Anglican

Jane Holmes Dixon, rector of St. Philip's Episcopal Parish in Laurel since 1986, gained a wider congregation Nov. 19 when she was consecrated the third female bishop of the worldwide Anglican church.In imposing ceremonies under the Gothic arches of Washington's National Cathedral -- attended by the other two trailblazers, Bishop Barbara Harris of Massachusetts and Bishop Penelope Jamieson of New Zealand -- Jane Dixon became suffragan (assistant) to the Right Rev. Ronald H. Haines.She now assists Bishop Haines in governing the Washington Episcopal Diocese that includes the District of Columbia and the Maryland counties of Montgomery, Prince George's, Charles and Mary's.

WEATHER The National Weather Service is calling for Monday to be partly sunny in the Baltimore area, with a high near 87 . There is a 60 percent chance of precipitation. Monday night is expected to start cloudy and then gradually become clear, with a low around 62. Tuesday is expected to be sunny, with a high near 81. TRAFFIC Check our traffic updates for this morning's issues as you plan your commute. FROM THE WEEKEND... Tax break errors cost Baltimore millions, Sun investigation finds : The city of Baltimore has failed to collect millions of dollars in potential revenue because of chronic errors and miscalculations in a program offering tax breaks for historic renovations, a Baltimore Sun investigation has found.

LONDON -- The specter of a schism darkens the Church of England as 574 Anglicans, arrayed in the three houses of the General Synod, decide tomorrow whether or not to permit the ordination of women as priests.No matter what the outcome of the ballot in Westminster, Britain's established church faces a divisive period."It is an enormous issue," said John Wilkins, editor of the religious magazine, The Tablet. "In this century it is one of the most important decisions the Church of England has had to take."

The Rev. Edward Meeks and his flock attended to a "million and one details" last week in the run-up to a momentous day for their church. People to talk to. Flowers to arrange. Food to cook. And, of course, the new sign. On Sunday, Christ the King Church - Anglican - became Christ the King Catholic Church. The Towson congregation of about 140 is one of the first groups in the United States to join a new "ordinariate" established for those who want to be Catholic but hold on to Anglican traditions.

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On October 27, 2007, PHYLLIS ALEXANDER devoted wife of Frank Nwankwo. Family will receive friends on Saturday at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal (Anglican) Church, 2013 St. Paul Street at 10 A.M., with funeral service to follow at 11.

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CHRISTOPHER H.C. WEEKS of Bel Air, MD. Loving brother of Mary R. Ranneberger. Also survived by two nephews, Benjamin G. Ranneberger and Seth C. Ranneberger. A Memorial Service will be held at St. Alban's Anglican Church, Joppa, MD on Saturday, September 8, 2007 at 5 p.m. Friends may call at the church from 4-5 p.m. prior to the service. Those who desire, may contribute to Ladew Topiary Gardens, 3535 Jarrettsville Pike, Monkton, MD 21111. Memory tributes may be sent to the family at: mccomasfuneralhome.

MINNEAPOLIS - Despite warnings of a split by tradition-minded congregations around the globe, the American Episcopal Church took a major step yesterday toward confirming the first openly gay bishop in the worldwide Anglican Communion. By a healthy margin, the House of Deputies at the church's national convention ratified the election of the Rev. V. Gene Robinson as the bishop of New Hampshire. The matter now goes to the church's House of Bishops, which is expected to make a final decision on Robinson's confirmation today.

WEATHER The National Weather Service is calling for Monday to be partly sunny in the Baltimore area, with a high near 87 . There is a 60 percent chance of precipitation. Monday night is expected to start cloudy and then gradually become clear, with a low around 62. Tuesday is expected to be sunny, with a high near 81. TRAFFIC Check our traffic updates for this morning's issues as you plan your commute. FROM THE WEEKEND... Tax break errors cost Baltimore millions, Sun investigation finds : The city of Baltimore has failed to collect millions of dollars in potential revenue because of chronic errors and miscalculations in a program offering tax breaks for historic renovations, a Baltimore Sun investigation has found.

Matthew Hay Brown's fine article about the election of my colleague, the Rev. Canon Mary Glasspool, as a bishop suffragan in the Diocese of Los Angeles ("Annapolis cleric's election is making waves and history," Dec. 9) adds to the joy felt by those of us those in Maryland who have been graced by her ministries since 1992. She will take office when approved by a majority of the other dioceses and consecrated by our presiding bishop, the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori. Our loss is California's gain.

The humbling thing, for the Rev. Canon Mary D. Glasspool, has been the e-mail. The election over the weekend of the Annapolis priest to be the first openly lesbian bishop in the worldwide Anglican Communion drew a stern rebuke from the Archbishop of Canterbury, spiritual leader of the 70 million-member church. Struggling to hold together a denomination divided over homosexuality, Archbishop Rowan D. Williams warned that Glasspool's confirmation could jeopardize relations in a church already in turmoil after the consecration of an openly gay bishop in 2003.

The Vatican's just-announced effort to recruit unhappy Anglicans away from a church that has embraced female priests and elected an openly gay bishop provides the Catholic Church with a way to deal with its shortage of priests - without allowing Catholic women to be ordained and without ending the celibacy rule. If Anglican clergy and seminarians are among those who convert, the Vatican potentially gets more married men in its ranks of priests while continuing to forbid Catholic priests and seminarians to wed. In fact, this very thing has been happening on a small scale for years.

On October 27, 2007, PHYLLIS ALEXANDER devoted wife of Frank Nwankwo. Family will receive friends on Saturday at St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal (Anglican) Church, 2013 St. Paul Street at 10 A.M., with funeral service to follow at 11.

CHRISTOPHER H.C. WEEKS of Bel Air, MD. Loving brother of Mary R. Ranneberger. Also survived by two nephews, Benjamin G. Ranneberger and Seth C. Ranneberger. A Memorial Service will be held at St. Alban's Anglican Church, Joppa, MD on Saturday, September 8, 2007 at 5 p.m. Friends may call at the church from 4-5 p.m. prior to the service. Those who desire, may contribute to Ladew Topiary Gardens, 3535 Jarrettsville Pike, Monkton, MD 21111. Memory tributes may be sent to the family at: mccomasfuneralhome.

WOODBRIDGE, Va. -- The Anglican archbishop of Nigeria, Peter J. Akinola, installed Bishop Martyn Minns of Virginia yesterday as the new leader of a diocese that would take in congregations around the country that want to leave the Episcopal Church, rejecting requests by leaders of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the Episcopal Church to refrain from taking part in the ceremony. Akinola's role in the installation celebration for Minns forged another tie in an increasingly confident alliance between theological traditionalists in the United States and church leaders overseas who are opposed to the Episcopal Church's liberal stance on homosexuality.

NATIONAL Spy chief to be sworn in President Bush will swear in the country's second national spy chief today, handing Mike McConnell an unfinished experiment in intelligence reform as wartime intelligence becomes the focus of increasing scrutiny on Capitol Hill. pg 1A Civil unions granted in N.J. Hundreds of gay couples were granted the same legal rights, if not the title, as married couples as New Jersey became the third state to offer civil unions. pg 3A MARYLAND HCC president to leave in June After nearly nine years as president of Howard Community College - a tenure marked by significant growth in student population and fundraising - Mary Ellen Duncan announced yesterday that she will step down in June.

PHILADELPHIA - A Gothic stone parish in the heart of the city's aristocratic Main Line has become the latest battleground for the soul of the Episcopal Church. Since March, the Rev. David L. Moyer, rector of Church of the Good Shepherd in Rosemont, has not donned his priestly vestments to celebrate Mass, has not preached, has not baptized, married or buried. Instead, he sits each Sunday in a pew with his wife and the rest of the congregation as one of his two assistants presides. "It's been emotionally distressing," Moyer said.

NATIONAL Spy chief to be sworn in President Bush will swear in the country's second national spy chief today, handing Mike McConnell an unfinished experiment in intelligence reform as wartime intelligence becomes the focus of increasing scrutiny on Capitol Hill. pg 1A Civil unions granted in N.J. Hundreds of gay couples were granted the same legal rights, if not the title, as married couples as New Jersey became the third state to offer civil unions. pg 3A MARYLAND HCC president to leave in June After nearly nine years as president of Howard Community College - a tenure marked by significant growth in student population and fundraising - Mary Ellen Duncan announced yesterday that she will step down in June.

An Anglican Communion panel in London rebuked the Episcopal Church yesterday for approving its first gay bishop, but the Episcopal leadership showed no sign of retreat in a simmering dispute that has threatened to split the global church. The report, issued by an advisory commission of the worldwide Anglican Communion, called for the Episcopal Church to express regret for consecrating Bishop V. Gene Robinson, who leads the Diocese of New Hampshire, and place a moratorium on similar promotions.