MISSIONER THE
NASHOTAH HOUSE ALUMNI ISSUE
PETERTIDE 2015 VOL. 31, NO.5
JULY - SEPTEMBER 2015
JULY 1 6–10 6-17 9 10
13-17 20-24 20-31 23
AUGUST
7 17 24-26 27-28 31 31
SEPTEMBER 7 23-24
24 25 & 26 25 25
New Academic Year Begins DL: Old Testament and Liturgics Residential Week AD: Petertide Session I Courses AD/DL: Matriculation Last Day to Add/Drop a Petertide (Summer) Course without Financial Penalty AI: Liturgy Workshop DL/AI: Anglican Heritage Residential Week/Workshop AD: Petertide Session II Courses
RS: Michaelmas Registration Deadline RS: New Students Begin to Arrive on Campus RS: New Student Orientation RS: All Student (New and Returning) Orientation DL: Fall Registration Deadline RS: First Day of Michaelmas Courses
Labor Day – No Classes, Administrative Offices are Closed RS: Annual Retreat – No Classes (Retreat begins Tuesday pm after classes) RS: Matriculation Fall Symposium – Sacramental Participation & Spiritual Formation Convocation – No Classes Petertide (Summer) Courses End – All Coursework Due
AD = Advanced Degree DL = Distance Learning RS = Residential
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ashotah House Theological Seminary invites you to consider our campus for your next event, retreat, conference, wedding, or reception. Located on upper Nashotah Lake, the campus of Nashotah House offers DeKoven Commons, Adams Hall, a lake front, and even a rustic barn. The private restaurant is under the direction of Jorge Rangel. The staff has been recognized for excellence in the preparation of the customized menus ranging from barbeque to lobster. For more information about hosting an event at Nashotah House, please visit nashotah.edu/special-events.
THE MACEDONIAN CALL:
A RENEWED CALL TO MISSION ACTS 16:6-10 We invite Alumni and Friends of Nashotah House to give generously to the African Scholarship Fund. The purpose of these scholarships is to provide full tuition, room and board, fees, and books for African students studying in the Advanced Degree program at Nashotah House.
Anglican. Benedictine. Classical. nashotah.edu
A Note from the Director of Annual Giving Now, more than ever before, it is important for us who call Nashotah House our Alma Mater to recommit ourselves to what it means to be a son or daughter of the House. Nashotah House must have strong, healthy, and vital relationships with alumni. Please consider joining one or more of the following initiatives which are intended to foster engagement and communication between the House and her alumni: • Prayer Cells: Consider starting a prayer cell at your church that prays for the House daily.
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• Nashotah Club: Gather with local alums for fellowship and remain connected to the House. s I write this article it is Trinity Sunday. The feast falls appropriately on the first Sunday after Pentecost, providing the Church an opportunity to reflect on the completed work of the Holy Trinity: God sending Jesus the Son in the Incarnation, Jesus willingly laying his life down for the sins of the world and then being resurrected from the dead by the power of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit being sent to empower the Church for the work of the kingdom at Pentecost. God has done everything necessary to reconcile the world back to Himself in and through Our Lord Jesus. And what’s more is that we, His sons and daughters, co-heirs with Jesus, have been specifically called by Him to advance the boundaries of His kingdom. This is indeed good news and a high calling. Since 1842, Nashotah House has played a particular role in equipping the children of God for the work of the kingdom by providing a unique formation experience for the Church’s leaders, both lay and ordained, that is rooted in the person and work of Jesus Christ, orthodox faith, catholic teaching, evangelical mission, and spirit-filled witness. The purpose of this Alumni Edition of the Missioner is to celebrate and highlight some of the many ways the sons and daughters of Nashotah House are living into their high calling as sons and daughters of God and co-heirs with Christ.
• Matriculation Welcome Team: Return to the House in the Fall to welcome the newest class. • Black Monk Council: This is a group made up of one representative from each graduating class. The council offers guidance to the Dean-President. • Class Representative: Help to facilitate communication between your classmates and the seminary, organize alumni events, and promote seminary outreach. The future of Nashotah House is closely linked to its alumni relationships, and it really does desire a meaningful relationship with each alumnus and alumna. Please prayerfully consider your involvement in these opportunities for mutual encouragement, accountability, and common mission. Together we will secure a vital future for Nashotah House, live into our calling as children of God, and advance the boundaries of God’s kingdom. As you have questions or suggestions, please email me at nlawson@nashotah.edu. Also, soon Nashotah House staff and students will be calling you to ask how you would like to serve the House.
The Rev. Noah S. Lawson, ’14 Director of Annual Giving, Nashotah House
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THIS IS THE TITLE
PRACTICING FORMATION
George Westhaver, PhD
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MISSIONER TO THE JAPANESE: THE REV. HIRAM KANO, CLASS OF 1946
LIVING IN COMMUNITY EMPOWERING LAY LEADERSHIP, & LOVING OTHERS
Mark R. Ellis, PhD
The Rev. Lisa Hinkle, ’13
ASSOCIATE DEAN OF ACADEMICS The Rev. Andrew T. Grosso, PhD
ALUMNI UPDATES AND ADDRESS CHANGES TO: Jan Watter Director of Alumni & Donor Relations jwatter@nashotah.edu
ASSOCIATE DEAN OF ADMINISTRATION The Rev. Philip Cunningham
MANAGING EDITOR Rebecca Terhune, ’15
ASSOCIATE DEAN OF STUDENTS The Rev. Rick Hartley, DMin
ART DIRECTOR Bliss Lemmon
BOARD OF TRUSTEES CHAIRMAN The Rt. Rev. Daniel Martins, ’89
PHOTOGRAPHY Joseph Calandra, ’17 Bliss Lemmon Jessica Pollock
DEAN AND PRESIDENT The Very Rev. Steven A. Peay, PhD
BOARD OF VISITORS CHAIRMAN The Rt. Rev. Paul E. Lambert, ’75 ALUMNI PRESIDENT The Rev. Canon H.W. Herrmann, SSC, ’89 DIRECTOR OF ANNUAL GIVING The Rev. Noah S. Lawson, ’14 The Office of Institutional Advancement MARKETING, MEDIA, AND COMMUNICATIONS Elin Wilde
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The Rt. Rev. Dabney Tyler Smith, ’87
THE MISSIONER
NASHOTAH.EDU GIVE.NASHOTAH.EDU AMBROSEINSTITUTE.ORG THE MISSIONER IS PUBLISHED FOR ALUMNI AND FRIENDS OF NASHOTAH HOUSE MISSIONER.EDITOR@NASHOTAH.EDU
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ON THE COVER Pictured on the cover of the Petertide 2015 Alumni edition is the Rt. Rev. Daniel Martins, ‘89. This photo was taken at the 170th Commencement (2015) at St. Jerome’s Catholic Church in Oconomowoc, WI, where Nashotah House has held commencement exercises for several years. The marble baptismal font reflects the stained glass window behind the altar.
Doctor of Ministry Program The primary purpose of the Doctor of Ministry program is to enhance the study and practice of ministry. As a professional degree, the DMin deepens the understanding of ministry through biblical, historical and theological reflection in dialogue with the concrete realities of ministry. Whereas a PhD emphasizes theory in dialogue with theory to advance theories, the DMin emphasizes theory in dialogue with practice in order to advance more faithful ministry practice of the Church. The program is not designed to prepare students for a college or university teaching ministry, rather to form students to serve as local ministry experts and reflective practitioners. Admission to the program requires the Master of Divinity Degree or its equivalent and a minimum of three years ministry experience. Visit nashotah.edu/programs to learn more.
TO THE GLORY OF GOD AND THE BENEFIT OF HIS HOLY CHURCH The Rev. Joel Allen Prather, ’09 Secretary of the Alumni Association, Nashotah House Theological Seminary Rector, Christ Church, Delavan, WI
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“less, O Lord, this House set apart to the glory of thy great Name, and the benefit of thy holy Church…” this is the prayer of Nashotah House, a prayer that I love. I hear those words as I stand again among the dark carved wood in choir at St. Mary’s Chapel, with the respective stained-glass windows of Michael Ramsey and the Apostle John watching over me. The prayer continues, “The glory of God and the benefit of His holy Church.” That’s why we chose Nashotah and why, as Sons and Daughters, we continue to love her today. As the Secretary of the Alumni Association I’m excited about what I see happening on campus: a top-notch student body, excellent faculty, the new leadership structure and the new installation of Dean Peay on May 19, 2015. There is a palpable joy each time I visit campus. Recently, I experienced the expanding reach of the House at the Newbigin, Pluralism & the Digital Age Symposium where lay leaders, urban missionaries, bishops, academics and clergy from around the country work-shopped relevant, missional strategies for ministry. Opportunities
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Sacramental Participation & Spiritual Formation as the The Heartbeat of the Parish: Patterns of Tractarian Exegesis & Spiritual Renewal at Work Today
September 25 & 26, 2015 Hosted by the Ambrose Institute, a Ministry of Nashotah House Theological Seminary register today ambroseinstitute.org We welcome you to the 2015 Fall Symposium which will focus on the contemporary importance of spiritual formation at the local parish level, in both theory and practice. As inheritors of the Oxford Movement (1833-1841), we will rediscover the Tractarian understanding of sacramental theology, how this served as the foundation and in particular to their sacramental approach to reading the Bible. In exploring the significance of the Oxford Movement through the lens of the twentieth-century Ressourcement movement, attention will be given to origin, criticism, and historical achievements. Our speaker is the Rev. Dr. George Westhaver, MA Oxford, MDiv Toronto, PhD Durham Principal of Pusey House. Dr. Westhaver came to Pusey House in August, 2013. He conducted his doctoral research at the University of Durham under the supervision of Professor Andrew Louth on E. B. Pusey’s unpublished lectures, ‘Types and Prophecies of the Old Testament’. His research interests include E. B. Pusey and the Oxford Movement, the allegorical interpretation of the Bible, and the artistic expression of Christian doctrine.
like this and the Ambrose Institute offer rich formation in the Anglican Way to lay leaders and clergy alike. And this glorifies God and benefits His whole Church. I’m also excited about what I see happening out on the front lines of ministry by those formed at the House. My wife Tammy and I visited Fr. Jim and Susan Fosdick’s The Rock Mission Center in Eagle River, WI. This Mission Center works to provide space and a partnership among the many things the Lord is doing in their community all under one roof to care for those in need. We came away inspired by the possibilities to reach out and glorify God and benefit His Church in our community. We’re also blessed to have a current seminarian family from the House at our parish: Pedro Lara, ’17 and his
wife Gloria, from the Diocese of Dallas. It’s a privilege to be a part of the formation of excellent, future leaders for the Church. While I’m able to do this locally, there are many opportunities for partnering with the House and its current student body. As alumni, we can each take part in building the bridge between the House and the front lines of ministry: mentoring seminarians and recent graduates, bringing lay leaders to the Ambrose Institute, supporting the House financially and visiting to share your own ministry knowledge and experience. Building this bridge glorifies God and benefits His holy Church. The Rev. Joel Allen Prather, Class of ’09, serves as Rector of Christ Church, Delavan in the Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee. He is excited to be back in rural Wisconsin with red dairy barns and New Glarus Brewery. Fr. Joel recently planted a church in Dallas with his wife Tammy and son Jude.
INCARNATIONAL READING
The Rev. Dr. George Westhaver, Principal of Pusey House, St Giles, Oxford
In September 1839, John Henry Newman made one of his more enigmatic observations to his friend and colleague E B Pusey. Concerned by David Friedrich Strauss’ Leben Jesu (1835), and his attribution of the supernatural elements of the Gospels to myths that developed after the crucifixion, Newman wrote to Pusey to propose that his lectures on the mystical or allegorical interpretation of the Old Testament offered the best response: ‘Strauss’s book is said to be doing harm at Cambridge. The only way to meet it is by your work on Types’. Newman’s advocacy of typology and allegory as a theological antidote would have been greeted with incredulity even by many of their friends and allies. Richard Church, for example, in his sympathetic history of the Oxford Movement described John Keble’s learned study of patristic mysticism in Tract 89, a companion piece to Pusey’s lectures, as ‘out of place’ and ‘hardly what the practical needs of the time required’. According to this view, Strauss’ challenge demanded ‘convincing reasoning’ 10
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and the careful presentation of evidence rather than highly speculative interpretations that were hardly less fabulous in the eyes of many than Strauss’ myths. Newman, on the other hand, takes for granted that the endeavours he and his colleagues were making to recover a patristic model of reading the Bible – an allegorical, sacramental, mystical, or typical approach − were fundamental to their project, not an esoteric curiosity. Furthermore, Newman asserts that this work had the capacity to address the great theological challenges of the day. Appreciating the logic of Newman’s proposal takes one to the heart of the Oxford Movement, highlights the significance of the Tractarians’ approach to the Bible, and suggests how their project can make an important contribution to theology at the beginning of the 21st century. While the Tractarians are known for their emphasis on the ‘real presence’ of Christ in the sacrament of the altar, they also affirmed an analogous kind of ‘real presence’ in the
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lettered body of Scripture. Using the language of sacrament, Newman argues that the office of the ascended Christ is both revealed and concealed in the figures of the Bible: ‘We will hold it as a Mystery … a Truth Sacramental; that is, a high invisible grace lodged in an outward form’. In the lectures which Newman wanted to see published, Pusey described the Old Testament as having a ‘sacramental force’ and as ‘a living and true Body, which it hath pleased God to take, in order to be accessible to us; and wherein alone we can see Him “Full of grace and truth”’. Similarly, in Tract 89, Keble put forward the view that the Scriptures offer a means of communion with this heavenly truth and divine life: ‘Such is the letter of the Old Testament, clothed with the wrappings of carnal sacraments, or tokens; but if you once come to its marrow, it nourishes and satisfies’. For the Tractarians, the movement from the surface or the letter of Scripture to the higher and spiritual meaning is a form of participation in the mystery of Christ. To neglect this movement, or the mystical, allegorical, or typical interpretation which serves as its vehicle, is to fail to appreciate the full meaning of the Incarnation. While the Incarnation is, first of all, a doctrine about the union of divine and human in Christ the Word made flesh, the Tractarians saw it also as the model for understanding how divine life and truth are communicated by sensible means in both earthly sacraments and the human and material words of Scripture. Exemplifying this approach, Pusey characterizes the Christian religion according to a fundamental analogy between the way that God ‘comes down’ in the Incarnation, the Sacraments, and the Bible: ‘Its cornerstone and characteristic is “God manifest in the flesh” … earthly Sacraments, yet full of Heaven, earthly words, yet full of the Word, λογοι proceeding from and setting forth the Λογος’. It is the comprehensive and inter-linked character of the Tractarians’ understanding of the Incarnation, the sacraments, and the Bible that challenged theological trends at the beginning of the nineteenth century and which still offers creative possibilities today. For Pusey, Keble, and Newman, the bias against allegory brought to light what they saw as erroneous and corrosive principles implicit in some of the most popular forms of theology in their day. In the sort of evidential theology exemplified by William Paley, they saw a superficial empiricism that neglected whatever ideas could not be displayed in the form of a proof. For them, apparently straightforward appeals to common sense suggested that an autonomous human rationality could evaluate the highest truths. In a similar way, Pusey argued that emphasizing the practical effects of doctrine implied that revelation needs to be justified by utility and even threatened to represent members of the body of Christ as ‘moral or religious machines, instead of realizing their privilege of union with God’. In each case, the Tractarians identified a splitting
asunder of what is united in Christ: the spiritual from the material, doctrine from life, the divine from the human, the Head from the body. In this they were articulating a problem which is more generally recognized today than it was then. Many contemporary scholars, including Rowan Williams, John Webster, Andrew Louth, Matthew Levering, and Hans Boersma have discussed the problematic distancing of theology from the study of the Bible and other modern forms of separating what belongs together. The tendency to disconnect doctrine from spirituality or pastoral care, the speculative from the affective, and thought about God from ‘the movement of the heart towards God’ may, according to the approach suggested by the Tractarians, be symptomatic of a failure to appreciate the spiritual universe which the Incarnate Christ reveals. In seeking a remedy for the different forms that this theological ‘dissociation of sensibility’ may take, many contemporary authors have looked to Henri de Lubac for guidance in bringing together a modern historical consciousness and the insights of contemporary biblical exegesis with thick reading and an openness to the different senses which find their unity in Christ. In important ways, the Tractarian approach to the Bible and the sacraments, to ecclesiology and the natural world, foreshadows the work of de Lubac and his Ressourcement colleagues. In a more specifically Anglican and English context, their work also has important connections with that of Martin Thornton and the argument that the theological apprehension of the person of Christ is necessarily and epistemologically connected with the response of the whole person to God in a transformed life and sanctified affections, and that this is a corporate rather than an individualistic endeavour. For the Tractarians, the interpretation of the Bible is never simply a question of exegesis, but an expression of the fundamentally sacramental character of Christian life and is connected with the work of restoration in Christ which embraces the whole created order. In this light, we can see the refined wisdom and practical character of Newman’s suggestion to Pusey.
The Rev. Dr. George Westhaver is the featured speaker for the 2015 Fall Symposium, September 25 and 26, 2015, hosted by the Ambrose Institute, a ministry of Nashotah House. Dr. Westhaver is the Principal of Pusey House, Oxford. Some of the ideas in this article are discussed in more detail in a chapter in the forthcoming Oxford Handbook of the Oxford Movement (ed. Steward Brown, Peter Nockles and James Pereiro). To register for the Fall Symposium, please visit ambroseinstitute.org/fallsymposium-2015. To learn more about Pusey House, please visit puseyhouse.org.uk
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DISCIPLESHIP Cameron MacMillan, ’16
Discipleship was a well known phenomenon in the ancient Greco-Roman world. In a culture that highly valued wisdom and learning, there was no shortage of young men seeking to learn from sagacious elders who walked the streets of Philippi, Athens, and Judaea, expounding upon the lives of the gods, the pursuit of virtue, and the teleological intricacies of the cosmos. Disciples who sought a master were expected to give up their time and energy to pursue the wisdom of their teacher; a serious commitment was expected. The disciple’s personal behavior was to be modeled after his master. Jesus steps into this world and takes up the common practice of disciple-master relations. But Jesus’ way of doing discipleship looks a bit different than your average Plato-Socrates relationship. Unlike the conventional Israelite approach to discipleship in which a young disciple seeks out a faithful Torahkeeping rabbi to imitate, Jesus takes all initiative in calling the individuals who will follow him. He doesn’t parade around the streets of Galilee, displaying his wisdom with stateliness, hoping to impress the young aspiring philosophers of his day. Instead, he begins his ministry by seeking out a ragamuffin group of poor fishermen—not exactly an entourage that will win him society’s recognition. Jesus’ disciples will have a unique relationship with their Master, because this Master requires nothing less than a complete surrendering of his followers’ lives. What sets this relationship apart even more is that Jesus’ disciples will learn the worship due to God alone is equally owed to the one they call Master, the one whom Thomas finally realizes to be, “My Lord and my God!” (Jn. 20:28). Jesus is nothing less than God himself walking the earth, and his demands cannot be reduced to optional rules. “So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”
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“No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” “If any want to become my followers, let them deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me . The list goes on and the message remains clear throughout the Gospels. Jesus leaves no room for ambiguous interpretations to those who want to be his disciples. Is it any surprise that much modern theology works from a paradigm in which Jesus’ teachings and commandments can be selected according to one’s personal preferences? This ongoing mission in some theological circles to remove all discomfort from Christian teaching flies in the face of almost everything Jesus himself says about discipleship. If Jesus’ sayings make us uncomfortable, we can write them off as products of an ancient culture, now irrelevant to us. Just excise the stuff about swords, hell, millstones, and dismembering sin. But, by all means, bring on the statements about love, joy, and peace. But to detach our Lord’s words about love from his demand for radical obedience is a mistake of no small consequence. If we attempt to cut Jesus down to a manageable size—to take away his Lordship and dominion—we are left with nothing more than a Jewish Socrates. But the truth is, Jesus is calling us to give up everything for his sake—anything and everything that might stand in between disciple and Master. Why are there no exceptions? Because anything that reduces our devotion to and love for Christ is an alternative master, and “no one can serve two masters” (Mt. 6:24). So, what is the sole genuine way to live out faithful discipleship? I like Bonhoeffer’s answer: “The only right and proper way is quite literally to go with Jesus. The call to follow implies that there is only one way of believing on Jesus Christ, and that is by leaving all and going with the incarnate Son of God.”
Mr. MacMillan (top) is an upcoming senior student at Nashotah House, pursuing ordination in the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida. He enjoys good coffee and writing implements with a very fine point.
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Missioner to the Japanese: The Rev. Hiram Kano, Class of 1946 Mark R. Ellis, PhD, University of Nebraska at Kearney
The following article written by Mark Ellis, PhD, is reprinted from the University of Nebraska’s archives. Dr. Ellis is a professor and chair of the History Department at the University of Nebraska, Kearney, and specializes in the history of the American West. Dr. Ellis has published numerous articles and a book (Law and Order in Buffalo Bill’s Country: Legal Culture and Community on the Great Plains) on aspects of frontier law and legal culture.
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iram Hisanori Kano was born into a Japanese noble family on January 30, 1889. His warlord father was the governor of the province of Kagoshima and a member of the Japanese parliament. As the second son in the family, young Kano was not required to follow his father’s career. Instead, he chose to study agriculture at the Imperial University in Tokyo, where he graduated with a bachelor of science degree in 1916. Kano eventually found his way to the Great Plains after William Jennings Bryan, a family friend, convinced his father that he could receive a better agricultural education in the United States. With a handwritten note from Bryan in his pocket, Kano journeyed to Lincoln, Nebraska, where in 1918 he earned a master’s degree in agricultural economics at the University of Nebraska.
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In 1919 Kano married Ai “Ivy” Nagai in Seattle; the couple had two children. He put his agricultural education to good use when he bought a 300-acre farm near Litchfield, Nebraska. Kano became active in the Japanese Americanization Society, teaching English and working as an intermediary or translator for immigrants. In 1921 Kano and Rev. George Allen Beecher, the Episcopal bishop for western Nebraska, successfully defeated a bill introduced in the Nebraska legislature that would have barred Japanese residents from owning property and serving as legal guardians of their children. During the 1920s Kano became active in the Episcopal Church, working with Japanese living in the Platte River valley. He was ordained a deacon in 1928 and became a priest in 1936.
Kano’s life took a dramatic turn on December 7, 1941, when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor. After conducting services in North Platte, Nebraska, that Sunday morning, he was arrested by local police and interrogated by federal agents. Because of his family ties to the Japanese government and his position as a leader of Japanese immigrants in the Great Plains, federal authorities deemed Kano a threat to national security and sent him to an internment camp. While being held away from his family, Kano taught English classes to fellow internees. In 1944 he was released and allowed to move his family to Nashotah, Wisconsin, where he entered Nashotah House Theological Seminary, earning another master’s degree in 1946. Returning to Nebraska, Kano worked as an Episcopal missionary among Nebraska’s Japanese residents until his retirement in 1957. After leaving the priesthood, Kano moved to Fort Collins, Colorado, where he and his wife bought a small farm. Kano died on October 24, 1988. Kano, Hiram Hisanori. A History of the Japanese in Nebraska. Lincoln: Nebraska Committee for the Humanities, 1984. Note: The 2012 General Convention referred various potential commemorations to Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music (SCLM): Whiting Griswold; Dr. Artemisia Bowden; the Rev. Hiram Hisanori Kano; Daniel Sylvester Tuttle; George W. Foote; Edward N. Goddard; William “Bowtie Bill” White; Deaconess Anna Ellison Butler Alexander; Emily Malbone Morgan; and Dag Hammarskjold.
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A RETURN TO THE HOUSE the Rev. Clint Wilson, ’13
Photo caption: Fr. Clint Wilson, ‘13, (center) and St. David’s, Denton, TX, youth group volunteering at a homeless shelter and preparing to serve lunch.
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s a son and graduate of Nashotah House, there is nothing quite like turning off Mission Road onto the campus and driving past the old cemetery, through the wooded lawns and into the close community, especially after a long absence. My wife and I love the House, as we were formed powerfully by the Benedictine rhythms of prayer, work and study, and the friendships we developed there. It is hard to return to this place without being reminded of the call of the prophet Isaiah: “In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength” (30:15b). For many, this campus is a “thin place” where God’s shalom is encountered in sacramental palpability. Our latest encounter occurred as my wife, Theresa and I participated in the Symposium on ‘Conflict Management and Reconciliation’ featuring Dr. David Jones and Dr. Peter Steinke. Nashotah House offers a new ministry called the Ambrose Institute for clergy and lay leaders, and a variety of symposia are part of the ministry.
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Having engaged with Family Systems theory previously at Nashotah House, I was hoping this would not be merely a redux. Put simply, my expectations were far exceeded, and were in fact dismantled and rebuilt in the form of a symposium I wish I could attend annually with everyone I love and lead. There were moments I wanted to stand up and applaud, other moments still where I wanted to weep and confess from the insight the leaders gave into my own brokenness. However, ultimately I was left with hope— for leading others and for leading myself, my parishioners and my family into a place of deeper healing and health. Indeed, it is as if I heard again the prophet Isaiah: “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it,” (30:21). So many of the principles shined a light upon my path—from dealing with anxiety, to becoming well differentiated as a leader, to maintaining unity amidst differences and strife—and are principles I will walk in and pass onto vestry members, lay leaders and family members for years to come The sessions and the worship, the fellowship and the food, the cloister, the friends and the pub all coalesced together and provided a wonderful retreat bracketed on either side by a busy life of ministry. “In returning and rest shall ye be saved; in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength.” Isaiah knew what he was talking about, and this Ambrose Institute symposium helped me to understand it in a new and deeper way. In 2006, the Rev. Clint Wilson, ’13, prayerfully discerned a call to ministry through a vibrant local parish–the same parish where he “walked the Canterbury Trail.” This led eventually to his ordination and work in church planting in downtown Denver, CO. He serves as curate at the Church of St. David of Wales in Denton, TX where he oversees ministry to young families, college students, and youth. His wife Theresa is a student affairs professional at the University of North Texas and outshines him in almost every way. They have a dog named Denver and love all things outdoors.
Now more than ever before your support of Nashotah House makes a difference. The House’s mission of providing the next generation of faithful leadership for the Church, both lay and ordained, is in the hands of those the House seeks to serve: the Church. We ask you to please join the growing number of individuals, churches, and dioceses across the country who have decided to support the New Vistas Initiative by participating in the 1% Program and the Jackson Kemper 1000. The 1% Program allows parishes and dioceses across the country to come alongside Nashotah House and its mission – to become its partners – by pledging 1% of their adopted annual budget to the Jackson Kemper Annual Fund. The Jackson Kemper 1000 is a group of individuals who have pledged a minimum of $1,500 per year ($125 per month) to the Jackson Kemper Annual Fund, expressing their commitment to ensure the future of the House. We would like to thank some of our newest 1% Partners: • • • •
St. Michael’s by the Sea, CA Saints Simeon & Anna Anglican, WI The Diocese of Springfield St. Stephen’s Church, RI
We would also like to thank some of the newest members of the Jackson Kemper 1000: • • • •
The Rev. and Mrs. Frank Baltz Mrs. Marilyn Dixon The Rev. Dr. and Mrs. Andrew Grosso The Hon. George Herbert Walker, III
Is God calling you into this partnership? If so, please visit our Give Site at www.nashotah.edu/new-vistas-campaign to learn more, enroll today, or to view a complete listing of our current partners. You may also call Ms. Jan Watter, the Director of Alumni and Donor Relations at 262.646.6507 for any information regarding our New Vistas programs. Nashotah House The Office of Institutional Advancement 2777 Mission Road Nashotah, Wisconsin 53058 262.646.6500 nashotah.edu
YOU WILL MISS THESE BROTHERS AND SISTERS The Rev. Meghan Dow Farr, ’13
Bedtime with my kids. I love bedtime with them partially because I know soon they will be asleep and my husband and I will be able to visit, talk, watch a show, read a book; or, if we must, clean the kitchen or catch up on laundry. Mostly, however, I love bedtime with my boys because we have some of the best discussions in the dark after prayers. Recently, my eldest, Aidan, and I spent time talking about things in life that are both exciting and scary. Being from Central Florida, its easy to recall some great examples— Space Mountain, Splash Mountain, the Kraken—thrill rides are certainly both exciting and scary. We also talked about the everyday in life that can be both exciting and scary like starting a new school, or learning to drive or flying in an airplane. Later, I thought about my last months at Nashotah House. Has it been almost two years since I had graduated? When my family arrived at Nashotah and pulled into ‘The Peaks’ and when we drove away, these were certainly both scary and exciting times for us as a family. I was a third-year completion student so as soon as we unpacked the last box, it felt like it was time to pack again and leave. The challenge of being a one-year student is that you make friends quickly and you seem to say goodbye just as quickly. You finally fall into the rhythm of life at the House and then you are headed off into another new life. You are learning about life at the House much in the way a Junior would, which can be a bit intimidating, but that is mixed with all the excitement of “senioritis” knowing you are graduating in ten months. One minute all the possibilities of ministry lay before you and the next minute Satan is doing his best to make you feel unworthy of the calling. But this too shall pass and God leads you into your ministry and then new struggles, temptations and fears set in! I once had a seminary professor say, “If you think that by getting ordained all your trials and temptations will end, think again..
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they get worse!” But praise God, He gives us the grace, the tools, the people and the strength of the Holy Spirit to continue and to minister to His people. As a student, no matter how much is on your plate, stay immersed in the rhythms of prayer, worship, work and fellowship. Pray for continued discernment even if you know God’s call after graduation. Enjoy your friendships because you will miss these brothers and sisters. If you have children, talk to them regularly about the transition. Few places are quite as amazing and fairytale-like for a child as Nashotah House but they will make new friends even if it takes awhile. Life beyond Nashotah is scary and exciting and even though you lived in it before you came to seminary, it will be different. It will be hours past noon before you remember Michael isn’t there to call you to prayer—let alone remind you to stop for lunch. What a blessing to pick up a prayer book at 8 AM and 4:30 PM and pray the Daily Office knowing the same words are echoing from the people in St. Mary’s Chapel. The memorable parts of life are often a mixture of scary and exciting. That was certainly true of seminary and it continues to be true for ministry. At the end of the final semester at Nashotah House you will leave with friendships forged over late nights in the library, scrubbing dishes in the refectory and laughter around fire pits. You will leave with a foundation of prayer, worship and work to strengthen you in this scary and exciting work that is serving the servants of God. The Rev. Meghan Farr began seminary at Asbury Theological Seminary in Orlando, FL as a Postulant for Holy Orders in the Diocese of Central Florida. She felt a call to complete her final year at Nashotah House which her Bishop, the Rt. Rev. John Howe (now retired) affirmed. Reverend Meghan currently serves as Curate at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Gladstone, NJ. She is married to Daniel and mom to Aidan (10), Declan (4), and Cavan (1).
CHURCH MUSICIANS: A RARE FIND By the Rev. Alexander R. Pryor, Teaching Fellow in Church Music and Associate Director of Chapel at Nashotah House
“Organists are scarce as hens’ teeth.” Those were the very first words I heard from my first organ teacher. Even where an organist can be found, it could still be said that a church musician—one who is trained in our rich musical tradition, who understands the shape of the liturgy, and can cooperate with the clergy to fashion and lead the worship of the local congregation—is an even rarer find. There is much that can be said about the state of church music in our present age; from wonderful examples of thriving music programs where people are learning the Faith as they join “angels and archangels” and the host of heaven in singing praise to Almighty God, to equally eye-opening stories of well-intentioned musicians who have unashamedly and unreflectively borrowed all that the secular music world has to offer, either because that is their area of training and expertise or because they have never considered what it is exactly that makes sacred music, ‘set apart’, sacred. Since taking up my role as Teaching Fellow in Church Music at Nashotah House in August 2014, I have had countless encounters with both clergy and lay people who recall the “good ol’ days” when there was always someone willing and able to lead the hymns and when even medium-sized country parishes could pull together a good choir, if only for Christmas and Easter. What happened? Where have they gone? The better questions are to ask ‘where did this previous generation of church musicians come from’ and ‘how were they made’? The answer is simple. In almost all cases, church musicians were formed by the Church. Of course, like any craftsperson learning his or her trade, the one-on-one apprenticing of church musicians has been the standard practice from the Middle Ages through the present day, at least in places where organ and choral scholarships survive.
the Royal School of Church Music’s Voice for Life training program. Seminarians will have the opportunity to assist, observe, and teach lessons, so that they will enter the mission field with an understanding of the realities of working with today’s children, and armed with at least one vision for how the arts can be a catechetical tool.
Above left is Nashotah House Teaching Fellow in Church Music, Fr. Alexander Pryor, ’14. In 2016, Nashotah House, in partnership with the Ambrose Institute, will host a Musicians’ Workshop. Dates are June 13-17, 2016. For more information, please email Fr. Pryor at apryor@nashotah.edu.
We all recognize the importance of solid, classical-yet-practical priestly formation, that which has been a strength of Nashotah House since our founding on the mission frontier. Yet, when it comes to the important area of church music, the element of worship that is both capable of expressing that which is beyond words and which is deeply catechetical and formative, it seems we inadvertently leave the formation of our future leaders to secular universities and music schools. A thirteen year old’s first attempt at leading a hymn might not be pretty, but everyone has to start somewhere; and where better to learn to lead the Church’s praises than in the community of the faithful? In September 2015, we will launch a newly expanded children’s choir program, Lake Country Children’s Choir, which will experiment with new ways to effectively teach the Faith through the best of our Anglican choral tradition and musical instruction using
We further know that we can never expect the secular world to effectively form our clergy; they must be raised up and supported in the knowledge and love of God. Likewise, every church musician starts somewhere. Perhaps it was as a chorister. Perhaps it was as a piano student who was invited to sit at the organ. Perhaps it was as a young adult, a total outsider, who was offered a choral scholarship and learned to love the service of our Lord and his bride through the songs of the redeemed. Church musicians are indeed scarce. But we can certainly do something about it. If your parish is blessed by a musician who has mastered the trade, encourage him or her to teach and train the next generation. From June 13-17 2016, we invite you to consider the Church Musicians’ Workshop, where church musicians may continue in building their skills at Nashotah House. Please continue in doing your part to make that formation possible for someone else. It’s an investment in the Church’s future. Fr. Pryor is Teaching Fellow in Church Music and Associate Director of Chapel Music at Nashotah House. A trained organist, choirmaster, and music educator, he is interested in equipping clergy to understand and use music as a catechetical tool. In addition to the Lake Country Children’s Choir, Fr. Pryor is organizing the Church Musician’s Workshop in June 2016.
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MUTUAL AFFECTION: LOVING TWO FLOCKS The Rev. Jon Back, ’16
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astors hope for a church in which the community experiences “brotherly affection”, the love that is found among members of the same family. For those of us in bivocational ministry, we often find ourselves praying for such community not only for our church family, but also for our “work family.” In addition to serving as a priest, I also serve as a Registered Nurse and, like other people who work in a demanding profession, I spend hours each week with my co-workers. The struggle for many bi-vocational pastors is that we usually work in order to enable ourselves do ministry that our heart desires and to which our Lord has called us. For this reason our secular job may often feel like a burden that stands in the way of “real” ministry. In truth, the Lord shows that secular work presents many opportunities for ministry – many moments that are much more sacred than secular. Women make up the majority of my profession. At times, they are the single parents or primary caregivers for loved ones. It should not be difficult to recognize that it is the women of our society (and most of the world) who carry the culture’s burdens and struggles. I serve as “resident theologian,” tackling the various questions that they struggle with regarding the Lord or how the Scriptures apply to a particular difficulty in their lives. My co-workers seek me out when they have missed church, and they will make sure that I know when they have returned to Mass after not attending for some time. Some of the most sincere requests that I receive for prayer are from my coworkers, and some of the greatest encouragement in my vocation as a priest comes from them as well. Bi-vocational ministry is sometimes thought of as being a lesser form of ministry. It seems to me, that this life presents tremendous opportunities for the “ministry of reconciliation” spoken of by the Apostle Paul, through which we “are ambassadors for Christ”, with the Lord “making his appeal through us” as we
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encourage others to “be reconciled to God” (2 Cor. 5:18-20). As I struggle with the difficulties of bi-vocational ministry, I am also learning that Paul’s admonition to “love one another with brotherly affection” is also a call for me to love my “work family” with the heart of a pastor. Just as I hope to encourage those in my Church to follow Jesus more closely, so I hope to be a witness for Christ through my work and among my co-workers. Through my “secular” work, I am able to speak the truth of Christ, and of his grace and mercy, to many who are hurting and do not know the Lord. For those in bi-vocational ministry, be encouraged. Let us foster a culture of love and familial affection not only among those in our church, but also among those with whom we work in our secular workplace. As pastors, let us cultivate within our own hearts a mutual affection for those we serve both in the Church and in our work, asking the Lord to nurture within our hearts a love for those sheep which have been entrusted to our care even though they are not found within the fold of our parish (Jn. 10:16). We will then be a model of Christ’s love as we love one another with mutual affection. Fr. Jon Back serves as Curate for St. Michael the Archangel Anglican Ministries, a community of church plants in the central Indiana area, within the Anglican Diocese of the Great Lakes. He also works as a Registered Nurse, and serves as the Assistant Director of Nursing for Marquette Retirement Community in Indianapolis. Fr. Back is a student in the DMin program at Nashotah House.
The Rev. Jon Back, ’16, serves a young acolyte (top) and is also in the bottom photo (right) with fellow DMin students and the Rev.Canon Jeremy M. Haselock, DMus (center), Adjunct Professor at Nashotah House. PETERTIDE 2015
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COMMENCEMENT WEEK 2015 Commencement Week began at Nashotah House with the arrival of many of our alumni from both near and far to celebrate the Installation of our Twentieth Dean and President, the Very Rev. Steven A. Peay, PhD, on May 19, 2015 (p. 20, lower left and center) . Among the week’s events included Board of Trustees’ meetings; work crew among residential students; a portrait unveiling of the Nineteenth Dean and President, Edward L. Salmon, Jr., (p. 20, top left) in the Frances Donaldson Library; a book signing by the Rev. Daniel Westberg, (p. 21, lower right) who is the Professor of Moral Theology at Nashotah House. The book entitled, Renewing Moral Theology: Christian Ethics as Action, Character and Grace, is published by IVP Academic, 2015. The Rev. John D. Alexander, PhD, (p. 21, top right) presented the first annual Michael Arthur Ramsey Lecture, in honor of Richard Cornish Martin, Honorary Trustee. Fr. Alexander is Rector of St. Stephen’s Church in Providence, RI; and the Annual Arthur Michael Ramsey Lecture and Medal recognizes an individual who has modeled in their life and ministry a passion for the Gospel, the Church, and Our Lord. The individual must have distinguished him/herself in one or more of the 100th Archbishop of Canterbury’s areas of interests: Ascetical Theology, Ecuminism, Pastoral Theology, and Priestly Formation. The awardee delivers the Ramsey Lecture on one of the aforementioned topics, Archbishop Ramsey’s ministry in that area, and their own ministry experience. The week culminated with the graduation of Nashotah House’s 170th class who heard the encouraging words of Mr. Jon Meacham who gave the commencement address. Mr. Meacham (p. 22, bottom right) is a former editor-in-chief of Newsweek, a contributing editor to Time Magazine, editor-at-large of WNET, and a commentator on politics, history, and religious faith in America. He won the 2009 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography for his work American Lion: Andrew Jackson in the White House.
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Congratulations
to the
170th Graduating Class of Nashotah House
Commencement exercises with Solemn Eucharist Thursday, May 21, 2015, St. Jerome’s Catholic Church, Oconomowoc, WI
Anglican Studies
Steven Thomas Burns Tracy Michelle Dugger John Michael Hayes Larry James Woodgate
Master of Arts in Ministry Mark Douglas Chesnut Marie Alene Kirk Clunan Kevin Ray Emge Jacob Joseph Evans Austin Lee Goggans Eric Theodore Raskopf Sonya Joan Reichel Anne Christine Seaton David L. Wells
Master of Theological Studies Matthew Christian Dallman Thomas Glenn Flowers Perry Moore Mansfield James Francis Sweeney Rebecca Claudia Terhune
Master of Divinity
John Frederick David Armstrong Phillip Martin Berghuis Zachary Will Braddock Emily Ann Lavikoff Christopher Waylon Lawrence Lance Mitchell Lormand David Ernest Pearson Christopher Austin Pokorny Aaron Glen Prosser David Robert Radzik Ezgi Saribay Ardath Louise Smith John Skinner Sosnowski Jason Scott Terhune John Edward Fielding Trenum
Master of Sacred Theology Deborah O’Donnell Gravatt Richard Scott Hartley Jonathan Michael Kanary
Doctor of Ministry
Timothy Sean Gahles Robert Michael Lewis Steven Christopher Rice
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The attached photo is from the March 2015 gathering (left to right) Christina Jackson; Bryan O’Carroll, ’11; Susan O’Carroll: Sharon Murbarger (front); Jason Murbarger, ’13 (back); Marcia Allison; Roy Allison, ’12; Gary Jackson, ’11.
Enjoying One Another’s Company – Central & South Florida Alumni Gathering The Rev. Bryan O’Carroll, ’11 We enjoy hearing about various alumni and/or spouse gatherings and want to hear from you! Send us your events and include who attended from which class(es), and the Missioner will be glad to publish in the next issue. Send your news and photos to: missioner. editor@nashotah.edu.
Our group is made up of Nashotah graduates and spouses from the Dioceses of Central and Southwest Florida. We attempt to gather once a quarter for fellowship, food and prayer. Our busy schedules can make this difficult, but we find that having this opportunity to be together is worthy of a place on our calendar. So often our schedules are driven by the need of the parish which we are fully committed to, but from time to time it is good to have a regularly scheduled event that is solely for the purpose of caring for ourselves, former classmates and colleagues. After spending time as residential students at Nashotah House one of the things that is missed is the sense of community that exists on campus. As we join our parishes as priests and we can again feel a sense of community, but there is the always present line that we as clergy and family of clergy know we should not cross. This is not a bad thing, but it leaves a desire to have a place where one can fully let their guard down without having to be concerned with how our actions and comments may be perceived. Quite simply there is no better feeling than knowing you are among friends and colleagues where you can share your
joys, struggles, accomplishments and failures in a setting where your discussion elicits valuable input without the possibility of creating anxiety in the community. Our group has currently engaged six couples and look forward to adding more to our gatherings. Those participating include: Fr. Gary and Christina Jackson; Fr. Bryan and Susan O’Carroll; Fr. Roy and Marcia Allison, ’12; Fr. Jason and Sharon Murbarger, ’13; Fr. John and Karen Lipscomb; Fr. Lance and Diane Wallace. Our last gathering took place March 27, 2015 and our next gathering is scheduled for June 26, 2015. We rotate geographic location each time so that each of us has the chance to host the group and so no one couple is required to bear the burden of travel.
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Practicing Formation
In February, 2015, the Rt. Rev. Dabney T. Smith spoke to the Missioner about seminarians, vocation, and spiritual formation. Bishop Smith offered the following words reminding us that a “vocation is never a private undertaking”.
1. How do you articulate the meaning of vocation to 3. What is the most significant thing that has taka seminarian? Vocation is the reality of being called, en place to give you hope for the future of the of being obedient in understanding. Often I remind church? The emphasized training in worship—expeople that vocation is never a private undertaking; acting, not militaristic—but pietist. Reverent withthe church helps in this understanding. When we reout being self-focused. Worship that is life giving examine our baptismal vows, we can see that these and nourishing, a habit of the heart developed in vows focus on a relationship with Jesus Christ, perstudents who receive the important habits formed sonal yet among community. The question, “Do you in daily prayer and the receiving of the Eucharist. know who Jesus is?” is a question that is reflected in the rhythmic order of daily prayer and Eucharist. For 4. You have said the business of the clergy is in helpexample, I tell postulants for holy orders to practice ing people to be holy. What does holiness look the discipline of Ember Day letters. As they write like in today’s church? how are clergy and laity these letters, they articulate their academic formation, working together to fully realize the gift of holitheir well being, and their spiritual life. I encourage ness? Does it look any different than it has in the seminarians to keep a copy of these letters to review in past? Of course, mutual manifestations are apparthe years ahead. Rereading these letters allows people ent, but the surrender to our Lord, the obedience, to see where have grown and what are patterns have the accountability—these never change. Holiness is emerged in their lives. In essence, ember letters are a clearly found in the attributes of transparency and spiritual autobiography that work to assist postulants honesty towards our neighbor and to God. The New in their own vocation. Testament holds a plethora of one statement after 2. What do you see as the most important part of semanother of Jesus describing the mindset of holiness; inary formation? There are commonalities that semthe approach to living on behalf of and for others. inaries share with one another and as people discern The Archbishop of Canterbury, Michael Ramsey, their call, they must also consider such variables of once said, “Jesus was the man for others.” Holiness what one seminary may offer over another, as well as of life looks like this: living for others, not abstract, their individual finances and their family life. At its but concrete. Spiritual disciplines of reconciliation, best, the formation that a seminary offers to an indisurrender, readdressing our baptismal vows, these vidual is found in praying the Daily Office together, are what holiness looks like. and the community, the academic preparation, and the pastoral care. Often this is rhythm is a great reve 5. What impacted you most during your time at Nalation that can cause intense friction; however, these shotah House that you still use today? The Daily circumstances can help a person to see the changes Office. Not only is it practical, but the Daily Office that God is working in them. There is no such thing as is for the whole church. The whole church at prayer a private Christian. As a graduate of Nashotah House, wherever I am--this I am perpetually thankful to I have experienced the Benedictine model of work, Nashotah House for instilling in me. prayer, and study. The participation of everyone is needed—otherwise it hurts in formation and may hurt the community.
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The Rt. Rev. Dabney Tyler Smith was elected bishop coadjutor of the Diocese of Southwest Florida on December 9, 2006, and consecrated as a bishop on March 10, 2007 at the Cathedral of St. Jude the Apostle in St. Petersburg. He is president of the Bishop Gray Retirement Foundation and a member of the board of directors of the Dominican Development Group, a trustee of the University of the South and Nashotah House Theological Seminary, and is a member of the House of Bishops Planning Committee. As Vice President of Province IV, he sits on the Presiding Bishop’s Council of Advice. He was recently appointed by the Presiding Bishop to serve on the Standing Committee on Mission and Evangelism. In the Diocese of Southwest Florida, he serves on the board of Berkeley Preparatory School in Tampa. In May 2015, Bp. Smith was one of four bishops nominated to become the 27th presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church.
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Living in Community, Empowering Lay Leadership, & Loving Others The Rev. Lisa Hinkle, ’13
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or a person called to the priesthood, there is a process and discernment begins. No one enters into the process alone but in concert with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, church leaders, a seminary full of people, family and friends and God. The discernment is more than the original call. It encompasses the experience of working and living in community with others—with people in differing roles—and God. After graduating from seminary, becoming a transitional deacon and, being ordained a priest I looked back and took a deep breath, thinking to myself, “Praise the Lord; my call was discerned.” What exactly does that call look like?
In the movie, Mission Impossible, agents called to a task: “this is your mission should you choose to accept it…” Priests are called to many differing tasks and asked to juggle more than what one person is typically capable of handling. I discovered this when I received my first job description as a Pastoral Intern. Even though I was eager to accept the mission, it seemed impossible and it truly was. Metaphorically speaking,
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I ran for the phone booth and stepped out with a cape on like in the movie Superman. I ran up the concrete stairs to the tune of the theme song of the movie Rocky, and there was no doubt that I had accepted “the mission.” Somewhere along the way I realized I had learned some extremely valuable things in the discernment process that would become useful tools for the ministry. First and foremost, as a priest I have entered into an ongoing process. What is accomplished in the mission is not done alone but in fellowship with fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and with God. Only God is able to do the impossible. He sent His Son Jesus to live as one of us, to die on the cross in our place for the sins of the whole world and raised Him to life again. Matthew 19:25b-26 reads: “Who then can be saved?” But Jesus looked at them and said to them, “With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”
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The Rev. Lisa Hinkle (above) encourages the commitment of lay and ordained working together in mission and ministry: “Practical ideas involve parishioners in ministry; training ministry coordinators to oversee the various ministries of the church …”
This is the God we serve. He has already done the impossible. Our mission is The Great Commission. Even Jesus did not work alone. He worked in community. Accomplishing the mission and living in community was the hallmark of the early church. At Nashotah House this was at the very heart of our seminary training. Applying this principle in the local parish empowers lay leadership, makes disciples and teaches what we find in Matthew 22:37-39: Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind and love your neighbor as yourself. When a person receives a call from God and wants to serve Him, we can disciple them, no matter how great or how small the ministry they are called to. This means coming alongside them, discipling them, and being an encourager as well as a teacher. Discernment is a continuing process, as well as the continuing prayers for God’s will to be done in people’s lives. This discipleship is an ongoing process of teaching people to love and honor each other as God loves and honors us.
Practical ideas involve parishioners in ministry; training ministry coordinators to oversee the various ministries of the church; forming a caring ministry that keeps track of the sick, new parents, those who need transportation; involving volunteers to work in the office answering phones and helping. Whatever the ministry, involving people to use their gifts is a great way to love and honor others. What are the benefits? They are countless. The Rev. Lisa Hinkle is a 2013 graduate of Nashotah House Theological Seminary and the Rector of the Episcopal Church of St. Mary in Belleview, Florida. Prior to her calling to the priesthood Lisa served as a Youth Minister and Teacher. She is also an artist as well as a musician and is dedicated to incorporating these skills into her ministry.
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A Senior Moment John Edward Fielding (Jedd) Trenum, ‘15
Having graduated from Nashotah House this May 2015, I have paused to reflect on three years’ worth of memories formed here; I am amazed at what has transpired. If I’m honest, I’ll admit that I could never have envisioned becoming as close as I have with my fellow students, but persevering the tumults of trials and triumphs does that to people. I arrived anticipating a high regard for my professors, but who knew just how hard…and just how fun...some of the classes would be? Finally, I only could have hoped that the joy of marrying
my wife, Emily, would be part of my seminary experience. That, too, has enriched my time here, beyond all expectations, since becoming a son of the House. Among the great memories I’ll take with me, I recall fondly the joys and struggles of reading the works of Irenaeus, Clement of Rome, and Athanasius during our time in Historical Theology. There were also many long nights of studying the seemingly never-ending participle
John Edward Fielding (Jedd) Trenum graduated with an MDiv degree from Nashotah House in May 2015. He and his wife Emily (pictured) enjoy hiking, traveling, and making new friends. They reside in northern Virginia where Jedd serves in the Anglican Diocese of the MidAtlantic.
forms in Greek or discussing the significance of Gregory the Great’s contributions for our Church History assignments. No matter the topic, our class could always count on the faculty to challenge us to excellence while also engaging the faith first delivered to the saints. In addition to the content in our regular coursework, we have also been given the privilege to hear from other great academics and theologians, from Metropolitan Hilarion of the Russian Orthodox Church to Lord George Carey, 103rd Archbishop of Canterbury. Where else, but Nashotah House? During my Middler year, tragedy struck on the eve of Ash Wednesday, with the sudden passing of our dear friend and classmate, Deacon Terry Star. His death affected us each in different ways, but the ‘untimely’ timing of his passing certainly provided a stark opportunity for all of us to reorient ourselves in preparation for Lent. Our own mortality was never more vivid than as ashes were imposed on our foreheads that Ash Wednesday. Though stunned and saddened, we were not left devastated nor despairing; we grieved not “as others who have no hope,” but as a community that will one day be reunited with our friend in glory everlasting. With that hope, but with heavier hearts, we pressed on.
On August 15, 2014, at the dawn of my Senior year, I married my beautiful bride Emily, on the Feast of St. Mary the Virgin, in St. Mary’s Chapel. During my first two years of seminary, while we maintained our relationship long distance, Emily visited often, and, while staying with friends and interacting with the Nashotah House community, she grew to love this place as much as I do. When she suggested that we actually have our wedding on campus, I was delighted and took her up on the offer immediately! Needless to say, our wedding will ever remain the best memory of my time at the House. This, my final year, presented its own joys and challenges, but that seems to be the story for everyone at Nashotah House. Many of my peers have been ordained and secured positions for after graduation. Many of us have wrestled with relationships, faith, insecurities and other issues that abound in life; but we persevere, knowing God’s faithfulness and call go before us. This is, I believe, Nashotah House’s greatest gift to her students: the opportunity to learn to live life—with all its joys and frustrations—in the context of prayer, work, and community, all undergirded by a sense of God’s call on our lives and His grace to sustain us. We leave with a true sense of what it is to live as children of God’s kingdom, for his glory, with his Son Jesus Christ as our Shepherd—“Behold, how good it is when brothers and sisters dwell in unity!”
ST. MARY OF THE SNOWS AND THEIR COMMUNITY MINISTRIES The Rev. Joel Prather, ‘09
Fr. Jim says another focus of the Rock is to be an “incubator for ministries” that need a place to start until they grow large enough to rent space elsewhere.
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bout four hours north of Nashotah House, the Rock Mission Center in Eagle River, Wisconsin, serves the community with over a dozen ministries. Alumni Trustee Canon Jim Fosdick, ’06, says the Rock was created in January 2014 for the purpose of encouraging other churches and community organizations to co-locate Christian ministries there. The Rock is also home to St. Mary of the Snows Anglican Church. Before St. Mary’s held its first service on December 22, 2013, the Northwoods Share Needs Ministry was in the building providing free clothing to those in need. The Salvation Army had an office there as well as Sunshine for Humanity which provided household items and caseworker services linking low income families to services. That first winter, the Rock also provided space for Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child which provided Christmas presents to over 800 children in Africa and South America. Ruby’s Pantry, which provides monthly two laundry baskets of food valued at over $100 for $20, served 200 families each month until it outgrew the space. Fr. Jim says another focus of the Rock is to be an “incubator for ministries” that need a place to start until they grow
large enough to rent space elsewhere. No one pays rent at the Rock, although everyone is encouraged to help with fundraising. Several ministries have provided donations of furniture, a furnace, and construction and plumbing of a bathroom. Fr. Jim saw mission underway at the Rock before the church even moved in. Once refurbishing was completed, the Needs Ministry moved into its own space at the back of the building. Each month, approximately 400 families are served at the Needs Ministry. Pictured are ministry volunteers enjoying coffee and baked goods with clients while a woman “shops” for clothes in the background. Also pictured is a woman selecting clothes for her daughters. Unlike thrift shops, all clothing as well as shoes and boots are free. The Needs Ministry also provides a free Paper Products Pantry offering toilet paper, paper towels, diapers, toiletries, soaps etc. The Pantry must raise between $700 and $800 per month to purchase wholesale what they give away. The Rock is also now the permanent home for Community Dinners which serve free meals twice a month to approximately 150 people (pictured). Musical entertainment, a brief meditation by Fr. Jim or another area pastor, and a birthday bag with a cake mix and small gift are featured at the dinners. Ignite, a ministry for young adults 18 years to 25 years old, also has an office at the Rock; and a pre-school program for 4-year-olds called Learning Tree is housed there. At Christmas, the Rock provided a Christmas Shopping Service for Children. Pictured is a child shopping with the help of her shopping assistant. Rounding out some of the ministries located at the Rock in the past year are Lifeline Screening (health screening for heart disease, stroke, and cholesterol), Food for the Poor, National Day of Prayer, and Bible studies run by area churches. Fr. Jim notes, “As it says in John’s gospel, ‘Now there are also many other things going on at the Rock. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain all the pages that would be written...’ Well, that’s sort of what it says.”
The Rev. Zachary Braddock, ’15, was ordained to the priesthood by the Rt. Rev. Paul Clayton Hewett, SSC, May 22, 2015, at Holy Apostles Anglican Church, Pewaukee, Wisconsin. The Rev. Alfred Paul Burkert, ’56, died April 16, 2015. Fr. Burkert was a priest of the Episcopal Church, who served God and His people for 58 years in 12 congregations in the Episcopal dioceses of Long Island, New Jersey, Kentucky, Eau Claire, West Missouri, and Milwaukee. He was also a chaplain for the Seamen’s Church Institute in Brooklyn, New York and the VA Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin. The Very Rev. Myron (Michael) D. Herrick, PhD, ’54, died March 29, 2015. He was ordained priest May 29, 1954 by Bishop C.Avery Mason, and served in churches including Holy Trinity, Bonham, Texas and St. John’s, Decatur, Illinois. Fr. Herrick received his PhD in Psychology from University of Kansas in 1974. The Rev. Matthew Kemp, ’13, was ordained to the priesthood by the Rt. Rev. Michael P. Milliken, Bishop of Western Kansas, May 10, 2015. Fr. Kemp serves as curate of Christ Episcopal Cathedral in Salina, Kansas.
Mr. David R. Radzik, ’15, was ordained to the diaconate May 30, 2015, by the the Rt. Rev. William H. Love at All Saints Cathedral, Albany, New York, Episcopal Diocese of Albany. Mr. John Sosnowski, ’15, was ordained to the diaconate by the Rt. Rev. Mark Lawrence, June 13, 2015, at St. Michael’s Church, Charleston, South Carolina. Ms. Ardath Louise Smith, ’15, was ordained to the diaconate by the Rt. Rev. Robert Duncan in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, June 6, 2015. She is accepting a call to missionary service. Mr. James F. Sweeney, ’15, was ordained to the diaconate April 25, 2015, by the Rt. Rev. Eric Menees, Diocese of San Joaquin. Dcn. Sweeney is serving as Vice Chancellor for Canonical Affairs, Diocese of San Joaquin. Mr. Jason S. Terhune, ’15, was ordained to the diaconate June 6, 2015, by the Rt. Rev. John Bauerschmidt at Christ Church Cathedral, Nashville, Tennessee.
Mr. Lance Lormand was ordained to the diaconate by the Rt. Rev. Jack Iker, May 16, 2015 at Saint Andrew’s Church in Fort Worth, Texas. Mr. David Matlack, ’13, was ordained to the diaconate by the Rt. Rev. Steven Miller, June 13, 2015, at All Saints Cathedral, Diocese of Milwaukee, Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
PETERTIDE 2015
THE MISSIONER
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Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Milwaukee, WI Permit No. 5297
The Missioner (ISSN 1521–5148) is published quarterly by Nashotah House, a theological seminary forming leaders in the Anglican tradition since 1842. 2777 Mission Rd., Nashotah, WI 53058–9793, Tel.: 262.646.6500. www.nashotah.edu
November 5 & 6, 2015 Whether you are discerning a call to ministry or considering the possibility of attending seminary, there is no better place in which to retreat from the world and begin to contemplate your call than Nashotah House. A full two-day feast of worship, classroom experience, private reflection, and candid discussion with our students, faculty, and staff. Experiencing Nashotah is expressly designed for prospective students and their spouses. Offered twice a year, in the Fall and the Spring, Experiencing Nashotah is your opportunity to taste and see what life is like at Nashotah House, giving you and your spouse a real introduction to our community, its vibrant life, and its living tradition. Visit nashotah.edu/experiencing-nashotah for more information. Deadline for registration is October 22, 2015. If you intend to have an official admissions interview during your visit, please submit your portion of the Admissions Application prior to your visit.