Britain Adds Another Woman As Bishop
The Church of England is about to add the Venerable Karen Gorham to their list of bishops. Gorham has been the Archdeacon of Buckingham and has been a priest for 19 years. Queen Elizabeth
approved Gorham's appointment to the suffragan see of Sherborne in the Diocese of Salisbury on November 26.
New Dallas Bishop Confirms Policy Barring Same Sex Marriage
The wax seals had hardly set on the consecration certificate for Dallas's new bishop, George Sumner when he circulated
a letter saying he would not allow clergy of the Diocese of Dallas to participate in any way in a same-sex marriage ceremony in or out of the diocese, nor could any church-owned facility be used for that purpose. As bishop elect, he had promised (
see Update story) to hold conversations in the diocese before issuing a statement on accomodations. His letter simply referred people to the Diocese of Fort Worth and confirmed that it was acceptable for priests of the diocese to celebrate Eucharist in another diocese, if invited. It is not clear if this means he would allow Dallas priests to celebrate a Eucharist following a same sex marriage performed elsewhere.
Texas Governor Threatens to Withhold All State Funds From Non-Profits That Resettle Syrian Refugees in State
Governor Greg Abbot was one of the politicians who responded to the Paris terrorist attacks by declaring that no Syrian refugees could be resettled in Texas. (See Update story
here.) Since governors do not control federal policy, nor run the private refugee resettlement groups, it was unclear whether such declarations would have any real impact. Abbot has found a way to do so by announcing that he will refuse to
authorize any state funding be sent to any agency that resettles Syrians in Texas. Since most of the non-profits receive funding for other social service programs they run, this gives his policy some traction. It also raises concerns that the Governor is interfering with religious freedom.
Kunonga Appeals Restitution Award
Former Archbishop Kunonga from Zimbabwe has
filed an appeal of the decision that meant he owed the Anglican Church of the Province of Central Africa $428,000 in restitution for stock he illegally sold. (See Update story
here.http://update.pittsburghepiscopal.org/2015/11/week-ending-112315.html#2).
Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh Corrects Original Statements on Election of Successor to Duncan
The Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh forgot to check their own by-laws before announcing that the diocese would send between one and three names to the ACNA House of Bishops for final confirmation. (See original
Update report on Duncan's retirement.) In a
full explanation of the process leading to election of a new bishop, the Standing Committee corrected earlier statements, noting that the Pittsburgh canons allow for only one name to be sent forward. The election process will allow any number of names to be put forward (as long as they are ordained males) but that the only contact with candidates would come the night before election.
St. Paul's Richmond Gains Support for Removing Confederate Flag Images from Church
When you are located very close to what was the capitol of the Confederacy, and your congregation included a veritable "who's who" of the Confederate leadership during the Civil War, it is not surprising that the church sanctuary included memorials to some of those leaders. The church even incorporated parts of the confederate flag into its communion kneelers, and church coal of arms. In response to the shootings in a Baptist Church in Charleston, SC, St. Paul's
decided to remove from the worship space plaques and symbols that are tied to the confederacy. They will be preserved in other places in the building because of their historic significance The Church picked up major support this last week when the
Richmond Times-Dispatch announced its support for removal. The
Times-Dispatch is Richmond's leading newspaper and the official paper of record for the state of Virginia.