It's A Retreat Center

This year the National Association for Episcopal Christian Education Directors (NAECED) annual conference is being held at the Vallombrosa Center in Menlo Park, California. The former Hopkins estate was purchased by the roman Catholic Archdiocese of San Francisco in 1947 as a retreat house for women. It now hosts a variety of retreats and meetings.

I've been to many retreat centers during my life, and especially during my tenure at the Church Center, including several run by various Roman Catholic organizations from the Jesuits to the Sisters of Mercy. Many started out as homes or estates of the wealthy. Some started out as seminaries or monasteries/convents. The basics include a twin bed, a chair, a table or desk for writing or study, and a place to store clothes. Bathrooms are sometimes in the room and sometimes down the hall.

The rooms here are small. One of my fellow board members commented, "what is it with Catholics and cells?" But they are clean and comfortable. Each has its own heater and bathroom. The thing that caught my attention here? There are electric blankets on the beds. Of course, this is California. For a New Englander 50 degrees isn't cold, especially in the middle of winter.

As with all retreat centers, our rooms do not have televisions or telephones. On the other hand, we do have wireless throughout the Center.

Our host parish is Trinity Episcopal Church, which in good weather would be within walking distance. The NAECED board held our meeting there this afternoon, and will meet there again tomorrow morning. Tomorrow afternoon the parish will open its campus for a variety of activities as the conference begins.

There are 12 board members here, and we are currently sharing the Center with a large group of high school-age girls here on retreat. So far we've had little interaction with them, but tomorrow we will be having breakfast and lunch with them in the dining room.

The rain continues.

Peace,
Jeff

The Wearin' O' The Orange

I know. I know. On St. Patrick's Day here in the States everyone is Irish. As time goes by March 17 becomes less and less a religious observance, less and less a celebration of ethnic pride, and more and more an excuse for drinking and acting foolishly--a mid-Lent Mardis Gras, so to speak.

However, not everyone is welcome. ILGO, the Irish Lesbian and Gay Organization, is still denied a place in the New York City parade by its organizers, the Ancient Order of Hibernians (AOH). In order to keep ILGO out, the AOH continues to resort to the argument that the parade is primarily a religious observance, and since lesbians and gays are not welcome by the Roman Catholic Church, and the AOH is an organization primarily of Roman Catholics...

It's enough to make me want to wear orange in protest.

I am not, however, that naive. The color orange carries enormous political, social, and historical baggage in Irish Communities. The Loyal Orange Institution (or Order) is a staunch defender of a Protestant Northern Ireland as a part of Great Britain. Every year they insist on their right to march through Catholic neighborhoods, keeping the generations old bitterness alive.

I could legitimately wear orange. My Irish forebears were Presbyterians from Ballymena, County Antrim, in the north. My great-great-grandfather James Dick Blakley and his brother served in Irish regiments of the British Army. He even wrote a letter to the editor of the Westchester County Reporter (while he was living in Montreal, Quebec) proudly giving a history of the family's military history, including participation in the fight against the rebels during the Uprising of 1798.

But I know better, especially in New York City on St. Patrick's Day...

Peace,
Jeff

More On Bishop Robinson--The Australian One

Clerical Whispers has a new story on the controversy surrounding Bishop Geoffrey Robinson's book.

Bishop Robinson now has a web site. You can find his tour schedule, reviews of Confronting Power and Sex in the Catholic Church, documents and articles about the controversy, and some of the bishop's published articles and papers.

I haven't read his book yet, but given the amount of attention it is receiving, I figure it will be at a library or bookstore near me soon. Although he is a Roman Catholic bishop, given his role in Australia and what I've read so far, it seems to me that his insights into the abuse scandals in his church might prove helpful in looking at abuse in churches in general.

Peace,
Jeffri

Hope In The Midst Of The Tempest

As we weather the Anglican Tempest in a Teapot, there are some glimmers of hope.

For instance, this story posted on Clerical Whispers about four denominations that will share a church building in a new suburb of Dublin. I read Clerical Whispers on a regular basis. The author is a Roman Catholic Priest, but while most of the stories are about the RC Church, his blog does cover things Anglican as well. The outside perspective is interesting.

Episcopal Life Online has a piece by Doug LeBlanc that you should read. Actually, almost anything Doug writes is well worth reading. When he writes news, it is balanced and well researched. When he writes commentary, it is thoughtful and insightful. I've broken bread with Doug, and he's one of those folks I always hope to get to know better.

Then there's this article from a newspaper in Washington state (hat tip to Episcopal Cafe): Five Things To Know About Being An Episcopalian.

Finally, this article from The Telegraph about the House of Bishops in England dealing with the issue of women bishops. And not backing away from it!

And now back to bailing out the teacups.

Peace,
Jeffri

Nigerian Bishops In The News And The Blogosphere

The Church Times reports that Anglican Archbishop Peter Akinola's recent missive, "A Most Agonizing Journey towards Lambeth 2008," was extensively edited by CANA Bishop Martyn Minns. Given the amount of time Bishop Akinola spent conferring with then Rev. Minns during the Primates meeting in Dar es Salaam, this surprises us how? Given the fact that Archbishop Akinola spent time in Virginia with Bishop Minns immediately preceding the release of that missive, I ask again, this surprises us how?

I am not sure we can, or should, read too much into this revelation. I have worked in a variety of organizations, and it is not unusual for a direct report to substantially edit or even completely write letters and other communication for his or her supervisor--especially for CEO's of organizations. On the other hand, the almost frantic attempts over at StandFirm (as well as other conservative/reasserter blogs) to dismiss the edits as nothing do give one cause to wonder.

The bottom line, however, is that Archbishop Akinola signed it and is thus responsible for its content.

An infinitely more interesting document, supposedly written by a Nigerian Anglican bishop, appears on Mark Harris' Preludium. He was sent a copy of a draft letter said to have been written by Bishop Bena, late of Albany, now of CANA, that was left up on a public computer at Camp Allen, where the self-named "Windsor Complaint Bishops" met recently. The implication is that Bishop Bena had a hand in some communication between those bishops and the Archbishop of Canterbury. Interesting that the "WC Bishops" should be working with someone who has jumped ship and gone to the Province of Nigeria. And if they are, why are they?

Ultimately, the truth behind either of these letters may not amount to very much. It is the perceptions they leave behind that may very well have the greater effect upon the upcoming meeting in New Orleans of the bishops of the Episcopal Church.

Meanwhile, Clerical Whispers has a story about the Roman Catholic Archbishop of Nigeria here. Archbishop John Onaiyekan of Abuja is proposing a truth, reparation and reconciliation process for Nigeria, which is still suffering from the aftermath of a civil war, years of military rule, political corruption and rigged elections. As many issues as I--and many other people--have with the Roman Catholic Church, here we have a bishop proposing reconciliation and healing. What a concept.

Peace,
Jeffri

Updated 08/24/07

Pope Returns To Rome, Again

No, not Benedict, but Bishop Clarence Pope, the retired Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth. Read Katie Sherwood's report here.

He still won't be a Roman Catholic bishop, and he would still have to be "re-ordained" to be a Roman Catholic priest. Maybe it's the return of the Latin Mass?

Peace,
Jeffri

What Pope Benedict Said, Should Have Said, Shouldn't Have Said...

There has been a lot of coverage in both the traditional press and in the blogosphere of Pope Benedict's return of the Latin Mass and the recent Vatican statement about what constitutes a true church. If you want to get a broader perspective, and a particularly European one, check out Clerical Whispers. And if you want a good giggle about the whole thing, check out "The Vatican's Product Recall" at the Slate Magazine site.

Enjoy.

Peace,
Jeffri