Week Ending 12/28/15

Church of England and Church of Scotland Sign Historic Agreement 

On Christmas Eve the national churches of England and Scotland jointly announced an agreement that brings close cooperation, including some recognition of each other's clergy.  The agreement, however, left the Scottish Episcopal Church (the Anglican Communion body in Scotland) wondering if the agreement compromised their position. Especially galling was the fact that the agreement did not even use the correct name of the Scottish Episcopal Church.  The Church of Scotland is presbyterian in structure. You can read the agreement and the response from the Scottish Episcopal Church here.

Christmas Eve Under the Stars Brings St. James Newport Beach New Attention

Although St. James, Newport Beach has a temporary home, the congregation opted to hold its Christmas Eve service in the park across from the building they want the Diocese of Los Angeles to reopen for them rather than sell.  Also bittersweet was the fact that locked in the building were all the decorations and pageant props the parish usually used for Christmas.  However, the service outside energized the congregation, and brought out the Los Angeles Times reporters to cover the event.

Rebuilding the Cathedral Building at Christ Church, New Zealand Still Delayed by Disagreements

Ever since the 2011 earthquake and aftershocks rendered Christ Church Cathedral in New Zealand unusable, the diocese has been locked in controversy and legal actions, first over the building of a temporary worship space, and then over whether the cathedral should be rebuilt as a replica of the original, or a modern structure. (See the update story here.)  Recreating the old building (with new engineering for earthquake protection) was a hugely expensive proposition, but favored by the historic preservationists.  The diocesan decision to build instead a new, modern design building on the site raised legal action.  The Government finally weighed in, appointing a mediator, and the diocese has now agreed to give another look at rebuilding the old structure.  The Episcopal Cafe has pieced together the current status of the controversy.

Fort Worth Group Gets Extension on Filing Response to Appeal

The break-away diocese in Fort Worth headed by Bishop Iker had originally announced that they would be filing their legal responses to the briefs filed with the appeals court by Episcopalians at the beginning of December. (Pittsburgh Update covered the earlier filing here.)   However, on December 21, Iker's group posted a short update on their website that said they had quested a filing extension and will file their briefs on or before February 4, 2016.

Best Wishes to All For 2016