News Briefs
Episcopal News Service. August 31, 1977 [77280]
At its 1977 convention Oct. 14-16, the Episcopal Diocese of Minnesota will elect a bishop coadjutor to succeed the Rt. Rev. Philip F. McNairy when he retires from the post of Bishop of Minnesota in 1978. From three to five of the 81 suggested names will be presented by the 25-member search committee to the convention as its nominees. Bishop McNairy, who is 66, has served as suffragan and diocesan bishop of the diocese since 1958.
The National Courier, a semiweekly religious newspaper, is ceasing publication Sept. 1, according to an announcement in the New York Times. The tabloid has lost $2 million since it was established two years ago, according to the publisher Dan Malachuk. He said the paper's circulation, primarily among "charismatic" Christians, had declined from 110,000 to 60,000 and the renewal rate had dropped to a level of 20 percent. When The National Courier was planned in 1975, its editor, Bob Slosser -- an Episcopalian -- said it would "bring the mind of Christ to bear on the events of the day" with its combination of news, features, editorials and comment on both secular and religious affairs.
The executive steering committee of the Evangelical and Catholic Mission met here recently with a special task force of the Coalition for the Apostolic Ministry to begin the work of uniting the two independent Episcopal Church organizations. A plan for merging the two groups will be presented to each body in September. The Coalition was founded in 1972 to present the case for maintaining the tradition of a male priesthood. The Mission was established in late 1976 by a group of bishops of the Episcopal Church and deals with "the purity of doctrine and life" and "evangelical fervor," as well as the question of the ordination of women to the priesthood. Bishop Stanley Atkins of the Diocese of Eau Claire is chairman of both groups.
Memorial services were held at Christ Church Cathedral in Indianapolis and at Trinity Episcopal Church, Sonoma, Calif., on June 11 for the Rt. Rev. Richard Ainslie Kirchhoffer who died in Sonoma at the age of 87. Bishop Kirchhoffer had lived in Sonoma since his retirement as Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis in 1959. He was consecrated Bishop Coadjutor of Indianapolis on Feb. 3, 1939 and became diocesan bishop five days later when Bishop Joseph M. Francis died suddenly. Survivors include three sons; his wife died in 1075.
The Rt. Rev. Dudley Barr McNeil, who was Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Michigan from 1953 until his retirement in 1959, died in August at the age of 69. Since his retirement he had served as assisting bishop in the Diocese of Western New York. Prior to his election to the episcopate, he ministered in the Dioceses of Wyoming and Western Michigan.
The Rt. Rev. Robert Erskine Campbell, senior member of the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church, died here in late August at the age of 93. He was Episcopal Bishop of Liberia from 1925 to 1936 when he retired because of a heart ailment. Since that time he devoted his time to the Order of the Holy Cross, serving from 1948 to 1954 as Father Superior at the main monestary in West Park, N.Y. He later returned to Liberia for several years and in more recent years served at Holy Cross' Mount Calvary Retreat House in Santa Barbara, and occasionally performed episcopal duties for the Bishop of Los Angeles. The order has established the Bishop Campbell Memorial Fund to further its work in West Africa.
The Seabury Press announces that its 1978 Seabury Diary is available in a brand new format. The 4" x 7" size provides more space for daily reminders. The diary, with simulated leather cover and gold stamping, contains an expanded church calendar beginning with the first Sunday of Advent (Nov. 27, 1977) through Jan. 31, 1979, as well as the complete Christian calendar for 1978. In addition to Holy Days observed by the Episcopal Church, the diary includes all the significant Roman Catholic, Orthodox, and Jewish Holy Days as well as special prayers for daily meditation. The book may be bought at Episcopal bookstores or ordered directly from Seabury Service Center, Somers, Conn. 06071 U.S.A. The price is $3.95 for a single copy; special terms are available for diocesan and parish purposes.