Posted on 03/16/2004 2:03:47 AM PST by Free2Be49
FW: Council of General Synod Approves Wording of General Synod 'local option' Same-sex Blessing Proposal
FYI. See 1a, and then, on The Passion, see 2d, 2h, and the link in 2k.
Subject: Council of General Synod Approves Wording of General Synod 'local option' Same-sex Blessing Proposal
1a) http://london2003.anglican.tk/
- CAT OUT OF CANADIAN BAG-- "General Synod will decide on same-sex blessings." Look for a large article from CaNN about this tomorrow ...
http://anglicanjournal.com/extra/news.html?newsItem=2004-03-06_sds.news General Synod will decide on same-sex blessings Church's national council sends resolution to triennial meeting SOLANGE DE SANTIS AND MARITES N. SISON STAFF WRITERS, ANGLICAN JOURNAL Mississauga, Ont., March 7, 2004 - Council of General Synod (CoGS) voted to ask General Synod in May to decide whether dioceses may offer blessing ceremonies to gay couples.
The council, the church's governing body between triennial General Synods, wrestled with the issue - currently the most controversial one within the Anglican Church of Canada - over four days of deliberation from March 4 to 7 in a retreat center near Toronto.
In the end, there was a sense, as council member Bishop Donald Harvey of Eastern Newfoundland and Labrador said, "that it is very important that General Synod get the opportunity to express its mind on the matter at this time."
However, forming the questions to put before General Synod was no easy matter, as the wording was changed six times.
The five-part resolution proposes that General Synod affirm "the authority and jurisdiction of any diocesan synod, with the concurrence of its bishop, to authorize the blessing of committed same-sex unions." The resolution would give dioceses what is known as a "local option."...
Canon Helena-Rose Houldcroft, also a member of the faith, worship and ministry committee, noted that "society has moved at a rapid pace" as several Canadian provinces and U.S. states have legalized marriage for gay couples...
At one point in the debate, a motion was put forward that General Synod should decide whether the blessing of gay relationships is contrary to the doctrine and teaching of the Canadian church, but that was rejected and changed to acknowledge differences on the issue.
There was much debate on the change, with some saying that this is precisely what Anglicans across Canada are discussing and others saying that putting that particular question before General Synod would be hopelessly divisive.
"It's about having the discussion - whether this is a doctrinal matter or not and is it consistent with the teaching of our church. It's very important that the content of the conversation be very up front for people," said Ms. Houldcroft, supporting the change.
However, Rev. Iain Luke, in opposition, said "this new clause proposes the most divisive question imaginable to General Synod. The mind of the church is that no one wants to ask that question."
The question of unity also arose in the original form of the motion brought forward by the faith, worship and ministry committee, which proposed that General Synod declare that the blessing of same-sex unions "is not a matter over which the church's unity and fellowship in Christ should be impaired."
Bishop Victoria Matthews of Edmonton, who was successful in proposing that the clause be deleted, but unsuccessfully proposed a substitute, said that "my continuing difficulty is that it says this ought not to impair the church's unity, when it already has."
The resolution also calls for continued "respectful dialogue and study of biblical, theological, liturgical, pastoral and social aspects of human sexuality." It acknowledges that this is a difficult issue for many indigenous and other Anglican congregations and "affirms the principle of respect for the way in which the dialogue and study may be taking place, or might take place," in those communities.
It addresses the issue of congregations that might be at odds with a bishop or with a diocese over the issue, saying that the church may provide "adequate alternative episcopal oversight and pastoral care for all."
The resolution also designates the faith, worship and ministry committee "in the next triennium to assist the church in implementing the resolution on same-sex unions and to prepare resources for the church in addressing issues relating to the blessing of unions and marriage."
Text of resolutions:
Be it resolved that this General Synod:
At a meeting March 4 - 7, the Council of General Synod (CoGS) approved the wording of two motions that will be placed before the General Synod when it meets at the end of May...
The blessing of same-sex unions has been a matter of controversy in the Canadian church since 2002, when the bishop of the British Columbia diocese of New Westminster agreed, after being asked three times by his diocesan synod, to authorize such blessings. The New Westminster decision has had repercussions throughout the worldwide Anglican Communion, which is badly divided on the issue...
1c)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/breakfast_with_frost/3540631.stm
Gay marriages: "BBC Breakfast with Frost"
On 07 March 2004, Sir David Frost interviewed Bishop Frank Griswold, ECUSA
...DAVID FROST: If it does lead to a schism, a real split in the Church into two or three pieces, will it, in retrospect have been worth doing?
BISHOP GRISWOLD: I find it difficult to answer hypothetical questions. I can only say that given our experience and given the desires of the people and clergy of the diocese of New Hampshire, I feel that they have acted honourably, that the Episcopal Church has acted honourably and I do hope in the fullness of time that the Anglican communion will hold together in spite of differences. I think one of the things I've learned over the years is that the contexts in which we do our theology are so very different.
For example, in the United States and probably here as well, there is the theological latitude that simply doesn't exist in a nation that has, let us say, a very strong Muslim presence, because if the Christian community admitted a variety of points of view or interpretations, they probably would suffer tremendously because the other religions are so fierce and clear.
So I think the more we as Anglicans can appreciate the fact that we always do our theology in context, the more we can make room for one another's differences.
DAVID FROST: What do you think about the practice here in this country for our bishops and archbishops to say that in terms of gays and homosexuals in positions in the church, priests in the church, they can be deep down homosexual but they must not practice it. Do you think that's out of date now?
BISHOP GRISWOLD: I think every province of the Anglican communion has its own realities and each province is going to have to live its realities in its very own way.
DAVID FROST: What does that mean?
BISHOP GRISWOLD: That means that the Church of England is going to have to figure out its own way and establish its own criteria, just as the Episcopal Church in the United States is going to have to make its decisions...
DAVID FROST: When you see something happening like in San Francisco, where they have gay marriages, currently - obviously civil ceremonies, not - but in terms of couples attesting to their long term relationships and so on, do you think that's a healthy thing or not?
BISHOP GRISWOLD: In the United States we're, we're very much involved in a public debate as to what is the best way to acknowledge that reality in our public life, just as the Church is trying to figure out what is the best way, pastorally, to deal with this reality.
And I must say the Church is also on record as being very strongly supportive of the civil and legal rights of homosexual persons.
DAVID FROST: But I mean would you, would you say that there will one day perhaps in a decade, maybe, that there would, it's conceivable there would be gay church weddings?
BISHOP GRISWOLD: I think -
DAVID FROST: Same sex couples.
BISHOP GRISWOLD: Well again, I hate to try to predict things, but certainly looking at some of the pastoral responses that have been made within congregations thus far to gay and lesbian couples, I think it may be the case that in the future there will be some pastoral response on the part of the Church that will be less guarded...
1d) http://209.35.87.15/amia/events_sub.cfm?id=21
Anglican Mission Visits Lambeth
Archbishop of Canterbury Meets with Anglican Mission Leadership
London-March 3rd, 2004
2a) http://www.washingtontimes.com/metro/20040307-120639-5030r.htm
Worshippers take 'Passion' back to church
By Jon Ward, THE WASHINGTON TIMES, March 7th 2004
Mel Gibson's epic film "The Passion of The Christ" has filled theaters as well as church pews in the Washington area and around the country.
Evangelical pastors said visitors are flocking to their churches, new members are being added, and they are planning on an even larger number of visitors at Easter than usual... The evangelical Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif., drew 3,000 visitors last weekend on top of its average attendance of 20,000. Pastor Rick Warren, author of the best-selling book, "The Purpose Driven Life," designed a three-week small-group study curriculum, which members are going through now.
Capitalizing on the momentum built by "The Passion" is "like catching a spiritual wave," said David Chrzan, chief of staff at Saddleback. "It's like surfing. There are events that create a constant or heightened interest in spiritual things. We have built Saddleback off those moments."
More than 900 people at Saddleback signed a card indicating they had become new converts over the last two weekends, Mr. Chrzan said...
2b) http://www.walb.com/Global/story.asp?S=1693506
"Passion" remains in top movie spot for second week
Los Angeles-AP -- Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" is number one at the box office for the second weekend in a row....
2c)
http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/news/arts/story.html?id=852fa355-372b-43c1-a70b-40f79d0ade88
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=502&ncid=716&e=9&u=/ap/20040307/ap_on_en_mo/box_office
Yahoo! News Sun, Mar 07, 2004
'The Passion' Soars Beyond $200 Million
By DAVID GERMAIN, AP Movie Writer
LOS ANGELES - Mel Gibson (news)'s "The Passion of the Christ" took in $51.4 million in its second weekend to remain the top movie, racing past the $200 million mark in just 12 days.
...Even adjusting Gibson's "Lethal Weapon" grosses for inflation, "The Passion" will be his biggest hit. "Here's one of the most popular movie stars in the world. Who would have thought he would out-gross all his big summer blockbusters with a movie about the crucifixion?" said Paul Dergarabedian, president of Exhibitor Relations...
2d) http://www.indiewire.com/biz/biz_040308passion.html
"Passion" Tops $200 Million and Nears "Big Fat" Record
by Eugene Hernandez
With an estimated $51 million weekend, Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" has topped the $200 million mark at the box office after only 12 days in release. Newmarket's Bob Berney and Icon's Bruce Davey said Sunday morning in a conference call with reporters that the film screened on about 4,800 screens this weekend in a total of 3,170 theaters. Its estimated per screen average was more than $16,000.
The estimated gross of $212,034,304 after two weekends is nearing the record independent film box office figure of $241.4 million earned by IFC Films' "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" during its 51 weeks of release of from April of 2002 through April '03. The film surpassed the $140.5 million earned by Artisan's "The Blair Witch Project" during 17 weeks in 1999 and the $128 million record earned by the subtitled "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" by Sony Pictures Classics from late 2000 through the summer of 2001. Miramax's release of "Pulp Fiction" made $107.9 in 1994 and 1995.
According to Berney's weekend estimate, the film suffered only a 39% drop from its first weekend grosses. "After the first weekend -- it was so huge -- the question was, 'would there be a more normal drop (of 50 - 55%?)'." Continuing he added, "Word of mouth has propelled it to a much lower drop than you would expect -- that's the pleasant surprise, it is great to see that it continues and the reaction is good."
"We are obviously delighted," said director Mel Gibson's Icon partner Bruce Davey plainly during the Sunday call.
While the execs preferred not to predict how much the film would make before all is said and done, they agreed that the movie will no doubt pass the $300 million mark.
Berney emphasized that there is solid word of mouth for the movie, noting that the film remained strong in New York City, and was especially successful in its Los Angeles runs with Long Beach, Ontario, Norwalk, Puente Hills and Burbank among the biggest cities for the movie. He added the film is performing especially well with Latino and African-American audiences...
2e) http://www.gopusa.com/news/2004/march/0308_passion_martin.shtml
'Passion' Surpasses $200 Million Mark As Comedian Steve Martin Mocks Movie
By Jimmy Moore, Talon News, March 8, 2004
SPARTANBURG, SC (Talon News) -- ...The $51.4 million earned by "The Passion of the Christ" is better than the $50.6 million garnered by 11-time Oscar-winning film "The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" in its second week...
"I think this is an event or phenomenon, and people are checking it out across the board," Berney commented...
"The Passion of the Christ" has now become the 48th highest grossing film of all time and will continue to rapidly climb into the top ten in the coming weeks.
Despite the overwhelming success of "The Passion of the Christ," comedian Steve Martin decided to ridicule the movie in an op-ed piece for The New Yorker magazine.
Martin used biting satire to make fun of Gibson and his movie.
Describing Jesus as a "likable" character, Martin says he does not understand why God's Son cannot "catch a break." Martin adds that Jesus' refusal to use his "superpowers" to save himself seemed awkward.
As for the opening scene in the Garden of Gethsemane, Martin wrote that this should have been changed.
"Does it matter which garden? Gethsemane is hard to say, and Eden is a much more recognizable garden. Just thinking out loud," Martin continued...
Mocking the spiritual symbol of the cross, Martin said that it "has been done to death." Instead, he suggests Jesus be placed on "a wagon wheel."...
2f) Passion leads Hollywood box office surge
Mar. 8, 2004. 01:00 AM
DAVID GERMAIN, ASSOCIATED PRESS
LOS ANGELES-...The Passion propelled Hollywood to a second straight weekend of rising revenues after a prolonged slump. The Top 12 movies grossed $131.5 million, up 39 per cent from the same weekend last year. Before The Passion opened, box-office revenues had been running 7 per cent behind last year...
2g) http://www.boxofficeprophets.com/mumpower/mar0704wrapup.asp
Cops and Horse Don't Have the Passion
David Mumpower's Weekend Wrap-Up
March 7, 2004 Even mimes don't like other mimes.
There were two stories worth tracking this weekend at the box office. The first involved which of the two big budget blockbusters, Hidalgo and Starsky and Hutch, would win bragging rights. The other was how badly each of them would get smoked by Mel Gibson's vision. As it turns out, the answer is that two films with combined budgets in excess of $160 million opened to less than what a $26 million project that no studio would touch less than six months ago made in its second weekend. And here you thought The Passion of the Christ was out of surprises.
A month ago, incendiary debates were occurring about the box office prospects of The Passion of the Christ. Major media commentators were arguing that there was only one built-in audience for this movie -- Christians. In hindsight, either that argument was inaccurate or the Christian audience is a much more impressive built-in fan base than previously acknowledged. High level meetings are almost certainly occurring to debate this very topic, as studio execs decide whether The Passion of the Christ is an impossible-to-duplicate phenomenon or the dawning of a new era of big-budget biblical storylines. The irrefutable fact is that we are witnessing the greatest box office shocker since James Cameron released a movie about a boat that clipped an iceberg...
What is impressive, though, is what The Passion has done in twelve days. It has joined My Big Fat Greek Wedding on a very exclusive list. During the modern era of film (post-1980), out of all the films released between January and April, only these two releases have earned $200 million or more. It took the unknown Nia Vardalos movie more than 120 days to win its war of attrition and finally reach that landmark. Mel did it in less than two weeks...
2h) http://washingtontimes.com/commentary/20040307-104358-4379r.htm
Passion' for a pogrom?
By Mark Steyn, The Washington Times, March 8th 2004
Benyamin Cohen, editor of the online publication Jewsweek, went to see Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" and came out homicidal: "My first comprehensible thought was this: I really want to kill a Jew."
Maureen Dowd of the New York Times agreed:
"In 'Braveheart' and 'The Patriot,' his other emotionally manipulative historical epics, you came out wanting to swing an ax into the skull of the nearest Englishman. Here, you want to kick in some Jewish and Roman teeth. And since the Romans have melted into history ... ."
Really? You want to kick in some Jew teeth? I mean, really want to?
If you say so. It may be that elderly schoolgirl columnists at the New York Times are unusually easy to rouse to violence. But I reckon Miss Dowd and Mr. Cohen are faking it. They don't mean that, thanks to Mel, Times marquee columnists and liberal Jewish New Yorkers will be rampaging around looking for Jews to kill, they mean all those rubes and hicks in Dogpatch who don't know any better will do so.
True, it's an inspirational film. A woman who drove her Chevy Lumina into a brook in New Britain, Conn., last week told police she had been inspired to do so by "The Passion." What's that about? Aqua-Semitism? But, so far, even sodden sedans are a rarity. Chances of any Jew getting his teeth kicked in by one of Mel's customers? Zero percent. OK, let me cover myself a little: Point-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-whatever percent.
Throughout the whiplash U-turn, only one feature of the "controversy" remained constant: that the movie is "anti-Semitic." It's true that in Europe "passion plays" often provided a rationale for Jew hatred. But that was at a time when the church was also a projection of state power.
What is happening in America is quite the opposite: One reason Hollywood assumed Mel had laid a $30 million Easter egg was that the elite coastal enclaves who set the cultural agenda haven't a clue about the rest of the country when it comes to religion. They don't mind Jesus when he's hippy ("Godspell") or horny (Terrence McNally's "gay Jesus" play "Corpus Christi") but taking the guy seriously is just for fruitcakes.
So, when metropolitan columnists say Mel's movie makes you want to go Jew-bashing, they're really engaging in a bit of displaced Christian-bashing. Ever since September 11, 2001, there has been a lame trope beloved of the smart set: Yes, these Muslim fundamentalists may be pretty extreme, but let's not forget all our Christian fundamentalists - the "home-grown Talibans," as the New York Times' Frank Rich called them, in the course of demanding that John Ashcroft, the attorney general, round them up. Two years on, if this thesis is going to hold up, these Christians really need to get off their fundamentalist butts and start killing more people.
Critics berating Mr. Gibson for lingering on the physical flaying of Jesus would be more persuasive if they weren't all too desperately flogging their own dead horse of fundamentalist moral equivalence.
The more puzzling question is why so many American Jewish leaders started crying anti-Semitism months before anyone had even seen the picture. It requires a perverse inability to prioritize to anoint Mel Gibson as the prime source of resurgent anti-Semitism. Not to mention that it's self-defeating.
As Melanie Phillips, a British Jew, recently noted in the Observer: "Let us all agree on one thing at least. The more Jews warn that anti-Semitism has come roaring out of the closet, the more people don't like the Jews."
Miss Phillips is right to the extent that, with such an array of real enemies, one should be wary of picking unnecessary fights. During the New Hampshire primary, I prompted the following complaint from Barbara Baruch of New York: "What motivated Mark Steyn to describe Joe Lieberman as the 'Yiddisher pixie'? As this has absolutely no relevance to Lieberman's political viability, it's obvious that Steyn's linguistic choice is nothing less than insidious anti-Semitism."
Oh, phooey. I called him a pixie because, in contrast to John Kerry, he was jolly and beaming, and "Yiddisher" is an allusion to the old song "My Yiddisher Momma." since Joe was always going on about his own momma. "Yiddisher pixie" is a term of affection, and the best way to demonstrate the preposterousness of Ms. Baruch's assertion is a simple test:
Try to imagine Sheikh Akram Abd-al-Razzaq al-Ruqayhi, the A-list imam at the Grand Mosque in Sanaa, who does the Friday prayers live on Yemeni state TV, breaking off from his usual patter on Jews - "O God, count them one by one, kill them all and don't leave anyone" - to refer to one as a "Yiddisher pixie."
Or the members of Calgary's "Palestinian community" who marched through the streets carrying placards emblazoned "Death to the Jews."
Or the gangs who've been torching French synagogues, kosher butchers and schools in an ongoing mini-intifada.
Or Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who says people should not be scared of America's Jewish lobby because other scary types like "Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin, Pinochet, Milosevic and Idi Amin were all powerful, but in the end they bit the dust."
Or the wife of European Central Banker Wim Duisenberg who amuses herself by doing oven jokes in public.
Mel Gibson's movie won't kill anyone. On the other hand, right now, at The Hague, the International Court of Justice is holding a show trial of Israel's security fence. At the very least, a European court sitting in judgment on the Jewish state is a staggering lapse of taste. But it should also remind Jews of the current sources of "the world's oldest hatred" - not just the Islamic world, where talk of killing them all is part of the wallpaper, but the radical secularists of modern-day Europe, who'll have no interest in this movie but whose antipathy toward Ariel Sharon long ago crossed over into a broader contempt for the Jewish state and a benign indifference to those who use European Jewry as a substitute target. If Jewish groups think Mel Gibson's movie and evangelical Christians are the problem, they're picking fights they don't need.
Mark Steyn is the senior contributing editor for Hollinger Inc. Publications, senior North American columnist for Britain's Telegraph Group, North American editor for the Spectator, and a nationally syndicated columnist.
2i) http://www.examiner.ie/breaking/2004/03/08/story137389.html
Gibson's Christ movie continues to make money
08/03/2004 - 12:42:53 PM
The success of Mel Gibson's new film, The Passion Of The Christ, continues - and it's not just the film itself that's making money. The mainly instrumental soundtrack has already been selling out across America.
Fifty thousand CDs have been sold so far. Although that doesn't sound like a blockbuster number, it's huge for soundtracks. Only two others: Star Wars Episode 1: the Phantom Menace and Episode II Attack Of the Clones have sold more in the first week they've been out...
2j) http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/030804/loc_movie.shtml
Web posted Monday, March 8, 2004
Christ movie draws crowds
Church group members moved to tears by Mel Gibson's blockbuster
By KORRY KEEKER, JUNEAU EMPIRE, Alaska
Ten minutes after the conclusion of Thursday night's showing of "The Passion of the Christ" at Glacier Cinemas, homeschooling mother Janice Salsman was still sobbing. Her daughter, Rebecca, was unable to speak. And her son, Jesse, was praising the film as "the most amazing thing I have seen."...
2k) What The Passion says about us: Church of England Newspaper
http://www.churchnewspaper.com/?go=eos&read=on&number_key=5707&title=What%20The%20Passion%20says%20about%20us
By Richard Burridge Number: 5707 Date: March 4, 2004
2l)
http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/story.html?id=e224cfe3-d287-4492-af74-0d4f84dd3d70
March 8th 2004 Monday: National Post Newspaper
Starsky, Hutch and Hidalgo finish the weekend behind The Passion of the Christ
2m)
http://www.globeandmail.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20040308/NOTE08-1/TPEntertainment/Film
Passion keeps raking it in
Monday, March 8, 2004 - Page R2: Globe and Mail Newspaper
2n) http://abcnews.go.com/wire/Entertainment/ap20040307_1207.html
'The Passion' Soars Beyond $200 Million
'The Passion of the Christ' Soars Beyond $200 Million in Second Weekend to Remain Top Film: ABC News: The Associated Press
..."Starsky & Hutch" distributor Warner Bros. and "Hidalgo" studio Disney were happy to finish a distant second and third to "The Passion."
"I've never seen anything quite like `The Passion,'" said Disney head of distribution Chuck Viane. "To have two other movies come in and open as strongly as they did in the face of a steamroller, you can't complain."...
2o) 'Passion' Still Drawing Crowds
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/03/08/earlyshow/leisure/boxoffice/main604535.shtml
LOS ANGELES, March 8, 2004: CBS News
(AP) Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ" retained its crown at the box office this weekend...
2p)
http://www.cnn.com/2004/SHOWBIZ/Movies/03/07/box.office.reut/index.html
'Passion' remains top draw
Sunday, March 7, 2004 Posted: 6:14 PM EST (2314 GMT): CNN News
LOS ANGELES, California (Reuters) -- With a little divine help, Mel Gibson remained the top draw at the North American box office as the filmmaker's controversial movie, "The Passion of the Christ,"...
2q) http://msnbc.msn.com/id/4472687/ MSNBC News, March 8th 2004 Monday
'The Passion' remains No. 1 at box office
3) http://london2003.anglican.tk/mt-comments.cgi?entry_id=310
http://pcn.diocal.org/PCNO/pcno04-1/main.html#anchor133688
Pacific Church News: WHAT DOES THE FUTURE HOLD FOR THE WORLD'S RELIGIONS?
United Religion Initiative Founder Bishop William E. Swing
(San Francisco): Some of my thoughts on this issue have to do with the Episcopal Church. A couple of years ago the issue was women's ordination. Today the issue is homosexuality. The issue that's coming on the horizon is interfaith understanding.
I'm sure that ten years from now the hot topic will be whether Jesus exclusively is the one and only person who saves. Or does God save in multiple ways, including Jesus; or as an outgrowth of Jesus; or as seen in Jesus...
4)
http://www.canadianchristianity.com/cgi-bin/na.cgi?nationalupdates/040303briefs
Yonggi Cho to speak at Toronto MissionFest
MissionFest Toronto 2004 will host Dr. Yonggi Cho, who has been described as the Billy Graham of Asia, and pastors the 800,000 strong Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, Korea...
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