Week Ending 01/11/21

 Pope Makes Expanded Lay Women's Roles Law

Pope Francis has made official lay women's participation as readers including of the Gospel in Roman Catholic worship.  Since many parishes were already doing this, the change is minor except it is now supported by canon law, rather than custom.  Not all advocates for women were pleased, however, because he also made clear that the ordained ministries of deacon and priest were reserved for males. 

Archbishop of Wales to Retire

John Davies, the Archbishop of Wales has announced that he will retire on May 2, 2021.  Daives has been a strong voice both for revitalizing the Church of Wales, and for progressive causes, including LGBTQ participation and women as bishops.

Churches Condemn Attack on Capitol

The mob attack on the U.S. Capitol on January 6 has been condemned by many church leaders.  Presiding Bishop Curry made a statement calling the attack an attempted coup, and then also joined in a statement made by the leadership of the National Council of Churches.  The National Council of Churches leadership, including Presiding Bishop Curry issued a second statement saying that President Trump, must resign or be removed, using either of the 2 methods provided for in the U.S. Constitution (Amendment 25 and impeachment).  While evangelical leaders called the attack wrong, they were more divided on what should happen next and whom to blame.

Continuing Stories

Episcopal Church Files Response in Fort Worth Case

The filings in the Episcopal Church's appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court in the Fort Worth Diocese property cases should now be complete.  On January 6, the Episcopal Church filed its response to the brief submitted by the schismatic diocese.  The Episcopal Church filing documented a number of misrepresentations within the filing by the ACNA diocese.  The Supreme Court is expected to make a decision on whether to hear the case sometime during the court term that just began.  Update has been tracking all the filings.

New Charges in Never-Ending Oxford Story

Apparently Christ Church College, Oxford has filed new charges against the Dean of the Cathedral and College.  The college has been at war with the Dean for well over 2 years, and Update has carried notes on the on-going saga.  ThinkingAnglicans.org  has a summary and links to various announcements surrounding this latest development.

Pittsburgh Bishop Election Delayed Again

Bishop Dorsey McConnell of Pittsburgh announced this last week that the election of a new bishop will be delayed another two months and similarly the consecration of a new bishop has also been delayed.  The delay is in hopes that the discernment retreat for candidates and the "walkabout" might actually be held in-person.  The election date is now June 26, 2021 and consecration scheduled for November 13.  The change of dates is not affecting McConnell's own retirement date which is September 11.  This is the second time the election has been delayed.  The first delay was announced in April 2020 at the height of the first surge of  covid-19 infections. 

Parish Provides Showers for Homeless

St. Andrews Episcopal Parish in Oakland, Michigan has teamed with a non-profit to host on the church property a mobile shower unit to provide showers for the homeless.  The church is looking for volunteers to help them staff the unit during the month it will be at the church.  The local paper has more on the effort.  This is the latest in Updates running series on church outreach during the pandemic.

More Responses to Pandemic Surge

The steep surge in covid-19 cases has led the leaders of all 4 major Churches in Northern Ireland to end any in-person worship.  The leaders of the Roman Catholic, Church of Ireland, Presbyterian and Methodist made a joint declaration ending any in-person worship.  The earliest resumption of services will be February 6.  Meanwhile in Scotland, the canon of the Roman Catholic Cathedral in Glasgow is running a crowdfunding appeal to raise money to mount a legal challenge to the Scottish Government's action closing all churches as part of the lockdown efforts in Scotland to control the pandemic. Update will continue to track the varied responses of churches to efforts to prevent spread of the virus. The most recent previous story is here.