News Briefs
Episcopal News Service. January 24, 2003 [2003-013-1]
Anglicans set day of prayer for Archbishop of Canterbury
(ACNS) The official Anglican Cycle of Prayer has designated Sunday, January 26, 2003 as a day of prayer for the Archbishop of Canterbury. Coming just one month before the 104th Archbishop of Canterbury will be seated in the historic Chair of St. Augustine in the Cathedral Church of Christ, Canterbury, the intention of the prayer is one of thanksgiving for the ministry of Archbishop Rowan Williams and for the office and unique role of the Archbishop of Canterbury in the worldwide Communion. Other organizations have also observed special days of prayer, with Affirming Catholicism being first on December 6.
The ancient enthronement service will be held in Canterbury Cathedral on Thursday, February 27, 2003, the day the church commemorates George Herbert, priest and poet. Requests for seats by people from around the Communion have far outnumbered the 2,500-seat capacity of the cathedral. The service will be broadcast on BBC TV and heard on BBC Radio 4. ACNS will link to the BBC webcast and the availability of a commercial video for purchase will be announced in due course. A special edition of Anglican World magazine will also be published in early March.
The following prayer may be used on January 26 and at any other appropriate time:
"Almighty and everlasting God, by whose Spirit the whole body of your faithful people is governed and sanctified; Receive our supplications and prayers, which we offer before you for all members of your holy Church, and especially at this time for your servant Rowan, the Archbishop of Canterbury, that in their vocation and ministry they may truly and devoutly serve you; through our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen."
Anglican Communion Sunday is now set for May 25, 2003. The 12th Meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council passed a resolution last September on observing such a day, and asking in the future that a special offering be taken for the work of the ACC.
NCC General Secretary calls for fasting, peace prayers
(NCC News) Dr. Bob Edgar, general secretary of the National Council of Churches, called on people of faith to fast and pray for peace on January 27--"the first of three days of events that will help determine history," he said.
On that date, the United Nations Security Council is to receive a progress report on weapons inspections in Iraq. The next day, President Bush delivers the annual State of the Union address. On January 29, Win Without War and other national coalitions are calling for a day of local actions against military intervention in Iraq.
"I am calling on all people of faith to observe Monday, January 27, 2003, as a national day of prayer and fasting for a peaceful resolution of the Iraq crisis," the declaration said. "This day is the first of three days of events that will help determine history.
"The United Nations Security Council is scheduled on January 27 to receive a progress report from chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix. On Tuesday, January 28, President George W. Bush will stand before the assembled leaders of the United States Congress in Washington, D.C., and deliver the annual State of the Union address. The following day, Wednesday, January 29, Win Without War and other national coalitions are calling for a unified day of local actions to protest military intervention in Iraq.
"As this nation edges ever closer to armed conflict, let us fast, pray for peace, and search for alternatives to war. I urge people of faith to pray for President Bush, for all our nation's leaders, and for our military personnel, their families and friends. Let us pray for the suffering people of Iraq and all others in the region and around the world who may be affected by war. And, believing that no one stands outside of prayer, let us pray also for Iraq's leaders, including its president, Saddam Hussein.
"Together, on January 27, let our hearts, our minds and our prayers be as one, witnessing to the ways of peace; witnessing to the fact that war is not the answer. Together, on January 27, let all people of faith join in a national day of prayer and fasting as we seek peace in our day."
English priest believes knowledge of witchcraft can be useful
(ENI) For Richard Thomas, a priest on the Anglican bishop of Oxford's staff, witchcraft is not to be feared or hated but to be understood as "an emerging faith community."
Thomas, who is the Oxford diocese's director of communication, has spent three months meeting practitioners of Wicca, or modern pagan witchcraft, and attending their rituals.
Christians may be alarmed by the sound of groups with names like the Children of Artemis, but Thomas stressed that Wiccans had a "deep sense of spirituality and care for the sacredness of creation." He said in an interview with ENI: "They are 150 per cent committed to how they live their lives."
The project is part of Thomas's work for a master's degree under an award by the archbishop of Canterbury, known as the Lambeth system.
Rod Thomas (no relation), spokesman for the Church of England evangelical movement Reform, told ENI: "Richard Thomas's studies may well be of wider use if they enable Christians to relate to those who hold pagan beliefs in a more informed way. We hope the outcome of his studies will enable us to be more effective in conveying the good news of Christ to those who hold pagan beliefs. If, on the other hand they do not do so, or worse, seek to compromise the exclusive claims of Christ, then they will have been counter-productive and the time and money will have been badly spent."
Support for the study project came from the bishop of Oxford, Richard Harries, the Church of England press office said.
Richard Thomas said Christians often made assumptions about pagan rituals, and this led to a clouded picture. "For dialogue to take place it is necessary to proceed from a position of humility and understanding rather than from a position of arrogance or fear." Wicca was partly to be understood, he suggested, as an alternative to what its followers saw as "the imperialism of organized religion."
Thomas was keen to dispel several myths about paganism in Britain: he said it was not a middle-class movement, or a reaction against Christianity or a form of New Age beliefs. He added that Wicca "is about the invocation of spirits and affecting others through magic and ritual." But he stressed that "Wiccans are required to do no harm" and that the effect of their actions "must be at least morally neutral." He pointed out that Christian prayers were another way of trying to produce a benign effect on other people.
Asked whether formally studying Wicca amounted to treating it as equivalent to world faith systems like Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism, Thomas said: "I make no judgement on the objectivity of its claims, but I could make a strong case for Wicca as an emerging faith community." He saw no conflict between his ministry and his chosen area of study: "I feel this is something that God has called me to do." The church would benefit through his being a link with the pagan community, he added.
According to the Children of Artemis's statement of beliefs, magic is "an intrinsic part of this world, a completely natural and neutral force." Its Web site, www.witchcraft.org, quotes the Wiccan saying: "An [if] it harm none, do what you will."
Thomas's research was supported by a 1000 pounds sterling (US$1600) bursary from Ecclesiastical Insurance Office plc, a company with strong Anglican connections. Maggie Vinson, Ecclesiastical spokeswoman, said the churches needed to "listen and learn" from other cultures. Bursaries were offered to help that process.
Nonprofit utility announcing renewable energy option
(AP) A nonprofit organization called Interfaith Power and Light unveiled plans to offer Maine consumers the chance to buy their electricity from clean, renewable sources. The so-called "green power" plan was put together by the Brunswick-based group, which was founded three years ago with a grant from the Maine Council of Churches. Other religious groups have also been working on the project.
The announcement reflects a growing trend nationwide that links religion and environmental awareness. The model for the Maine program is Episcopal Power and Light of San Francisco, which started in 1995.
The clean energy option is being offered to Maine households, churches and small businesses. To residential customers who use 500 kilowatt hours a month, the added cost would amount to $7.50 a month. Organizers hope to get at least 1,000 Mainers to sign up.
Baxter plans to step down as dean of National Cathedral
(Washington Post) The Very Rev. Nathan D. Baxter announced his resignation January 22 as dean of Washington National Cathedral, one of the country's most influential churches, effective June 30.
Baxter made the surprise announcement at a scheduled meeting of the cathedral's senior staff, said the Rev. Alan Geyer, canon for ethics and public policy, who attended the meeting.
"This is an ideal time for me to conclude my deanship," Baxter read from a letter addressed to "Dear Friends." "Together we have accomplished much of what I had set out to do, and I now want to explore new opportunities and challenges."
Baxter, selected as the cathedral's chief administrator in 1991, said in the letter that a new capital campaign, as yet unscheduled, and a centennial celebration in 2007 make this an appropriate time to find a new dean. He did not elaborate on his plans or reasons for resigning, and a cathedral spokesman said Baxter was not available for an interview.
John Shenefield, chair of the cathedral's governing board, said a search committee will be appointed to provide Washington bishop John Bryson Chane with a list of candidates to replace Baxter. The bishop will submit his choice to the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation, the congressionally chartered body that operates the cathedral and four schools on its grounds, which will vote on the candidate. Chane is president of the foundation. The search process will begin soon, Shenefield said. "It would be great" to have a new dean by the beginning of Advent, he said.
Since Baxter's arrival in fall 1991 as the seventh dean, the cathedral has planned and conducted its largest capital campaign, created a Center for Prayer and Pilgrimage, established a resident girls' choir and started a scholars program to benefit public high school students in the District.
His tenure was distinguished by a number of major national services held at the cathedral, including the funerals of Thurgood Marshall and J. William Fulbright; visits from a variety of world leaders, including the Dalai Lama and Desmond Tutu; and the nationally televised Service of Prayer and Remembrance after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
Maine diocese establishes fund for community affected by bankruptcy
(ENS) In the wake of the recent bankruptcy announcement by Great Northern Paper of Millinocket, Maine, the 67 congregations that comprise the Episcopal Diocese of Maine have made a decisive effort to support residents of the affected community. St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, in cooperation with Bishop Chilton R. Knudsen of Maine and the diocese's Commission on Outreach and Services, have established a fund called Millinocket Emergency Outreach.
The fund will provide vouchers for fuel oil, groceries, and prescription drugs for all affected by the plant closure as well as others who find their families in need as a result of the economic downturn. The Rev. Lance Almeida of St. Andrew's, along with an Emergency Outreach Committee, will issue the vouchers, redeemable at six local businesses which will, in turn, bill the Financial Office of the Diocese of Maine.
In addition to the voucher program, Maine's Episcopal congregations are being asked to set aside Sunday, February 2, as a day to donate non-perishable food items and essentials such as diapers and laundry and dish detergent. On February 4, volunteers will pick up donations at stops in Kennebunk, Portland, Augusta, Brewer, and Houlton, before making their way to St. Andrew's in Millinocket. Both the voucher program and the food pantry will be fully operational beginning in February. Details on how to access both programs will be publicized as soon as they are worked out.
"We are overwhelmed that the people in the Diocese of Maine are willing to give of their resources and that the diocesan office is willing to take on the administrative work," said Almeida. "That will take a tremendous burden off of our shoulders and allow us to focus on being a pastoral, supporting presence to the people in our community."
Donations to the Millinocket Emergency Outreach Fund may be made payable to the "Diocese of Maine-Millinocket Outreach" and sent to the Bishop's Office, 143 State Street, Portland, Maine 04101. For more information about the Fund and the food donation effort, visit www.diomaine.org.