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The Episcopal Cafe
The Episcopal Cafe is open for business on the World Wide Web at www.episcopalcafe.com
A collaborative effort of more than two dozen writers and editors, and an ever-growing list of visual artists, the Cafe is a ministry of the Diocese of Washington in partnership with Episcopal Church in the Visual Arts (ECVA).
"The Episcopal Cafe provides a way for us to be able to present our faith, both the good and the not so great, in an honest and open way to a much larger audience than most of us ever have hopes of reaching," said The Very Rev. W. Nicholas Knisely, dean of Trinity Cathedral in Phoenix, Az., a contributor to the site, and a member of its editorial board.
"The collaborative, grass roots nature of this project is, we think, a first step in a journey into some new ways of building church community in non-traditional settings," he said.
Jim Naughton, canon for communications and advancement in the Diocese of Washington, said the Cafe drew from his experience with his diocesan blog, Daily Episcopalian.
"There is a surprisingly large audience out there for news about the various controversies in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion," Naughton said. "But it isn't helpful if that is all that the public knows about our Church. What we need is a site that not only reports and shapes the news, but reflects the dynamism of our Church."
Cafe contributors include Bishop Steven Charleston, president of the Episcopal Divinity School, Deirdre Good, professor of New Testament at the General Theological Seminary and the Rev. Howard Anderson, dean of the Cathedral College at Washington National Cathedral. Naughton said he also recruited a number of rectors, General Convention deputies, chaplains and "bloggers whose work I admire."
"One of our contributors works in the United Arab Emirates, and another in Honolulu, so we cover a lot of ground," he said.
Perhaps the most distinctive feature of the Cafe is its extensive use of spiritually-themed art work. "Art has the capacity to awaken us and even shock us just as surely as it can connect us with our tradition," says Mel Ahlborn, president of ECVA, who is the Cafe's art editor. "On our site, you will find some of the best artists in our church interpreting the unbroken history of Christian visual remembrance through their own contemporary works."
The new site is composed of four blogs: The Lead, which is devoted to breaking news about the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion; Daily Episcopalian, a blog of commentary; Speaking to the Soul, which features reflections, multimedia meditations and excerpts from books on spirituality, and the Art Blog.
Naughton encouraged the Cafe's visitors to comment on the art work and articles. Unlike most blog sites, the Cafe requires visitors to sign comments using their real names. "Our aim is less heat and more light," he said.
For more information, contact Brie Dodson, Director of Communications, Episcopal Church & Visual Arts, bdodson@ecva.org
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