National & World News
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Presiding Bishop featured on PBS's Bill Moyers Journal
On June 8 our Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori was interviewed
by Bill Moyers on his popular PBS show
"Bill Moyers Journal." They discussed religion and science, the
interpretation of Scripture, and more. Visit the PBS archive to
view the interview or
read the transcript.
Executive Council declines to participate in Primates' 'pastoral scheme,' says only Convention makes policy
By Mary Frances Schjonberg
[ENS] The Episcopal
Church's Executive Council told the
Anglican Communion June 14 that no
governing body other than General
Convention can interpret Convention
resolutions or agree to deny "future
decisions by dioceses or General
Convention."
The Council declined to participate in a plan put forward by the Primates of the Anglican Communion in February for dealing with some disaffected Episcopal Church dioceses.
The statement, titled "The Episcopal Church's Commitment to Common Life in Anglican Communion," "strongly affirm[ed] this Church's desire to be in the fullest possible relationship with our Anglican sisters and brothers."
The text of the statement and its accompanying resolutions passed with limited debate.
The statement agreed with the House of Bishops, which said in March that the so-called Pastoral Scheme "would be injurious to The Episcopal Church." An accompanying resolution (EC012) also "respectfully requests the Presiding Bishop to decline as well." The statement itself "respectfully ask[s] our Presiding Bishop not to take any of the actions asked of her by this scheme."
Full story here.
Lawrence again heads episcopal ballot in South Carolina
By By Mary Frances Schjonberg
[ENS]The Very Rev. Mark Lawrence has again
been nominated to be the next bishop of
the
Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina.
An announcement on the diocese's Web site said that the Standing Committee of the Diocese of South Carolina met on June 9, immediately following the Diocesan Convention held at St. James Episcopal Church on James Island, South Carolina.
At its meeting, the statement said, the Standing Committee unanimously agreed:
- to call for a special convention to elect a bishop on August 4 at St. James' Church;
- nominated Lawrence; and
- established guidelines for a petition nomination process that sets a July 11 deadline.
All diocesan parishes and missions must hold congregational meetings to elect deputies for the special convention.
Lawrence, 56, rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Parish in Bakersfield, California, in the Diocese of San Joaquin, was first elected September 16 to be South Carolina's 14th bishop.
On March 15, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori declared that election "null and void," saying that a number of the consent responses did not adhere to canonical requirements.
According to a recent letter to the clergy of the diocese posted on the home page of the diocesan Web site, Bishop Edward Salmon reported that the diocesan Standing Committee had committed to "carefully follow our own Canons in order to strongly support the election."
Salmon said that the electing convention would be convened later in the summer "for the purpose of re-electing Fr. Lawrence." Read it all here.
MDG update
[From E4GR (Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation)]
ONEVOTE'08 launched by the ONE Campaign: "Tell the candidates global poverty is your voting issue!"
On June 11, at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., the ONE Campaign
[to make poverty history] launched ONE Vote '08—a broad-based, bipartisan campaign to make global health and extreme poverty foreign policy priorities in the 2007 presidential race.
ONEVOTE is asking every candidate to embrace "five achievable goals that are fully costed and proven and can have a rapid impact on the ground." The goals are drawn from the Millennium Development Goals, which, to date, have not been mentioned in any presidential debate. Learn more, get involved . . .