News Briefs
Episcopal News Service. June 15, 1978 [78177]
Eight bishops in the State of Alabama have issued a joint pastoral letter in opposition to capital punishment. The prelates said that though "sincere and committed Christians disagree over the use of the death penalty," they call for the "prayerful response" of their people. The bishops said they oppose capital punishment because there is no evidence it is an effective deterrent to crime; it affects the impoverished and obscure more than the influential; the Church believes the taking of human life falls within the providence of God and not the right of man; and the death penalty is irreversible, cutting off the possibility of repentance and forgiveness in this life. Signing the letter were: Episcopal Bishops George M. Murray of Central Gulf Coast and Furman C. Stough of Alabama; Roman Catholic Bishops John L. May of Mobile and Joseph G. Vath of Birmingham; Christian Methodist Episcopal Church Bishop C. A. Kirkendoll of the Fifth Episcopal District; United Methodist Bishop Carl J. Sanders of North Alabama and Alabama and West Florida Conference; African Methodist Episcopal Zion Bishop William M. Smith of Second Episcopal District; and AOH Church of God Bishop Jasper Roby.
A special synod of the Episcopal Church of Brazil has decided to postpone for two years the consideration of the ordination of women to the diaconate and priesthood. Though 85 percent of the bishops were in favor of such ordination, the resolution failed because it did not obtain the required 75 percent vote in the clerical and lay orders. The synod approved the marriage of divorced persons under special circumstances in order to comply with the new law that allows remarriage for the first time in Brazilian history.
The Very Rev. A. Dixon Rollit has announced his retirement, no later than September 15, as dean of Trinity Episcopal Cathedral of Pittsburgh. He had served in the post for 14 years. It was also announced that the Rt. Rev. Robert B. Appleyard, Bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh, will assume the post of acting dean of the cathedral during the period of a search for a successor to Dean Rollit and an orderly transition.
The guesthouse staff of Holy Cross Monastery (Episcopal) has announced the following programs for the fall of 1978: Bible Study Weekend, Sept. 22-24, conducted by Sally Hopkins, director of the Church School, Christ Church, Bronxville, N.Y.; Foliage Weekend, Oct. 13-15; Retreat for Clergy and Seminarians, Nov. 7-10, which features silence, the Eucharist, and the daily Offices; and Advent Quiet Weekend, Dec. 1-3, which is a silence retreat. For information contact the Guestmaster, Holy Cross Monastery, West Park, N.Y. 12493, 914/384-6660.
An Episcopal clergyman convicted a year ago of sex crimes in Tennessee was deposed from the priesthood May 16 by Bishop G. Paul Reeves of Georgia, the diocese where he was canonically resident. In June 1977 a civil court in Winchester, Tenn., found the Rev. Claudius I. Vermilye, Jr., guilty of homosexual acts at Boys Farm in nearby Alto, a purported rehabilitation home for teen-age boys which he owned and operated. He is free on $20,000 bond pending an appeal process. Vermilye has formally renounced his holy orders which made it possible for Bishop Reeves, with the consent of the diocesan standing committee, to depose him without a church trial.
The Ven. Cheung Wing Ngok, Archdeacon of Hong Kong, was consecrated Assistant Bishop of this Anglican diocese on June 13. Bishop Cheung, 62, has many years of experience in the educational field and is the first Chinese bishop in this diocese. He will assist the Rt. Rev, Gilbert Baker, diocesan bishop.
The Rev. William F. Burns, 59, rector of St. Mark's Church here, has been elected Bishop of the Diocese of the Resurrection, a jurisdiction in the recently-organized Anglican Church in North America. The new bishop will serve the states of New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania. When he is consecrated -- at a date and place not yet announced -- he will be the fifth bishop of the new church group.
The Episcopal Church's resource material on "The Journey in Mission," units of study and commitment in the Venture in Mission program, is being translated into Japanese for use in the Diocese of North Kanto of the Nippon Seikokai, a province of the Anglican Communion. Though the various units have been designed by the seasons of the Church Year, they may be adapted for use according to individual needs. Venture in Mission is the Episcopal Church's renewal/fund raising program.
The U.S. Episcopal Peace Fellowship will join the Anglican Pacifist Fellowship and other church groups from around the world for a Pilgrimage of the New Covenant from Southwark Cathedral to Canterbury from July 30 to August 2 while the bishops of the Anglican Communion are assembled for the Lambeth Conference. According to an announcement by the Peace Fellowship, "We believe that faith in the New Covenant of Jesus Christ involves the complete repudiation of war and armed violence." Previous Lambeth Conferences, the Fellowship said, have spoken forcefully against the immorality of war but the bishops have not yet dealt with the problems of nuclear proliferation and the arms race.
A new magazine in the Episcopal Church, Grassroots -- which calls itslef a forum for small churches -- has begun publication under the editorship of the Rev. Robert Greene, Luling, Tex. Grassroots, a publication of the Resource Center for Small Churches, is intended to be a medium of communication for all persons with concerns and interests in small congregations, whether in a city, a suburb, or rural. Subscriptions are $5. 00 each and should be sent to the Resource Center for Small Churches, P.O. Box 752, Luling, Tex. 78648.
The Rev. William A. Villaume is the new American Protestant Chaplain in Moscow. Affiliated with the Luthern Church in America, Mr. Villaume succeeds the Rev. Michael Spangler, a United Presbyterian. These two denominations share on a rotation basis in providing a Moscow chaplain with the Episcopal Church, the American Baptist Churches, and the United Methodist Church. Mr. Villaume, 31, is a native of Boston. His congregation in Moscow rotates between the residence of the U. S. Ambassador and the office of the British Ambassador, with occasional opportunities to worship elsewhere. He is the only Protestant English language congregation operating within a Communist country. There is also a Roman Catholic chaplain in Moscow and a Church of England priest in Helsinki comes to celebrate the Eucharist in the Russian capital once a month.
Episcopalians entering Vanderbilt University this fall are invited to an Orientation for Spiritual Growth led by the University's Episcopal chaplain, the Rev. John H. Hatcher. The design for the three days -- Aug. 24-26 -- offers sessions on the Episcopal Church and the Bible, and on Holy Baptism. "Our intent is to help incoming students to become aware of and reinforce their faith at a time when that faith can be expected to be tested and to mature, "Chaplain Hatcher said. A visit is planned to St. Luke's Episcopal Center where students may exercise their ministry, as volunteers, with underprivileged youth and with the elderly. The Diocese of Tennessee participates in the ecumenical Office of University Ministry. Students wishing to attend the orientation should register, before July 15, with Fr. Hatcher at Box 6311, Station B, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, Tenn. 37235.
The General Assembly of the National Association of Diocesan Ecumenical Officers of the Roman Catholic Church recently approved a resolution -- which they shared with the Episcopal Diocesan Ecumenical Officers -- in which they voted to "restate our commitment to ongoing dialogue with the Episcopal Church in the United States." With a reference to matters relating to the issue of the ordination of women, the Roman Catholic groups said, "The relationship which has grown between these Churches is now so deep that no internal problem facing one of the Churches is not keenly felt by the other." A copy of the statement was sent to Presiding Bishop John M. Allin of the Episcopal Church, the President of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops, and to officials of the two churches' national ecumenical committees.
Representatives of six churches in Namibia, including the vicar general of the Anglican Diocese of Damaraland, have criticized what they call the "biased way police actions and investigations are carried out in the case of riots and disturbances," and the "superficial way" in which the Administrator General, Justice M. T. Steyn, has handled documentation of torture in Namibia. The churchmen commended Justice Steyn for repealing some of the discriminatory legislation but at the same time expressed concern to him "about the superficial way with which you handled repeatedly well documented cases of torture in this country" and about the results of his April 18 "proclamation for the detention of persons in order to prevent political violence and intimidation." Signers of the letter included the Rev. E. Morrow, vicar general of the Anglican Diocese of Damaraland, who was joined by five other church leaders.