Volume 4, Number 2, Spring 2011
Our Easter Reality The throbbing heart of the Prayer Book tradition, beginning in 1549, is the incarnation of Jesus, especially those moments of his death and resurrection. This beat only intensifies in our current Prayer Book 1979, with its insistence on what is often called the “Pascal Mystery.” This crucial concept in the Christian life is perhaps obscured by its slightly eccentric terminology, when it might be more clearly put this way—the “Easter Reality.” “If Christ has not been raised, then our proclamation has been in vain and your faith has been in vain.” Paul states it clearly here in 1 Corinthians, that everything depends on the resurrection, this Easter reality. The resurrection of Jesus demonstrates God’s intended destiny for humankind and, in fact, for all creation. The salvation which God is working in Jesus is never privatized, never as individualized as Americans might want it. We are being saved in concert with all creation a radically communal context for what God is doing. (Read Romans 8.) Resurrection’s scope is cosmic! So Eucharistic Prayer D lets the Church pray: “To fulfill your purpose, [O God, Jesus] gave himself up to death; and, rising from the grave, destroyed death, and made the whole creation new.” This Easter reality has a particular poignancy in an age of growing awareness about ecological degradation. To some it may strain credulity to say that God in raising
by Wayne Smith
Jesus has made creation new. Since creation is in fact such a mess, then how can we say that it has been made new? Two points. First, human sin remains as consistent on this side of the resurrection as before, and creation continues to suffer from human handling. Our dirty fingerprints are everywhere on this broken, beautiful world. Second, the resurrection is God’s definitive action in renewing the cosmos, with the consequences of that action yet to be revealed. God’s project, God’s mission (the missio Dei, another of those eccentric but important terms) is to complete in the world what is already complete in Jesus. This fact of God’s mission does not let us off the hook, saying that God will fix it all in due time. It is rather that the recognition of what God is doing in the world becomes a profound invitation to join in. Knowing the Easter reality is no excuse. It is a call to mission. The Prayer Book has three great expressions of the Easter reality. The first is its Easter service itself, the Great Vigil of Easter—still,
Companions in Mission The Episcopal Church, in recent years, has placed a fresh emphasis on the church’s mission. Likewise, in his Diocesan Convention Address this year, Bishop Smith focused on the centrality of mission in the life of the diocese, when he said that we all could be challenged "to make the work of mission an organizing principle in (our) life together." We, at Emmanuel, have articulated that claim in part of our Core Values when we say that we will strive to be Bold in Mission. Mission activities of young and old are proving to be ripe environments for re-energizing our individual commitments to our Baptismal Covenant. Our dedication to mission is shown through our Food Pantry, our environmental stewardship projects, our seasonal outreach efforts to serve our brothers and sisters from the streets of the city of St. Louis to our more global efforts to serve in Guatemala and Lui. In all, Jesus' model of reaching out to heal a broken world is touching the faith of individuals and our community. With that re-energized focus, I believe that many people in our parish are finding a new appreciation for the variety and vitality of cultural and religious worldviews among the human family. We are opening up to new understandings of the world and God's deep longing for a kingdom of peace and reconciliation. Time and time again, our young people have said how they have
I regret, an under-used service in many places. Many fear to use it in all its glory because it is so long, taking two or three hours to complete. The fact of its enormity is what makes the service work. The Prayer Book’s Easter service overwhelms the awareness with what God has done. There is literally too much to take in. All we can do is sit and let it all wash over us: the songs, prayers, actions and, especially, the scriptures. Here is rather a different use of the Bible’s story, which may leave us vulnerable to a new awareness of resurrection’s truth. The second expression, baptism, comes in the Prayer Book right after the Great Vigil of Easter, as if to suggest that the two belong together. They do. By means of baptism, the new believer takes into one’s body the Easter reality. Or, more to the point, it is the other way round. By baptism the new Christian is immersed into Christ—his life, his teaching, his death and resurrection. There is no greater human dignity than this one, and it shows all who
look on the destiny which God has in mind for all humankind, and creation. It also obligates the new Christian for God’s mission. The third expression is the weekly celebration of the Eucharist, which is resurrection’s meal. It nourishes the Church not just for the sake of its inner life and the lives of its members. The Eucharist is food for the journey, food which Jesus identifies himself with, bread given for the life of the world. (Reread John 6 for Jesus’ beautiful poetry about this bread.) For the life of the world. Here is the ultimate purpose for celebrating the Eucharist. Here is why we are baptized. Here is why God raised Jesus from the dead. The Right Reverend Wayne Smith is the Tenth Bishop of Missouri.
by Daniel Appleyard
been powerfully moved by the people they have encountered in their mission trips. Likewise, adults serving the poor on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota have returned to Emmanuel transformed in their faith, seeing themselves with new eyes and understanding their ministries with new vision because of the people they encountered. I believe that part of the reason that this understanding occurs is because there has been a shift in our self-understanding as Christians of what it means to be a "missional" people. We have come to believe that the Church’s relationship to people of other cultures and religious traditions begins in the recognition of God’s many gifts to us, including that of relationship. We have a fresh understanding of the idea that all are made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). When we meet another human being, regardless of her or his difference from us, we are meeting a unique creation of the living God. More and more we are coming to the awareness that we are bigger than just ourselves, and our particular cultural/societal worldviews. We have come to believe that we are, in fact, a community of all peoples and that God made the whole human race to live in harmony on earth. All are equal in God’s sight; and, each is equally the object of God’s love. Because we are all children of the one God, we are all related to one another. It is in this sense that we may call all men and women our brothers and sisters. Thus, we really are
companions in community on this “fragile earth, our island home.” (BCP p.370) This companionship is itself a divine gift which we are called to make real in our lives. Just as God relied upon the incarnation to become more fully known, these places where we encounter diverse and differing people found in our mission journeys call for us to be with them in the flesh. We can't "donate" mission alone: we must rely upon our incarnate place in the world with them to be known by one another. Also, this relational dynamic in mission calls for us, as God’s daughters and sons, to actually reflect the very nature of God. As Father, Son, Holy Spirit (Creator, Redeemer and Sanctifier) is the ultimate model of creatively giving and receiving, we are to imitate this Triune God by having the courage and will to give and receive from each other in deep and abiding relationship. Like the offering of the Christian virtue of hospitality when we welcome people into our midst, Christian companionship in mission embraces those places where the reconciling love of God is easily understood and received, so that our eyes, ears, hearts and minds are open to fully relating to each other. I once heard the image of Southern women at a family/community meal used to describe Christian hospitality. As hosts in a southern kitchen, we don't sit or rest. We hover attentive to the needs of those we encounter. Plates
are never empty, and we continually ask if something more or different is needed. The work is never done. The mission is never complete. Like good southern cooks and hosts we continue to serve everyone throughout the feast. And, as in such a wonderful meal, in the midst of all, we engage in deep conversation with each other, sharing our stories, and laughing and weeping as our lives are brought ever closer. This is perhaps the most divine gift that we are to cherish: being drawn into closer relationship with each other which is marked by God's love and reconciliation. This image strikes a chord in me, as I reflect on the transforming relationships that we experience, when we encounter others in mission as companions in God’s kingdom making. So, I say come, join the mission, join the feast! Be ever more bold in mission! Be drawn ever closer to God and our neighbor. For in such places, the kingdom of God comes near. The Reverend Daniel Appleyard is rector of Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Webster Groves. This is an edited version of the full article which can be found in Emmanuel’s Reaching Out mission newsletter. (Photo of Bishop Wayne and Fr. Daniel at the Eucharist celebrating the ministry of Emmanuel and their rector in March.)
At the heart of asceticism is body-work. Asceticism works the body in order to improve and to perfect it, at least this was the way it was understood in previous generations. Postmodern conceptions of the body, however, demand a different perspective. There are in fact, a number of bodies that interconnect in the life of a person, and each of these bodies has an impact on the ascetical program of an individual and community. —Richard Valantasis from Centuries of Holiness: Ancient Spirituality Refracted for a Postmodern Age (Continuum Press: 2005)
Body by Maria Evans The photo above was from a workshop I attended where the author was one of the presenters and was the celebrant in the Eucharist going on in this photo. (If you’re wondering, I am one of the behinds in the picture. Shades of Moses only getting a glimpse of God’s backside!) What I love about this photo when I get to thinking about it, is the wonderful intersection of the infinitely-sized Venn diagram of all the “bodies” in this picture. First there are the individual bodies circling the altar. Best as I remember, everyone at the workshop was from the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri, representing a body of Christians within a larger body, the Episcopal Church, which is part of another body, the Anglican Communion, which is a part of a body of all Christians, which is a part of a body of religion. At the conclusion of the workshop, when we celebrated the Eucharist, we had the Body and Blood of Christ at the center of the circle made by our individual bodies. That sacramental Body went inside of our own individual bodies. At the conclusion of the Eucharist, those bodies and that Body went out into the body of the world, the body of our homes and families, the bodies of our workplaces, and the bodies of our individual parishes.
Therein lies the paradox. We tend to think of ourselves at times as these disconnected objects. When we are hungry, hurt, angry, lonely, or tired, we feel isolated--that no one can possibly quite “get” where we are. In my own case, I think often about the challenge I have, being a “thinker” for the most part, having a natural disconnect with “feelers.” It simply takes a while for my feelings to come in line with my thoughts. But what I come to realize looking at that picture, is that even in our most lonely moments, we really shouldn’t even begin to be deluded that we are “alone.” Okay. I’m going to say that in a slightly different way. When we consider the complexity of the intersections of all these bodies, what it means is this: Even when we might think or feel we are alone, we are not. In fact, it’s impossible to be human and, in the strictest sense, truly be alone. Never. We simply cannot escape being part of not just one, but many bodies.
Now, I have to admit something. For a person who tends to crave solitude, the beginnings of this realization were very irritating. I have, for many, many years, retreated into solitude when I needed to “figure things out.” I prefer to hurt or grieve in solitude. The people in my life who have been my closest friends have known that when I’m sick, or hurt, or tired, or grieving, I am okay with one-on-one company...as long as the company doesn’t interact much with me. I think back to the last time I truly had the flu. It was a perfect “sitting with a sick me” interaction. My friend sat and knitted and watched TV, and her dog and my dogs played, and once in a while she’d ask me if I could handle eating or drinking something. But mostly, I just wanted other noises, other voices in the room, as long as the others in the room didn’t bother me much. I just wanted to be quiet and sick, in the middle of obvious life. It was a comfort to just “be by myself,” yet hear life around me. But in recent months, I’ve come to realize what that delusion of “alone” was all about in actuality. Once I realized that there really IS no such thing as “truly alone,” that even in solitude I am connected to many bodies, I realized what I was actually doing, was I was craving the company of the healing powers of “the company of Heaven.” Oh, we say we are having “alone time with
That’s a lot of bodies!
Listening by Ralph McMichael What do we listen to? What do we listen for? Perhaps, with all of the noise that surrounds us, the better question is whether we listen to anything or anyone. The pervasiveness of several voices both on and offline can have the ironic affect that we do not listen, or that we have lost the capacity to listen. We might tolerate the voices, or like a good consumer, only purchase the voices we want to hear, those voices that deliver the desired message. We can choose what and to whom we listen. It is no surprise that most of us choose to listen to voices that tell us what we want to hear, voices that sound like ours. Sometimes we branch out from
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listening to the voice of common opinion in order to listen for a message that will help us with a problem. Listening for affirmation turns to listening for direction. But is listening to and for what and whom we want or need really listening? Hearing is the acknowledgement of something being said, listening is attending to what is being said and why. Do we listen to and for God? If we do, then we know that God’s voice is not one among many; it requires another way of listening. Listening for God cannot be a strategy or a wish-fulfillment. One listens to God for God’s own sake; one listens in expectation for the word-ed
The Episcopal Diocese of Missouri
presence of God, for the words that brings one into the divine presence. These words do not create more words; instead, they make room for silence, the silence where only God’s voice is heard in the person of Jesus. Faithful and habitual engagement with Scripture is the foundational way we listen to and for God in the person of Jesus, the Word of God. The only way to listen to and for Jesus through Scripture is listening to Scripture, to spend both quantity and quality of time with these words. Listening, the practice of attentiveness, is to lay aside our various temptations for a quick answer, a solution to a problem, or the need to hear an affirming word. Listening to Scripture allows these words to become
God.” But really, we are not doing a one-on-one. We are connecting with all the saints and angels and prophets and martyrs, as well as God. They are in the room just as surely as my friend, my dogs, and her dogs were-but leaving the initiative for “interacting” to me. That’s how our relationship to God feels to me. In a perfect God moment, I know God is in the room--but I’m under no pressure to “interact.” My mere presence in the “Space where I can hear God puttering around,” when I’m in my daily activities, is what I feel when that relational moment takes place. I don’t have to strike up a conversation with him if I don’t feel up to it. He might simply let me sleep if sleep is what I need. It’s all good in the presence of that body, whether I choose to interact in it or not. ©2011 Maria Evans
Dr. Maria Evans is a parishioner at Trinity Church in Kirksville. A prolific blogger and social media maven, her articles can be found at kirkepiscatoid. blogspot.com. Evans goes on retreat during Lent; this year she chose a virtual retreat directed by Richard Valantasis, author, Episcopal priest, and cofounder of the Institute for Contemplative Living in Sante Fe, New Mexico. Last September, Valantasis presented “Praying the Eucharist: A Contemplative Workshop ,” attended by clergy and lay from around the diocese.
our imaginative world, to relinquish our questions to the text so that the text can question us. You never know, listening to Scripture, listening to and for Jesus, the Word of God, might gives us ears to hear what God has being trying to tell you and me. ©2011 Ralph McMichael
The Rev. Dr. Ralph McMichael, Episcopal priest and author, is the founding director of the Center for the Eucharist.
www.eucharistcenter.org
Making Disciples • Building Congregations • For the Life of the World
Trinity Church celebrates 175 years in St. Charles by Bob Brown In the early summer of 1836, the missionary Bishop Jackson Kemper crossed the Missouri River to St. Charles and met with a small group of Episcopalians who had established a presence in the small village. Impressed by their zeal to live and preach the Gospel, Bishop Kemper established a mission on June 5, 1836. Originally called St. Paul’s, the new congregation shared space with a Methodist congregation and showed modest growth, becoming a parish in 1840 and changing its name to Trinity. When the General Convention recognized the Diocese of Missouri in 1841, Trinity reverted to mission status. Trinity would build its first church, its third home, in 1870. For the next 75 years the congregation’s fortunes ebbed and flowed and more than once it went long periods without a priest. By 1949, the congregation was down to just eight communicants when Roy Schaffer was assigned as lay reader to lead the small, struggling congregation. Schaffer was one of a group of eight men called by Bishop Arthur Lichtenberger to be trained as lay readers to serve congregations that had long been without a priest. Eventually ordained to the priesthood in 1953, the Rev. Schaffer was able to rebuild the congregation. By 1956 Trinity had grown to more than 175 baptized members and regained parish status. Outgrowing its church and recently built parish house, the con-
gregation took the bold step to move westward in 1960. The new church on South Duchesne Drive, Trinity’s present home, was dedicated Sept. 10, 1961. The parish hall was expanded in 1985. A building campaign in 2004 made the parish hall more accessible. During its 175 years, Trinity has been an integral part of the Diocese and the St. Charles community. It played a role in the founding of Transfiguration in Lake St. Louis. It has been a training ground for newly ordained clergy and initiated the Biking for Bikes fund-raiser for the Diocese of Lui in Sudan. Today, the parish is taking a lead role in reaching out to the hungry and homeless in St. Charles County. It has been 175 years since Bishop Jackson Kemper took a ferry across the Missouri River to the small trading post of St. Charles and found a small group of Episcopalians with a willingness to be a congregation. From that beginning grew a parish that from time to time has had to reach deep within itself to find that willingness to continue, maybe not so much to continue to exist, but to continue to be the people that Bishop Kemper called to live and preach the Gospel so long ago. Each month of this 175th year, Trinity has planned at least one celebratory event. January was the dedication of the refurbished 100-year-old stained glass windows that originally hung in
Did You Know?
The Diocesan Commission on Dismantling Racism maintains a lending library of resources at St. Peter’s Church in Ladue. Dedicated in 2006, if offers materials on the topic of racism, its history and corrosive effects on all God’s people. Open to all interested persons, you can feel free to browse the shelves or find by topics: • History of the Civil Rights Movement, African-Americans • Personal Histories • Internalized Racism • Spirituality and Racism • White Privilege • Related Topics • Poetry and Literature/Children’s Titles • Just Get Me Started • VHS tapes and DVDs • Archives of the Commission www.diocesemo.org/dismantlingracism
Seek is published quarterly by the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri. Executive Editor: The Rt. Rev. Wayne Smith, Bishop of Missouri Editor: Ms. Beth Felice, Director of Communications Editorial Board: the Rev. Teresa K. M. Danieley, rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church, St. Louis; Mr. Jerry Martin, St. Paul’s Church, St. Louis; Mrs. Susan Moenkhaus, St. Timothy’s Church, St. Louis; the Rev. Jason Samuel, rector of Church of the Transfiguration, Lake St. Louis; the Rev. Beverly Van Horne, Interim Dean of the Episcopal School for Ministry; the Rev. Dan Smith, Canon to the Ordinary, Diocese of Missouri. Vol. 4, No. 2, Spring 2011
Episcopal Diocese of Missouri Offices of the Bishop 1210 Locust St, 3rd floor St. Louis, Missouri 63103 314-231-1220
Diocesan members may request a complimentary subscription by mail; send address to the Offices of the Bishop, attn. Seek subscription. Seek is distributed to each parish, mission, and preaching station in the diocese. Archived editions of Seek are available online at diocesemo.org. Submissions by post, attn. Beth Felice, or by email to bfelice@diocesemo.org. Except for contributed articles and images labeled ©, this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 License.
St. James’ Episcopal Church in Macon, MO (Photos of the windows, including one of Bishop Jackson Kemper, at right). February was the first of three history lectures and in March the new processional banner (photo to right) was dedicated. April saw the second history lecture on the Civil War and its impact on local churches as well as a Ragtime piano concert. Ahead this year: May 22, Evensong & Dedication of the newly refurbished and expanded organ June 19, Trinity Sunday. In addition to the traditional Trinity sundaes, a luncheon featuring presentation of a bound history of the parish, and also a send-off for Rector Tamsen Whistler leaving for 3 month sabbatical. July 4, Parish marches in St. Charles’ Fourth of July parade, then later celebrates with a picnic with the neighborhood. Aug. 14, 5:30 PM Speaker Series: Founding Women of Faith in St. Charles County with Pastor James Vargo and Friends Sept. 25, A Walk Back in Time. Beginning at the first church location on Main Street, with presentations in each of the parish’s locations. A Walking, Driving, Teaching Tour. October, Scenes & Sketches in
Time: An Historical Trinity Drama Nov. 5, Gala Celebration and Homecoming, Evensong, Organ concert, a party on all 3 floors of the parish Nov. 13, Bishop Wayne’s Visitation Dec. 24, 5 PM, A Victorian Christmas, 11 PM Festival Holy Eucharist
www.trinity-stcharles.org
Bishop Wayne’s Visitations and Schedule Sunday, May 1 Church of St. Michael and St. George, Clayton Sunday, May 15 St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Ladue Sunday, May 21 Diocesan Confirmations at Christ Church Cathedral Sunday, May 22 Grace Episcopal Church, Kirkwood Sunday, June 5 Trinity Episcopal Church, St. James Sunday, June 19 St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Manchester Sunday, June 26 Oasis Missouri, Mass in the Grass, Tower Grove Park Sunday, August 7 Grace Episcopal Church, Jefferson City Sunday, August 14 St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, Mexico Sunday, August 21 All Saints’ Episcopal Church, St. Louis
iSeek wins recognition April 8th in Memphis was nail biting time. Each year the communicators in the Episcopal Church gather— from dioceses, large parishes, seminaries and mission partners—for workshops, fellowship, and the competition for best-in-class bragging rights for our publications. This year’s General Excellence In Newsletters or E-Newsletters Award of Merit went to our weekly diocesan newsletter iSeek. Named in memory of Polly Bonds, a beloved director of communications from Ohio who was a catalyst for beginning the professional organization, the annual awards recognize best new projects as well as general excellence in print, web, and social media. Subscribed to iSeek? www.diocesemo.org/subscribe.
Printed in St. Louis by Nies Artcraft Companies, using soy-based ink on recycled stock.
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New church communicators group begins With an invitation to anyone in the diocese involved with “telling our stories,” a monthly meet-up for church communicators began in March.
Meeting the last Tuesday of the month face-to-face at Church of the Advent in Crestwood or virtually using WebEx, each meeting is a jumping-off point for discussion and collaboration. The evening’s topic was Facebook and social media. For the curious, a website is being built with basic publications and technology best practices, notes and resources from meetings, and examples from diocesan members and local churches. You can find it at diocesemo. wikispaces.com. A more traditional email listserv was also inaugurated. To subscribe send a blank email to church-communicationssubscribe@lists.diocesemo.org. Spring 2011
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Good Samaritan by Bob Towner Holly Little had been real sick for the better part of the past year. Most of her friends started missing her months ago. One day last winter she was shuttling about in her Dodge van on errands for other people. And then the bottom dropped out. We at the Red Door had just nominated Holly to be the first recipient of the Good Samaritan Award. In your Bible, you will recognize the Good Samaritan as the unsung hero of one of Jesus’ best stories. The ones who get all the credit for doing God’s work are, like me, dressed in nice clothes and standing behind a pulpit or a podium or a lectern or a big desk. Lots of wonderful people receive lots of awards for being the best citizen or the best teacher or the best athlete or businesswoman or landscaper or club member or philanthropist. Where would we be without all their good works? But He wanted us to notice those who are not recognized, who
are overlooked, who may actually be despised, who are at any rate anonymous, without a name, without whom the world would be unbearable for the world’s unfortunate, silent majority. But when someone like Holly dies, all you get is the down and dirty. Because she doesn’t have anyone to pay for her obituary. And she didn’t have anything except her old van and the few simple clothes she wore. Before she passes from memory let it be known that Holly was a friend to the least and the littlest of our town. I got to know her because she came to every one of our free Red Door Community meals on the last Sun-day afternoon of each month. She never came alone. She had six or eight or ten regular customers who took her free door to door service to the meals. And she did the same thing on the last Saturday of the month for those who go to eat at Vincent’s Vittles, and was always willing to drive you to the Salvation Army’s Meals With Friends. During the week, it was Holly who could carry you out to the wound clinic or the Senior Center or help you carry your groceries home from the SavALot. For about a year when the recession was at its worst, the Red Door hosted a small pet
food pantry. It was a project of another one of the anonymous Samaritans who goes by the street name of Shadow. There are a hundreds of poor or disabled people out there that live, not by bread alone, but also by the affection of a little pet. And they were having a hard time affording feed. Shadow talked up the store owners to get the donations, and Holly helped him pick up the food and deliver it in her van. I gave her a few bucks for gas a couple of times and she was embarrassed to take it. I have missed Holly since she got sick. Lots of anonymous people miss her way more. Holly’s earthly re-mains will be cremated, as she wished. And her friends will find another kind person to shuttle them around to some of Holly’s favorite places in Cape to sprinkle her ashes. “She was an outdoor woman,” said one, “and didn’t want to be coup’d up.” The other truth is there was no one to pay for a funeral. She made her friends among the little people. She had one more friend, and I have it on pretty good authority that in the twinkling of an eye she will hear him say, “Come, you that are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you
welcomed me, I was naked and you gave me clothing, I was sick and you took care of me, I was in prison and you visited me.” I guess that will be better than getting the reward we never got to give her. ©2011 Robert Towner
The Rev. Bob Towner is rector of Christ Church in Cape Girardeau, also known in the community as the Red Door Church. At the next parish sponsored, monthly community meal, the participants stopped to “pray Holly eternal blessings and to ask God to give us all a Good Samaritan heart, too.” Red Door Church served 155 meals that eve. www.RedDoorChurchCape.org
The Middle Way by Jon Hall Each Wednesday at St. Martin’s Church in Ellisville, we celebrate the Eucharist during the noon lunch hour. The service is only about 45 minutes so that anyone who needs to get somewhere by 1 PM can do so with ease. The liturgy is abbreviated and follows the Book of Common Prayer service. The homily is short and is based on the saint’s life and ministry we are celebrating that day or, if there happens to be no saint’s name assigned to that day, the Daily Office scriptures. The short biographical readings about the saints come from a collection from the Episcopal Church and around the Anglican Communion called “Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints.” About 20 folks gather each week for the service. It’s a great way to reconnect with God mid-week. One thing I have noticed lately is how many of the saints were regular people. I used to lift them up to a status that was unreal, thinking they were all superhuman. In reality, they were regular folks who participated in work made possible through God’s providence. It is tempting to think that their contributions were mostly due to their own maneuvering. However, what I have come to see is that their work was a result of day-to-day faithfulness to God’s will. They were not so much focused on blazing
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any trails as they were centered in God’s power to change their given situation over time. Yes, there were often dramatic circumstances surrounding them. But upon closer examination, their choices show a consistent pattern of relying on God’s will to direct their decisions during life. There was no pie in the sky escapism for these saints. Rather, a steady stream of prayers and actions. Their beliefs were fashioned after their prayer life. They remained grounded and in the middle. Anxieties of the times did not become their anchors. They were free. I wonder if God is still making saints who are faithful in the opportunities afforded to one’s daily life. I wonder if Jesus’‟words from the Gospel of John, “I am the vine, you are the branches…” lets us know that it is, precisely, the life that abides in God’s goodness which finds everlasting freedom—in what is ours to claim, and what is God’s. ©2011 Jon Hall
The Rev. Jon Hall is rector of St. Martin’s Church in Ellisville. StMartinsChurch.org
The Episcopal Diocese of Missouri
Camp Phoenix the summer camp of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri July 24 - July 30, 2011 register online: www.camp-phoenix.org Registration for Summer 2011 runs through May 15. Campers registering after May 15 will be placed on a waiting list, and will be notified as space becomes available. The fee for Camp Phoenix 2011 is $325 per camper, with a $25 discount for returning campers, and a $25 discount for families sending more than one child to camp. No child should miss camp due to financial need. Assistance through the Daniels Scholarship Fund, application due May 15.
The Women’s Group by Sarah Bryan Miller My parish has two women’s groups. One is a traditional daytime group, specializing in lunch, interesting speakers, and good works. The other is for women who work.
These were thoughtful guests: early on, Ann asked, “What time do you need us to leave?” I usually tire out a little before 9, I replied. She nodded crisply.
It’s called the Evening Women’s Association of St. Peter’s, although I still yearn for the second choice name, The Velvet Undercroft. Most of us are Baby Boomers, with a few fellow travelers leavening the mix. We meet on one Friday night per month.
It was a lovely evening, with a good group filling the family room, eating and drinking and making comfortable conversation. Then, a little before 9, Ann announced, “Okay, now we’re going to clean up.”
Some meetings have set programs. Some are loose, and I—often unable to drive places lately—recently volunteered my house as a meeting place for one of the latter. It seemed like a good idea at the time, despite my current physical weakness; the house was clean, and all I really needed to do was a little setup – with a lot of help from my best friends – and make some mulled wine.
Then I realized that I hadn’t considered the work involved in cleanup. Oh, well: It would get done when it got done.
They moved into the kitchen, dealt with leftovers, pitched the trash, tossed the recyclables into the bin, then moved onto the dirty dishes, making light work of it all. Then, with cheery good-byes, they headed out.
When you’re sick, the little things mean a lot. All those who help are a blessing—and, this night, that meant those who gave me a muchneeded social evening, and even cleaned up the mess. ©2011 Sarah Bryan Miller
Sarah Bryan Miller is a graduate of the Episcopal School for Ministry, a licensed lay preacher in the Diocese of Missouri, and a parishioner at St. Peter’s Church in Ladue, where she sings in the choir, serves as a lector, preaches, and teaches. Bryan, the editor and chief writer for Grace Prayer Network, where this meditation first appeared, is a frequent contributor to Forward Movement publications, including the upcoming 2012 edition, Walking with God Day by Day. A former professional singer, she is the classical music critic of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. In November 2010 she was diagnosed with inflammatory carcinoma, an aggressive breast cancer for which she is currently being treated. www.graceprayernet.org
Introducing Trinity Kirksville’s Vicar by Julie Seidler COAL Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Johnnette Shane was raised in Madisonville. Of growing up around strip mining she said, “It was not beautiful. That much I do remember, and I'm reminded of something once told me—It's a terrible thing when you realize that your hometown is ugly. I guess that's how I feel about Madisonville; it probably did affect me spiritually—it was not a place of much physical beauty. Coal did loom large over us, cranes and great piles of stuff around, and my father mostly made his living from coal.” Johnnette, who was named after her father, has two siblings, a brother Drew and a sister Leslie Dee. Her mother, Lavena, was nicknamed Pete. WOOD
After attending Rhodes College in Memphis, Tennessee, she became a carpenter’s apprentice “to learn how to build things, to work outside.” She worked on all sorts of jobs in many locations. One job in concrete form construction changed her career path. To save time, the company discouraged safe practices for the workers. Shane tried to communicate her concerns but management paid no attention, and she finally quit. A month later, a worker died on the job. At that point, she said to herself, “This just isn’t right, that people have to work under these conditions.” So she applied to
Postcards from Lui
For Shane, there’s a false distinction in our society between the sacred and the secular—the sacred is everywhere. After finishing seminary, she served as a hospital chaplain in the Bay Area. Her supervisor, a Buddhist in the Tibetan tradition, told her, “The person you have the hardest time with will be your greatest teacher.”
law school, aspiring to become an organizer in occupational safety and health.
THE LAW
Next came a 16 year journey through labor, then criminal law, starting work in a public defender’s office, then private practice, before ending up as a hearing officer. She also worked for several years prosecuting child abuse and neglect cases.
This puzzled her until one patient requested a chaplain visit “all the time.” However, when she went to his room, all he did was yell at her. She was frustrated until she realized, “I did need to minister to him, I just couldn’t be on the level he wanted.” The trick is finding the sacred, even in relationships with difficult people. Shane believes that one of the jobs of a priest is to remind people that the sacred is everywhere.
THE SACRED
Shane was “way more interested in religion than most kids.” She admits being “the kid who asked too many questions in confirmation class, which irritated the priest.” By high school, she was attending the cathedral church in downtown Louisville by herself because she didn’t like her parents’ church. She also served on the diocesan committee charged with considering revision of the prayer book as a high school student. She first became aware of a call to the priesthood in 1976, when she graduated from college, but Kentucky wasn’t “real progressive” at that time, and the Episcopal church had just started ordaining women. The call was put on the back burner for a long while. She was away from the church during college, but came back when she felt it was time to do something about the call that she’d heard time and again over the years,
that she “always thought would go away.” She attended seminary at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley; the discernment process there turned out to be lengthy, with a three-year-residency requirement before applying for postulancy. Once she finally got in, though, it was great! “It’s fun to wake up in the morning, go down to breakfast, and find people to talk to about God,” she says. “How cool is that?”
This is Joy at her garden plot during the agriculture consultant training in Yei, Sudan, that she attended from October to December 2010. She will lead the ag trainings in Lui Diocese with the help of her colleague Charles, who also attended the three-month training. They send their thanks to the Diocese of Missouri for sponsoring them.
Making Disciples • Building Congregations • For the Life of the World
©2011 Julie Seidler
Part of Trinity parishioner Julie Seidler’s article introducing recently called Vicar Johnnette Shane is excerpted here, the entirety is at www.TrinityKirksville. org.
After the death of Diocese of Lui’s Bishop Bullen Dolli on Dec. 11, 2011, Bishop Bismark of neighboring Mundri became interim caretaker. A meeting of Lui diocese in late February sent three nominations for bishop forward, including that of the Rev. Stephen Dokolo, Lui diocesan secretary and Eden Seminary graduate. Episcopal Church of Sudan will meet to elect on May 14, 2011, in Juba, and the consecration date for the new bishop will be June 26, 2011. The funeral to celebrate the life and mourn the death of Bishop Bullen is scheduled for June 10, 2011, and, God willing, Bishop and Mrs. Smith will attend. More news of Lui online at LuiNetwork.ning.com.
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Episcopal School for Ministry
2011-2012 school year dates:
Registration for school year 2011-2012 open The Rev. Beverly Van Horne, Interim Dean, announces that registrations continue for the 2011-2012 academic year for the Episcopal School for Ministry.
the program, and acceptance to, attendance and completion of the three year School program of theological studies does not guarantee one will be given canonical standing as a postulant and or a candidate, or be ordained to Holy Orders.
The Episcopal School for Ministry of the Diocese of Missouri offers educational resources to make disciples and build congregations for the life of the world. In addition, the School exists to
The school meets from 6PM Friday to 3PM the next day, Saturday. Three times a year the School meets on Saturdays to finish the term and begin the new one. On those days and all School program with a topic of general interest is held in the afternoon. Each time the members of the School gather time is spent in worship, fellowship and class.
The three-year cycle of theological studies program, beginning with the Introduction to the Old Testament, is the primary training and education program for those preparing for ordination as Deacons in the Diocese of Missouri. One does not have to be a postulant or candidate for Holy Orders as a Deacon in order to register to begin
FALL TERM YEAR ONE
Old Testament, the Rev. Dr. Barbara Willock
In order to understand what happened with Jesus, and what it means for you, us, and the world, you have to spend a lot of time with the Old Testament. This course allows the student to do just this. The student reads much of the Old Testament, and learns how to grasp what is being read. There is the opportunity to explore in more depth a particular theme that becomes central to the Christian faith. Here is a chance to engage the Bible with purpose, discipline, and with fellow learners.
YEAR TWO
Tradition I, the Rev. Rod Wiltse
What are the essentials of the Christian faith? How were they identified, developed, and articulated? What do the Apostles’ and Nicene Creeds mean? These are the questions this course considers in depth and with a sense of how we answer them for today. The tradition of the Church is what is handed on from believer to believer, form local church to local church, as Christians gather to make new Christians and to celebrate their common life in communion. Come and learn what the first few centuries of the Church’s life give us as we renew our own sense of Christian identity and mission.
YEAR THREE
Theology I, the Rev. Dan Handschy
The student will learn a model of theological reflection that she can apply to any text or event as a way of appropriating the revelation of God, and the human response to it. This model will form the background to all the content of the course. The student will use this reflection model for several short papers during the course. Course content will cover the major types and subdivisions of Christian Theology, including Systematic Theology, Biblical Theology, Christology, Ecclesiology. We will also explore several of the major doctrines of the Christian Church, including the Trinity, Salvation, Atonement and the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist. The student will be given the opportunity to articulate her own appropriation of some of the doctrinal themes covered in the course, and reflect on their reality in her own life.
Fall Term 2011-2012 August 20, 2011 September 23-24, 2011 October 28-29, 2011 December 2-3, 2011 December 17 , 2011
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To register or for more information, contact Cory Hoehn, Registrar, 314-231-1220 x1383 or Beverly Van Horne, Interim Dean, 314-620-4405 or beverly.vanhorne@ gmail.com for information and an application.
Spring Term 2012: Dec 17; Jan 27-28; Feb 24-25; Mar 23-24; Apr 21 Summer Term 2012: April 21; May 18-19; June 15-16; July 20-21; Aug 18
The School holds its classes at Eden Theological Seminary in Webster Groves, MO. Those who wish to spend the night pay an additional fee for the semester to cover the room expense. In addition there are textbooks to purchase for each course. Meals for the weekend, dinner, breakfast and lunch are included in tuition. For information about the classes offered please go to http://www.diocesemo.org/aboutus/ episcopalschoolforministry/
• Deepen the spiritual lives and strengthen the ministries in the church and the world of all who seek to grow in the knowledge and love of God; • Prepare people to serve the church as priests and deacons; • Strengthen the ministries of lay and ordained people through continuing education.
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Fall Term 2011: Aug 20; Sep 23-24; Oct 28-29; Dec 2-3; Dec 17
Photos (above and clockwise): Students at orientation; Barbara Willock, Dan Handschy; ESM student and Beverly Van Horne
SPRING TERM
Summer Term 2010-2011 April 16, 2011 May 20-21, 2011 June 17-18, 2011 July 15-16, 2011 August 20, 2011
SUMMER TERM
New Testament, Dr. Ron Crown
Preaching, the Rev. Dr. Barbara Willock
Tradition II, the Rev. Dr. Peter Van Horne
Christian Spirituality, the Rev. Rod Wiltse
Sacramental Theology, the Rev. Rod Wiltse
Liturgics, the Rev. Dan Handschy
This class examines the world of the New Testament, Jesus and the Gospels, and Acts and the Epistles.
Church History II examines the history of the Christian Church from the Reformation to the present day, along with the history of the Episcopal Church from its origins in colonial America to today.
John Macquarrie, the noted Anglican theologian of the late 20th century, wrote, “The Church has been guilty of the trivialization of the Sacraments.” The Episcopal School for Ministry in the winter-spring term beginning in December examines the sacramental life of the Church with the hope of avoiding such trivialization in the future. We explore Baptism and the Eucharist and how the Church is a living sacrament reaching out into the darkness of the world as the Light of Christ. Those sacramental rites, confirmation, matrimony, reconciliation, unction and holy orders, which strengthen and support us, are considered as means of our transformation.
SPRING Term 2011-2012 December 17, 2011 January 27-28, 2012 February 24-25, 2012 March 23-24, 2012 April 21, 2012
The Episcopal Diocese of Missouri
One of the chief responsibilities of ministry is teaching the church its story and then helping the church keep that story straight. Nowhere is this more visible than in the act of preaching. Two sermons are prepared and delivered by each student and positive feedback is given by the other students and faculty. During the preparation of each sermon, the instructor is available for consultation and support. Participation by those who have not taken ESM’s Old and New Testament courses allowed only with approval of the Dean and Instructor.
Christian Spirituality explores the intimate relationship God has established with us and the variety of responses disciples have made to God’s love over the years. From the meaning of the word—Spirituality—the breath of life, the prayer of Israel, and the Church; from the Psalms of the Hebrew Scriptures to the Desert Mothers and Fathers, we will immerse ourselves in The Practice of Prayer and Search for a Christian Spirituality for the 21st century.
This course will explore several facets of liturgical leadership in a congregation. Students will gain confidence in liturgical planning, liturgical leadership and an understanding of the theology of liturgy. We will approach liturgy as a complex system of communication. We will explore how liturgy conveys its messages, what it communicates, and how to read various liturgical practices. Students will learn how to pray the liturgy for themselves, and how the liturgy shapes and forms a community’s prayer life. Practically, students will learn how to put together a customary for a community, and the importance of doing so. The course will take account of the liturgical renewal movement of the twentieth century, and the new liturgical materials (Enriching Our Worship) approved for use in the Episcopal Church. As Eucharist constitutes the principal liturgy of the Episcopal Church, the course will focus on the Eucharist, but we will also look at Holy Baptism, and the pastoral services (Marriage, Reconciliation, Unction, Burial, etc.). In all of these services, we will pay attention to how these services both express and shape the corporate life of a congregation. Summer Term 2011-2012 April 21, 2012 May 18-19, 2012 June 15-16, 2012 July 20-21, 2012 August 18, 2012
To put one foot in front of the other... by Wayne Norwood I started my career in sales in Texas, in the 80s. Oil was "King." A boom economy soared with no limits. “To be a real Texas oilman,” the folklore went, “you have to have made and lost your fortune three times!” The impact of this was lost on me at 27 years of age. Thirty years later, I now understand, with wisdom only time and a career in sales can bring. My first trip to the Gateway180 was against my better wishes. My friend dragged me there. “I don’t want to go,” I said, sounding like a second grader waiting for a snow day. “If my kids can go, you can.” he said. And so, I went. Now, 14 years later, I still don’t want to go. I pull covers over
my head, hit “snooze” and roll over. Minutes go by. An “awake” conscience takes over. I roust myself from bed, slug down coffee, pull a razor across my face and make the familiar trek downtown. When my vehicle hits the shelter’s asphalt, it lands on "Holy Soil." 50,000 meals, served over a decade and a half, and the person most amazed by it all, is me. The guy who didn’t want to go. For only a few minutes of my time, and a little of myself, the world gets changed, at least for the hundred or so people there every week. This carries me for the week. Any difficulties I may experience come into perspective and right-size. I become grateful for all I have, including all my problems. I want my epitaph to read:
The Shelter Ministry at the Church of St. Michael and St. George prepares and serves breakfast to approximately 100 residents at Gateway180 every Sunday at 6 AM. 52 Sundays a year a core group of about 15 volunteers from the parish assemble at the intersection of Cole and 19th Street, due north of Union Station, to serve what residents call “the best meal they have every week.” Gateway180: Homelessness Reversed is a resource for women and children experiencing the unimaginable burden of homelessness. They provide safe, nurturing emergency shelter services designed to get families into transitional or permanent homes in under 30 days. Sunday mornings at Gateway180 the volunteers set the tables with linens and prepare a feast of made-from-scratch pancakes and waffles, bacon or sausage, 5 fresh fruits, 5 different juices, grits, oatmeal, toast, biscuits and gravy, as well as fresh coffee.
“He was a decent guy.” Today, I believe strongly in Service Work. I see Service as humility; a means to overcome the human condition of arrogance. People talk of God and “God’s Will”, until they get behind the wheel of a car. To overcome myself, I do what I can to leave this place better than I found it. No one cares what I think or say. They only care about my actions; what I do. If I’m thinking about other people, I can’t be thinking about myself. “I’ve loved my loves and lost my losses,” a St. Michael’s parishioner said. I’ve experienced my share of reversals. Good times, supposed to last forever, never did. Hard times, which feel like forever, never last as long as they feel. To put one foot in front of the other, I’m told, is "The Next Right Thing." It’s the action of Faith. Generally, if I do the exact opposite of whatever it is I’m thinking, it’s probably the right thing. I believe in tithing time. God gives me 24 hours to live this day. 10% is two hours. That’s just the amount of time it takes me to volunteer or usher. Or, make any other of the countless donations of time. I trudge the dull, gray days by being the best committee member, chairperson, usher, greeter, or sponsor, I can be. I take on mundane tasks with enthusiasm, to be a good foot-washer, and take respon-
sibility for the well-being of others. It may be the cost of admission to heaven. If it isn’t, it sure isn’t going to keep me out. In the final analysis, if I leave this place better than I found it, I have done my job. ©2011 Wayne Norwood
Wayne Norwood, parishioner at the Church of St. Michael and St. George, is a former sales and marketing executive turned realtor. He describes himself as a devout Episcopalian who is passionate about God and Jesus Christ, and someone who makes mistakes every day. “I simply know enough not to repeat them. Every night when I go to bed I say, ‘God, may I be treated tomorrow exactly the way I treated people today.’ Most days I think my tomorrow will be pretty good. Some days I think it’ll be just great. And a few days I think I may get hit by a bolt of lightning—and then when I don’t, I think, ‘Truly a merciful God.’” Norwood has been involved with the Shelter Ministry since 1996. This reflection was originally published in Duo, the magazine of CSMSG.
The Shelter Ministry is an outgrowth of ministry from when the Cathedral had a basement shelter, 20+ years ago. The core group of volunteers are joined regularly by friends, family and other parishioners who reach out to give of themselves to be the arms and legs of Christ.
A First Marathon While the National Anthem played faintly in the distance and a helicopter whooshed overhead, I stood in otherwise complete silence with 10,999 fellow companions preparing for the start of the Kansas City Marathon. Even as I stood on my tiptoes, I could barely see the starting line over the headphonestrapped heads of runners shrugging their shoulders loose in front of me. I said a prayer to God and thanked him for bringing me to that moment, and for blessing me with good health to make the day possible. After the ten minute walk just to get up to the starting line, I heard no starting gun “bang” into the air, only hundreds of metallic beeps from the timing chips tied to
by Matt Krause running shoes as they stampeded across the initial time line. What seemed like a warmup after four months of training, I was feeling strong and confident at the four-mile marker until a spectator attempted to cross the throngs of runners to get a better view on the other side. Fate would have him jump directly in front of me and I turned an ankle trying to avoid him, not having prepared in my training for something as unthinkable as spectators. After I took the Lord’s name in vain, I decided the injury may actually be a blessing. I had a ready to use excuse for not finishing or a poor performance. I continued on, praying for the pain to be manageable and then tossing away a long-sleeved warm-up shirt to the street. The race continued somewhat uneventfully until I felt the
Making Disciples • Building Congregations • For the Life of the World
Flower Festival at the Cathedral Flower Sunday this year falls on Mother’s Day, May 8th. The cathedral will again be filled with beautiful flowers and plants, the historic bequest of Henry Shaw. Festivities begin with a concert by Collegium Vocale at 7:30 PM Saturday, May 7th. They’ve chosen a program of Sacred Music of the German Baroque. Sunday’s combined service will be at 10 AM. Guest preacher is the new president of the Missouri Botanical Gardens, Dr. Peter Wyse Jackson. He has worked extensively with botanic gardens and their network organizations worldwide, helping to establish examples in over 30 countries. Sunday at 2:30 PM, a concert for Mothers’ Day Concert. The Shepley series welcomes Annette Burkhart and Jennifer Lim Judd, pianists. (Pictured are Collegium Vocale, left, and Wyse Jackson.)
pull of hamstring cramps on each of my legs around mile 15. After pulling over to stretch and deciding to replace sodium at the next Gatorade station, my self-absorbtion was quickly forgotten as a barefoot runner casually passed me in efficient stride. I had read about amateur runners experimenting without shoes; some attribute the great success of Kenyan runners to their running on bare feet. I just didn’t think anyone actually did it! As I approached mile 20, my tank was on empty. Dehydration had finally gotten the best of me, but I used my functional reserve to run the downhills, to water stations, and to mile markers. I used whatever was Seek
left to mentally recite my favorite scripture for times of trial, Psalm 23:4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for thou are with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. Thankfully, I crossed my first marathon finish line, and received my “Finisher” medal and a bottle of water from a waiting volunteer. As I took a sip, the volunteer inquired, “So, you gonna run the Turkey Gobbler 10K?” ©2011 Matt Krause
Matt Krause is a parishioner at Grace Church in Jefferson City. He was in training to run another marathon taking place just after our publication date. This reflection originally appeared in Grace’s Messenger. Spring 2011
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Christ Church Cathedral, St. Louis • All Saints’, Farmington • All Saints’, St. Louis • Church of the Ascension, Northwoods • Calvary Church, Columbia • Calvary Church, We •are 13,500ofbaptized members in 45 •congregations Louisiana • Christ Church, Cape Girardeau • Christ Church, Rolla • Church of St. Michael & St. George, Clayton Church the Advent, Crestwood Church of the in the eastern half of Missouri, Good Shepherd, Town & Country • Church of the Holy Communion, University City • Columbia Hope Church • Emmanuel Church, Webster Groves • Grace Church, Jefferson City • Grace Church, Kirkwood • Holy Cross Church, Poplar Bluff • St. Alban’s, Fulton • St. Barnabas’, Florissant • St. Francis’, Eureka • St. John’s, Eolia (Prairieville) • Camp Phoenix • Care and Counseling, Inc. • Conversations with the Bishop • Christian Formation • COEDMO • Commission on Dismantling Racism • ComMaking Disciples Quarterly from the Episcopal DioceseMinistries of Missouri mission on Ministry • Community Gardens • Community Health and Wellness • Community of Hope • Companion Diocese Relationship Committee • Building Congregations Diocesan Council • Diocesan Convention • Diocesan Mission Trips • Episcopal Campus Ministry • Episcopal City Mission • Episcopal Church Women • Episcopal Recovery Ministry • Episcopal Relief and Development • Episcopal School for Ministry • Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation •Life Fresh Start General Convention • For the the• World of the• Hunger Dioceseand of Food Missouri is • Journey 2 Adulthood • Missional Model Congregations • Oasis Missouri • PaseoofCon GraceThe HillMission • Happening Ministries Christo • Rite 13 • St. the mission of all baptizedSystem Christians: Andrew’s Resources for Seniors (STARSS) • St. Luke’s Hospital • Standing Committee • Sustain A Faith • Task Force for the Hungry • United Thank Offering • teach and to spread theGrove Gospel YouthtoMinistry • St. John’s, Tower • St. Luke’s, Manchester • St. Mark’s, Portland • St. Mark’s, St. Louis • St. Martin’s, Ellisville • St. Matthew’s, Mexico • St. Matthew’s, Woodsof• salvation St. Paul’s, to Carondelet • St. Paul’s, Ironton • St.Episcopal Paul’s, Palmyra • St. Paul’s, Sikeston • St. Peter’s, Ladue • St. Stephen’s, Ferguson • St. Diocese of Missouri and itsWarson knowledge all people; Thomas’ Church for the Deaf, Kirkwood • St. Timothy’s, Creve Coeur • St. Vincent’s-in-the-Vineyard, Ste. Genevieve • Church of the Transfiguration, Lake St. Louis • 1210 Locust Street and to make the love of Christ known in the world St. Louis, Missouri 63103 Trinity Church, Jefferson County • Trinity Church, Hannibal • Trinity Church, Kirksville • Trinity Church, St. Charles • Trinity Church, St. James • Trinity Church, Central through our own actions as individuals, West End • Christ Church Cathedral, St. Louis • All Saints’, Farmington • All Saints’, St. Louis • Church of the Ascension, Northwoods • Calvary Church, Columbia • as Church, congregations, as the diocese, Calvary Louisianaand • Christ Church, Cape Girardeau • Christ Church, Rolla • Church of St. Michael & St. George, Clayton • Church of the Advent, Crestwood • by feeding the hungry, welcoming the •stranger, Church of the Good Shepherd, Town & Country Church of the Holy Communion, University City • Columbia Hope Church • Emmanuel Church, Webster Groves • Graceclothing Church,the Jefferson • Gracethe Church, Kirkwood • Holy Cross Church, Poplar Bluff • St. Alban’s, Fulton • St. Barnabas’, Florissant • St. Francis’, Eureka • St. naked,City housing homeless, John’s, Eolia (Prairieville) Camp Phoenix • Care and Counseling, Inc. • Conversations with the Bishop • Christian Formation • COEDMO • Commission on Dismantling caring for the sick,• visiting the prisoner, Racism • Commission on Ministry • Community Gardens • Community Health and Wellness Ministries • Community of Hope • Companion Diocese Relationship and comforting those in times of trouble. Committee • Diocesan Council • Diocesan Convention • Diocesan Mission Trips • Episcopal Campus Ministry • Episcopal City Mission • Episcopal Church Women • Episcopal Recovery Ministry • Episcopal Relief and Development • Episcopal School for Ministry • Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation • Fresh Start • General Convention • Grace Hill • Happening • Hunger and Food Ministries • Journey 2 Adulthood • Missional Model Congregations • Oasis Missouri • Paseo Con Christo • Rite 13 • St. Andrew’s Resources for Seniors System (STARSS) • St. Luke’s Hospital • Standing Committee • Sustain A Faith • Task Force for the Hungry • United Thank Offering • Youth Ministry • St. John’s, Tower Grove • St. Luke’s, Manchester • St. Mark’s, Portland • St. Mark’s, St. Louis • St. Martin’s, Ellisville • St. Matthew’s, Mexico • St. Matthew’s, Warson Woods • St. Paul’s, Carondelet • St. Paul’s, Ironton • St. Paul’s, Palmyra • St. Paul’s, Sikeston • St. Peter’s, Ladue • St. Stephen’s, Ferguson • St. Thomas’ Church for the Deaf, Kirkwood • St. Timothy’s, Creve Coeur • St. Vincent’s-in-the-Vineyard, Ste. Genevieve • Church of the Transfiguration, Lake St. Louis •
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We Are the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri Please Join Us in Worship This Week
Calvary Columbia volunteers reflect on Room at the Inn The week of January 16th presented Calvary Church in Columbia with an unprecedented opportunity to help people in need. During that week, 35 Calvary volunteers staffed Room at the Inn, an overnight shelter for people without homes, located at Missouri United Methodist Church. Pastor Keith Vessell and a committed core of MUMC staff and volunteers coordinated a two-month project shelter project that averaged housing 50 people each night during an exceptionally cold January and February. Social service agencies helped do intake and identify guests’ specific needs, but the program couldn’t have happened without volunteer help.
guests upon arrival, offered snacks and warm drinks, and kept watch through the night. In the morning, they got the day off to a nutritious start with generous donations of instant oatmeal, granola bars, fresh fruit, boiled eggs and coffee.
Calvary’s volunteers at The Inn saw familiar faces, guests from the Breakfast Café and Loaves and Fishes ministry programs. Vessell wrote that it was hard to characterize the guests staying at the Inn. “Many of our guests get up every morning and go to work just like you and me.” The volunteers greeted shelter
My normal schedule is up at 4:30 AM to prepare for work and home around 8 PM, so working at the shelter afterwards made for a long day. But, I have a nice warm place to go and spend those few hours that I have at my home, and the guests at the “Room at the Inn” do not. I know that many of them
Following, are some reflections from Calvary parishioners. We met wonderful, sweet guests. Our chess games attracted some fun comments from guests about what moves to make. We wound up having a meaningful latenight conversation about life and about service in a community. The experience was a blessing. —Chris Marshall
have problems and can’t get into the other shelters because of those problems but that is no reason for them to have to sleep outside in the brutally cold weather. Many of us are but one or two paychecks away from being homeless and you never know what is going to happen to you in life. That is why I volunteered. I didn’t see any miracles, and I can’t say that anyone’s life was changed by my being there, but maybe it made a difference. —Kathy Alexander It was nice to get to know the other volunteers, but it was especially gratifying to get to know the guests at the “Inn.” It reminded me of an important lesson learned twenty years ago, when I was a college student in Philadelphia. There were many homeless people living in West Philadelphia at the time (and, sadly, there still are). When they asked students for money it was a dilemma, on the one hand, we wanted to help out, but also were concerned the money would
Celebrating Renewal of Ministry
St. Francis’ Church and Vicar Sally Weaver Every folding chair in the building was set up as ushers welcomed parishioners, diocesan members and community well-wishers to a celebration of the renewed ministry of St. Francis’ Episcopal Church in Eureka. The congregation currently meets in a Masonic Lodge building. Bishop Wayne began his sermon with a familiar fingerplay: Here’s the church, here’s the steeple... but speculated that wasn’t completely true. He spoke about the Greek word that church (and the German kirche and Scottish kirk) are derived from, kuriakon, and its meaning: that which pertains to the Lord. And, of The people of St. Francis invite the diocese to these upcoming events: May 7 “Refresh Your Spirit Spring Retreat” at Shaw Nature Preserve in Gray Summit, MO. 9 AM to 4 PM, $15/person which includes a sandwich & chips. Bring your own beverage & snacks. Ascension-Northwoods is participating; will carpool. Led by Kristie Lenzen, a St. Francis’
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the later use of the word church, where people and building got lumped together. “The people of God are a household, but not a house, not the real estate.” Bishop Wayne acknowledged that there were people in the room envious of the group that had no building to maintain, and that there were others that carried a certain sadness about not having a place of one’s own. But that St. Francis is a reminder of another, more ancient way of being a Christian community. He concluded, “You pitched your tent in this place for a season. The church, the Body of Christ, is a living organism and not a building, at all.”
parishioner who has an M.A. in Pastoral Studies from Aquinas Institute. June 5, Hymn sing at AscensionNorthwoods at 5 PM followed by a potluck. This is a combining of St. Francis’ and Ascension’s choirs and congregations for singing and fellowship. June 26, “Mass in the Grass,” 10 AM at Lakewood Hills subdiviDioceseMo.org
sion pavilion in Pacific. Sunday worship, potluck lunch, followed by swimming in the lake, which is close by. Tuesday evenings: RSVP (Robe and Slippers Virtual Prayer), going boldly into the future with video conferencing Evening Prayer. For more information on these and other ministries at St. Francis’, visit their website: www. stfranciseureka.com
be used to buy alcohol or drugs. Some students solved the dilemma by purchasing food or necessities, and I myself did that sometimes. I will never forget the moment I realized that it also meant something to spend time with the homeless and listen to them. A homeless man asked me for money, and I told him that I didn’t have any but that I could chat with him for a bit. We talked for about 30 minutes about his life. At the end I confessed to him I did have some money on me and offered to give him some. He refused to accept the money and said that all he wanted was someone to talk to. It was really touching, and from that moment on I decided to stop and talk to the homeless, to give them my time, to lend them a sympathetic ear. In the end, I learned, food, clothing, and shelter are important, but giving someone your time and attention is important too: it feeds the soul; it can make someone feel “human” again. —Ray Marks