By J. Michael Parker Express-News Religion Writer 2/22/2004 The Episcopal Diocese of West Texas ended its annual council Saturday by consecrating a popular 47-year-old San Antonio priest as its newest bishop. The Rev. Gary Richard Lillibridge, former rector of St. David's Parish, became coadjutor bishop, which means he has the automatic right to succeed Bishop James E. Folts as head of the diocese when Folts retires or dies. Folts, 63, has announced no retirement plans and ma

From the Church Times THE CHOIR of St Andrew's Cathedral in Sydney will not proceed with a planned tour of churches in the United States, in response to the consecration of Canon Gene Robinson as Bishop of New Hampshire. The tour, which had been scheduled for April, was to have been in conjunction with a tour by the St Andrew's Cathedral School orchestra, and was to have included engagements in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and Washington DC. Phillip Heath, the head of the

There's a reason why the gospels don't dwell on the blood and gore of the crucifixion. Most of us have yet to see Mel Gibson's "The Passion," but we've gained one sure impression: it's bloody. "I wanted to bring you there," Gibson told Peter J. Boyer in September 15's New Yorker magazine. "I wanted to be true to the Gospels. That has never been done before."   This goal means showing us what real scourging and crucifixion would look like. "I didn't want to see Jesus looking r

"All communication has a moral dimension. People grow or diminish in moral stature by the words which they speak and the messages which they choose to hear." — Pope John Paul II   Dear Brothers and Sisters, It is now becoming apparent that the Church of England and the Episcopal Church USA are working off the same page with regard to sexuality issues. It is no longer a matter of will the C of E hold the line for the greater good of the Anglican Communion, or even that it beli

by Mark Harris   For a very brief period of time -- less than 160 years -- Episcopalians have been able to point to the shadow of something almost solid that we called the Anglican Communion, and in which we took comfort. But it was hard to define the nature of this Anglican Communion, and indeed every time there was an effort to define it by ostensive definition we turned from the shadow only to find the thing itself was less solid than we thought, and was itself disturbingl

Only half of America's ministers hold to a biblical worldview, but even many who do aren't imparting it to their congregations   By Gene Edward Veith   WORLD MAGAZINE HAS DISCUSSED THE COLLAPSE OF theological literacy and the rise of out-and-out unbelief among Americans who consider themselves to be "born again Christians" ("Unbelieving 'born-agains,'" Dec. 6, 2003). Now we know at least part of the reason. According to a new study by the Barna Research Group, 49 percent of P

Bishop Robert Duncan, spiritual leader of conservative Episcopalians, talks about heresy in a "highly sexualized culture."   Interview by Diana Keough   Bishop Robert W. Duncan Jr. of Pittsburgh, 55, is the de facto spiritual leader of conservative Episcopalians outraged over the consecration last year of Bishop V. Gene Robinson of New Hampshire--a gay man in a long-term relationship. Once Robinson became a bishop, Duncan began helping to organize what he calls a "realignment

News Analysis   By David W. Virtue   VANCOUVER, BC-- The revisionist Bishop of New Westminster, Michael Ingham, faces a triple crisis that could derail his plans to depose, at the minimum put on hold, his desire to toss 11 biblically orthodox priests out of their parishes and seize their properties.   He faces a legal ultimatum with the leaders of St. Martin's parish in North Vancouver who argue that unless the parish is allowed to control its own finances and staffing, it wi

News Analysis   By David W. Virtue   Bishop Don Wimberly got his way at the recent Diocese of Texas convention. He managed to squelch four conservative resolutions affirming orthodox positions on human sexuality before they even came to the floor for a vote.   The convention delegates, representing 85,000 members from 160 churches in the 59,000-square-mile diocese, filled the Harvey Convention Center with standing-room-only crowd at nearby First Baptist Church.   It was a pyr

News Analysis   By David W. Virtue   The income dip of six percent recently reported by the Executive Council of the national Episcopal Church is closer to somewhere between10 to18 percent, says a financial expert and an alumnus of the Wharton Graduate School at the University of Pennsylvania who has looked at the figures.   There are two fundamental errors in the Florida news release: The first is that ECUSA says the National Church has pledges of $16 million from 51 diocese

By David W. Virtue The Diocesan Council of the Rio Grande has slammed the local branch of Via Media for trying to block the election of a bishop coadjutor to replace the biblically orthodox Bishop Terence Kelshaw when he retires in 2005. Via Media, the growing nationwide revisionist group had sent a letter to all Episcopal Church bishops and diocesan standing committees protesting the canonical actions of the Council. Via Media called for the blocking of the election and wi

19 February 2004 The Right Reverend John B. Lipscomb, Bishop The Diocese of Southwest Florida 7313 Merchant Court Sarasota, FL 34240 (A note to the reader: Bishop Lipscomb has invited Frank Griswold, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America [ECUSA] to speak to our Diocesan Convention in October of 2004. Bishop Griswold has accepted. Subsequently, Bishop Lipscomb has been encouraged to rescind that invitation because of the divisive pain his pre

An Episcopal congregation leaving the church is being sued in the dispute. By Mark I. Pinsky | Sentinel Staff Writer Posted February 20, 2004 The Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida has filed suit to keep a Winter Springs church from leaving the denomination -- and taking its property with it -- over the confirmation of an openly gay man as a bishop. Members of the governing board of the Episcopal Church of the New Covenant voted Jan. 18 to leave the denomination. "Our vestr

By Terry Mattingly Feb 17, 2004 WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (BP)--The ancient rabbinic text is clear about the punishment for those who twisted sacred law and misled the people of Israel. Offenders would be stoned and then hung by their hands from two pieces of wood connected to form a "T." The Talmud once included this example from the Sanhedrin: "On the eve of Passover they hung Jesus of Nazareth," said the passage, which was censored in the 16th century to evade the wrath of Chr

By Rabbi Daniel Lapin Feb 17, 2004 SEATTLE (BP)--As Mel Gibson's "The Passion of The Christ" heads toward screens nationwide Feb. 25, online ticket merchants are reporting that up to half their total sales are for advance purchases for The Passion. One Dallas multiplex has reserved all 20 of its screens for The Passion. I am neither a prophet nor a movie critic. I am merely an Orthodox rabbi using ancient Jewish wisdom to make three predictions about The Passion. One, Mel Gib

Besieged Kenyan bishop back from US. Primate Nzimbi says HOB will decide his fate By NATION Correspondent NAIROBI--Cash-for-prayers bishop Peter Njoka has returned from the United States but declined to answer questions from journalists. Bishop Njoka, who is at the centre of a Nairobi City Council payments scandal involving Sh1.7 million payment as the Mayor's chaplain, arrived at his Imani house office in Nairobi at 9am. Sources told the Nation the controversial cleric was d

2/17/2004 By Paul Majendie LONDON (Reuters) - Anglican leaders have castigated warring Church factions locked in a bitter row over gay bishops, telling them to calm down and stop using such strident language. The ordination in the United States of openly gay bishop Gene Robinson has sharply divided the Anglican church's 70 million faithful and sparked fears of a schism after 450 years of unity. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, facing the church's worst crisis since th

John Richardson looks at the arguments of Jeffrey John In the run-up to its February session, members of the Church of England's General Synod will have received complementary copies of Permanent, Faithful, Stable by Canon Jeffrey John. This little booklet is described on the back as 'one of the most powerful arguments for the acceptance and blessing of homosexual relationships by the Church'. However, as any dictionary will tell you, 'argument' in this sense is not just the

A large and growing body of social scientific evidence indicates that the intact, married family is best for children. Scholars such as David Popenoe, Linda Waite, Maggie Gallagher, Sara McLanahan, David Blankenhorn, Paul Amato, and Alan Booth support this view. Sara McLanahan, a sociologist at Princeton University, states:   “If we were asked to design a system for making sure that children’s basic needs were met, we would probably come up with something quite similar to the

NPR – ALL THINGS CONSIDERED MELISSA BLOCK, host: From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Melissa Block. MICHELE NORRIS, host: And I'm Michele Norris. It’s been six months since Gene Robinson was confirmed as the first openly gay bishop of the Episcopal Church. Since then, conservatives have threatened to punish the national church by withholding their money. Today, the treasurer of the church told officials that was an empty threat. Pledges for next year are only