[ELD] Episcopal Relief and Development launches new website, visual identity / Pennsylvania bishop's trial opens with recounting of secrets

[Matthew Davies]

Episcopal Life Daily
June 10, 2008

Episcopal Life Online is available at
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/elife.

Today's Episcopal Life Daily includes:

* TOP STORY - Episcopal Relief and Development launches new website,
visual identity
* TOP STORY - Pennsylvania bishop's trial opens with recounting of
secrets
* DIOCESAN DIGEST - ALBANY: Convention passes canons banning same-gender
marriages, blessings
* DIOCESAN DIGEST - FLORIDA: Priest and 150 parishioners join Episcopal
Church
* OPINION - Marks of mission: What we're here to do and be as part of
the Anglican Communion
* DAYBOOK - June 11, 2008: Today in Scripture, Prayer, History
* CATALYST - On Being a Gay Parent

_____________________


TOP STORIES

Episcopal Relief and Development launches new website, visual identity

[ERD] Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD) launched its redesigned
website June 9, unveiling a new image that portrays the core values of
the organization and strengthens its online presence. 

"Episcopal Relief and Development has reached incredible milestones in
the past several years. Working in partnership with over 60 Anglican and
ecumenical agencies, our programs now impact more than two million
people in 41 countries," said Robert W. Radtke, president of ERD. "Our
new website reflects the vitality of our work and is a powerful and
usable tool that tells our story."

Describing it as "innovative and user-friendly," ERD says its new
website provides a comprehensive overview of the organization along with
individual country pages detailing partners and programs in 41
countries. It also highlights the organization's programs, which focus
on the following areas: alleviating hunger and improving food supply,
creating economic opportunities and strengthening communities, promoting
health and fighting disease, and responding to disasters and rebuilding
communities.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_97734_ENG_HTM.htm

- - - - -

Pennsylvania bishop's trial opens with recounting of secrets

By Jerry Hames

[Episcopal News Service, Philadelphia] The ecclesiastical trial of
Pennsylvania Bishop Charles E. Bennison opened June 9 with opening
statements from both the prosecution and defense, followed by testimony
from family members, including a woman who was sexually abused by the
bishop's brother 35 years ago. 

The bishop is accused of conduct unbecoming a member of the clergy. He
faces charges that, as rector of St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Upland,
California, he failed to respond properly after learning that John
Bennison, a 24-year-old freshly-ordained deacon who he had hired as
youth minister, had a continuing sexual relationship with a girl that
began when she was 14. He is also accused of later suppressing that
information when his brother, who having once renounced his orders, was
reinstated as a priest. John Bennison was again forced to renounce his
orders in 2006 when knowledge of the abuse, which stretched over more
than three years, became public.

Last November, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori inhibited
Bennison from all ordained ministry pending a judgment from the
ecclesiastical court. The trial is expected to continue until Friday,
June 13, and the judges then have 30 days to announce their decision. A
vote of two-thirds of the nine-judge panel is required to determine if
there has been a canonical offense and, if so, to agree on the sentence
which ranges from a admonition to deposition.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_97730_ENG_HTM.htm

More Top Stories: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/elife

_____________________


DIOCESAN DIGEST

ALBANY: Convention passes canons banning same-gender marriages,
blessings
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_97739_ENG_HTM.htm

FLORIDA: Priest and 150 parishioners join Episcopal Church
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_97741_ENG_HTM.htm

More Diocesan news: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_ENG_HTM.htm

_____________________


OPINION

Marks of mission
What we're here to do and be as part of the Anglican Communion

By Katharine Jefferts Schori

[Episcopal Life] Who(se) are you? Why are you here? What are you doing
about it? That's a shorthand way of thinking about our identity and
vocation as Christians. It's also a way of leading us as individuals and
Christian communities into thinking about our mission -- or better, our
partnership in God's mission. Mission literally means "sending," and for
us it means what we're here to do and be. In a large view, it's about
partnering in building the Reign of God. In daily life, you and I get
countless opportunities to engage in that mission. 

In this season of heightened awareness of our part in the larger
Anglican Communion, it's appropriate to engage in some reflection on
those same questions. Who are we as members of the Anglican Communion?
Why is our participation important? What are we doing about it?

The lead story (http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_97723_ENG_HTM.htm)
in this issue of Episcopal Life focuses on those questions, and I want
to suggest a couple of other resources as well. Forward Movement has
just put out a little pamphlet, Why the Anglican Communion Matters,
which I would commend to you. The author speaks of historical and
theological realities and the witness that being able to love those who
may disagree with us offers to the larger world.

Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/80050_97736_ENG_HTM.htm

More Opinion: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/80050_ENG_HTM.htm

_____________________


DAYBOOK

On June 11, 2008, the Church remembers Saint Barnabas the Apostle.

* Today in Scripture: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/82457_ENG_HTM.htm
* Today in Prayer: Anglican Cycle of Prayer:
http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acp/index.cfm
* Today in History: On June 11, 1888, Maxwell J. Blacker, Anglican
priest and hymn translator, died in Westminster, England.

_____________________


CATALYST

"On Being a Gay Parent" from Church Publishing, Inc., by Brett
Webb-Mitchell, 167 pages, paperback, c. 2008, $16

[Church Publishing, Inc.] This practical, down-to-earth guide to being a
gay Christian parent is filled with interesting stories, simple
anecdotes, creative ideas, and thoughtful reflections, while raising up
important issues facing gay- and lesbian-headed households in
contemporary American society. Includes a list of resources helpful in
addressing often-surprising issues, simple day-to-day tasks, and crucial
decisions around being a gay or lesbian parent in today's world.

"A truly faith-based family story, where love is what matters and the
challenges of living openly and honestly are faced head on." -- Jane
Tully, Clergy Families & Friends of Lesbians and Gays

To order: Episcopal Books and Resources, online at
http://www.episcopalbookstore.org, or call 800-903-5544 -- or visit your
local Episcopal bookseller, http://www.episcopalbooksellers.org

More Catalyst: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/83842_ENG_HTM.htm