Dear People of God, 

As I look around St. Mark’s I am continually impressed with the steadfastness of this congregation . The willingness you have to be engaged in your spiritual journey is, for me, tremendously exciting. Your work encourages me to deepen my awareness of God’s presence. This work we do supports and enlivens not simply the life of this congregation, but in very real ways encourages and supports the life of the Spirit in the world.

The most important thing Bishop Morante, Padre Leon and others from our companion church in Ecuador have said is, “Pray for us as we remember to pray for you”. 

It is important because we are reminded we are not alone in this journey. 

It is important because it is in our relationships that we best experience the presence of God. 

It is important because we strengthen others on the journey that brings healing and joy. 

So as our pilgrims get ready to once again travel to share ministry with our sisters and brothers in Ecuador I give thanks for the gladness that you all bring to my heart in your willingness to share with me on this journey to the heart of God.

Peace, Battle+
Return to top of page

from I Heard God Laughing, Renderings of Hafiz by Daniel Ladinsky, Penguin USA, copyright 1996.

Return to top of page

FIRST WITNESS OF THE RESURRECTION

(22 JULY NT)

By James Keifer

Mary Magdalene is mentioned in the Gospels as being among the women of Galilee who followed Jesus and His disciples, and who was present at His Crucifixion and Burial, and who went to the tomb on Easter Sunday to anoint His body. She was the first to see the Risen Lord, and to announce His Resurrection to the apostles. Accordingly, she is referred to in early Christian writings as "the apostle to the apostles."

Mary Magdalene, Mary of Bethany (sister of Martha and Lazarus), and the unnamed penitent woman who anointed Jesus's feet (Luke 7:36-48) are sometimes supposed to be the same woman. From this, plus the statement that Jesus had cast seven demons out of her (Luke 8:2), has risen the tradition that she had been a prostitute before she met Jesus.

Because of the assumption that Mary Magdalene had been a spectacular sinner, and also perhaps because she is described as weeping at the tomb of Jesus on the Resurrection morning, she is often portrayed in art as weeping, or with eyes red from having wept. From this appearance we derive the English word "maudlin", meaning "effusively or tearfully sentimental." There is a Magdalen College at Oxford, and a Magdalene College at Cambridge (different spelling), both pronounced "Maudlin."

Return to top of page

European churches urged to scrutinize their investments 

(ENI) 

Churches in Western Europe are being urged to examine their investment portfolios to help counter the negative aspects of the globalization of the world's economy. The call came from 80 church leaders at a five-day meeting in the Netherlands in mid-June. 

Participants are asking churches to examine how they are managing their financial resources, such as pension funds, to see if there are ways they can use their financial muscle to promote positive changes in the world economy. The meeting followed regional gatherings of Asian, eastern European and Pacific churches over the past three years that examined the links between Christian faith and the global economy and formulated a number of critical questions for churches in western Europe. They pointed to a perception, for example, that "for Christians in the west and their churches, material values and possessions have taken a far too important place in their lives." 

Sam Kobia, a senior staff member at the World Council of Churches, told the gathering that the interests of the world's poorer countries were being overshadowed by the "war on terror" launched in the wake of the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. He said that worldwide justice should top the political agenda, rather than the security priorities of the developed world. 

The gathering was sponsored by the WCC, the Lutheran World Federation, the World Alliance of Reformed Churches, and the Conference of European Churches. 

Archbishop of Canterbury calls for restraint following decision to bless same-gender couples
(ACNS) Archbishop of Canterbury George L. Carey has called for restraint and a period of reflection in the wake of a decision June 15 by the Diocese of Westminster in the Anglican Church of Canada to approve a rite for blessing same-gender couples. They had approved a similar resolution at several previous synods but Bishop Michael Ingham insisted that a substantial majority approve before he would give his consent. 

Writing to the other primates of the Anglican Communion, Carey said that the decision had major implications for the whole of the church and urged that individual dioceses should not "go it alone" in making decision in such matters.

 "Precisely because there are strong views on all sides of this issue, I believe that departure from the main thrust of Anglican moral tradition is sufficiently significant for individual dioceses not to act alone in relation to it," Carey wrote. 

Carey has also written to Ingham seeking clarification on five points:  
* The precise status of the decision, the consent and ratification needed, and the process which now ensues; 
* The extent and limitation of the pastoral oversight delegated to any episcopal visitor scheme to protect those who object to the decision; 
* Safegurds for clergy and others dissenting from the move; 
* The contribution so far, and possible future role, of the Canadian House of Bishops; 
* The extent to which wider factors, including the implications for the Canadian province and the Anglican Communion, were a part of the debate. 
Carey called on his fellow primates to resist invitations to intervene in the matter and thereby avoid aggravating an already volatile situation. He also asked for their prayers and support in the dialogue he has initiated with the diocese and the Anglican Church of Canada. 

Carey suggests that Roman Catholics may ordain women in the future 
(Telegraph) During a two-day visit to visit Pope John Paul II, Archbishop of Canterbury George L. Carey suggested that the Roman Catholic Church may one day follow the path of Anglicans and ordain women to the priesthood. He also said during an interview that the fact that the Church of England ordains women while Rome does not was "an eternally insurmountable" problem. 

The Church of England began to ordain women in 1994, despite a warning two years earlier by the pope that the move would represent a grave obstacle to unity. The pope pointed out that Christ had chosen only men as his apostles. "I know there are lots of women in the Roman Catholic Church who would like ordination themselves," Carey said. "So let's see it as a problem, but not as a final break that is going to stop the unity that we want to see."

Carey said that the Church of England's break with more than four centuries of an exclusively male priesthood meant that "sometimes churches have to change and to go with the leading of the Holy Spirit and sometimes this takes hundreds of years." Yet this "doesn't mean to say one church is right and another church is wrong," he added. "We move in different steps, different paces. We have lagged behind the Roman Catholic Church in many directions but maybe on this issue we are leading the way." 

Return to top of page