Week Ending 2/27/23

Pennsylvania Bishops Issue Pastoral Letter on Gun Control 

The bishops of the five Episcopal Dioceses in Pennsylvania issued a joint pastoral letter that responds to the very high rate of gun deaths in Pennsylvania compared to other states. The bishops ask individuals to advocate for laws that limit purchases of guns to one a month, endorse extreme risk protection orders, ban sale of assault weapons and large capacity ammunition, and prohibit sale or possession of ghost guns.  The letter includes an invitation to a March 6 event at the state capitol.  The whole letter is here.

Chicago Parish Becomes Electric Vehicle Charging Stop

In a move designed both to support renewable energy and the reduction of fossil fuel use, St. Paul and the Redeemer Episcopal Church in Chicago's South Side, has partnered with Community Charging to install an electric vehicle charging station in the church parking lot. Drivers pay $.15 a kilowatt hour and the charger has had a steady stream of users.  It also has introduced some of those using the charger to the Episcopal Church.  Episcopal News Service's longer story begins with charging station efforts the United Methodist Church is making in Maryland. 

Galveston Episcopalians Find Long-Lost Grave of Black Priest

The Reverend Thomas White Cain, one of the earliest blacks to study at a seminary and who led the first black parish, St. Augustine of Hippo, in Galveston was among the victims of the 1900 Galveston hurricane. The hurricane sent waters sweeping over almost the whole of Galveston island and killed over 6000.  Cain's body was recovered and eventually buried in the Lakeview Cemetery.  However, the grave marker was lost and the location of the grave forgotten until a recently discovered map of the cemetery plots allowed Episcopalians to locate Cain's grave. St. Augustine was joined by 2 other Episcopal parishes, all within 1 mile of each other,  in  a social media campaign that overnight raised the money necessary to place a stone marker on the grave.  Born a slave, Cain had attended both the Episcopal Seminary in Philadelphia and Bishop Payne Seminary (blacks only) in Virginia. He was the first black ordained a priest in Virginia (1879)  The Diocese of Texas elected him an alternate Deputy to General Convention in 1892 and 1895, and at both conventions he took the place of a deputy about half-way through the meeting.  He was the first black priest to assume a deputy's seat.  The Episcopal News Service has more on Cain's life in their longer article. 

Continuing Threads

Global South Claims It No Longer Recognizes Welby

Update posted last week the statements made by a number GAFCON and Global South Primates.  These statements have now been taken to mean that the whole Global South no longer recognizes Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby as an instrument of union in the Anglican Communion, and they are demanding a "reset" of the way the Communion is governed.  While they are free to leave the Communion, their demands are not easily met since  there are both English laws and the Constitution of the Anglican Consulting Council standing in the way.  Also, several of the "provinces" that they recognize are actually schismatic entities not recognized as part of the Communion, in particular in Brazil and ACNA.  However, it is clearly another step in a process that may well result in a formal split in the Anglican Communion. For a deft commentary on these claims, see the blog post by the Rev. Mark Harris. 

More on the Florida Court of Review Report 

The report  by the Court of Review was leaked last week.  The Court was empaneled to investigate claims of irregularities in the second attempt of the Diocese of Florida to elect a bishop.The Standing Committee of the diocese has said it is taking time to craft a reply, but last week the Deputies of Color to General Convention issued a letter to all diocesan Standing Committees and Diocesan Bishops urging them to vote against the result of the election during the on-going approval process.   A letter from a large group of LGBTQA Episcopalians and supporters last week documented discrimination in the diocese and again urged disapproval of the election results.  The argument is that the current Bishop manipulated the results by refusal to grant canonical status to LGBTQA priests living in his diocese, and refusing to allow into the ordination process any LGBTQA candidates who did not promise to remain celibate. Howard denies he has done this, but a number of witnesses have come forward. 

Thousands Gather to Protest Persecution of Christians in India

Over 20,000 people gathered in an interdenominational event in India to protest violence and other forms of persecution against Christians that have led to destruction of entire villages, murder, and legal harassment. The meeting brought together various branches of Catholicism, evangelicals, and the United Church that includes Anglicans.  Persecution has increased under the militant Hindi government currently in power in India.  Muslims are also facing persecution. Update has carried stories of persecution of Christians in India on several occasions, most recently here.