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An archive of commentaries and editorials
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| Should members of Diocesan Council have voice and vote at Diocesan Convention? |
Solving a problem that doesn’t exist
by Herb Gunn
[revised from February 2008]
[October 2008] It is not necessary, not essential, and not ppropriate to attempt to ensure that Diocesan Convention echo Diocesan Council’s angle on everything. See Here.
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What’s all this say as commentary on the recently concluded Lambeth Conference and the approach of General Convention next July?
Just this. |
The debate over the direction of the Episcopal Church
by Herb Gunn
[September 2008] Clearly, some major issues still hung in the air during a congenial Lambeth Conference at which several things were designed to dampen or contain the debate over the Anglican Communion and the place of the Episcopal Church within it. See Here.
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| A University of Michigan graduate student reflects on her experience as a Steward at the Lambeth Conference during the summer. |
The Lambeth Conference from the inside
by Areeta Bridgemohan
[September 2008]As the Lambeth Conference drew nearer, I became anxious about the impact, if any at all, of this event on my faith in the church. I went into the Lambeth Conference envisaging one of two things: a parliamentary conference and/or a conference where I would witness some of the more distasteful aspects of institutionalized religion. Thankfully, the conference was neither of these two things. See Here.
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| Should the Lambeth Conference address issues of sexual orientation? |
The Moment
by Judy Avery
[June 2008] At this very time a similar "moment to decide" is upon us. Once again there are human beings who are being declared to not be equal in God's sight, in this case because of sexual orientation. See Here.
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Whatever made Rowan Williams think that by deliberately excluding Gene Robinson would make him invisible? |
“Irrelevance ‘R Us”
by Bruce Campbell
[July 2008] When the history of Lambeth Conferences is comprehended—and there’s a Ph.D. dissertation waiting to be written by someone who loves mucking around in institutional irrelevance—Gene Robinson will be the main entry in the 2008 chapter. See Here.
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The whole of the book is framed as a covenantal document which is how the blessings and curses of chapters 27 and 28 come into play. They are the binding element, the curses that those who say Amen to the covenant call down upon themselves as the power of enforcement.
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A “True Threat:”
Rev. Pinkney and the Book of Deuteronomy
by Bill Wylie-Kellermann
[July 2008] The Rev. Edward Pinkney, a Missionary Baptist assistant pastor in Benton Harbor, was sentenced June 26 in a Berrien County court to 3-10 years on a probation violation for quoting, in King James, several curses from the Book of Deuteronomy in an opinion piece for The People’s Tribune. Judge Dennis Wiley ruled that it was a “true threat.” Until then I had thought the bizarre event of the day was that I was at the hearing as an “expert witness” in Scripture. See Here.
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A reflection on the CROPWalk
and prayer |
Prayer Walkin'
by Bruce Campbell
[June 2008] I woke up early this day and took a walk about town. Life was stirring everywhere I went. The day holds out new promises. At this speed, about 3 miles per hour, the town looks different. See Here.
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Should the Diocese of Michigan continue its companion relationship with two dioceses in Nigeria?
Readers respond. |
Love, Labor, Loss
by Herb Gunn
[June 2008] Much love, many disappointments, some significant estrangement have marked the three-decade relationship between the Diocese of Michigan and the two in Nigeria. It is now time to formally and politely end the companion relationships. See Here.
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| A challenging idea on how to spend a windfall check on the people who are most vulnerable during the economic downturn. |
Piazza Living and Oprah
by Anne Campbell
[June 2008] Our new list of how to spend our rebate check was long, exciting, and filled with an energy that radiated joy. And then another question: What if we invited other people to give their check away, too? Even a portion of a check would help us create our own “Big Give”—a group of people united behind a project to help make a difference. See Here.
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Editorial perspective on the
re-emergence of Jeremiah Wright in the news |
Jeremiah Wright: Advocate or apostate?
by Karen D. Bota
[May 2008] The Rev. Jeremiah Wright, or “Barack Obama’s pastor” as we now know him, was in Detroit on April 27. He addressed 10,000 people at the annual Freedom Fund dinner of the Detroit Branch of the NAACP, then followed that appearance with one at the National Press Club the following day. He is back in the news and commentators are asking why. See Here.
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Editorial perspective on the
re-emergence of Jeremiah Wright in the news |
Jeremiah Wright: Damned Prophets
by Harry T. Cook
[May 2008] For 36 years, a United Church of Christ minister in Chicago, Ill., by the name of Jeremiah Wright has been announcing what was happening, speaking (as the saying goes) "truth to power." Over that time, a church that had about 60 members when he started there now has 6,000, and money-where-the-mouth-is ministries serving every conceivable human need. From the pulpit of Trinity United Church of Christ, Dr. Wright, a serious scholar of the Bible and of ancient history has consistently applied an enlightened interpretation of the Bible to life as his people have lived it. See Here.
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| If you have not taken the chance to support the funding campaign, we encourage you to pitch into the spring campaign. We also offer our thanks to the congregations that have included The Record in church budgets or discretionary accounts. |
Future of church communication
by Herb Gunn
[May 2008] The Record Editorial Board has begun a comprehensive review of its publishing and reporting work—a review that continues to study: 1) the balance of Web and print mediums without diminishing either; 2) new modes and vehicles of communication; and 3) the 13-year-old printing partnership with Episcopal Life. See Here
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| The Episcopal Church Center in New York announced in February that there would be no editor of Episcopal Life. The decision was reversed two weeks later. What is going on and why does it matter in Michigan? |
Pulp Friction
by Herb Gunn
[April 2008] “I need Episcopal Life to be the flagship of editorial independence, a shining example of a newspaper capable of reflecting the breadth of the Episcopal Church, not merely the leadership at its head. Explaining the views of the leadership is an important task, but best performed by other capable arms within the communication strategy. See Here
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Should Diocesan Council representatives be
ex officio members of Diocesan Convention?
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Solving a problem that doesn’t exist
by Herb Gunn
[February 2008] Our Diocesan Convention raised an issue last October, and the bishop commented on it last month in an interview in these pages. The issue is a proposed amendment to the diocesan constitution that would give voice and vote at convention to the members of Diocesan Council. The measure has passed once and its fate awaits a second reading in October 2008. See Here
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Detroit, MI