The newSpin newsletter, March 31, 2011
By Bill Lewellis
Published Mondays and Thursdays
Do
• The Daily Office ... with the assistance of the Mission St. Clare.
• Acquire a peaceful spirit ... Below, under "Lent."
• 20 + 1 + 1 = Renewal ... Challenge yourself to pray for 20 minutes daily, to worship for one hour weekly, and to serve others for one day a month. Find Mother Laura Howell's blog here.
View
• Renewal Assembly video ... see below, under "Diocese."
• The new Alban.org ... Here.
• Religion's "F" word ... This preacher is telling his congregation to "F" everybody they know. Here.
Read
• Diocesan Life ... April. Here. Read online or download as a pdf.
• The Archdeacon's Predictions... [Howard Stringfellow is newSpin's acclaimed sportSwriter] Who will be the League and World Series champs? Here.
• Good Counsel ... [America Magazine, Francis X. Hezel, SJ] Six lessons for the younger set. 1. Relax and let instinct take over. 2. The big choices are simple. 3. We see better with our hearts. 4. As life lengthens, the ego shrinks. 5. Prayer is a warm-up for life. 6. Our hearts expand as expectations contract. More here.
Go
• April 2, to Diocesan Training Day ... At St. Stephen's Wilkes-Barre. Some 130 have registered. Registration may be closed. See below, under "Diocese."
• April 14, Chrism Mass ... Blessing of Oils and Reaffirmation of Ordination Vows, Cathedral Bethlehem, 11:00 a.m. See below, under "Diocese."
• April 21-23, to take part in the Easter Triduum ... At your church.
• May 14, to hear Bishop Michael Curry ... At St. Stephen's Wilkes-Barre. See below, under "Diocese."
• June 11, to Renewal Assembly II ... At many locations. See below, under "Diocese of Bethlehem."
Know
• That you can join our diocesan interactive list. It's called "Bakery." If you participate, you may be addressed as a "crouton." After all, Bethlehem means "House of Bread." At the Diobeth website, enter your name and email in the "Get Connected" box on the right hand side.
• On Bakery, you will find conversations such as this one that was initiated last week by Epiphany Clarks Summit rector Craig Sweeney. Once joined, you may read, initiate or comment on conversations.
Help?
• Who's blogging in our diocesan community? ... Find eight blogs below, under "Diocese." Who else is blogging?
Lent
• Acquire a peaceful spirit ... At a basic level, a virtue is a habit, something we acquire, something we have become disposed to do. Virtues reuire practice. During Lent, we might try to acquire a habit: of giving others a break, of helpfulness, of a peaceful spirit. In the Diocese of Bethlehem, we have long had an interactive Internet list where people can enter into conversation. We recently changed its name to "Bakery," a play on Bethlehem meaning House of Bread. Bishop Paul Marshall wrote recently on Bakery: “I am going to work on acquiring something this year. Well, starting to acquire it.” He then related that a few months ago on a little table at the end of the nave at Trinity Bethlehem, he saw a bookmark that describes our life's work so well. “It sets a goal,” he said, “that explains why we call it ‘lifelong Christian formation.’ It has spiritual, psychological, and social implications. It has haunted me ever since the day I saw it. It is simply this word from a slavic Orthodox monk of the 19th century, Seraphim of Sarov: Acquire a peaceful spirit, and around you thousands will be saved. “It has haunted me ever since the day I saw it,” he wrote. I want it to haunt me. I hope it haunts you: Acquire a peaceful spirit, and around you thousands will be saved.
• 20 + 1 + 1 = Renewal ... Challenge yourself to pray for 20 minutes daily, to worship for one hour weekly, and to serve others for one day a month. Find Mother Laura Howell's blog here.
• Resources from the Diocese of Bethlehem ... Here.
Diocese
• Diocesan Training Day ... April 2 at St. Stephen's Wilkes-Barre. A day set aside for learning about opportunities and resources for ministry in congregations, and celebrating ministries we share. There will be 13 different workshops spanning many aspects of ministry. Some 130 have registered. Registration may be closed. Read about the workshops here. Register here. Download the brochure here.
• Chrism Mass ... Blessing of Oils and Reaffirmation of Ordination Vows, Cathedral Bethlehem, Thursday, April 14, 11:00 a.m. Special Full Communion Partner Guests: Bishop Samuel Zeiser of the Northeast PA Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; The Rev. David Bennett, President of the Eastern District of the Moravian Church. All Clergy are expected to attend this event (white stoles). Laity are most welcome and most cordially invited. Modest gifts for the parishes bringing the largest percentage of their ASA and for the lay people who have traveled the farthest. Lunch is provided. Please let Ely know by Monday April 11 how many we should expect from your parish.
• Blogging in our diocesan community ... (1) DioBeth newSpin, Bill Lewellis, (2) Andrew Plus, Canon Andrew Gerns, (3) About and Around St. Stephen's, Father Daniel Gunn, (4) 20+1+1=Renewal, Mother Laura Howell, (5) Sermons and Such, Nativity Cathedral, (6) Share the Bread, Diocesan Evangelism Commission, (7) TrinEast, Trinity Easton, (8) Reflections on Mind, Body and Spirit, Jane Williams. Who else is blogging? Tell Bill.
• Nativity Week Notes ... March 25. Created with ChurchPost, available free to all parishes. Ask Kat about ChurchPost?
• Bowl Auction, April 10, at St. Stephen's Wilkes-Barre ... Here.
• Renewal Assembly Video ... Watch it at YouTube, split into two parts, or all in one at Vimeo. The video, with Bishop Paul, Mother Laura Howell and Father John Francis, is 23:30. The next Renewal Assembly has been scheduled for June 11.
• Calendar of Events ... Updated March 7. Download here.
• Choral Evensong at Mediator Allentown ... Sunday, April 3, 4:00 p.m. More info.
• Lenten Quiet Day at Mediator Allentown ... Saturday, April 9. Focus on Contemplative Prayer (Lection Divina and Centering Prayer). More here.
• Prince of Peace Dallas to host fashion show ... Sunday Aprl 3, 1:00-3:00. More info here.
• Actor Frank Runyeon returns to the Cathedral ... Saturday, April 16 at 7 p.m., to present his one-man play, Signs: The Gospel of John, staged with dramatic lighting and entertaining audience interaction. Its text is the first eleven chapters of the Gospel of John, translated into contemporary American speech. More here.
• North Carolina Bishop Michael Curry ... will keynote our 2011 Stewardship and Evangelism Workshop, Saturday, May 14 (9:00 to 3:00). The theme: Jesus loves a growing seed. Bishop Curry is a nationally recognized preacher known for his vivid and exciting spiritual messages packed with humor and thought-provoking ideas, encouraging listeners to think more fully about their spiritual lives and responsibilities as Christians. Participants will leave with something of value in their minds and hearts. Registration is open at www.diobeth.org (click on Register for Diocesan Events, at right) and will close April 30 or when 300 have registered. Cost per person, $10,00, includes breakfast sacks, beverages and lunch.
• Renewal Assembly II ... Would you believe? With a new introductory video, featuring lay people. Saturday, June 11 (9:00 to 1:00) at six, possibly nine, locations around the Diocese. Focusing on God's blessings: Prayer, Bible Study, Small group discussion.
• Christophany ... [Kim Rowles] Take a leap of faith; register for Christophany, April 8-10. More here.
• Lenten collection for Christophany ... Read about it here. And more here.
• Episcopal News Weekly bulletin inserts ... Bulletin inserts for April 3, Lent4: The Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music's online survey for Holy Women, Holy Men. Download inserts here.
• DioBeth Website and newSpin Blog
• Public news and info lists ... At the Diobeth website, enter your name and email in the "Get Connected" box on the right hand side. You are welcome to subscribe to any or all of these. "Bakery" is our diocesan interactive list.
Spinning
• The NYTimes allows monthly 20-article limit for readers who do not pay online fee ... The good news, as I understand it, is that readers of the newSpin newsletter or blog will not be affected by this. Here is how the NYTimes puts it: "Readers who come to articles on NYTimes.com through links from e-mail newsletters, search engines, blogs or social media will still be able to read those articles even if they have reached their monthly 20-article limit." Additionally, I have been included among heavy users who will be given a free online subscription (otherwise $15 a month) until the end of the year. I suppose they consider me a good ad for the paper.
• Thirty years ago ... [NYTimes] On March 30, 1981, President Reagan was shot and seriously injured outside a Washington, D.C., hotel by John W. Hinckley Jr. Also wounded were White House news secretary James Brady, a Secret Service agent and a District of Columbia police officer. More here.
• Muhlenberg College's diversity ... [Associated Press] One of the hottest college campuses in the U.S. for Jewish students is also one of the unlikeliest: a small Lutheran school in Allentown erected around a soaring stone chapel with a cross on top. In what is being called a testament to word of mouth in the Jewish community, approximately 34 percent of Muhlenberg College's 2,200 students are Jewish. And the biggest gains have come in the past five years or so. Perhaps equally noteworthy is how Muhlenberg has responded: offering a kosher menu at the student union, creating a partnership with the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, and expanding its Hillel House, a social hub for Jews. "What makes us stand out is that we actually enjoy our diversity," said Randy Helm, the college's president, an Episcopalian. More here.
• Sexting alters lives ... [NYTimes] "Don’t do it at all. I mean, what are you thinking? It’s freaking stupid!” More here.
• A cover-to-cover reading of the King James Bible ... William Shakespeare's Globe Theatre, London, will mark the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible with a cover-to-cover reading between Palm Sunday and Easter Monday. Twenty actors will take part in the reading, which is scheduled to take 69 hours over eight days. Here.
• Japanese Earthquake Info ... from Episcopal Relief and Development ... Donate now. Deaths surpass 10,000, with 17,000 still missing; some 240,000 people shelter in 1,900 centers. Beware of scams already surfacing. Give to reputable agencies, including ERD. What aid makes sense for Japan ... Here. Is Japan seeking financial assistance, here. Visit a comprehensive NYTimes page here. Litany for Japan, here.
• Haiti ... Info from Episcopal Relief and Development.
• Ex-Episcopal priest's daughter sues him, employee ... [Times Leader, Wilkes-Barre] The daughter of a former Episcopal priest with a history of legal troubles has filed a lawsuit against him and one of his employees for injuries she suffered after being attacked outside an area tavern. More here.
• Dear Lord, please make President Obama lucky ... [NYimes Op-Ed, Thomas Friedman] I don’t know Libya, but my gut tells me that any kind of decent outcome there will require boots on the ground — either as military help for the rebels to oust Qaddafi as we want, or as post-Qaddafi peacekeepers and referees between tribes and factions to help with any transition to democracy. Those boots cannot be ours. We absolutely cannot afford it — whether in terms of money, manpower, energy or attention. But I am deeply dubious that our allies can or will handle it without us, either. And if the fight there turns ugly, or stalemates, people will be calling for our humanitarian help again. You bomb it, you own it. Which is why, most of all, I hope President Obama is lucky. I hope Qaddafi’s regime collapses like a sand castle, that the Libyan opposition turns out to be decent and united and that they require just a bare minimum of international help to get on their feet. Then U.S. prestige will be enhanced and this humanitarian mission will have both saved lives and helped to lock another Arab state into the democratic camp. Dear Lord, please make President Obama lucky. More here. [H/T Deacon Larry Holman who forwarded this.]
• NPR investigates how 37 priests accused of sexual abuse fell through the cracks in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. More here.
• So You Think Your Church is Too Big? A Thinking Person's Guide to Downsizing the Church ... [James R. Adams] Here are two tips; (1) Never introduce yourself to a stranger in church. You can see for yourself the harm done by greeting visitors. They frequently come back a second time. (2) Permit only aging people to take a prominent leadership role. Find more tips here.
• What are bishops for? ... [Martin L. Smith] So many expectations are now heaped on the role of bishop. What person could possibly fulfill the wish list of ideal skills? More here.
• A bishop? ... Peter Steinfels remembers receiving many years ago a query from a business reporter assigned by a leading paper to do a piece on the American Catholic bishops' pastoral letter on the U.S. economy. She quickly interrupted his attempt at a finely nuanced evaluation. "What exactly," she asked, "is a bishop?"
• Overcoming loneliness in ministry ... [Alban Institute] Here.
Health
• National Health Ministries Annual Conference ... Burlingame, CA. May 19-21. Here.
The Episcopal Church/Anglican Communion
• First Wednesday live concert from St. John's Lafayette Square in DC ... The next live concert is on Wednesday, April 6 and begins at 12:10 pm Eastern. The 35-minute concert will be Ivor Davies’ “Prayers from the Ark” and other works, featuring the soloists from the St. John’s Choir. The live webcast will be available here, on the home page of the Episcopal Church’s website, and on the Episcopal Church Facebook page. The concert will also be available on-demand following the live performance.
• Episcopal Church Website and News Service
The Moravian Church in North America
• Moravian Church in North America website • Moravian Church Northern Province website • Moravian Theological Seminary website
The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America
• ELCA website ... Here.
• ELCA News Service ... Here.
• ELCA's blogs may be found here. See especially "Web and Multimedia Development."
• NEPA Synod website ... Here.
• Synod E-News ... March 18. Sign up to receive the weekly newsletter by email here.
The United Methodist Church
• March Communication newsletter ... Here. • UMC website ... Here. • UMC News Service ... Here. UMC Communication ... The United Methodist Church has long been a leader in providing useful resources for church communicators. Start here. Eastern PA Conference of the UMC website ... Here. Bishop Peggy Johnson's blog ... Here.
The Roman Catholic Church
• Maryknoll Father Roy Bourgeois, the longtime peace activist and founder of SOA Watch, has received a letter from his order giving him 15 days to “publicly recant” his support of women’s ordination or face dismissal from Maryknoll. More here and here.
• U.S. bishops blast book by feminist theologian ... [National Catholic Reporter, John Allen] A widely popular 2007 book by Sr. Elizabeth Johnson, one of America’s most prominent feminist Catholic theologians, is marred by a series of “misrepresentations, ambiguities and errors” and thus “does not accord with authentic Catholic teaching on essential points,” according to a statement released today by the Committee on Doctrine of the U.S. bishops’ conference In particular, Johnson’s treatment of the Trinity in Quest for the Living God, according to the bishops, “completely undermines the Gospel and the faith of those who believe in the Gospel.” Despite that conclusion, the bishops did not call for any disciplinary measures against Johnson, such as a ban on teaching or publishing. Johnson, 69, is a distinguished professor of systematic theology at the Jesuit-run Fordham University in New York. More here. [Bill: I believe she was a presenter at Trinity Institute a few years ago.]
• Vatican Information Service blog ... Here. • United States Conference of Catholic Bishops website ... Here. Catholic News Serice ... Here. • Diocese of Allentown website ... Here. • Diocese of Scranton website ... Here.
Additional sources of news/info/commentary
• Religion News Service Daily Roundup ... here.
• Diocese of Bethlehem
(1) The DioBeth newSpin blog
(2) The DioBeth website
(3) Twitter.DioBeth
(4) Twitter.Kat Lehman
(5) Public news and info lists: At the Diobeth website, enter your name and email in the "Get Connected" box on the right hand side. You are welcome to subscribe to any or all of these. "Bakery" is our diocesan interactive list.
• Episcopal/Anglican
(1) NewsLine
(2) News & Notices
(3) Infoline
(4) Episcopal News Service
(5) Episcopal Church website
(6) Twitter
(7) Facebook
(8) YouTube
(9) The Lead, Episcopal Cafe
(10) Daily Episcopalian, Episcopal Cafe
(11) AngicansOnline.
(12) AnglicansOnline News Centre.
(13) Anglican Communion website.
(14) Anglican Communion News Service.
• Find earlier issues of the newSpin newsletter here and recent ones in the left column here.
*************
Send info about newSpin to friends you think may be interested ... newSpin is an electronic newsletter that includes news, information and commentary related to the Diocese of Bethlehem, the Episcopal Church, the Anglican Communion and the world of religion ... with some spin, of course, from the editor. Edited by retired communication minister Bill Lewellis and ordinarily published twice weekly, on Monday and Thursday, it is currently received by some 1,200 people, many of whom forward it to many others. To have it emailed directly to you, subscribe at the "Get Connected" box on the right column of www.diobeth.org. Select newSpin under the groups. You may find samples of the newSpin newsletter on the left column of the newSpin blog, www.diobeth.typepad.com.
About the newSpin newsletter ... Composed at least weekly (usually twice a week) by Bill Lewellis, the newSpin newsletter appears as a post within the newSpin blog, but newsletter and blog are not identical. The newsletter comes, of course, with some spin from the editor, but the views expressed, implied or inferred in items or links contained in the newsletter or the blog do not represent the official view of the Diocese of Bethlehem unless expressed by or forwarded from the Bishop or the Archdeacon as an official communication. Comments may be addressed to Bill.
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