St. Thomas the Apostle Newsletter

eNews

June 11, 2010

Greetings!

St. Thomas the Apostle is an Episcopal Parish in the Anglo-Catholic tradition. We are called by God to be a holy place where love is found, where all are named and where hearts are freed to change the world.

Rector's Corner

From the Rector

Fr. Ian Elliott Davies

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

Some of you will have heard the recent news from the Episcopal News Service and other sources [see article below] that delegates and representatives from the Episcopal Church in the United States of America have been 'dis-invited' from international and ecumenical bodies on which they have spoken, hitherto, for all Anglicans and Episcopalians. It is another, and latest, development in the complex of issues facing our world-wide Communion- the third largest international Christian body in the world. One can only be dismayed that the 'partners in conversation at the table' of our world-wide body will be diminished in such a move. I personally am saddened by such developments as I count among my friends some of the Communion's most respected voices. But, my message to you this week is, "take heart!" In the history of the Communion, which so many of us cherish, love and value, these matters fit into a far bigger, more expansive and profoundly more loving context.

In thinking and praying about these matters, almost immediately, certain incidents spring to mind as being of similar complexion in our history. It may be a salutary lesson for all concerned to recall John William Colenso, the nineteenth century First Bishop of Natal in South Africa. His story is too intriguing and wonderfully inspiring to tell at length here- but (and this is, perhaps, the major lesson to learn in our current situation) though so very many were opposed to him in his own time (Bishop Gray even excommunicated Bishop Colenso!) and were desperately embroiled in raging controversy- (notably his disputing of 'eternal punishment') - history judges him to have been 'on the side of the angels.' There may have been times when Colenso felt ostracized and heart-broken that his own beloved Church of England (and shamefully our own High Church 'party') did not seem to appreciate Her own son (to say the least) but Colenso is the figure that historians will remember as the champion of literacy for Africans, translator of the Holy Scriptures into Zulu, advocate for Native African causes and serious biblical scholar. His contemporary opponents, today, seem small-minded and hopelessly 'fossilized' in their backward-looking obsessions.

God gives grace to His Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church in every generation to bear witness to Christ's love. I count it a profound privilege (as I hope and trust you do also) that we, as Anglo-Catholics, pray for and with our Diocesan Episcopal leadership- among whom just happens to be Bishop Glasspool, a gifted, generous, gracious and holy lady... who also just happens to be in a life-long partnership with another woman. In God's good grace, in Christ's love and with Our Lady's intercessions in three hundred years time historians will look back and say.... "what extraordinary grace, what astonishing love.... when so many of their own community had known suffering (HIV/Aids) hurt (prejudice in other ecclesial bodies) and pain... they did not speak ill, but loved and loved and loved... for they were called by God to be a holy place, where love was found, where all were named and they changed the world."

"They drew a circle that shut me out-
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle and took them in."
Edwin Markham

It is my privilege, my honour, to be your Rector and Parish Priest,

I send my love & prayers,

Fr Ian Elliott Davies

Evelyn Underhill

Feast Day June 15

Evelyn Underhill (6 December 1875 - 15 June 1941) was an English Anglo-Catholic writer and pacifist known for her numerous works on religion and spiritual practice, in particular Christian mysticism.

In the English-speaking world, she was one of the most widely read writers on such matters in the first half of the twentieth century. No other book of its type-until the appearance in 1946 of Aldous Huxley's The Perennial Philosophy-met with success to match that of her best-known work, Mysticism, published in 1911.

Underhill's life was greatly impacted by her husband's resistance to her joining the Catholic Church to which she was powerfully drawn. At first she believed it to only be a delay in her decision, but it proved lifelong. He was, however, a writer himself and was supportive of her writing both before and after their marriage in 1907, though he did not share her spiritual affinities. Her fiction was written in the six years between 1903-1909 and represents her four major interests of that general period: philosophy (neoplatonism), theism/mysticism, the Roman Catholic liturgy, and human love/compassion.[24] In her earlier writings Underhill often wrote using the terms "mysticism" and "mystics" but later began to adopt the terms "spirituality" and "saints" because she felt they were less threatening; she was often criticized for believing that the mystical life should be accessible to the average person.

Since 2000 the Church of England commemorates her liturgically on 15 June.
Underhill is honored with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (USA) on June 15.

Adapted from www.wikipedia.org

Episcopalians removed

From Anglican Communion's ecumenical dialogue

The Rev. Canon Kenneth Kearon, secretary general of the Anglican Communion, has written to those Episcopalians serving on the communion's ecumenical dialogues informing them that their memberships have been discontinued. The decision is likely to affect five Episcopal Church members serving on Anglican dialogues with the Lutheran, Methodist, Old Catholic and Orthodox churches, as well as one member of the Inter-Anglican Standing Committee on Unity, Faith and Order, who has been invited to serve as a consultant.

Kearon's announcement came in a June 7 letter outlining the next steps following Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams' Pentecost letter. Williams had proposed in his May 28 letter that representatives currently serving on ecumenical dialogues should resign their membership if they are from a province that has not complied with moratoria on same-gender blessings, cross-border interventions and the ordination of gay and lesbian people to the episcopate. He specifically referred to the May 15 consecration of Los Angeles Bishop Suffragan Mary Douglas Glasspool and the unauthorized incursions by Anglican leaders into other provinces. Glasspool is the Episcopal Church's second openly gay, partnered bishop.

Jan Butter, communications director for the Anglican Communion, confirmed that the membership change applies to all ecumenical dialogues. Butter told ENS that the Anglican Communion's secretary general, in consultation with the archbishop of Canterbury, appoints members to the ecumenical commissions and to IASCUFO. "He therefore can ask people to stand down," he said.

Kearon said he has also written to Archbishop Fred Hiltz of the Anglican Church of Canada "to ask whether its General Synod or House of Bishops has formally adopted policies that breach the second moratorium in the Windsor Report, authorizing public rites of same-sex blessing," and to Archbishop Gregory Venables of the Southern Cone, "asking him for clarification as to the current state of his interventions into other provinces."

Some dioceses in the Canadian church have made provisions for blessing same-gender unions and Venables has offered oversight to conservative members of parishes and dioceses breaking away from the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada.

No mention was made in Kearon's letter of ecumenical commission members from other provinces -- such as Nigeria, Kenya and Uganda - that are currently involved in cross-border interventions in the United States.

The moratoria were first mentioned in the 2004 Windsor Report, a document that made several recommendations on how the communion might maintain unity amid disagreements over theological interpretations and human sexuality issues. The moratoria have since been supported by the communion's primates, at their February 2009 meeting, and the Anglican Consultative Council, the communion's main policy-making body, at its May 2009 meeting.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori on June 2 issued a pastoral letter to the Episcopal Church, in which she referred to Williams' letter and urged continued dialogue with those who disagree with recent actions, "for we believe that the Spirit is always calling us to greater understanding."

"We are distressed at the apparent imposition of sanctions on some parts of the communion. We note that these seem to be limited to those which 'have formally, through their Synod or House of Bishops, adopted policies that breach any of the moratoria requested by the Instruments of Communion.' We are further distressed that such sanctions do not, apparently, apply to those parts of the communion that continue to hold one view in public and exhibit other behaviors in private. Why is there no sanction on those who continue with a double standard?"

On June 7, the Episcopal Church's Office of Public Affairs issued a resource for Episcopalians clarifying the distinction between the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. "The Episcopal Church is an autonomous church which is a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion, serving God and working together to spread through word and action the good news of God in Christ," the release said. "General Convention, made up of the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies, has ultimate legislative authority ... and through its canonical actions sets forth governance of the church."The Episcopal Church's General Convention, meeting in July, passed Resolution D025 that declared the ordination process open to all people. Glasspool is the first openly gay priest to be elected and ordained as bishop since the passage of Resolution D025.

Jefferts Schori said in her letter that "the Spirit does seem to be saying to many within the Episcopal Church that gay and lesbian persons are God's good creation, that an aspect of good creation is the possibility of lifelong, faithful partnership, and that such persons may indeed be good and healthy exemplars of gifted leadership within the Church, as baptized leaders and ordained ones. The Spirit also seems to be saying the same thing in other parts of the Anglican Communion, and among some of our Christian partners, including Lutheran churches in North America and Europe, the Old Catholic churches of Europe, and a number of others."

By: Matthew Davies, editor and international correspondent of the Episcopal News Service

LA GLBT Pride: March with Mary

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Christopher Street West is Proud to present LA PRIDE - the 40th annual Los Angeles LGBT PRIDE Celebration taking place in the City of West Hollywood, June 11-13, 2010.

LA PRIDE FESTIVAL
Saturday, June 12 from 12:00 noon to 11:00 p.m.
Sunday, June 13 from 11:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m.
San Vicente Blvd. between Santa Monica Blvd. and Melrose Ave.

All are invited to come out and show their Pride at one of the most exciting PRIDE Celebrations in the country as Christopher Street West launches their latest three-year vision - "PRIDE 365: Power. Passion. Purpose." Thousands of festival attendees are expected in the heart of West Hollywood to revel amongst world-class headlining entertainment (previously featured artists include: Olivia Newton John, Joss Stone, Joan Jett and the premiere of the music video "Hollywood" by Madonna). In addition to lively dance pavilions with music spun by some of the hottest DJ's in the country, a new layout of festival grounds boasts food, drink, socialization, community programming and unique exhibitors, all hosting a diverse spectrum of activities to entice the entire LGBT family. Festival admission, inclusive of entertainment venues and dance pavilions, is still just $20 per day -- or $15 per day with advance purchase from LAPRIDE.org.

LA PRIDE PARADE
Sunday, June 13, steps off at 11:00 a.m.
Santa Monica Blvd. between Crescent Heights Ave. and Robertson Blvd.