"Weblog: With Gay Bishop Consecration Days Away, D.C. Bishop Vows Same-Sex Blessing Rite"

D.C.’s Episcopal Bishop intends to authorize blessings of gay unions It looks like the race launched when the Episcopal Church USA’s General Convention passed a resolution on blessing same-sex unions is going to be won by Washington, D.C., bishop John Chane.

“Local faith communities are operating within the bonds of our common life as they explore and experience liturgies celebrating and blessing same-sex unions,” the General Convention’s resolution said. That resolution would be much bigger religion news, and certainly a major point of contention within the Anglican Communion, if it weren’t for this Sunday’s consecration of openly and practicing gay bishop Gene Robinson.

Chane interpreted the ECUSA resolution in a letter to the American Anglican Council, the large orthodox group that’s opposing Robinson’s consecration and gay unions in the church. The statement “permits the [bishop] of the diocese to set a standard of authorizing local or diocesan rites for congregations that may wish to engage in such blessings,” he wrote, according to a report in The Washington Times. “You and I know of several congregations in the Diocese of Washington where this practice has been ongoing for some time long before my election as bishop of Washington.”

Therefore, Chane said, “In keeping with good Anglican liturgical order, it is my intention at some point to form a task force to study those liturgical rites that have clearly been in use for some time within the Diocese of Washington to see if there is a form that could be uniformly used by parishes, should they request it.”

The letter was in response to a question from four AAC members who asked Chane whether they would be forced to perform and recognize same-sex blessings. Chane promisd that they would not: “This is clearly a local option that is left open to the pastoral judgment of the priest of a congregation, the vestry and parishioners. It is not a requirement for any congregation in this diocese, nor is it a requirement to be followed by any priest in this diocese.”

That’s not as bad news as it could have been. Somewhat like the news that Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams has announced the commission requested by the primates (national church leaders) earlier this month. Yes, the chairman is a liberal,• Ireland’s Robin Eames, but orthodox leaders from both the West and the Global South are thoroughly represented.• Drexel Gomez, Primate of the West Indies, has been one of the chief critics of Robinson’s consecration, as has Bernard Malango, Primate of Central Africa. The Church of England’s only representative on the panel is N.T. Wright, one of the great evangelical New Testament scholars of our day.

The panel is due to report “on the legal and theological implications” of the Episcopal Church’s gay unions and a Canadian diocese’s support of same-sex unions, by September 30, 2004.

More on Anglican woes

Robinson’s consecration:

Election of gay bishop disturbs Newport church | St. John the Evangelist considers withdrawing from U.S. General Convention after a gay priest was elected as Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire (The Providence Journal, R.I.)
Gay bishop vows to accept US post | Gene Robinson pledged at the weekend that he would defy the world leaders of the church and proceed to his consecration next week in the US (The Guardian, London)
Gay bishop kept under 24-hour FBI guard | Bishop-elect Gene Robinson, who will be consecrated bishop of New Hampshire next Sunday, told a conference for homosexual priests in Manchester this weekend that there were grave concerns for his safety (The Daily Telegraph, London)
Also: Gay pastor employs bodyguards after threats (The Independent, London)
Protests grow as consecration nears | Alternative services planned for weekend (Concord Monitor, N.H.)
Utah delegates affirm Episcopal Church’s election of gay bishop | The more than 200 delegates meeting in St. George over the weekend in the 98th Convention of the Diocese of Utah approved a resolution supporting the national’s convention’s actions and affirming the votes of the Utah deputation at that convention (Associated Press)

Robinson speaks to gay Anglicans in the U.K.:

Gay bishop-elect says church must move on | Gene Robinson told a meeting of gay Christians that he received many letters of support since being elected bishop of the New Hampshire this summer (Associated Press)
I can’t wait to be bishop, says gay cleric | “I can hardly wait for November 3 [the day after his consecration] when I will hopefully be an old news story and I can get on with what I am here to do.” (The Daily Telegraph, London)
Unique appeal of ‘homely’ canon | Canon Gene Robinson may not have seen the Promised Land, but he hopes it will soon be in his sights (BBC, video)
Hate mail ‘astounds’ gay canon | The first openly gay man to be elected an Anglican bishop has spoken of the hate mail he has received, some of it coming from the UK (BBC, video)
Banned service mirrors cathedral color | At Manchester Cathedral, no direct mention was made to the controversy surrounding the banned service (BBC)

Rowan Williams:

Williams sparks fury among gays | Liberals are furious that Dr Williams, whom they regarded as their champion, opposes the consecration because it threatens to tear the Church apart (The Daily Telegraph, London)
Williams pulls out of gay meeting | Archbishop ‘pressurised by staff at Lambeth not to attend’ (The Guardian, London)

War in New Westminster:

Anglican priests face church charges | Seven Anglican priests in Greater Vancouver opposed to same-sex blessings have been charged by the Diocese of New Westminster of undermining Bishop Michael Ingham (CBC)
Bishop welcomes church’s new honesty on gays | Michael Ingham, Bishop of New Westminster in British Columbia, said the Anglican communion was suffering “a breakdown of the former way of doing things” (Reuters)

Upcoming schism:

Episcopal property lawsuit filed here | A Shadyside church yesterday filed a lawsuit that could presage efforts to keep Episcopal Church property from being divided piecemeal in the event of a denomination split (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Also: Pa. priest files lawsuit against churches (Associated Press)
Church ‘to split in a week’ over gay bishop | Implacable statements from two of the Anglican church’s leading archbishops yesterday put the Church of England on a seven-day countdown to a permanent split (The Independent, London)
Episcopal Church at a crossroads | Many fear Robinson’s consecration will lead to schism (Morning Edition, NPR)

Other Anglicanism stories:

Gay priest tipped for Norwich post | Controversial gay clergyman Jeffery John is being hotly tipped to become dean of Norwich Cathedral (Evening News, Norwich, Norfolk, England)
Conservative Episcopalians form own network | The board of directors for the American Anglican Council, a coalition of conservative clergy and laity, made the announcement Friday (The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Episcopal priest resigns amid gay debate | John Merchant, who wrote an article sympathetic to the church’s confirmation of an openly gay priest as a bishop, resigned from a private religious school after administrators asked him to apologize to dozens of people upset with his views (Associated Press)
U.S. church has lost direction, says archbishop of the Church of Uganda | Livingstone Mpalanyi Nkoyoyo has asked Christians to pray for the church in the USA and Canada where homosexuality is acceptable as normal and holy (The Monitor, Kampala, Uganda)
New Episcopal bishop seeks common ground on gay issue | When Colorado’s newly elected Episcopal bishop takes office in January, he anticipates no immediate departure from traditional church doctrine (The Daily Sentinel, Grand Junction, Co.)
Bishop discusses church conflict at convention | Bishop Bruce MacPherson of the Western Louisiana Episcopal Diocese assured the region’s faithful that he will look to Canterbury, England, for leadership as the American Episcopal Church wrestles with the worldwide Anglican Communion over the upcoming consecration of the church’s first openly gay bishop (The News-Star, Monroe, La.)
Priest faces dismissal | St. James Episcopal’s McIntyre accused of unbecoming clergy conduct (Manitowoc Herald Times Reader, Wis.)
Bishop Shelby Spong in Tasmania | It’s hard to imagine someone who believes God is about life and love is viewed by many Christians as a controversial figure (Australian Broadcasting Corp. | audio)

Lt. Gen. Boykin (news):

Boykin sparks status debate | Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld and the head of the Senate Armed Services Committee “agree to disagree” over whether Lt. Gen. William G. Boykin should resign temporarily while his actions are under review, says an official close to Mr. Rumsfeld (The Washington Times)
The Boykin affair | A long career of marching with the cross (Time)
Congress resolution urges Bush to reprimand Boykin (Islam Online)
President decries general’s remarks | Bush says comments about Muslims do not reflect his point of view. But firing doesn’t seem to be an option (Los Angeles Times)
Also: Bush renews rebuke of Boykin | Bush said Gen. Boykin “doesn’t reflect my point of view or the point of view of this administration.” (The Washington Times)

Lt. Gen. Boykin (opinion):

Taking Satan seriously | Without intending to, Boykin has revealed the difficulties with our usual arguments on behalf of religious liberty (E. J. Dionne Jr., The Washington Post)
Boykin’s world | The General Boykin story has become part of the culture wars (Howard Kurtz, The Washington Post)
Silence speaks volumes | The British government’s failure to condemn a high-ranking American’s anti-Islamic outburst is a disgrace (Anas Altikriti, The Guardian, London)
The religious superiority complex | It’s okay to think your God’s the greatest, but you don’t have to rub it in (Michael Kinsley, Time)
A general bind for Rumsfeld | What to do when an extremist subordinate is also “indispensable”? (William M. Arkin, Los Angeles Times)
Making the Middle Eastern job harder | The bottom line is simple: If you are a high-ranking officer with an important title in the war on terror, don’t say things likely to impede the success of your mission (Mark Davis, Ft. Worth Star-Telegram)
God forbid | What did Gen. Boykin say that was so offensive? (Clifford D. May, National Review Online)
Onward, Christian soldier! | The jihad against General Boykin (David Gelernter, The Weekly Standard)
Fire Gen. Boykin? Yes | His anti-Islam preaching compromises national interests (Albert P. Krueger, The Oregonian)
Fire Gen. Boykin? No | He’s an American hero who simply spoke the truth (Mary L. Kacy, The Oregonian)
Demands on President Bush to fire army general for comments on Islam | President Bush should have acted quickly by either demoting the general, or firing the general, says Amin Saikal, Director of the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Australian National University (Radio Singapore)
Christian soldier | Why hasn’t Boykin, whose comments were deeply offensive to Muslims, been canned? (Mother Jones)

Iraq:

Aid agencies consider cutting, suspending operations in Iraq | Private relief agencies were considering whether to suspend or curtail operations in Iraq after a suicide attack at the Red Cross headquarters yesterday, creating new headaches for coalition officials seeking to speed the country’s reconstruction (The Washington Times)
Americans preach tolerance to Iraqis | U.S. concepts of separation of religion and the state are not widely accepted in the Middle East (Associated Press)
Christian church comes out in Baghdad | Before the Yanks rolled in, the evangelicals had to hold services in secret and in small cells of a dozen or so worshipers (Doug Beazley, Edmonton Sun)

UMC ad banned from Times Square:

Church has plug pulled on ad | “A policy that arbitrarily shuts out religious organizations from speaking in the public marketplace is discriminatory,” said the Rev. Larry Hollon, the head of United Methodist Communications (The Journal News, White Plains, N.Y.)
A tame message banned in NYC | Under the circumstances, Reuters could hardly be expected to do other than it did in rejecting the ad. (Dan Thomasson, The Cincinnati Post)
Methodists’ ad rejected for spot in Times Square | Two weeks after the $30,000 contract was signed, a church spokesman said, the money was returned with the explanation that the Reuters news agency does not accept religious advertising on its building (The Washington Post)

Sabbath:

Airport hails Sabbath flights | Sunday flights to the Western Isles have been hailed as a success by airport chiefs as the service marks its first anniversary (BBC)
Former librarian files job complaint | Claims she was fired for refusing to work on Sundays (St. Joseph News-Press, Mo.)

Halloween

Halloween scares away faith groups | Concerned with criticism of flirting with the occult (The News-Press, Ft. Myers, Fla.)
Evangelical Christians offer Halloween ‘tracts and treats’ | The American Tract Society, a 178-year-old religious publisher based in this Dallas suburb, will distribute an estimated 3.5 million tracts this Halloween (Associated Press)
Halloween reminder of spiritual harvest to come | The huge spiritual truth that we are all sparks of the divine, incarnate in animal bodies, is being boldly depicted in nature’s drama (Tom Harpur, The Toronto Star)
Halloween has gotten so big, it’s scary | It’s all a vast bat-wing conspiracy, and I know who’s behind it—mothers, the gay community and Christians (Desiree Cooper, Detroit Free Press)
North Providence youth minister offers dramatic lesson for Halloween | Assembly of God puts on play, Biography of the Devil (The Providence Journal, R.I.)
Today’s Halloween is so beloved, it’s scary | How nuts are Americans about Halloween? Seven billion dollars’ worth of nuts. Nine billion pieces of candy. Fifty million greeting cards. Millions of costumes sold; millions of parties attended (USA Today)
To some, Halloween isn’t innocent fun | Though some Christians believe Halloween is a satanic holiday, others see it as an opportunity for evangelism (Ft. Worth Star-Telegram)

Science:

Zillions of universes? Or did ours get lucky? | A controversial notion known as the anthropic principle holds forth that the universe can only be understood by including ourselves in the equation (The New York Times)
Ethics 101: A course about the pitfalls | The real ethics issues in science are not so much the scandals that rock the field periodically — charges of outright fabrications, invented data, theft of another’s research. Instead, they say, they worry about more insidious problems that can corrupt science from within and push promising researchers who are uninformed about the rules out the door (The New York Times)
Looking for God in the gutter | All religions relied for their authority on human ignorance, and that science has demolished these claims (Stewart Dakers, The Guardian, London)
Science creates ethical quandary | As humankind pushes up against the borders of medicine and technology, ethical issues loom larger (Editorial, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution)
Archaeology’s great hoax | In a storeroom of the Michigan Historical Museum, state archaeologist John Halsey examined the newly acquired artifacts purported to be the remnants of an ancient Middle Eastern civilization that settled in Michigan thousands of years ago (The Grand Rapids Press, Mich.)

Radio

Big numbers for Christian radio in Springfield | KADI is the number one top 40 contemporary Christian in the entire country when it comes the listeners it wants most (KOLR, Springfield, Mo.)
New tower to expand Christian radio in area | American Family Radio, an offshoot of the Tupelo-based conservative American Family Association, will expand its reach on airwaves from Jackson to Kosciusko (The Clarion-Ledger, Miss.)
Prayer draws together a radio community of faith | The Rev. Jim Misiuk listens to callers’ problems and prays with them in his broadcast from a Glendale station (Los Angeles Times)

Catholicism:

Vatican aghast at school crucifix ruling | “Many things can be removed from us Christians. But the cross as a sign of salvation we will not let them take,” says reprint of Pope John Paul II’s 1998 comments (Associated Press)
Cardinals rebel at second-class status | Disgruntled elderly cardinals are reported to have written a letter to the Pope asking him to rethink the 80-plus exclusion rule (The Observer, London)
Vatican workers openly discuss the new Pope | I think the rush for black armbands is premature (Duncan MacLaren, Sunday Herald, Glasgow, Scotland)
Next pope occupies cardinals’ thoughts | Virtually the entire College of Cardinals was at the Vatican last week celebrating the 25th anniversary of Pope John Paul II’s election and, some say, having a dry run for when they will meet again to elect his successor (The Washington Times)
Pope offers thanks for week’s support | 25th anniversary comes to close (Associated Press)
Also: Pope closes anniversary celebrations, gives thanks (Reuters)
Fine art of politicking, Sistine-style | Four ‘parties’ will shape the next papal election (Los Angeles Times)
As ever, Pope’s body language speaks volumes | As He Did at Start, John Paul Said to Use Physical Appearance to Send a Message (The Washington Post)
As some churches falter and others grow, Catholic Church plans overhaul | The Archdiocese of New York has embarked on the most sweeping reorganization in its 153-year history, an overhaul in which it is likely to close churches, reduce the number of Masses and redeploy priests (The New York Times)
Rigali offers first Mass as cardinal | Newly appointed, he won the support of the faithful with his soft-spoken and humble manner (The Philadelphia Inquirer)
This world | It’s been a long papacy, beginning, a quarter century ago, in a humility so genuine and tender, and so exotically not Italian, that Charlotte the saintly spider could have spun her “humble” over the white cap that Karol Wojtyla put on when he became Pope John Paul II (Jane Kramer, The New Yorker)
Holiness and harsh realities | Criticizing Mother Teresa is tantamount to … well, criticizing Mother Teresa. And finding fault with the fading, beloved Pope John Paul II is only a notch or two more thinkable (Dan Carpenter, The Indianapolis Star)