South Dakota's chance to end elective abortion is coming up...

Are you pro-lifers praying and giving?

For a feisty local pro-life blog, visit Voices Carry.

To keep up with the campaign for life as the November vote nears, visit Vote Yes for Life. And please consider a donation. The abortionists are getting big time out of state money from Planned Parenthood and the like. Support the campaign for LIFE!

I'm proud to say that our American Anglican Council/South Dakota Chapter provided a team at the Vote Yes for Life headquarters last week. Way to go, saints of God!

CHEESY 80s VIDEO PLEA FOR THE CRUMBLING EPISCOPAL CHURCH

Ah, forget it. The video looks like a live feed from General Convention or something.

South Dakota enters Coadjutor Nominating Period - but profile is still not available

According to the Diocesan Bishop Election Page of the Diocesan website, the profile for Bishop Coadjutor was to have been made public at the start of the week.

But the profile is not up, nor is there any explanation for the delay.

Can a Bishop shun a parish? (Canon Law question)

According to Title III, Canon 12 of The Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church,

Each Bishop Diocesan shall visit the Congregations within the Diocese at least once in three years.

The Canon spells out that the visit is to include a celebration of Communion, Baptisms and/or Confirmations, and a Sermon.

Our last Canonical Episcopal Visitation was October 30, 2005. We are not included on the visitation calendar this year.

"Shunning" of out-of-favor clergy and congregations has a history in this diocese. Title III, Canon 12 spells out a process by which the bishop or the neglected priest and vestry can appeal to the Presiding Bishop, who then appoints a council of five (5???) neighboring diocesan bishops to work some kind of reconciliation voodoo ("reconciliation" in The Episcopal Church means submission to some penalty or other in many cases - or a lawsuit).

So, the choices seem to be no Confirmations at Good Shepherd, or appeal to a Presiding Bishop who uses lawsuits as her primary form of "reconciliation."

A question about the Episcopal Church Pension Fund

Just received The Church Pension Group Annual Report 2008.

An interesting tibdit on p. 25, in the section on "Special Funds":

The Restricted and Unrestricted Legacy and Gift Funds stem from bequests and contributions received by the Fund from individuals for the purpose of supporting the tax-exempt purposes of the Fund. The principal balance of the unrestricted account is available for use at the discretion of the Trustees; the principal balance of the restricted account is maintained as an endowment fund in accordance with the wishes of the benefactors.

In a chart on the same page, the Unrestricted Legacy & Gifts line shows "Benefits and Expenses" of $877,000 for 2007 and $885,000 for 2008.

In late 2006, The Episcopal Church reported its plans to sue congregations that wanted to disaffiliate from TEC, and also noted that Pension Fund money (at that time reported as $25,000) was to be used for this.

Is the Church Pension Fund deploying Legacy and Gift Funds to TEC's lawsuit campaign against Christians? If so, how much of the almost $1.8 million in Unrestricted Legacy & Gifts disbursements went to lawsuits?