Just the facts, ma'am, just the facts

Received today via email

As you open your pockets for the next natural disaster, keep these facts in mind:

1. The American Red Cross President and CEO Marsha J. Evans salary for the year was $651,957 plus expenses
2. The United Way President Brian Gallagher receives a $375,000 base salary along with numerous expense benefits
3. UNICEF CEO Caryl M. Stern receives $1,200,000 per year(100k per month)plus all expenses including a ROLLS ROYCE. Less than 5 cents of your donated dollar goes to the cause
4. The Salvation Army's Commissioner Todd Bassett receives a salary of only $13,000 per year(plus housing)for managing this $2 billion dollar organization. 96 percent of donated dollars go to the cause.

Tell Us How You Really Feel!

StandFirm blogger and extraordinary lay minister, Sarah Hey, from the TEC Diocese of Upper South Carolina writes this: [received from an Episcopal priest in another diocese in TEC via email and posted with permission]

Sarah,

Perhaps you have some folks closer to the story than I, but I believe that Christ Church Savannah will be appearing before the GA Supreme Court tomorrow, May 9. Not sure of the time, but I do hope that you all might be able to do a quick post bidding prayer and fasting for the rector, wardens, and vestry of Christ Church and the attorneys that will represent them. I’m certainly praying for Fr. Marc Robertson and the faithful Anglicans there.

I'm posting this because it represents a massive chunk of us in TEC -- and by us I mean those who believe the Gospel, not the revisionists -- who recognize who are the rightful owners of their property. Many thousands of us are all pulling for you in ACNA to win your property in the courts of law.

Courts can be wrong in their decisions, and of course that's happened in the past few years. But the courts of law represent a far more just, objective, and righteous venue than the courts of TEC, led by our church's current very corrupt and malevolent leaders.

Many many Episcopalians in TEC are rooting for you and rooting against our current leaders -- I receive their emails and talk with them by phone constantly.

The Annual District 10 Bishop's Dinner

Our parish, St.David's, hosted the Annual District 10 Bishop's Dinner on Monday evening May 2nd. Over ninety Anglican Christians from each of the eight parishes of the District joined in an evening of worship, fellowship, a scrumptious ham dinner and encouraging remarks from Archbishop Duncan. After his fielding of Q & As, the evening ended as the assembly gathered around the Archbishop, and with the laying on of hands and anointing of oil, agreed in prayer for him. In addition, from the proceeds (after expenses) District 10 was able to contribute $346 to the Bishop's Discretionary Account.

Holy Week Renewal of Vows in Pittsburgh .... TEC & ACNA

On Tuesday April 19 the clergy of both the Episcopal Diocese of the Episcopal Church of the Unites States of America and the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh simultaneously renewed their ordination vows. According to Ann Rodgers of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette thirty-six clergy attended the TEC event held at St. Stephen's Church in Wilkinsburg PA and renewed their vows with their Presiding Bishop Katherine Jefforts Schori and diocesan bishop Ken Price. The Director of Communications of the ACNA diocese David Trautman reported on the diocesan website that over one hundred (actually 108)clergy renewed their vows at Trinity Cathedral Pittsburgh with Archbishop and Bishop Robert Duncan and with bishops John Rodgers and Bill Ilgenfritz present as well.

Does Pittsburgh Have a Prayer?

From the Faithburgh blog of Pittsburgh Post Gazette reporter Ann Rodgers posted on Friday April 22

It does each Holy Saturday. Each year on the day before western Easter (which this year is also eastern Easter), local leaders of the Catholic, Orthodox and many Protestant churches gather on the Mount Washington overlook to pray for the city. They also bless it with holy water.
This tradition goes back 19 years, and is a ministry of the Christian Leaders Fellowship. That's a group of these same bishops and their equivalents who gather once a month for breakfast at each other's homes. There they study the Bible, pray together -- and commiserate

about the difficulties of being a church leader. The annual blessing of the city stemmed from their desire to show unity in their care for all of the people of Pittsburgh.
Close friendships have grown up between some leaders of these churches. Even where close friendship may be difficult, it's a setting where barriers are broken down. One Christian leader recently told me how moved he was to see Anglican Archbishop Robert Duncan and Episcopal Bishop Kenneth Price -- whose rival dioceses are locked in property litigation --holding hands in prayer and asking the others to pray that they would be able to resolve their difficulties in a manner that honors Christ. The Christian Leaders Fellowship also sponsors the Pittsburgh Creche, the world's only replica of the Vatican creche, that is on display each Advent and Christmas in USX Plaza.
The Christian leaders will gather at 10 a.m. Saturday April 23, on the Mount Washington Overlook just east of McArdle roadway, to pray and bless the city. It's a very short service. If you want to witness it, be on time.

Luther: "by the power of 'free-will' none could be saved"

Made may day! h/t to the blogger Northwest Anglican


I frankly confess that, for myself, even if it could be, I should not want 'free-will' to be given me, nor anything to be left in my own hands to enable me to endeavor after salvation; not merely because in face of so many dangers, and adversaries, and assaults of devils, I could not stand my ground and hold fast my 'free-will' (for one devil is stronger than all men, and on these terms no man could be saved); but because, even were there no dangers, adversities, or devils, I should still be forced to labour with no guarantee of success, and to beat my fists at the air. If I lived and worked to all eternity, my conscience would never reach comfortable certainty as to how much it must do to satisfy God. Whatever work I had done, there would still be a nagging doubt as to whether it pleased God, or whether He required something more. The experience of all who seek righteousness by works proves that; and I learned it well enough myself over a period of many years, to my great hurt. But now that God has taken my salvation out of the control of my own will, and put it under the control of His, and promised to save me, not according to my working and running, but according to His own grace and mercy, I have the comfortable certainty that He is faithful and will not lie to me, and that He is also great and powerful, so that no devils or opposition can break Him or pluck me from Him. 'No one,' He says, 'shall pluck them out of my hand, because my Father which gave them me is greater than all' (John 10.28-29). Thus it is that, if not all, yet some, indeed many, are saved; whereas, by the power of 'free-will' none at all could be saved, but every one of us would perish.


- Martin Luther, The Bondage of the Will

Pee Bee Visit to TEC-Pgh 2011

Presiding Bishop Visit 2011

Perhaps newly reinstated TEC priest Whis Hays will report on the "private discussion" at the afternoon meeting with the clergy. From www.episcopalpgh.org

The Presiding Bishop, the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, will make her first official visit to the Diocese of Pittsburgh on Tuesday of Holy Week.

All are invited to join her on April 19 for a short worship service and open forum beginning at 7:00 p.m. at Trinity Cathedral, 328 Sixth Avenue in downtown Pittsburgh. A reception will follow, at which the Presiding Bishop will be available to sign her most recent book, The Heartbeat of God: Finding the Sacred in the Middle of Everything. Calvary's Bookstore will make copies available at the event at a discounted price of $20.00.

Earlier that day, the Presiding Bishop will celebrate the Eucharist and preach at the annual Renewal of Ordination Vows. That service, at 10:00 a.m at St. Stephen's, Wilkinsburg, is also open to the public. During the afternoon she will have a private discussion with the clergy of the diocese.

Clergy are reminded that the color for the day is red and to please register for lunch and healing oil by clicking here.

Bishop Katharine previously visited Pittsburgh as a guest of Calvary Church on November 2, 2008.