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[Anglican Communion News Service] The Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission, the official body appointed by the two Communions to engage in theological dialogue, has held the third meeting of its new phase (ARCIC III), at the Mosteiro de Sao Bento, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, (29 April–7 May 2013). This is the first time in its forty year history that ARCIC has met in Latin America, and, indeed, in the southern hemisphere.

Members of the Commission are grateful to Dom Filipe da Silva OSB, the Abbot, to his community for their gracious hospitality. The Commission participated in daily Vespers and in the Sunday Eucharist at the monastery church, and were held in prayer throughout by the monastic community.

A wide range of papers was prepared for the meeting and discussed, taking the Commission further towards its goal of producing an agreed statement. The mandate for this third phase of ARCIC is to explore: the Church as Communion, local and universal, and how in communion the local and universal Church come to discern right ethical teaching. In exploring this mandate, the members of the Commission engaged in theological analysis and shared reflection on the nature of the Church and those structures which contribute to discernment and decision-making. Time was spent considering some case studies of ethical issues which members had prepared, and analysing the ways in which the two Communions have come to their present teaching on these matters.

Over the forty years of its work, ARCIC has produced a number of Agreed Statements. The work of ARCIC I received official responses from the two Communions. The Commission continued its task of preparing the documents of ARCIC II for presentation to the respective Communions to assist with their reception. Members reviewed responses already given to each of the five Agreed Statements and will prepare introductions for them that place each of these documents within the current ecumenical situation.

The Commission welcomed at a meal leaders of the local Anglican and Roman Catholic churches, including Anglican Bishop Filadelfo Oliveira and Roman Catholic Bishop Francisco Biasin, and members of the local Anglican-Roman Catholic Dialogue of Brazil. ARCIC is keen to deepen its relationship with such local and regional ARCs and rejoices both Communions are exploring concrete ways of sharing documents and discussion about ARCIC’s work.

Members of the Commission visited the City of God (Cidade de Deus), one of the many favelas (neighbourhoods housing large numbers of the poor and displaced) that surround Rio de Janeiro. They were warmly welcomed by the Roman Catholic parish and their priest Fr Marcio José de Assis Macedo MSC. Fr Nicholas Wheeler, the Anglican parish priest of the City of God, arranged for the Commission to visit three projects in the community (a day centre for seniors, a community development centre, and a mural project that portrays the community’s history and provides a vision of the City of God from Revelation), and to learn from the local police how officers engage positively with the community. The evening concluded with ecumenical vespers. In offering thanks, one of the bishops said he was trying to think of a phrase to sum up our visit, and could only think of ‘City of Hope’. Hope sprang from real ecumenical activity (unashamedly from a Christian base but working to support any community good), and the sheer hard work and organising by local people.

The Commission will prepare further papers, expand the case studies, and continue its work in preparation for its next meeting 12–20 May 2014.

APPENDIX: MEMBERS OF ARCIC III present at the meeting

Co-Chairs
The Most Revd Bernard Longley, Archbishop of Birmingham, England
The Rt Revd Christopher Hill, Bishop of Guildford, The Church of England, Acting Co-Chair

Roman Catholics
The Revd Robert Christian OP, Angelicum University, Rome
The Revd Adelbert Denaux, Professor Emeritus K.U. Leuven, Tilburg School of Catholic Theology, Utrecht, The Netherlands
The Most Revd Arthur Kennedy, auxiliary bishop, Archdiocese of Boston,
Massachusetts, USA
Professor Paul D. Murray, Durham University, England
Revd Sister Teresa Okure SHCJ, Catholic Institute of West Africa, Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Professor Janet E. Smith, Sacred Heart Major Seminary, Detroit, Michigan, USA
The Revd Professor Vimal Tirimanna CSsR, Alphonsianum University, Rome
The Very Revd Dom Henry Wansbrough OSB, Ampleforth Abbey, England

Anglicans
Canon Dr Paula Gooder, Birmingham, England/ The Church of England
The Rt Revd Nkosinathi Ndwandwe, Bishop Suffragan of Natal, Southern Area/ Anglican Church of Southern Africa
The Rt Revd Linda Nicholls, Area Bishop for Trent-Durham, Diocese of Toronto, Canada/ The Anglican Church of Canada
The Revd Canon Michael Nai-Chiu Poon, Trinity Theological College, Singapore/ Church of the Province of South East Asia
The Revd Canon Peter Sedgwick, St Michael’s College, Llandaff, Wales/ The Church in Wales
The Revd Dr Charles Sherlock, Anglican Diocese of Bendigo, Australia/ The Anglican Church of Australia
The Revd Canon Jonathan Goodall, Archbishop of Canterbury’s Representative

Consultant
The Revd Odair Pedroso Mateus, Faith and Order Secretariat, World Council of Churches

Staff
The work of the Commission is supported by the Co-Secretaries, Canon Alyson Barnett-Cowan (Anglican Communion Office), Monsignor Mark Langham (Pontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity) and Mr Neil Vigers (Administrator, Anglican Communion Office).

[Anglican Communion News Service] The president of South Sudan has appointed the archbishop of the Episcopal Church of Sudan to chair the national reconciliation committee “trying to heal the mental wounds”’ in the world’s newest nation after 40 years of war.

Archbishop Daniel Deng Bul was appointed by Salva Kiir, who was facing many questions from the public and the media about why the he had earlier suspended the “much-needed” national reconciliation process.

The committee will launch a national campaign for reconciliation coordinated over the next four to five years by the Office of President and the South Sudan Peace and Reconciliation Commission.

“The appointment of a church leader to lead the process of reconciliation is not a new thing for the church,” Deng told ACNS. “The Church is a reconciler: we are an independent body and not government and hence the right organization to spearhead this process.”

Responding to the proposed time-frame of four to five years, the archbishop said, “Reconciliation is an ongoing process and until everyone is able to live together in peace, there is no telling when the process will end.”

The archbishop is not a newcomer to peace building and reconciliation. This is the second time the president has appointed him to a reconciliation process. The first was his appointment to chair a similar process among the tribes in his home state of Jonglei, last year.

Meanwhile, Bishop Anthony Poggo of the Diocese of Kajo Keji in South Sudan was delighted by the appointment. “This is a vote of confidence in the church and the Body of Christ since the committee represents many denominations and religions,” he said. “Reconciliation is the core business of the church. Christ came so that he could reconcile human beings to God. [Therefore] the church’s desire is to see peace prevailing.”

Manasseh Zindo is the program coordinator for Peacebuilding at Finn Church Aid (FCA) in South Sudan and a member of the Sudan Council of Churches (SCC). He is also a nominee to the national reconciliation committee.

“Since the beginning of the process I held the view that a church leader would be better placed to lead the progress and I still hold the same view,” he said. “It’s an open secret in South Sudan that the church has been involved in processes like these in the past and that almost all South Sudanese trust the church. Peace practitioners in South Sudan hold the view that the church would manage to rally South Sudanese behind any process leading to a genuine journey of healing for national reconciliation.”

The South Sudanese state of Jonglei, has witnessed two major rebellions since the independence of South Sudan in July 2011. Zindo hopes that in the next five years of the reconciliation process, “we will manage to rally all South Sudanese into the mood of healing for a national reconciliation. South Sudan will only be able to experience genuine reconciliation, true healing and a lasting peace in the country if the leadership of reconciliation process is accepted by the nation as a whole.”

The Trinity Window is pieced together in Christchurch’s Transitional Cathedral. Photo: Anglican Taonga

[Anglican Taonga] Christchurch’s Transitional Cathedral is being given a colorful new outlook on the city.

The “trinity window,” crowning the main entrance facing Latimer Square, features images from the Rose Window in the quake-damaged cathedral.

Made up of triangular glass panels, the great window should be complete within days.

Bishop Victoria Matthews is excited by the progress. “This is what we have all been waiting for,” she said. ”What I see here… is fragments of a much larger picture.

”In this world we only see hints of the life to come. In this world, we get glimpses of extraordinary beauty and awe and hints of things to come. ‘We don’t get the whole picture all at once, and this window is like that.”

The NZ$5.4m (US$4.53m) Transitional Cathedral is now expected to open at the end of June.

[Episcopal Church Office of Public Affairs press release] An agreement has been completed between the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society (DFMS) and Lyceum Kennedy French American School to lease the Second Floor of the Episcopal Church Center, 815 Second Avenue in New York City.

Currently located at 225 E 43rd St in New York City, this lease provides an expansion of space for the school. Bishop Stacy Sauls, Episcopal Church Chief Operating Officer, explained that the second floor was specifically requested by Lyceum because it has a private entrance/exit, ideal for school purposes.

Lyceum is expected to move into its new quarters in the summer.

The arrangement with Lyceum Schools will provide nearly $380,000 of new revenue in the first 12 months.  This lease is coterminous with other leases in the Church Center.

As stated previously, Bishop Sauls stressed that the Second Floor lease does not impact the current conversation on the future location of the Church Center.

A TESTIMONY OF HOPE

THE FOURTH CONSULTATION OF ANGLICAN BISHOPS IN DIALOGUE

The fourth consultation among Canadian, American and African bishops took place in Cape Town South Africa from Thursday May 2nd to Sunday May 5th 2013. We met in the context of worship, prayer, Scripture reading and the breaking of bread.  Through the presentation of papers, continuing conversation, and growing relationships we engaged in dialogue both in sessions and over meals. We came from South Sudan, Malawi, Burundi, Ghana, Kenya, South Africa, Canada, Zambia and the United States. We continued the same process as in the past of inviting people from different dioceses to reflect on God’s mission in their contexts, this time using the lens of reconciliation, in accordance with Paul’s exhortation:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:[a] The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. (2 Corinthians 5:17-20)

We engaged in theological  reflection on reconciliation, and we heard presentations about the reconciliation process in Burundi, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in Canada, reconciliation in The Episcopal Church, and the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa. We heard examples of people throughout Africa and North America intentionally seeking to meet with those from whom they differed.

We heard stories of such pain and of new life that was made possible by God’s grace mediated through compassionate ministry, that many times we were left in silence and tears. We witnessed profound hope in God’s transforming presence in even the most conflicted of situations which the world might call hopeless.

Our time in Cape Town was greatly enriched by the opportunity to visit local ministry initiatives: Fikelela Children’s Centre – part of the diocese’s HIV/AIDS ministry; the Fusion project in Manenberg – a ministry that seeks to inspire, partner with, and equip the church to see high-risk youth restored to Christ and community;  Sweet Home Farm – a broad based intervention of the church in an informal settlement of some 17,000 people where ministry includes  HIV/AIDS support, forming a church community, a Seniors club, health and welfare initiatives and a restaurant;  and The Warehouse – a ministry initiative that provides a place for support, both spiritual and physical, for poorer communities and which equips people from many churches to serve in new ways. We had heard in our theological reflection that the Christological foundation of the Church’s ministry pushes us to pragmatic actions and commitments in the real situations of conflict and division where we live. On our local visits in Cape Town we were humbled by what we saw and our hearts were full as we heard story upon story of sacrificial ministry and steadfast commitment to the work of reconciliation. Our daily eucharists were held in St. George’s Cathedral. We had the opportunity to share in Sunday worship in churches around the city and to meet local congregations. The grounding in the local situation enlivened and inspired our conversations.

We recognized that we have inherited the ministry of reconciliation from our Lord Jesus Christ; that God’s mission is not a human achievement. It is something we are called to live into and to share. We observed that the engagement in the ministry of reconciliation is a costly process because it involves facing positive and negative truths about others and about ourselves with courage, honesty and humility.

We observed that a key part of the ministry of reconciliation is about reclaiming the humanity and dignity of those who have been dehumanized in various ways. It involves the preservation of the identities of those being reconciled to one another  in Christ. It gives the powerless a voice to take up the challenge of speaking truth to power.

We observed that one of the dynamics of our group involved the history of colonization; that our present reflects the stories of both the colonized and colonizers. We talked about the dehumanizing parts of our history that fly in the face of our commitment to respect the dignity of every human being. We named many challenges in our contexts as evidence of systemic and spiritual evil in addition to identifying situations where the presence of God’s transforming grace was evident.

We recognized that the church is called to be a place of safety and refuge with an authentic ministry of reconciliation but, regrettably, the church can also be a source of victimization of others. We agreed that we need to acknowledge our part in conflicts that cause pain to people in order to become credible leaders and partners. We reflected on the statement that “To repent is to know that there is a lie in our hearts” of St. John of Kronstadt. We noted the importance of the church’s public apologies and of its participation in healing processes. We shared examples from the South African and Canadian Truth and Reconciliation Commissions (TRC), the reconciliation processes in Burundi, South Sudan and the situation in Kenya following the post-election violence in 2007.

We realized that it is only in speaking the truth in love to each other that we can understand each other’s contexts. We believe that this helps to reduce prejudice and misunderstandings. There can be no reconciliation without truth.

We heard of situations of such conflict that people were afraid to ‘pray with their eyes closed’. We were challenged to transform that phrase so that we could ‘pray with our eyes open’ – not out of fear, but because of a courageous willingness to face the truth. We discussed the role of the Church (as an ecumenical body) in reconciliation and the unique role of the Anglican Communion as a linking factor in many places. We acknowledged that this work of embracing reconciliation continues to be a work in progress within our communion.

We see our dialogue as having grown out of the recommendations of Lambeth 2008 and we believe that our work is important in building towards Lambeth 2018. We committed ourselves to share our learnings from these dialogues with the bishops and dioceses in our provinces and with others we meet. We would encourage similar dialogues across the Communion, dialogues that grow organically with emerging agendas as a way to develop understanding, build trust and foster reconciliation. These may be small regional gatherings. We suggest that such dialogues include opportunities to visit and learn from the ministries of the local church.

We observed that sin infects systems as well as individuals. We reflected on the church’s responsibility to help people to see when the truth has become distorted and to speak out against systemic evil that leads to disrespecting the dignity of human beings which inhibits the proclamation of the gospel in every culture. We noted that the witness of the church is to stand beside people as they tell their stories as well as to listen to their stories with compassionate hearts.

We discovered in each of our contexts that the Church has a unique role in proclaiming and embodying a positive vision of the future.  We have found that God has planted the seeds of our positive future in our past.

We started a discussion on how we can be part of the reconciliation of the refugees and outcasts in our midst. We were challenged to consider the role of the Church to engage with the Diaspora of one another’s community, so that the ministry of reconciliation can continue and that these people  may be resources to their own homelands for peace rather than the perpetuation of conflict.

We acknowledged that none of us has exclusive ownership of the truth. We understand that when all our stories are told we come to a fuller understanding of the truth. This meeting has confirmed the relational nature of the church and the understanding that all of us bring only a piece of the truth. We affirm once again that dialogue is essential to exploring the nature of theological truth that looks at what God is constantly revealing.

Our meeting in Cape Town had an added depth to it because we were all aware of the enormous work of reconciliation in South Africa following the time of Apartheid. We were blessed by the presence of Mary Burton, former Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) commissioner in South Africa. Hearing the stories of that time and watching footage of the TRC hearing, reminded us as a group that it is in the sharing of the stories of reconciliation by our global brothers and sisters that we are encouraged to pursue all that works for good (Romans 8:28).

We resonated with Mary Burton’s advice to us to ‘be mindful of the degree of hurt that so many people have, and to make provision for those hurts to be heard’. When stories remain untold disintegration follows. This is both an ongoing challenge and opportunity for the Church.  In all our relationships we should try to be peace seekers.

We were also blessed and encouraged by the presence of Canon David Porter, the Archbishop of Canterbury’s Director of Reconciliation. Canon Porter observed that Anglicans sometimes have “bad” fights, but need to learn how to have “good” ones, because there will always be points of conflict in our relationships. This gathering has had all the hallmarks of what good conversation should look like. Because we are all in Christ, we belong together.

We agreed that reconciliation is a gift of the Holy Spirit and only by the Grace of God are we reconciled.

We leave Cape Town with great hope. We have heard testimony of new life arising out of the most difficult circumstances and of Christ’s power of reconciliation healing the most tragic situations. We feel encouraged and empowered in our ministry and in our mission.

We extend our thanks to Bishop Garth Counsell and his local organising committee for their hard work and Marion Counsell for hosting us on Sunday evening. We thank Archbishop Thabo Makgoba for his hospitality in welcoming us to Bishopscourt and we extend our thanks to the members of the diocese of Cape Town for the warmth of their welcome. We thank the Rev’d Eileen Scully, although unable to join us, for preparing the handbook we used for worship. To the Rev’d Canon Isaac Kawuki-Mukasa who coordinated our meeting and provided wonderful support, we offer our sincere gratitude.

Cape Town, South Africa, May 5, 2013

1. The Rt. Rev’d Jane Alexander – Diocese of Edmonton, Canada
2. The Rt. Rev’d Johannes Angela  – Diocese of Bondo, Kenya
3. The Rt. Rev’d Michael Bird – Diocese of Niagara, Canada
4.  The Rt. Rev’d John Chapman – Diocese of Ottawa Canada
5. The Rt. Rev’d Garth Counsell – Diocese of Cape Town, South Africa
6. The Rt. Rev’d Michael Ingham – Diocese of New Westminster, Canada
7. The Most Rev’d Colin Johnson – Diocese of Toronto & Metropolitan of Ontario
8. The Rt. Rev’d Julius Kalu – Diocese of Mombasa, Kenya
9. The Rt. Rev’d Mark MacDonald – National Indigenous Anglican Bishop, Canada

10. The Rt. Rev’d Sixbert Macumi – Diocese of Buye, Burundi

11. The Rt. Rev’d David Njovu – Diocese of Lusaka, Zambia

1. The Rt. Rev’d Robert O’Neill – Diocese of Colorado, USA
2. The Rt. Rev’d Michael Oulton – Diocese of Ontario, Canada
3. The Rt. Rev’d Anthony Poggo – Diocese of Kajo Keji, South Sudan

15. The Most Rev’d Daniel Sarfo – Diocese of Kumasi, Ghana

1. The Rt. Rev’d Stacy Sauls – Chief Operating Officer, The Episcopal Church
2. The Rt. Rev’d James Tengatenga – Diocese of Southern Malawi, Malawi
3. The Rt. Rev’d. Joseph Wasonga – Diocese of Maseno West, Kenya

Observer:

Canon David Porter – The Archbishop of Canterbury’s Director on Reconciliation

Staff:

The Rev’d Canon Isaac Kawuki-Mukasa – Anglican Church of Canada

[Anglican Journal] Bishop Michael Bird of the Diocese of Niagara has filed a defamation lawsuit with the Ontario Superior Court of Justice against blogger David Jenkins.

The suit alleges that, in his blog Anglican Samizdat, Jenkins has published comments about Bird that were injurious to his “credit, character and reputation…in his office as spiritual leader and bishop of the diocese and in his occupation as priest…”

Hamilton lawyer Graydon Sheppard, who is representing the bishop, told the Anglican Journal that the lawsuit was a last resort measure from the bishop. “He, and to some extent, his wife, have been under constant attack for more than two years by this blogger…” Jenkins, he added, “has gone beyond fair comment and debate about doctrinal matters.”

According to Sheppard, bloggers are subject to the same libel laws as journalists or other writers when it comes to publishing material. “The basic law of the country is that you can’t hold somebody up to hatred, ridicule and contempt, and that’s what we say this blogger has been doing,” he said. “So the bishop put up with this for as long as any human being…could do and finally resorted to the only weapon he has to stop it…the primary goal is to stop the personal attacks.”

Douglas Simpson, the Hamilton lawyer representing Jenkins, declined comment; however, the statement of defense filed with the court denies “in all cases…that the words, pictures or sounds of said broadcasts or postings were libelous or defamatory.” It goes on to state that Jenkins “was exercising his right to freedom of religion and expression, and that the statements of the Defendant were either true or they constituted expression of opinion and were fair comment.”

Jenkins’ defense also asserts that his comments were “…intended to be humorous and make use of satire, sarcasm, irony, hyperbole, wit, ‘send up’ and other types of humor to make a point other than what one would take literally from the comments. In those cases, no reasonable viewer or reader of the blog postings would be expected to believe that the statements are true…”

The statement also says that Jenkins was not notified of the bishop’s complaints in writing within six weeks of the libel coming to the bishop’s attention as required by the Libel and Slander Act, and that this “failure deprived the Defendant of the opportunity to investigate the words complained of or to publish, if appropriate, a correction or an apology.”

The bishop is seeking $400,000 in damages as well as legal costs. The suit also seeks “an interim and a permanent injunction requiring the defendant and any Internet service provider or host sites to remove or cause to be removed the web site found at www.anglicansamizdat.net and any and all defamatory material that the defendant has posted or caused to be posted anywhere else on the internet; an interim and permanent injunction prohibiting the defendant from publishing or causing to be published any further comment about the plaintiff.”

[Episcopal Diocese of New York] The Committee to Elect a Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York announces the opening of the time period to propose candidates for consideration to the office of bishop suffragan. The profile describing the diocese and suffragan position, as well as forms to propose a candidate and the candidate application package, may be found here. Candidates may submit their own names, or they may be proposed by others, beginning May 6.

The period for proposing names of candidates ends at 5 p.m. on Monday, June 3. Candidates may submit their application packages at any time; the final deadline for packages is 5 p.m. on Friday, June 14.

The Special Convention to Elect a Bishop will be held at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, on Saturday, Dec. 7.  Other details surrounding the timeline for the process may be found on the website.

According to a diocesan press release: “The Diocese of New York is diverse in geography, culture, and demographics. It is composed of some 66,000 members, 72 deacons and 600 priests. It stretches from Staten Island to Sullivan County and from Wall Street to the Catskills. The diocese encompasses 10 counties that include some of the most densely populated urban landscape in the country and some of the least populated; some of the wealthiest parishes in the Episcopal Church, as well as parishes in the poorest communities. Most importantly, it is inhabited by children of God who are seeking a faithful pastor to join the people and clergy of the diocese and our diocesan bishop in the work that God has given us to do.”

“We bid your prayers both for the diocese and for those who will be in discernment to determine if this is the vocation to which God has called them.”

Members of the Committee to Elect a Bishop are: Susan Heath, the Rev. Martha Overall, Tina Pinckney, David Shover, the Rev. Nora Smith, the Rev. Buddy Stallings, George Wade (diocesan chancellor), and Co-Chairs the Rev. Loyda Morales and the Rv. Wm. Blake Rider.

The committee may be contacted at admin@suffragan.dioceseny.org

La situación venezolana cada día se empeora. La semana pasada hubo golpes y gritos de protesta en el recinto de la Asamblea Nacional. El jueves se presentó un documento pidiendo que las elecciones pasadas sean anuladas. El presidente de la Asamblea, Diosdado Cabello no le concede la palabra a ningún legislador que no afirme la “elección” presidencial de Nicolás Maduro. La congresista opositora María Corina Machado fue tirada al suelo y pateada por los chavistas, según se pudo ver en los videos. Maduro se refirió a su opositor Henrique Capriles diciéndole “eres un fascista mayor, fuiste derrotado, acepta tu derrota, basta de pataleos y lloriqueos”. Comentaristas internacionales han criticado la forma “sucia y chabacana” que usa Maduro y lamentan que usa sus discursos en cadena de radio y televisión para criticar la oposición en lugar de llamar a la conciliación y a la cooperación a “todos los venezolanos”. Observadores en Colombia vaticinan que Maduro no durará mucho en el poder por “su ineptitud y su estilo abusivo”.

Ricardo Reyes, un conocido pastor dominicano de la ciudad de Nueva York, afirma que Hugo Chávez entregó su vida a Jesucristo para guiar a Venezuela por los “caminos de Cristo” pero se alejó de la fe. En una entrevista publicada por la agencia de noticias cristianas Assist News Service, el pastor explicó que él difunto presidente “me buscó para que yo le profetizara. El aceptó a Cristo en vida pero desde entonces vi un gran cambio en él. No fue el mismo hombre de 1998, tomó otra dirección”.

Por primera vez en la historia el gabinete italiano cuenta con una mujer negra. El primer ministro Enrico Letta ha nombrado a Cecile Kyenge, como ministra de Integración. Kyenge es nativa de El Congo, tiene 48 años de edad, es cirujana oftalmóloga, casada con un italiano y madre de dos hijos que emigró a Italia hace 30 años. Su nombramiento ha puesto de relieve sentimientos xenofóbicos y raciales. Grupos neofascistas han hecho mofa de ella en más de una ocasión y hasta le han llamado la “Mona Congolesa”. Grupos cristianos han salido en su defensa.

En el 1 de mayo, día Internacional del Trabajo, se celebraron marchas en muchas ciudades de Estados Unidos. En Nueva York y otras ciudades asistieron inmigrantes que pidiendo salir de las sombras y expresar con todos los medios posibles, como les cambiaría la vida si de una vez por todas consiguen normalizar su situación migratoria en el país. Varias pancartas decían “No más deportaciones”, “Queremos estar con nuestros hijos”.

José Jorge Tavares de Pina Cabral ha sido consagrado e instalado como cuarto obispo diocesano de la Iglesia Católica Apostólica Lusitana y Evangélica de Portugal que es parte de la Comunión Anglicana desde 1980 y tiene como primado al Arzobispo de Cantórbery. La consagración tuvo lugar en la Catedral de San Pablo en Lisboa. La Eucaristía fue presidida por el Arzobispo de Dublín, Irlanda. La Iglesia Lusitana fue establecida en 1880 como respuesta a la situación religiosa y social del pueblo portugués. Un grupo de sacerdotes católicos romanos rechazaron dogmas como la jurisdicción universal del papa y su infalibilidad. También no estaban contentos con la excesiva adoración a la Virgen María y propusieron una iglesia que fuera “católica y portuguesa” donde los fieles leyeran la Biblia, los oficios fueran en la lengua del pueblo y el gobierno se compartiera entre obispos, clérigos y laicos. El nuevo obispo y su esposa Rute Serronha tienen dos hijos Sofía (2000) y Lucas (2002).

A pesar de una decisión de la Corte Suprema de Israel afirmando que las mujeres que vayan a orar al muro de las Lamentaciones en Jerusalén no deben usar ninguna vestimenta distintiva como chales o  estolas, un grupo de mujeres ha insistido en seguir orando y retar la disposición legal. Resultado: fueron arrestadas  por violar “costumbres locales” e inmediatamente una corte menor determinó que las mujeres no habían cometido ningún delito. Las líderes del grupo dijeron que dada la diversidad de la comunidad judía alrededor del mundo las mujeres deben orar de acuerdo a sus costumbres y tradiciones. El muro es lo que queda del Segundo Templo destruido hace 2,000 años.

Magali Pérez Borbón falleció de un fulminante cáncer estomacal en Tampa, Florida. Natural de Morón, Cuba, estudió en el Seminario de Matanzas y sirvió en varios proyectos y programas de Educación Cristiana a nivel nacional en la Iglesia Metodista en Estados Unidos. Su último gesto de amor fue haber donado su cuerpo para la investigación médica. Un oficio memorial tuvo lugar en la Iglesia Metodista Epworth de Hollywood. Le sobreviven su esposo José  Borbón, dos hijos y dos nietas.

CONSUELO. Sé fiel hasta la muerte y yo te daré la corona de la vida. Apocalipsis 2:8.

NOTA: Por reclusión hospitalaria del editor esta edición de Rapidísimas ha salido con retraso. Ya está mejor y la próxima edición saldrá normalmente, Deo Volente.

[Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles] Orange County Superior Court Judge Kim G. Dunning today reaffirmed her May 1 final orders that property occupied by St. James Church, Newport Beach, is held in trust for the current and future ministry of the Diocese of Los Angeles and the wider Episcopal Church.

“All the church property acquired by and held in the name of St. James Parish is held in trust for the Episcopal Church and the diocese, which have the exclusive right to possession and dominion and control,” Judge Dunning ordered. “The diocese is entitled to enforce the trust in its favor and eject the current occupants.”

This is the fourth and final case involving congregations in which a majority of members, having voted to disaffiliate from the Diocese of Los Angeles and the Episcopal Church, sought to retain church property for themselves. In each instance, however, courts have ruled that the property rightfully belongs to the diocese and Episcopal Church.

“I give thanks for the culmination of this marathon litigation, and I pray this action will settle the fact that people can disagree but cannot take property that has been entrusted to the Episcopal Church for ministry,” said Bishop J. Jon Bruno, of the six-county Diocese of Los Angeles, who was present in the courtroom this morning. “I feel blessed that Judge Dunning followed the direction of the California State Supreme Court and appellate courts and did a masterful job of interpreting all the briefs. I give thanks to God that, after these cases spanning more than eight years, we now can proceed with the continuing ministry of the Episcopal Church in Newport Beach.”

“I am very pleased with the court’s ruling,” said John R. Shiner, lead counsel for the diocese. “Judge Dunning’s meticulous analysis is entirely consistent with the guidelines established by the California Supreme Court and other appellate courts  throughout the State. The reality of this lengthy litigation will have continuing significance within the Episcopal Church community throughout the United States.”

Last year Judge Dunning issued similar orders declaring the disputed properties in Long Beach and North Hollywood rightfully belong to the Diocese of Los Angeles. Earlier, courts in 2010 also concluded that Episcopal Church property in La Crescenta, California, be returned to the diocese.

Episcopal Chancellors Network
4 May 2013
Clearwater, FL

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

Monnica is remembered as a saint mostly because of the fervency of her prayer.  She had a challenging family life.  Both husband and son at various times led remarkably dissolute lives that probably called abundantly on the gifts of people like those in this room.  Eventually she gave up pleading with them to change their ways and worked on her own spiritual life instead.  She probably could have written a prequel to the Big Book of Alcoholics Anonymous, especially for codependents.

Lo and behold, after years her husband moderated his wild living and became a Christian in 370.  Her son, whom the world knows as Augustine of Hippo, lived an equally disreputable life.  He sailed off to Rome some years later, sneaking out of town so he could go alone, without his mother.  Never mind – she followed, apparently wanting to go visit her friend Ambrose in Milan.  Eventually Ambrose baptized Augustine, who then swore off the marriage his mother had planned for him.  She died outside of Rome as they were preparing to return to North Africa, content to be buried there, far from home.  She told her son her anxiety was at an end now that he had become a Christian, “My God has granted this in a way more than I had hoped.  For I see you despising this world’s success to become his servant.”  It took a few years longer than she anticipated.

Her fervor in prayer was remarkable.  Some would note that often what the faithful pray for most earnestly – and what preachers preach about – is what they most seek in their own lives.  Sam Portaro[1] surmises that Monnica’s urgent prayer for her family’s conversion was in part a desire for greater confidence in her own relationship with God.  Whether that was her conscious intent or not, she found both.

Now, I believe the group gathered here is often earnest in prayer or at least pleading.  And what of the private prayers of chancellors – what do you pray for so urgently?  Somehow I don’t think it is a quiet telephone or a day without email.  Most of the chancellors I know cherish a knotty legal challenge, and many of you enjoy the rounds of earnest pleadings in court and out.  You wouldn’t be doing this work if you hated conflict and difference.  Where do those gifts of yours come from?  Are they related to your mothers’ prayers?

There is some wonderful irony in that passage from Judges about a woman’s prayer for a child.  She’s told to abstain from wine and strong drink, and when her son is born, to dedicate him to God as a nazirite.  In modern Hebrew it means a monk, but here it means Samson isn’t supposed to shave, cut his hair, or drink wine or other strong drink, because “he’ll be working for God from birth until he dies.”  The last part might describe a chancellor’s lot, but I don’t think there are many nazirites here.

Yet the dedication of chancellors is indeed legendary.  Nearly every one I’ve ever met has entered into this ministry with full and complete commitment.  The work of chancellors is like more formal religious work – you pray and plead, ask urgently for what is needed, and wait for judgment, sometimes for years.  Some of you have taken on people and projects that seem hopeless or irredeemable.  As Jesus says in today’s gospel, “you may have pain now, but I’ll see you again, and then you will rejoice, and no one can take that away.”[2]  If you ask appropriately, you will be answered; ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.[3]

I think your greatest gift as chancellors is related to asking appropriately.  That has something to do with the perspective you can offer to bishops and diocesan leaders who are afflicted with urgent need to make decisions.  I have seen you reframe a thorny difficulty, expand the view, offer constructive hope – and when it’s done with godly intent, there is no greater gift.  That kind of expansive perspective operates at many levels, and it is usually undergirded by a non-anxious and unreactive reflectiveness in the face of a surprising development or an embarrassing crisis.  You bring technical knowledge to bear in building a framework for reflection and decision-making.  It becomes a holy container for the collaborative exercise of leadership, a co-creative act of transformation.

Those opportunities come in multiple forms.  Developing a decision-tree or weighing alternatives in response to property challenges gives more space for wisdom to operate.  Encouraging truth-telling in the face of sexual misconduct becomes an important first step in the process of healing and resurrection.  Assessing what is urgent and what might benefit from a little benign neglect permits far more appropriate and pastoral intervention.  All of those kinds of counsel are gifts that draw forth creativity.  They result from faithful experience, and trust that God will do a new thing in the midst of crisis.  They can be deeply hopeful, and hope-engendering, responses, when freely given, without over-attachment to the results.

Your ability and willingness to share that gift grows out of deep hope and yearning.  May that yearning never cease until you are ready to lay it down with the same confidence and lack of anxiety Monica expressed as she lay on her deathbed in a foreign land:  “Nothing is far from God, and I need have no fear that he will not know where to find me, when he comes to raise me to life at the end of the world.”

You are a blessing, and you will continue to bless as you stay rooted in your own God-given hopefulness.  And you will keep a whole lot of bishops out of deeper trouble!  Thanks be to God for your earnest and unceasing prayer and pleading!

[1] Brightest and Best: A Companion to the Lesser Feasts and Fasts.  Cowley:1998.

[2] John 16:22

[3] John 16:24

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[Episcopal News Service] The ancient Celts described Iona as a “thin place,” where the veil between heaven and earth is lifted, and where one might glimpse the divine.

For centuries pilgrims have traveled to this small island off the West coast of Scotland, leaving behind their chaotic lives to rest, reflect and walk in the footsteps of St. Columba, the Irish missionary who founded a monastery on Iona in 563 AD.

Columba was forced into exile allegedly following a dispute concerning the ownership of a psalter he’d copied in his home county of Donegal. His subsequent missionary work is credited with the spread of Christianity throughout the British Isles.

May 2013 marks the 1,450th anniversary of Columba’s arrival on Iona. His feast day is celebrated on June 9 throughout the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion.

The Rev. Nancy Brantingham, a priest from the Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota and a long-time student of Celtic Christianity, visited Iona for the first time in October 2012.

“Columba had a role here, situated at the monastery with his monks, teaching them and then sending them out two by two, and look what happened,” said Brantingham, who was leading a group of pilgrims mainly from her home diocese. “Was the world ready to hear from him, and are they ready to hear from us yet, I don’t know. But numbers certainly aren’t the only thing that matter when it comes to getting the word out … touching people’s hearts.”

Group members began the week discussing why they’d taken this two-day journey over land, air and sea to the island and if they’d brought any questions with them.

For Brantingham, Columba “is a great patron because he loved writing, had gifts for teaching, loved to study, was a good pastor. I hope I am, too. So I think that’s why I came.”

The Rev. JoAnn Ford said she had come with many questions about who she was as a retired parish priest “and where do I go from here, what do I do?”

But she arrived “being open,” she said. “Not with any need to find an answer.”

“How do I know what is God’s will?” asked Maren Mahowald. “How do I recognize it? How do I know if I’m responding? That’s why I’m here.”

Although the pilgrims had brought many personal questions, they also acknowledged the importance of community along such a journey.

Athene Westergaard noted that, “when traveling in a community that you trust, it’s the community that supports you, which is what the faith is all about. The faith is not a lonely experience.”

Bishop Kevin Pearson of the Scottish Episcopal Church’s Diocese of Argyll & the Isles, under whose jurisdiction Iona falls, also visited the island in October and joined the Minnesota group for part of its pilgrimage.

A pilgrimage “helps you journey within,” Pearson told ENS while walking with other pilgrims around the island. “[It] brings together the spiritual, interior world and a world that’s hard-and-fast. So the actual physical exercise is a part of the spiritual exercise as well, and you’re drawn into God’s life almost whether you want to go or not.”

The Scottish Episcopal Church’s St. Columba’s Chapel and the adjacent Bishop’s House have served as a place of prayer and study for pilgrims to Iona since 1894.

“People are increasingly drawn to journeying and to making pilgrimages, whether they call them pilgrimages or not, to holy places, to places that for centuries have meant a lot to people,” Pearson said. “And, basically, they’re journeying within themselves; they’re searching for God.”

One of the highlights of visiting Iona is connecting with the Iona Community, an ecumenical group formed in 1938. Under the leadership of its founder George MacLeod, the community set out to rebuild parts of the medieval Iona Abbey.

Today, the community has a strong commitment to peace and justice issues and offers weekly pilgrimages around the island, stopping at places of historical or spiritual significance and reflecting on the journey along the way.

Rebuilding the abbey “was to be a symbol of the need for the church to re-engage with ordinary folk and a concern for the need to rebuild community,” the Rev. Peter MacDonald, (Presbyterian) Church of Scotland priest and leader of the Iona Community, told ENS during an interview inside the abbey.

Julie Hooper, one of the Minnesota pilgrims, has visited Iona four times. She keeps returning, she said, because “there is something that settles the soul here.

“It’s very peaceful and nurturing, and I don’t think it matters what your religious or spiritual inclination is. I think there are a lot of people who come here who aren’t necessarily Christian, but they come because they feel that nurturing and peacefulness here.”

Making her first visit to Iona, Dorothy Ramsdell of the Episcopal Diocese of Nevada said that she felt an energy making it “possible to just be loving. It is truly a model of living together with the land in community.”

The pilgrims found peace and tranquility everywhere on Iona: in the organic gardens that feed the travelers, in the nature and the wildlife, in the ancient stones and monuments, and in the memories of those who’ve gone before. But mostly, they observed how that peace is found in the community that is formed during any visit or pilgrimage to the island. It’s a reminder of how Columba lived in community with his fellow monks who helped to evangelize the British Isles and engrave on it the legacy of Celtic Christianity.

Reflecting on Columba’s influence, MacDonald said: “It could be argued that the Columban mission to Scotland and further afield actually helped form Scotland as a nation state. Columba was often engaging with the chiefs of various tribes and peoples around here, and their reasons for inviting the Columban monks to go there was as much political as spiritual. So I think we see that integration, that wholeness, of Columba and the Celts as something that we try to live out today.”

“The ancients knew about the value of pilgrimage as a metaphor for life’s journey, and I think people today recognize that as a spiritual discipline,” said MacDonald.

For many pilgrims new beginnings and possibilities open up after visiting Iona.

“You never get to go home from pilgrimage empty-handed,” Brantingham told ENS. “One of the beautiful things about pilgrimage is that you go as a solitary traveler, but then the community begins to form around the experience of being vulnerable, of being afraid, of having questions about where God is right now in our lives, how God is at work and what’s next.

“In some sense, the pilgrimage never really ends,” she added. “To be sure, we will go our separate ways, but we are also bound now to one another forever by the stories, experiences, and memories we shared; by the awareness that however far we are from one another in the physical world, we are, nonetheless, still together on the journey that leads to knowing and loving God more deeply. And everything about the experience, from the first awareness of being called to make the trip to the homecoming at journey’s end, holds potential insight and wisdom we can draw on for the rest of our lives.”

– Matthew Davies is an Episcopal News Service editor and reporter.

[Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey] The Rev. Canon William ‘Chip’ H. Stokes, rector of St. Paul’s Church in Delray Beach, Florida, has been elected as 12th bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey, pending the required consents from a majority of bishops with jurisdiction and standing committees of the Episcopal Church.

Stokes, 56, was elected May 4 out of a field of nine nominees. He was elected on the fifth ballot by the election convention meeting at Trinity Cathedral in Trenton.

“I am humbled beyond expression and deeply honored to have been elected as the 12th bishop of New Jersey,” he said. “I am grateful to the people of the diocese for their confidence, support and prayers. I am grateful above all to God in Christ who has called me and walked with me throughout my journey.”

Stokes said the Diocese of New Jersey is a part of “the deep history” of the Episcopal Church. “It is an overwhelming thing to be brought into that history through this election,” he said. “The diocese is made up of a rich and wonderful variety of people. The diversity of the diocese is one of its great strengths and beauties. The people of the diocese understand well the very real challenges that face the church today. My experience of the clergy and lay people of the diocese is that that they are faithful, hopeful and up to any challenges as we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us ‘right onward.’ I look forward to getting to know them and to journeying with them hand in hand as we all respond to God’s call to us to love and serve one another, the communities in which we are placed and the wider church and world.”

The other nominees were:

• The Rev. David Anderson, 56, rector of St. Luke’s Parish in Darien, Connecticut;
• The Rev. Joan Beilstein, 52, rector of Church of the Ascension in Silver Spring, Maryland;
• The Rev. Canon Dr. Francisco Pozo, 56, vicar, Christ Church, Trenton;
• The Very Rev. René John, 52, dean, Trinity Cathedral, Trenton;
• The Rev. Canon Donald J. Muller, 60, rector, St. Peter’s Church, Medford;
• The Rev. Allen F. Robinson, 43, rector of St. James’ Church in Baltimore, Maryland;
• The Rev. Canon Melissa M. Skelton, 62, rector of St. Paul’s Church in Seattle, Washington; and canon for congregational development and leadership of the Diocese of Olympia; and
• The Rev. Martha Sylvia Ovalle Vásquez, 60, rector of St. Paul’s Church in Walnut Creek, California.

Under the canons (III.11.4) of the Episcopal Church, a majority of bishops exercising jurisdiction and diocesan standing committees must consent to the bishop-elect’s ordination as bishop within 120 days of receiving notice of the election.

Pending a successful consent process, the ordination is scheduled for Nov. 2 at Trinity Cathedral in Trenton.

Stokes will succeed the Rt. Rev. George Edward Councell who has served as the diocese’s 11th bishop since 2003.

Biographical information about Bishop-elect Stokes is available here.

View bishop-elect Stoke’s self-introduction video to the people of New Jersey here.

[St. Peter's Episcopal Church Ellicott City, Maryland] For 172 years, people of all ages and from all walks of life have gathered at St. Peter’s Church to praise, worship and give thanks to God.

For 172 years, this community of faith came together for fellowship, extending hospitality to the community and welcoming all to enjoy bountiful food and fun.

For 172 years, these people, inspired by Jesus Christ’s instructions to Peter, whose name they bear, to “tend my sheep, feed my lambs,” reached out into the community to feed the hungry, provide help to the needy and advocate for social justice.

Then on May 3, 2012, tragedy struck. Entering the office where he often came to get food from the pantry the church operated, Douglas Jones, a confused and mentally ill homeless man who used the nearby woods for shelter, shot and killed two women who had often reached out to him: Mary-Marguerite Kohn, a co-rector, and Brenda Brewington, the parish secretary, before killing himself — three senseless, terrible deaths.

The next day, reeling from the shock, members and former members gathered in Starr Hall, the fellowship space for the church, to mourn their loss as they grieved with and for the Brewington, Kohn and Jones families. As people shared their memories and fears, they all pondered the questions: How can we recover from this? How can we make these senseless deaths somehow have a deeper meaning? How can we overcome this tragedy?

In the weeks and months that followed St. Peter’s determined to be a resurrection people. With tentative, but then bold steps, the congregation under the direction of its warden Craig Stuart-Paul and the Bishop’s Ministry Team determined both to honor the lives lost and to redeem this terrible tragedy. Rather than overcoming the tragedy, the congregation determined to transform it by letting it be the inspiration for new life and labors. In his last conversation with his beloved disciple Peter, Jesus has urged him to “feed my lambs. . .  tend my sheep.” That message inspired our resurrection efforts.

Resurrection took several forms. First and foremost, St. Peter’s continued its 172-year practice of gathering for worship and thanksgiving. On May 6, just days after the shootings, the congregation came together for its usual services of worship and praise.  Hearts were heavy as we gathered around the table to share Eucharist. But we did gather, worship and give thanks, especially for the life and ministries of Brenda and Mary-Marguerite as well as the other blessings in our lives.

Under the guidance of the diocese and with the leadership of our new vicar, the Rev. Thomas Slawson, who arrived July 1, St. Peter’s also determined to overcome its past struggles, challenges and divisions, which had resulted in the bishop declaring it an imperiled parish earlier that year. Members pledged their support to the church. Through sustained opportunities for fellowship and worship, the members worked to overcome divisions and find new opportunities for ministry.

The church also renewed its commitment to St. Peter’s Pre-School, an important ministry to families in our community. Over the summer, our preschool director worked tirelessly to reassure parents and to recruit new students. The community support was heartening. Our classes grew and we were able to continue to offer families a loving and nurturing program for their little ones.

Although distributing food from the church office was no longer possible, the people of St. Peter’s determined to continue its outreach to the homeless and hungry in our community. On May 7, 2012, as on many 1st Mondays before and on every first Monday since, church members prepared and served an abundant meal of roast turkey, au gratin potatoes, salad, broccoli and desserts to homeless men and women at the Route 1 Day Resource Center, part of the Grassroots Crisis Intervention Project. They brought non-perishable food to be distributed at that center as well as supplies for the Lazarus Caucus program that offers food and shelter to the homeless.

This year saw the beginning of new outreach efforts: we provided underwear and pajamas for children at St. Agnes Hospital and we explored how we could become part of the Winter Shelter Program, an interdenominational effort. Volunteers devoted thousands of hours to renovating a duplex on the church property so that it could become low-cost housing for a family striving to move forward with its hopes and dreams for the future. Refusing to retreat from its mission, we at St. Peter’s, a resurrection people, expanded our efforts to “feed my lambs. . .   tend my sheep.” (John 21: 15-16).

Resurrection has occurred in the very space where the tragedy happened. After extended renovations and enhanced security, on Jan. 6, 2013, St. Peter’s re-dedicated part of that space as a small chapel, St. Luke’s Chapel, to provide an area for quiet contemplation, small services, and spiritual groups. Since July 2012, Morning Prayer has been offered in that chapel Monday through Thursday at 8:30 a.m. and a midweek Eucharist and Bible Study are held each Wednesday evening. That tragic space has become sacred space through the efforts of a resurrection people.

The 172-year legacy of hospitality and fellowship has continued unabated. We have welcomed our members and others in the community to a crab feast, a pig roast, a fried chicken/silent movie night, Sunday in the Park, and a festive quiche and champagne celebration at the Easter Vigil. We have done some renovations in our kitchen to enable us to continue to extend hospitality and welcome.

Of course, we have not done this alone. Members of the community, other churches, friends and family have supported and encouraged us on this journey. To celebrate our successes and to express our gratitude for the life and ministry of Brenda and Mary-Marguerite, whose dedication and lives continue to inspire us, on May 5 at 2:30 p.m. we will gather for an ice cream social with a liturgy of Resurrection Lessons and Carols to follow at 5 p.m., to celebrate new life, resurrection life as a community of faith and as a part of the Ellicott City community.

– Katherine Schnorrenberg is junior warden at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church Ellicott City, Maryland.

La situación venezolana cada día se empeora. La semana pasada hubo golpes y gritos de protesta en el recinto de la Asamblea Nacional. El jueves se presentó un documento pidiendo que las elecciones pasadas sean anuladas. El presidente de la Asamblea, Diosdado Cabello no le concede la palabra a ningún legislador que no afirme la “elección” presidencial de Nicolás Maduro. La congresista opositora María Corina Machado fue tirada al suelo y pateada por los chavistas, según se pudo ver en los videos. Maduro se refirió a su opositor Henrique Capriles diciéndole “eres un fascista mayor, fuiste derrotado, acepta tu derrota, basta de pataleos y lloriqueos”. Comentaristas internacionales han criticado la forma “sucia y chabacana” que usa Maduro y lamentan que usa sus discursos en cadena de radio y televisión para criticar la oposición en lugar de llamar a la conciliación y a la cooperación a “todos los venezolanos”. Observadores en Colombia vaticinan que Maduro no durará mucho en el poder por “su ineptitud y su estilo abusivo”.

Ricardo Reyes, un conocido pastor dominicano de la ciudad de Nueva York, afirma que Hugo Chávez entregó su vida a Jesucristo para guiar a Venezuela por los “caminos de Cristo” pero se alejó de la fe. En una entrevista publicada por la agencia de noticias cristianas Assist News Service, el pastor explicó que él difunto presidente “me buscó para que yo le profetizara. El aceptó a Cristo en vida pero desde entonces vi un gran cambio en él. No fue el mismo hombre de 1998, tomó otra dirección”.

Por primera vez en la historia el gabinete italiano cuenta con una mujer negra. El primer ministro Enrico Letta ha nombrado a Cecile Kyenge, como ministra de Integración. Kyenge es nativa de El Congo, tiene 48 años de edad, es cirujana oftalmóloga, casada con un italiano y madre de dos hijos que emigró a Italia hace 30 años. Su nombramiento ha puesto de relieve sentimientos xenofóbicos y raciales. Grupos neofascistas han hecho mofa de ella en más de una ocasión y hasta le han llamado la “Mona Congolesa”. Grupos cristianos han salido en su defensa.

En el 1 de mayo, día Internacional del Trabajo, se celebraron marchas en muchas ciudades de Estados Unidos. En Nueva York y otras ciudades asistieron inmigrantes que pidiendo salir de las sombras y expresar con todos los medios posibles, como les cambiaría la vida si de una vez por todas consiguen normalizar su situación migratoria en el país. Varias pancartas decían “No más deportaciones”, “Queremos estar con nuestros hijos”.

José Jorge Tavares de Pina Cabral ha sido consagrado e instalado como cuarto obispo diocesano de la Iglesia Católica Apostólica Lusitana y Evangélica de Portugal que es parte de la Comunión Anglicana desde 1980 y tiene como primado al Arzobispo de Cantórbery. La consagración tuvo lugar en la Catedral de San Pablo en Lisboa. La Eucaristía fue presidida por el Arzobispo de Dublín, Irlanda. La Iglesia Lusitana fue establecida en 1880 como respuesta a la situación religiosa y social del pueblo portugués. Un grupo de sacerdotes católicos romanos rechazaron dogmas como la jurisdicción universal del papa y su infalibilidad. También no estaban contentos con la excesiva adoración a la Virgen María y propusieron una iglesia que fuera “católica y portuguesa” donde los fieles leyeran la Biblia, los oficios fueran en la lengua del pueblo y el gobierno se compartiera entre obispos, clérigos y laicos. El nuevo obispo y su esposa Rute Serronha tienen dos hijos Sofía (2000) y Lucas (2002).

A pesar de una decisión de la Corte Suprema de Israel afirmando que las mujeres que vayan a orar al muro de las Lamentaciones en Jerusalén no deben usar ninguna vestimenta distintiva como chales o estolas, un grupo de mujeres ha insistido en seguir orando y retar la disposición legal. Resultado: fueron arrestadas por violar “costumbres locales” e inmediatamente una corte menor determinó que las mujeres no habían cometido ningún delito. Las líderes del grupo dijeron que dada la diversidad de la comunidad judía alrededor del mundo las mujeres deben orar de acuerdo a sus costumbres y tradiciones. El muro es lo que queda del Segundo Templo destruido hace 2,000 años.

Magali Pérez Borbón falleció de un fulminante cáncer estomacal en Tampa, Florida. Natural de Morón, Cuba, estudió en el Seminario de Matanzas y sirvió en varios proyectos y programas de Educación Cristiana a nivel nacional en la Iglesia Metodista en Estados Unidos. Su último gesto de amor fue haber donado su cuerpo para la investigación médica. Un oficio memorial tuvo lugar en la Iglesia Metodista Epworth de Hollywood. Le sobreviven su esposo José Borbón, dos hijos y dos nietas.

CONSUELO. Sé fiel hasta la muerte y yo te daré la corona de la vida. Apocalipsis 2:8.

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[Episcopal News Service] Kevin Noone, Swedish Secretariat for Environmental Earth System Sciences at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences (and a research scientist in atmospheric chemistry and physics at the Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University) speaks May 2 to the “Sustaining hope in the face of climate change” gathering in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the Episcopal Church and the Church of Sweden.

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson (left), Church of Sweden Archbishop Anders Wejryd and Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori show off the statement pledging concerted environmental action that they signed during the May1-2 “Sustaining hope in the face of climate change” gathering in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the Episcopal Church and the Church of Sweden. Photo: Mary Frances Schjonberg/Episcopal News Service

[Episcopal News Service – Washington, D.C.] The Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Church of Sweden (Lutheran) committed during a climate change conference here to “leading a conversion of epic scale, a metanoia, or communal spiritual movement away from sin and despair toward the renewal and healing of all creation.”

“We commit to being the voice and hands that will witness to the Gospel of Jesus Christ and build the moral and political will that prompts action from our elected leaders,” Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson and Church of Sweden Archbishop Anders Wejryd said in a joint statement issued May 2. “As international churches with congregations in many nations, we can and will use our global networks to promote a political framework to limit climate change, while in a unified voice we speak to the world about the urgency of committed climate work.”

They addressed their statement to “our churches and to people of faith around the world.”

The complete statement is here.

The statement was announced the evening of May 1 during the opening session of a two-day gathering was sponsored by the Episcopal Church and the Church of Sweden. It included two pubic sessions at St John’s Lafayette Square, as well as visits to Capital Hill by the official participants to advocate for climate-change action. The theme of the conference was “sustaining hope in the face of climate change.”

The genesis for the gathering, according to the Rev. Margaret R. Rose, the Episcopal Church’s deputy for ecumenical and interfaith collaboration, was a conversation between Jefferts Schori and Wejryd about the two churches’ ecumenical work and “our common passion about climate change.”

Jefferts Schori acknowledged during her opening remarks to the gathering that “the idea of changing climate elicits grief in many people, as well it should.” She said that people express that grief in “many of the classic ways that we respond to all kinds of loss.”

Some deny the facts, some look for others to blame and some get angry and flaunt their wastefulness or charge others with political manipulation of the media, she said.

“And some get so depressed that they simply leave the conversation – ‘there’s nothing I can do, so why should I try?’ People of faith know another response, particularly in this Easter season.”

That response, she said, begins with rejecting “the ancient demons of individualism, materialism and selfishness – what today we often call consumerism” because they all feed on a “self-focused fear of scarcity.” The drive to consume more and more “soon becomes time stolen from the possibility of healing, like the time that could be spent building deep and meaningful friendships with God and neighbor …  we are made whole in loving God and neighbor and not ourselves alone.”

Cassandra Carmichael, director of the National Council of Churches Washington office, (left) and the Rev. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas, priest associate of Grace Church, Amherst, Massachusetts and co-chair of Religious Witness for the Earth join in singing “This Little Light of Mine” led by the Rev. Henrik Grape, coordinator of the Church of Sweden’s environmental network and a member of the climate group of Christian Council of Sweden. Photo: Mary Frances Schjonberg/Episcopal News Service

The presiding bishop invoked the Easter season to say that, along with the risen Christ, there is “abundant hope that the body of God’s creation might also rise – renewed, redeemed, and made whole.”

“May we be made Christ’s passion, God’s hands, and Spirit’s breath to make it so,” Jefferts Schori said.

Swedish Archbishop Wejryd told the gathering on May 1 that the churches must “regain the notion of life as a gift … it’s given to us continuously.” With that recollection of the gift of life, “we might be able to move the focus from ourselves to the giver and the wishes, the ideals of the giver, and to the other people and to the rest of creation that are also gifts from that giver.”

Science can help people focus on the gift of life by showing “how complicated, how diverse, how balanced, how interdependent” the world is, Wejryd said.

Wejryd said he finds hope for the future and the role of the churches in that future in the knowledge that people of faith are “stewards of stories that tell us that things can change and they can change for the better.”

Mary Evelyn Tucker, a senior lecturer and senior research scholar at Yale University and a co-founder and co-director of its Forum on Religion and Ecology gave the keynote address on May 1. She continued the conference’s theme of hope by suggesting that the academy (and scientists in particular) and the church must both change their stances in the face of overwhelming evidence of climate change.

Tucker said “moral wakening is critical,” but, she asked, “will moral rebuke be sufficient or is evoking compassion for the earth community – both people and planet – what is also needed?”

Guilt can be a motivator for change but, Tucker said, “if we are just inducing guilt into the people we won’t have the transformation of action and long-term change.”

Tucker asked “how can we break through scientific complexity to moral clarity that gives rise to social, political and religious change?”

“Scientific facts and graphs have not changed behavior,” she noted.

And, scientists are not inclined to make the leap from describing problems to advocating prescriptions for change, according to both Tucker and another speaker at the opening session, Kevin Noone, the Swedish Secretariat for Environmental Earth System Sciences at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and a research scientist in atmospheric chemistry and physics at the Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University.

Tucker also noted that “divinity schools have not made the climate central to their cause” and thus have lost the chance to train new generations of clergy and lay people.

She also suggested that religious communities are filled with dichotomies that offer both barriers to working for climate change and foundations upon which to base such work. For instance, many denominations are hierarchical in their structure and make exclusive claims on truth but they also advocate fairness and equality, and are inclined toward “broad moral outreach.”

Most important, Tucker said, is Christianity’s “incarnational sensibility.”

“Incarnation alone would say ‘what a sacrilege that we are doing.’ This whole world is infused with the logos from the very beginning, as John’s gospel says,” she said.

Tucker acknowledged that many denominations are worried about declining participation, but suggested they are focused in the wrong place.

“Maybe the dying away of the churches is for a new birthing — a new Easter moment – that we will not be obsessed by our sectarian concerns but, we will be truly obsessed about the life of the planet that is disappearing before our eyes,” she said.

People are in despair about the environmental future and in their existential concern lies “the call of the churches,” she added.

The call cannot be answered just with “guilt inducing” or developing an ethic that provides answers, she said, and it is about more than taking leadership on practical issues such as changing to energy-efficient light bulbs or reducing carbon footprints.

“If we do not provide the wellsprings of hope for who we are as humans in relation to a magnificent, diverse, alive, living universe, we will have failed in our task,” she said. “But as we let go of some of our concerns about whether we will live or die as institutions and when we put in front of us [the question of] will the earth live or die, we will find not only the hope but the power, the energy and the vision to go forward.”

In his remarks, Noone continued the theme of community as a way to address climate change and agreed that scientists and theologians must be part of that community. “We have to be singing in a choir … not just one single voice.”

And, he said, humans must not only repair their relations with each other but also with the created world. “It’s not ‘us and nature;’ it’s ‘us.’”

Science is showing that this activity is not just changing how the planet looks, it is changing how the planet works, according to Noone. Still, there is hope in the fact that humans have drastically changed energy, transportation and agriculture in just the past two generations, Noone said. He argued that those changes show society can transform drastically and relatively swiftly.

The challenge now is what sort of changes will be made, he said, and people have to decide, “how comfortable or dis-comfortable we want transitions into the future to be.”

From left, Kevin Noone, Swedish Secretariat for Environmental Earth System Sciences at the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences and a research scientist in atmospheric chemistry and physics at the Stockholm Resilience Centre at Stockholm University; Mary Minnete, ELCA director of environmental education and advocacy, the North American representative to the ACT Alliance Climate Change Advisory Group and the current chair of the National Council of Churches’ Eco-Justice Working Group; Diocese of Panama Bishop Julio Murray and Willis Jenkins, the Margaret Farley Associate Professor of Social Ethics at Yale Divinity School discuss how to envision hope in the midst of climate change. Photo: Mary Frances Schjonberg/Episcopal News Service

The conference’s May 2 public session featured two roundtable discussions, both facilitated by the Rev. David Crabtree, anchorman at WRAL-TV, North Carolina, and also an Episcopal Church deacon.

“Envisioning hope: a faith-based, international response to climate change” participants included Diocese of Panama Bishop Julio Murray; Willis Jenkins, the Margaret Farley Associate Professor of Social Ethics at Yale Divinity School and author Ecologies of Grace: Environmental Ethics and Christian Theology; and Mary Minnete, ELCA director of environmental education and advocacy, the North American representative to the ACT Alliance Climate Change Advisory Group and the current chair of the National Council of Churches’ Eco-Justice Working Group.

“Responding in Hope: the local church’s response to climate change” included the Rev. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas, priest associate of Grace Church, Amherst, Massachusetts and co-chair of Religious Witness for the Earth; the Rev. Henrik Grape, coordinator of the Church of Sweden’s environmental network and a member of the Climate group of the Christian Council of Sweden; and Cassandra Carmichael, director of the National Council of Churches Washington office and the NCC’s eco-justice program director.

Minnete told the gathering that people of faith can tell politicians and policy makers stories they would otherwise not hear.

“We can say to them ‘we’ve been to Africa and this is what we’ve seen’ or ‘we live in the Arctic and this is what we know’,” she said. “Those stories are very powerful because they come out of not our own interest but, our interest in our neighbors and in God’s creation. That’s something you don’t hear a lot in Washington and internationally in the climate change discussions.”

Murray agreed and added that churches must stop thinking only about how they can speak for those whom they think of as voiceless and instead “articulate the space” where people who previously have not been heard can tell their stories.

Speaking of neighbors, Jenkins answered a question about how churches can convince their members to truly love their neighbors in the midst of climate change discussions by saying the question people have to be willing to ask first is “are we willing to stop harming our neighbors.”

“We let privilege cloud us from seeing what our obligations are,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to flatter us by saying we’re trying to figure out how to love our neighbors.”

Faith communities must ignore political boundaries, he said, and come together to invent ways to stop harming each other “and, maybe …one day, learn how to love.”

Bullitt-Jonas said “I’m putting the results in the hand of God. I do not know how this is going to end. If everyone chooses not to do anything, we can assume the end is not going to be so good.”

“But if, one by one, more and more of us say ‘I’m going to live in the power of the risen Christ. I’m going to cast my lot with hope. I’m going to be on the winning team,’ who knows what God can do with that,” she said. “Then the future is open-ended and we get to create it.”

On-demand video recordings of both roundtables are due to be posted here soon.

– The Rev. Mary Frances Schjonberg is an editor/reporter for the Episcopal News Service

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[Episcopal News Service] Mary Evelyn Tucker, a senior lecturer and senior research scholar at Yale University and a co-founder and co-director of its Forum on Religion and Ecology gave the keynote address for the “Sustaining hope in the face of climate change” gathering in Washington, D.C., May 1-2, sponsored by the Episcopal Church and the Church of Sweden. She suggested that the academy (and scientists in particular) and the church must both change their stances in the face of overwhelming evidence of climate change.

[Episcopal Church Office of Public Affairs] Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori preached the following sermon May 2 during “Sustaining Hope in the Face of Climate Change,” an event hosted by the Episcopal Church and the Church of Sweden held at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C.

 

May 2, 2013
Sustaining Hope in the Face of Climate Change
St. John’s Episcopal Church, Washington, DC

 

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

There is something very appropriate about celebrating the feast of Athanasius in the midst of conversations about hope and climate change. Athanasius was a priest and then bishop in the 4th century in Egypt.  He’s best remembered for his earnest opposition to the heresy called Arianism.  At the time the church was still sorting out the particulars of Trinitarian theology that we pretty much take for granted today.  Arius insisted that Jesus was human, only human, a creature made by God the father, and therefore distinct from God.  Athanasius worked tirelessly – and often thanklessly – in particular in response to his government to develop a fuller understanding of Jesus as part of the Trinitarian nature of God.  He was a proponent of the line in the Nicene Creed that says that Jesus Christ is “of one Being with the Father.”

This isn’t just parsing words or deciding how many angels can dance on the head of a pin.  Athanasius was responsible for clarifying the basic Christian understanding that Jesus is both fully God and fully human.  How we understand who Jesus is has everything to do with how we understand our lives and vocation as Christians.  One of Athanasius’ best-known lines is, “God became human in order that we might become divine.”  God’s entry into human flesh showed us what it means to be fully human, in the largest sense of that and invites us to share that vocation and possibility.  If Jesus were not fully God and fully human, it would deny any possibility that beings who inhabit flesh and blood human bodies could have a real relationship with God whom we call the Holy One.

That is the same sort of thing Ezekiel is talking about in eating the scroll – when he says, ‘eat the word of God, and become what you eat, and then go tell Israel.  Go show and tell your neighbors what it is to be made in the image of God.’  That’s what we do here as well – come and eat at this table, and become what you eat, and then share yourself, your Word of God-self and flesh of God-self with a very hungry world.

Yet it is not only God in human flesh who images the Holy One.  All parts of God’s creation must reflect their maker in some way. The riotous diversity of the flowers of the field, the creatures of the sea – even Leviathan, whom God has made “for the sport of it” according to the psalmist[1] – and the sparrows that Jesus invokes in the gospel today – their creator cares for them and intends that each one flourish.[2]

That is part of the challenging message of today’s gospel:  you will be hated because of what you teach – watch out if you advocate for justice for all the world’s people and the other parts of creation!  But don’t be afraid to speak up and tell out what you know, for your soul will find life in doing that.  Even in the face of danger, know that God cares for each one of us in ways beyond our knowing, even more than the evidence we see in the birds of the air and the flowers of the field.

Athanasius had a predecessor in the faith named Irenaeus who famously remarked that the glory of God is a human being fully alive.  That’s what Athanasius also meant in saying that our vocation was becoming divine.  Fully alive human beings know themselves made in the image of God, created as brother to the sun and sister to the moon, friend to the deer, and ant, and sparrow, as well as the enfolding blanket of atmosphere and ocean.  We are one family, related through the one who created us to reflect the divine glory in fully-aliveness.  There is no room in that for misusing our brothers and sisters, human or otherwise.  There is abundant hope for all, given the image we reflect, and the ever-creative One in whom we live and move and have our being.

Athanasius stood firm in the face of those who would deny God’s presence in human flesh.  We must do the same in the face of those who would destroy God’s reflection in creation.

[1] Psalm 104:26

[2] Matthew 10:22-32

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[Episcopal News Service] The Rev. Stephanie Johnson, Province 1 energy stewardship minister, reads “A statement to our Churches and to people of faith around the world” from the leaders of the Episcopal Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Church of Sweden (Lutheran) issued at the start of the May 1-2 “Sustaining hope in the face of climate change” gathering in Washington, D.C., sponsored by the Episcopal Church and the Church of Sweden.

The full text of the statement is available here.