News for Week Ending 7/22/2013

Recife property ordered returned to Brazilian church

The Episcopal Anglican Church in Brazil (the Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil  or IEAB) announced July 18, 2013, that a Brazilian judge has declared that the actions of the late Bishop Robinson Cavalcanti that removed much of the Diocese of Recife from the Brazilian church and created a new Diocese of Recife under the protection of the Anglican Province of the Southern Cone was both canonically and legally improper. All property was ordered returned to the IEAB.

Some background to this story is provided by the Pittsburgh Update story about the unrelated murder of Cavalcanti and his wife. More background is available in a story from The Living Church that is no longer available on its Web site but which can be found in the Internet Archive.

Equal marriage now law in UK

The bill that will allow for same-sex marriage in England and Wales is now law. After passage by the House of Lords—see Pittsburgh Update story here—the House of Commons approved amendments by the other house and the Queen has given her royal assent. It is anticipated that necessary administrative preparations will allow same-sex marriages to take place next summer. The story was reported by CNN.

Remain Episcopal accepting grant applications in San Joaquin

Remain Episcopal, the decade-old organization in the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin that, like Progressive Episcopalians of Pittsburgh, is a charter member of Via Media USA, is taking applications for grants of up to $2,000 “to help grow local communities of faith, including parishes, missions, deaneries or church organizations.” Like the Diocese of Pittsburgh, San Joaquin is receiving properties regained through the courts, and Remain Episcopal grants will likely be helpful in re-establishing Episcopal congregations. The grant program is explained on page 3 of the Summer 2013 issue of the diocesan newspaper.

New Kensington property returned to Pittsburgh diocese

The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh reported July 20, 2013, that the property of St. Andrew’s, New Kensington, will be returned to Episcopal control “by the end of July.” The church at 1090 Edgewood Road has, since 2008, been occupied by a congregation of the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh, but the deed to the property has been held by the Episcopal diocese’s Board of Trustees. Episcopal services will resume at St. Andrew’s July 28, but the future of the church is uncertain.