News Brief
Episcopal News Service. October 2, 1980 [80349]
For most of 1981 pilgrims to the ancient Canterbury Cathedral will not hear the bells of the town's historic Anglican cathedral. After the bells are rungto usher in the New Year, they will be silent for a complete restoration program at an estimated cost of $200,000. By the time the bells are rededicated at a service in the fall, the cathedral will have a "better toned and finer ring of bells than ever before in its history," a spokesman said.
The Rev. N. Kenneth Yates -- director of development at Nashotah House, an Episcopal Church theological seminary -- will become executive director of the St. Francis Boys' Home of Kansas and New York next January 1, according to an announcement by the Rt. Rev. William Davidson, Bishop of Western Kansas. The home's general offices are located here and the agency maintains residential facilities for boys here and at Ellsworth, Kans., and at Lake Placid, N.Y. Though the homes are Episcopal-related, they are supported by donations from friends and from fees paid by sponsors who are able to contribute.
An unidentified "very prestigious American corporation" has offered to buy St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church and the land on which it stands on Park Avenue here for about $100 million, it was announced in late September. The church, which is noted for its modified Byzantine architecture and has been designated as an official city landmark, occupies the east block-front on the avenue between 50th and 51st Streets. The announcement said the structure might be demolished to make way for an office building. The Diocese of New York must approve all sales of church properties in its jurisdiction. No decision on whether to sell or not is expected for three to six months, a spokesman said. There are about 2, 000 members of the Church. The Rev. Thomas D. Bowers is rector.
John Ives Hartman, 87, died here after a three-week illness. He was the former owner of the Barr-Hurst Book Store and was a member of St. John's Episcopal Church here. He was a member of the original Forward Movement Commission appointed by the Episcopal Church's General Convention in 1934. The only known survivor of that original group which began that publishing house is retired Bishop Henry W. Hobson of Southern Ohio, its chairman for many years.
The Anglican-Lutheran European Regional Commission held its first meeting here recently and discussed questions of identity, worship and ministry. The 12-member commission, co-chaired by Anglican Bishop John Gibbs of Coventry, and President Guinther Gassman of the United Evangelical Lutheran Church of Germany, grew out of a 1972 proposal for dialogue, set up by a joint working group of the Lutheran World Federation and the Anglican Communion. The commission is to meet three more times between now and 1983 to reach a better understanding of certain questions on which the two sides may disagree, especially ministry and sacraments. A statement on concrete steps the two traditions in Europe can take for closer fellowship is expected to be presented to the LWF Exeucitve Committee and the Anglican Consultative Council.
The College of Preachers at Washington Cathedral will offer a special conference on "Preaching in the Campus Environment," Jan. 5-9, 1981. The conference is designed for college clergy and for clergy in parishes located near institutions of higher learning. The leaders will be staff members of the College of Preachers. Cost of the conference will be $190. To register for the conference, persons should write to The College of Preachers, 3510 Woodley Road NW, Washington, D.C. 20016.
Episcopal Bishop John B. Coburn of the Diocese of Massachusetts and the auxiliary bishop of the regional synod of the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches have agreed, following a meeting with their respective clergy in two Boston suburbs, that joint celebrations of the Eucharist may be held on "special ecumenical occasions," Recently a Lutheran pastor used the liturgy of his church in leading a shared communion service at a nearby Episcopal Church, and later the Episcopal rector used the Book of Common Prayer in leading a similar joint service at the Lutheran edifice.
A regional communication workshop, sponsored by the Radio-Television Office at the national Episcopal Church Center in New York, will take place at Camp Allen here Nov. 18-21. Some 25 communicators in the dioceses of Province VII plus Louisiana will meet to discuss the use of video/television in local parishes and in the diocese. Participants will also be taught how to train others so that a nucleus of trained personnel can be developed in the congregation and diocese. Cost for the four-day conference -- including housing, meals and resource materials -- is $98 per person. Registration should be made directly with Camp Allen, Rt. 1, Box 426, Navasota, Tex. 77868. Lucy Germany is the regional coordinator.
The Episcopal Diocese of Vermont held dedication and consecration ceremonies for its new Bishop Booth Conference Center here on Sept. 27. The center complex contains a cluster of three buildings: a chapel and meeting building, a dining facility with an apartment and some dormitory rooms, and a sleeping facility for groups attending conferences. Funding came from the diocesan capital funds campaign, "Word '79" and proceeds from insurance.
The Seabury Press, an official publishing house of the Episcopal Church, has announced the publication of Commentary on the American Prayer Book by Marion J. Hatchett, Professor of Liturgics and Church Music at the School of Theology of the University of the South, Sewanee, Tenn. The book contains a complete commentary on each of the services, prayers, and formularies in the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. The sources of the material are identified and their history traced from their oldest known forms to the present Book. Extensive indexes add to the reference value of the volume. The special price of the book is $19.95 if ordered before Jan. 1, 1981, after which the price will increase by $10. Orders may be placed through the Seabury Service Center, Somers, Conn. 06071.