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An archive of commentaries and editorials
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See 2008 commentaries and editorials HERE |
| But here’s what’s really at stake. This decision is more than the loss of a newspaper. In fact, it never was strictly a debate comparing parchment and pixels, per se. Undergirding the discussion to dramatically shift the communication strategy of the Episcopal Church is the question of editorial integrity |
Episcopal Life
More at stake than parchment and pixels
by Herb Gunn
[July 2009] With action taken at General Convention, the Episcopal Church is embracing a clear priority for branding, marketing, messaging, and public relations over news dissemination, and this raises significant questions about the credibility of our story told in a world in which people are letting authenticity guide their religious choices. See Here.
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What really binds us in unity?
No doubt there are those that do not experience God’s living breathing reality in gay and lesbian persons and their life-long relationships. I grieve over this. |
Batting 1.000
A Primary Theological Case for the Blessing of Same-gender, Life-long Relationships by the Episcopal Church
by Brad Whitaker
[July 2009] So where is the Church today? What answers will I have for those, like my daughter, who care deeply about all the people in their lives that bring to reality the presence of God? Resolutions D-025 and B-056 now combine with A-052 from 1997 and others as clear statements about where the Church stands today. See Here.
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| We are the citizens of a great democracy. Our national integrity has been violated. Torture is a terrorist tactic. |
Torture is a terrorist tactic
by Reid Hamilton
[June 2009] The United States has already had its discussion about the morality of torture, and has long since made its decision: Torture is immoral. Torture is illegal. We already have many laws in place against it. It is now time to enforce them. See Here.
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A quarterly publication cycle will enhance a focus on weekly online news coverage through The Record Weekly and The Record Web site, which has become the anchor of news and information.
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Change our strength, our unity
by Herb Gunn
[May 2009] Delivering the news weekly through The Record Weekly and The Record Web pages has become the linchpin of our communication strategy in the diocese. No longer will readers wait four weeks for an account of important decisions.
But where does the introduction of a quarterly magazine fit in the communication strategy of the Diocese of Michigan? Will I still get The Record in the mail? See Here.
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It’s a choice that has less to do with the Dominican Republic and more to do with a D.R.-like perspective on ministry.
Do we have the will to turn funeral homes into health clinics?
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Choose Life
by Herb Gunn
[April 2009] In March, a seven-person delegation from Michigan to the Dominican Republic opened a door to deeper partnerships for mission—both in Michigan and perhaps in the Caribbean nation of nearly 10 million.
As part of that exploratory trip, I was touched by the commitment of Episcopalians in La Iglesia Episcopal Dominicana as well as the likelihood that Episcopalians in Michigan will discover ways to more closely work together. See Here.
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| “The primary disadvantage of analog signaling is that any system has noise – i.e., random unwanted variation. As the signal is copied and re-copied, or transmitted over long distances, these random variations become dominant. ... The effects of noise create signal loss and distortion." |
Leap to HD
by Herb Gunn
[March 2009] An analog reception has been used to provide television viewers with remarkable images—fairly clear and subsequently in color—since Philo Farnsworth invented the device 80 years ago. During 2009, however, consumers are required to make the leap to digital, and the result will be even clearer images in High Definition.
Not a bad analogy for the current state of the Episcopal Church. The images of the Church passed to us by previous generations are not wrong, but they are aging. In many cases, they are fuzzy, out of sharp focus, and in many cases, still in black and white. See Here.
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| For me as a Christian, this fast is a simple act of intercession. As Bonhoeffer put it, to intercede is to feel another’s pain or need in such a way and so clearly that we pray their prayer, in their stead, on their behalf. |
Why I Fast Against Torture
by Bill Wylie-Kellermann
[January 2009] On Sunday, January 11, with a handful of friends in Detroit and upwards of 40 in Washington DC, (a total some 80 nationwide), I began a nine-day juice fast in the name of closing Guantanamo and ending torture as a practice of US policy. All of us intend to break fast on Inauguration Day, 2008, which will then initiate a 100-day presence at the White House imploring President Obama to swiftly enact his voiced intention to do both of those things. See Here.
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For me as a Christian, this fast is a simple act of intercession. As Bonhoeffer put it, to intercede is to feel another’s pain or need in such a way and so clearly that we pray their prayer, in their stead, on their behalf.
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Speaking frankly about finances
by Herb Gunn
[November 2008] The Diocesan Convention offered delegates a chance for some frank conversation about the support for the 2009 ministries of the Episcopal Church throughout the diocese, the financial realities facing every congregation, and some steps ahead that call for serious discernment and decision-making in a financial environment that leaves the entire world dumbfounded. See Here.
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Detroit, MI