Daily briefs of the top news stories impacting Christians around the world.
In today's edition:
- Episcopal Church Is in Crisis, Says Jefferts Schori
- Karen Christians among Victims in Burma Attacks
- SBC Leader Ernest Mosley Dies at 81
- Church Camps Closing Amid Declining Use, Economy
Episcopal Church Is in Crisis, Says Jefferts Schori
The Christian Post reports that the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the U.S. began by openly recognizing the "crisis" facing the denomination. “The crisis of this moment has several parts,” the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori told members of the legislative body on Tuesday. Still, she continued to emphasize unity. “We are our siblings’ keepers and their knowers, and we cannot be known without them – we have no meaning, no true existence in isolation,” she added. The Episcopal leader avoided mentioning the new rival Anglican Church in North America by name, but said the denomination should resist the idea that “salvation depends on reciting a specific verbal formula about Jesus”.
Karen Christians among Victims in Burma Attacks
Mission News Network reports that more than 4,000 ethnic Karen crossed the border from Myanmar into Thailand in the past month, reflecting continued persecution in their homeland. The tribal group, which is 60 percent Christian, has faced increased violence at the hands of the military junta's forces. "Villages are being surrounded, and rockets are lobbed in," said President of Vision Beyond Borders Patrick Klein. "The Myanmar regime then goes in with machine guns and mows down whoever is still alive, and then the evidence is burned. There are reports they're also blockading villages so the people can't go out and get food; it is also reported that women are being raped and men are being set on fire while they're alive. And, they're actually poisoning the water supplies now."
SBC Leader Ernest Mosley Dies at 81
Baptist Press reports that Ernest Mosley, a stalwart of the Southern Baptist Convention, died Wednesday in North Carolina. He was 81. Mosley's ministry spanned 65 years, including stints at local churches and leadership roles in the Southern Baptist Convention. Mosley was executive vice president of the SBC Executive Committee from 1987 until his retirement in 1998; executive director of the Illinois Baptist State Association from 1980-87; and pastoral section supervisor at the former Baptist Sunday School Board (now LifeWay Christian Resources) during 13 years on staff at the SBC entity. His daughter Jan Hill wrote on a website early Wednesday morning, “Dad is no longer held back by a body riddled with disease. He has met his Final Goal -- Praising The Lord and Giving God all the Glory!”
Church Camps Closing Amid Declining Use, Economy
The Associated Press reports that hundreds of church camps across the U.S. face bleak futures as the economy continues to flounder, hurting already slumping reservations. "I think this fall through Christmas we will see as many as 10 to 15 percent of camps decide they no longer can continue operating," said Bob Kobielush, president of the Christian Camp and Conference Association, which includes about 950 camps. Sites like Camp Sumatanga in northern Alabama find fewer and fewer adults renting their conference center. "What we offer here is quiet, a place to be quiet," said the Rev. Bob Murray, a former banker who has worked as director at Sumatanga for 18 months. "Not everyone values that as much as they once did."
