church?

Primates and bishops from the Global South attending a gathering in Toronto said current proposals for a new Anglican Communion covenant don’t go far enough to heal the conflict in the communion over homosexuality.

 Anglicans from the Global South prepare to meet for their second Global Anglican Future Conference next month and the Toronto meeting showed no signs of reconciliation.

Archbishop Ian Ernest, primate of the province of the Indian Ocean, said decisions by the Episcopal Church in the United States and the Anglican Church of Canada on issues involving homosexuality have torn the fabric of communion.

Another primate, Archbishop Mouneer Anis of Egypt, launched a harsh critique of the communion leadership’s unwillingness to deal with issues. Successive archbishops of Canterbury have tried to hold the communion together, but failed to use their influence to bring cohesion to autonomous provinces, he said.

The Anglican Consultative Council, which facilitates the cooperative work of the churches in the Anglican Communion, is not representative of the communion, Anis said, because its members are drawn primarily from what he called “non-orthodox” voices, rather than the majority orthodox voices held by African and Asian churches.

The vision the Egyptian archbishop put forward was a more conciliar communion, with more power for the regular primates meeting, more representation for the Anglican Consultative Council, and a clear mechanism for dealing with what is acceptable diversity from the provinces of the communion.

Excerpted from a longer article by Bob Bettson at the Sojourners website.