Week Ending 7/4/16

Bishop Transitions in South Carolina

This week South Carolinians were saying "hello" to Bishop "Skip" Adams who has been nominated as the next provisional bishop for the Episcopal Church in South Carolina.  Adams is retiring as bishop of Central New York.  The diocese will formally elect him at their convention in September.  He replaces Bishop vonRosenberg, the retired  Bishop of Tennessee who has served as provisional bishop during the stressful rebuilding of the diocese following schism.  The diocese was also responding to the news of the death of their former bishop, Edward Salmon.  Salmon worked closely with those who led the ACNA schism, but he himself refused to leave the Episcopal Church.  His funeral is scheduled for the Episcopal parish he served near St. Louis, Missouri, before becoming bishop and where he retired after serving as head of Nashotah House Seminary.  Both the Episcopal Diocese and the schismatic diocese are holding memorial services in Charleston. The June 29 entry for the web site scepiscopalians.com has long commentary on Bishop Salmon's role in the SC controversy.

Episcopal Parishes in West Virginia Respond to Flooding

The Episcopal Churches in two of the areas in West Virginia hardest hit by flooding are serving as disaster relief sites.  The Church in Greenbriar, St. James Parish,  was prepared to respond to disaster and has quickly teamed up with the Greenbriar United Way to become a major distribution hub for relief efforts.  In White Sulphur Springs, St. Thomas Episcopal Church was one of the few public buildings not to be flooded and to retain electric service.  The Episcopal News Service has a good article on the efforts in the two parishes.  A member of the United Way has set up an Amazon.com wish list where people can buy items needed for relief and have them shipped directly to the the parish.  You can find that list here.

 Kenyan Anglicans in the News

This last week Kenyans were celebrating the enthronement of their new Archbishop, Jackson Nasoore ole Sapit, whose route to Christianity, ordination, and leadership is an amazing story.  Sapit has been known for his ability to bring warring groups together.  He may well need to use that ability in dealing with a lawsuit filed by three Anglican priests against their bishop and diocese for destroying their careers and good names by calling them gay. 

St. James Newport Beach Saga Continues

St. James the Great parish in Newport Beach, CA posted a cryptic statement on their Facebook page following the hearing held on charges they filed against Bishop Jon Bruno of Los Angeles.  Bruno locked the parish out of their building as part of his efforts to sell the property to a developer.  That land deal has fallen apart but the parish and Bishop remain at odds.  The note says that they have been asked to remain quiet until the panel official report is released, but it appears proceedings against Bishop Bruno will be going forward to a public Hearing Panel.   Pittsburgh Update has followed this story from its beginnings.  Our most recent posting is here.