Seek, voices from the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri by Episcopal Diocese of Missouri

Seek

Eastertide 2014

voices from the

Episcopal Diocese of Missouri

An icon for St. Paul’s

Alert! Christ breaking into the world

Artist Evan Smith, new member at the church was asked by his priest, “Would you create something for here?” His first religious work turned out to be a 7 foot icon, now hanging above the altar.

They didn’t plan it this way. It was to be a piece of art, perhaps for a minor area of the church, based on illuminated manuscripts. But as Evan Smith and his priest, Robert Ard talked, they envisioned an image of the resurrected Jesus Christ, particularly appropriate for the parish that is experiencing a rebirth. “We looked through a lot of old English manuscripts,” said Evan, “and the illuminated Bible. Then I came up with a preliminary drawing, based on the reading we had done. Robert wanted the bright colors of a manuscript.” Many illuminations have the reds and blues, but do not have the gold that icons have. Evan sketched out his ideas and they decided to scale up the size. Priest and parishioner went to Lowe’s and bought the largest piece of wood they could find, a seven foot tall panel. The wood at home in his basement, Evan gessoed the surface like icon painters of yore. He reinforced the board, sketched his drawing on a grid and then onto the panel and began to paint in oil. Evan recounts, “Robert came over and said, ‘This is going to be really big.’ And that’s when the fear set in. For any

In a spiritual morass, Michaelene Miller travels to Taize, France, to slow down and hear Christ.

artist with a blank canvas, you have an idea of where you are going but you don’t really know for sure how it will turn out.”

Taking it one color at a time.

They wanted to incorporate the colors from the stained glass in the sanctuary. The icon colors are also bright to simulate light shining through the painting as it does through church glass. Around the border are circles patterned with a stained glass design, each different. Evan explained, “The underlying idea is we’re all different people coming together to make one church.” Each of the colors, the reds, the golds, the purples, are all done in threes. “That represents the trinity—another symbol. There are a lot of continued next page

Last year, Lent was really difficult for me. I couldn’t settle on one specific Lenten practice. My mind was all over the place because of the stress of all my responsibilities senior year. To top it off, I was a few months in to discerning a call to the priesthood with my discernment committee… and I just wasn’t feeling spiritually moved by God. At all. My life had become too loud. So, I left the country. I intentionally left the area, my work, my friends, and my family. With the last of my scholarship I went to Taize, France for spring break 2013 with the hopes of a spiritual re-awakening. Maybe it was jet-lag, but time went slowly there. I marinated in prayer three times each day. Only four of us were native English speakers. I had ample time for silence and reflection, and the few conversations I did have made me think. The presentations and bible studies were so different from my college classes that I was, for the first time in a long while, fully alert and present. The spirit of Jesus was tangible in this place. He broke into my tired, distracted heart and I was moved to pray again. continued on page 10

ph: 314-231-1220 www.DioceseMo.org Episcopal Diocese of Missouri Offices of the Bishop 1210 Locust St. St. Louis, Missouri 63103

For the Life of the World The completed icon was brought into the back of the church just before Lent. It was an intentional placement. It became apparent that it would be welcomed as the central image above St. Paul’s altar. The vestry concurred and the icon was installed for Easter, replacing a nondescript tapestry. It’s been pretty overwhelming,” said Evan. “I felt like I did a pretty good job, but I’ve seen a couple of people actually weeping when they see this. That for me is overwhelming. I have a different attachment to it. But to create a piece of art that makes someone

emotional, that’s pretty powerful.” Fr. Robert observed that in addition to being impressed by the aesthetWhy this image is important to ics of the this congregation. piece, “To me, really, it’s about there resurrection,” explained Fr. Robert. “At St. Paul’s recently it’s was a been about what we don’t have, feeling of “Wow, what we’ve lost.” this is “Don’t get me wrong, I’m not downplaying the crucifix. In something this icon Jesus has the wounds in his hands and feet. But more that a than that, this is the resurrected person in our parish did, and did this Jesus, that embodies the cross. for us. There’s a feeling of Wow, But it is more than the cross. It is life after death. It is pointing but also one of deep gratitude.” to life beyond limitations of Taking risks. this world—which is God. It is “Going into the process, the assuring us we too have a share in that. Not just the share in the risk was just starting it,” Evan recounted, “doing something crucifixion but a share in the I’d not done before. Coming out resurrection.” symbols that I incorporated. In the back of my mind I also had the image of snowflakes, each one unique.”

MAKING DISCIPLES

BUILDING CONGREGATIONS

of it I started looking at my art differently. The work that I’m doing now in school, I’m starting to look at it with a Christian perspective. For me, that journey was important. I’m now challenging myself, How do I create work that stays true to my beliefs but also can be shown in the contemporary art world?” “I’m creating art for a higher purpose. I think a lot of art is about the artist and what they go through, their troubles. Doing something that is not only about you, that is for Christ, that is for a congregation of people—is kind of exciting. You’re giving yourself and your gifts to people.” Fr Robert summed it up, “Throughout this process I’ve challenged you to say, How is your work as an artist, directly connected to your life in Christ, to your spirituality, to your practice day in and day out of who you are as a child of God. And that process of listening and creating—listening and creating. I think that’s one of the journeys you’ve been on. Whether you consider this painting, or praying—this has been just as much about what’s going on in your soul as what’s going on in your eye or your hand.”

Evan T. Smith hails from Charleston, WV and moved to St. Louis in 2010 where he lives with wife Stacey, a civil engineer. He’ll graduate in May from Forest Park Community College with an associates degree and will continue his BFA at Webster University in the Fall. The Rev. Robert Ard is Priest-in-charge of St. Paul’s Church in the Carondelet neighborhood of St. Louis. For online links below to a full photo gallery and video, see pg. 10.

FOR THE LIFE OF THE WORLD

INSIDE

Icon for St. Paul’s Christ breaking into the world by Michaelene Miller

Two kinds of Christians? by Bishop Wayne Smith

God and the City by Jeanne King

The Universe wants to be noticed by Pamela Dolan

Introductions by Eric Bablinskas

Liturgical Rhythms by Michaelene Miller Learning Midwestern by Anna Lacey

Jesus on these streets by DAH

The work continues Community of Hope I say a little prayer

12 Hashtag this the good old summer 13 In time by Sue Rehkopf 15

Upcoming youth events by Danielle Dowd

Learning to pray by Dietra Wise

Why an Episcopal School for Ministry by Dan Handschy

Sudan on the 18 South brink by Evelyn Smith

Litany for South Sudan

7 list by Emily 20 Top Hillquist Davis The path to serving Christ

Making Disciples

Two kinds of Christians? Really just one. Bishop Wayne Smith on Matthew 25 and Matthew 28 being two parts of the same movement--at the heart of who we are. Sometimes people will ask, "What they saw him, they worshiped him; kind of Christian are you? Matthew 25 or but some doubted. And Jesus came Matthew 28?" and said to them, 'All authority in Of course they refer to two of the heaven and on earth has been givgreat sayings of Jesus, both found in the en to me. Go therefore and make last few pages of the gospel. disciples of all nations, baptizing Matthew 25:31-46 is his Parable of the them in the name of the Father Judgment. The passage is too long to quote and of the Son and of the Holy in its entirety, but it includes the righteous Spirit, and teaching them to obey on the day of judgment saying to their everything that I have commanded king, you. And remember, I am with you "Lord, when was it that we saw always, to the end of the age.'" you hungry and gave you food, or thirsty and gave you something to These two sayings have an interesting drink? And when was it that we placement in the gospel, for the Parable of saw you a stranger and welcomed the Judgment gives us Jesus' final teachyou, or naked and gave you clothing before the account of his final journey ing? And when was it that we saw to Jerusalem, his betrayal, trial, passion, you sick or in prison and visited death, and resurrection. you?’ And the king will answer The Great Commission comes just them, ‘Truly I tell you, after this narrative just as you did it to one of and forms a coda to the least of these who are Sometimes people want to the entire gospel. The bifurcate the Christian life by story of Jesus' final members of my family, you did it to me.'" (25:37asserting that there is some act of self-offering and 40) sort of choice between social subsequent triumph thus bridges these two justice and evangelism... Part of the narrative challenging words of beauty in the parable is that his, the Parable and Jesus does not give away the identity of the Commission. "the king," but he nonetheless leaves the Sometimes people want to bifurcate hearers free to know who this is. And they the Christian life by asserting that there is do know. some sort of choice between social justice Matthew 28:16-20 is the tail end of and evangelism, between Matthew 25 and Matthew's gospel and gives the reader Matthew 28. the last words of Jesus, now risen from But these passages sit on either side the dead, to his followers. We know this of the great story of passion, death, and passage as The Great Commission, and it resurrection, and they both propel believreads, ers to respond beyond themselves. "Now the eleven disciples went to Matthew 25 encourages attention to Galilee, to the mountain to which the stranger of every sort, because who Jesus had directed them. When knows when the stranger actually turns

out to be the king (let the reader understand)? Matthew 28 has Jesus telling his followers to make disciples of all nations, the venue for such a mission thus being anywhere and everywhere, not just "here." The point is that the mission of the Risen Christ, through us, is not among our kind of people, in the place where we live. Attention to the other—yes, the stranger— becomes necessary again. Many of us will discover a lovely, or challenging, back-and-forth between these two sayings, and we will learn that these are actually two parts of the same movement—the movement beyond. Between these two parts of one movement lie death, passion, and resurrection, the story at the heart of who we are and what we are about. The Rt. Rev. George Wayne Smith is the tenth bishop of the Diocese of Missouri.

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Episcopal Church Women

God and the City

Jeanne King describes the gathering of Episcopal Church Women last month in Chicago.

I knew the ECW Province V meeting was going to be fun and spiritual just by the title: GOD and the City (it had a little hint of secular~ a play on the TV show Sex in the City). For the past year the women of the Diocese of Chicago have been exploring art in worship spaces and how our relationship to God is expressed through his gift of creativity. I was excited to learn what they had discovered. We toured the beautiful St. James Cathedral. It is the oldest Episcopal cathedral in Chicago. It predated the Great Chicago Fire. What a beautiful space. There is no stained glass in this church, it is all painted glass. The baptismal font was carved by an American woman but at the time no church art could be displayed by a woman, therefore an Italian man was claimed as artist. In 1860 Abe Lincoln worshiped there. This was the church home for suffragette, Helen Bowen. Martin Luther King claimed St. James as his “white center of action.” Just a few of the intriguing anecdotes our docent shared about St. James. For me, one of the most extraordinary things about this church was in the right front about 10 pews were removed so that a play area could be set up for the children. This area provided a “close to the action” place for the youngest to worship.

Art illuminates the Spirit.

Medieval art at the Loyola University Museum of Art was our next destination. At LUMA there was an exhibition of the illustrations of Edward Gorey. This exhibit was publicized as an “Elegant Enigmas: The Art of Edward Gorey” MAKING DISCIPLES

Bishop Christopher Epting spoke to us on Friday. He is the Associate Bishop of the Diocese of Chicago. He encouraged us to be lifelong learners, to pray every morning and night, to read the Bible every day, and to know that Holy Communion is the heart of prayer. He inspired us to be intentional in following Jesus in a deliberate ministry on the behalf of others.

Be still and know that I AM.

The keynote speaker on Saturday was the Rev. Kat Banakis, a young priest who inspired us to find God in our busy lives. She asked each of us to turn to one another and share a story of where or when we learned resilience in our lives. Then: “Where is God in that story?” Kat spoke of how we need to “take courage and work,” that we need the experience of every age. And, most profoundly, she reminded the ECW that “women resuscitate each other.”

Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

The other workshop I attended on Saturday was Majesty & Mystery presenter Les Barker. Les Barker’s art is paper snowflakes. (Facebook: Paper snowflakes by Les Barker) Why snowflakes? Job 37: 10 “by the breath of God ice is given”. Each flake is precise and varied. Saturday was active! The weekend also included business meetings for Diocesan ECW Board Presidents, UTO and CPC representatives, other workshops, good food, and fellowship. The beautiful, historic Palmer House Hilton was the venue of the ECW Province V Annual meeting. This hotel is filled with timeless beauty and romance.

Service to others is living God’s example.

The presenters on Saturday morning represented people who are striving to do God’s work in the city. Angela Smith, the president of the nonprofit start- Tela introduced us to the work begun in El Salvador by the organization. They invest in and empower women for the advancement of peace and dignity. I commend their website to you: telawomen.org. Angela reminded me of a quote from Maria Montessori, “Averting war is the work of politicians; establishing peace is the work of education.”

BUILDING CONGREGATIONS

FOR THE LIFE OF THE WORLD

God was there. God was in the City.

Jeanne King is the vice-president of the diocesan Episcopal Church Women board and a member of St. Martin’s Church in Ellisville. She wrote about the 2014 Province V Annual Meeting of the Episcopal Church Women, which was hosted by Diocese of Chicago in April. Jeanne is pictured here with one of her precious grandchildren. All women members of the Episcopal Church are members of Episcopal Church Women. Read more about ECW’s ministry in this diocese online at: diocesemo.org/ ECW.

For the Life of the World

The universe wants to be noticed... Pamela Dolan preaches on Flower Sunday about Shepherd Farm, acts of faith, and intentional interdependence. “I believe the universe wants to be noticed. I think the universe is improbably biased toward consciousness, that it rewards intelligence in part because the universe enjoys its elegance being observed. And who am I, living in the middle of history, to tell the universe that it--or my observation of it--is temporary?” This quote from The Fault in Our Stars, a novel by John Green about two teenagers with cancer, seems to me evidence of a shift in our culture. There is a profound ethical imperative that arises from the simple act of noticing. At least since the Industrial Revolution, the emphasis in Western Civilization has been on doing, on discovering, on achievement and productivity and efficiency. Today, many of us feel called in a different direction. Our calling is to attention, to witness, to a level of observation that leads to wonder, to celebration, and to compassion. Our collect today makes a single, simple request. It asks God “to open the eyes of our faith, that we may behold Christ in all his redeeming work.” Why is that so important? What is it we’re missing here?

It’s complicated.

Our culture has complicated our relationship to the environment so much that most of us need regular reminders that THIS IS God’s redeeming work-this world, these bodies, this complex, intricate, beautiful, fragile ecosystem that makes our very existence possible. Creation itself is God’s redeeming work, and we are a part of it. Why is it so hard to see this? You have heard many of the answers before. We are very busy people. We are detached from our surroundings by automobiles and interstate highways and shopping malls. We are distracted by our smart phones and celebrity gossip. Today I would like to add to this list the oldest reason in the world: We are afraid. But the universe wants to be noticed. And not just in the places of beauty, where all is sweetness and light.

Afraid to look.

When we are afraid of something, often our first impulse is to close our eyes. It can be hard to really look at a child with cancer, because that child is hurting and broken and might die. If we look at her, we might love her, and if we love her, we have to face the possibility of losing her.

How can any of us stand to have our hearts broken in advance? I believe that is where we are in terms of our relationship with our planet today. We are afraid to look. We are afraid of that heart-stopping moment when the blood will freeze in our veins as we realize that it’s too late to save her. And the worst of it is, we know have no one else to blame. Nobody did this to us. Think again about the words of today’s Psalm: “The cords of death have entangled me; the grip of the grave took hold of me; I came to grief and sorrow.” I can hear the earth saying those exact words. I can hear the earth crying out. This beautiful, fragile planet is hanging from a cross, and it is a cross of our own construction. We are still pounding in the nails. No wonder we bury our heads in our hands. No wonder we are afraid to look.

And yet, the universe wants to be noticed. When we fail to notice, to observe, to witness, we miss all this evidence of life and abundance. We miss that there are patches of land in nearly every one of our towns, suburbs, subdivisions, and even church properties that can easily grow food. We miss that rooftops can be green, that rainwater can be collected and used, that a compost bucket is a way to turn garbage into gold.

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Building Congregations continued from page 5

Shepherd farm.

My parish, Good Shepherd, has started a garden. We call it Shepherd Farm. It is a community garden, but only sort of. We want it to involve the whole community. It is not the kind of garden where every individual is assigned a plot and then take home whatever they grow. We are asking everyone to come help till and tend, and then whatever we all grow we will all harvest, and then we will give it all away to feed whoever needs it. This summer, we plan to give our whole harvest to the Peace Meal at St John’s in Tower Grove. We hope to be able to expand the garden every year, and as our yields increase, perhaps we can expand the number of partners who can receive what we grow.

Intentional interdependence.

paying attention, and of putting absolute trust in a process outside your control. I’m new to all this. I don’t even know if what we’re doing is going to work. This is truly an act of faith.

Abundance.

We have more than enough land for a substantial garden, even a farm, but we don’t have everything we need. We don’t have enough money or enough people…yet. But by starting out this way, we are creating a situation of intentional interdependence. We’re going to need other people to show up and pitch in if it’s going to grow. We started Shepherd Farm because our eyes were opened to a simple reality: we have land. Our land is a gift from God and we are called to use the gifts God has given us to make a difference in the world. Shepherd Farm started with the eyes of our faith being opened.

We didn’t start Shepherd Farm because I am really into gardening. I know almost nothing about gardening, and I am learning step-by-step, inch-byinch, from my parishioners and from experts near and far. Don’t get me wrong. I am not here to tell you that the best or only way to change the world is to grow a garden. And frankly there are people who are much better positioned to talk about the spiritual benefits of gardening; people who have been doing this A Gospel model. all their lives, people who know What I love so much about what it means to pray in the dirt. this is that it’s not a business Those are the people who can model. It’s a Gospel model. tell you from experience about The disciples were on a the benefits of slowing down, of road together when they enMAKING DISCIPLES

BUILDING CONGREGATIONS

countered Jesus. They were at table together when they recognized Christ in their midst. It was when Jesus took bread, blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them, that their eyes were opened. It is no coincidence that the bread that we share at Communion is both the fruit of the earth and the work of human hands. It is no coincidence that the earth has to break itself open to share its bounty with us, and from that bounty comes the bread and wine that become the Body and Blood of Christ. And still, the universe wants to be noticed.

Around the table, together.

How can we care for creation and one another? It starts with opening our eyes. It continues with kneeling in the dirt, and getting our hands dirty. And it ends around a table, where all are welcome and all are fed. Amen.

FOR THE LIFE OF THE WORLD

The Rev. Pamela Dolan is the rector of the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Town and Country. Raised in Hawaii and California, she holds degrees from UC Berke¬ley and Harvard Divinity School. Pamela writes for the religion page of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Her dream for Shepherd Farm is that it will become a place for people from all around the area to play in the dirt, practice sustainability, and grow food for the hungry. She and her husband have two daughters, two dogs, and a home full of books. You can follow the progress of Shepherd Farm online (page 10). This is an edited version of the sermon she gave at Christ Church Cathedral on Flower Sunday, 2014. You can hear the entire sermon online (page 10 for links).

Deaconess Anne House

Introducing the Deaconess Anne House DAH intern Eric Bablinskas wrote this primer for the Old North neighborhood news. If you’ve been up on Sullivan Avenue recently, you may have noticed some youthful life stirring from the house with the red door, as well as a handful of cars with out-of-state license plates. This last September, seven 20-somethings from all over the country came to Old North neighborhood as the first class of interns at Deaconess Anne House, a branch of the Episcopal Service Corps. For one year, we will live, work, and be a part of the Old North community. The Episcopal Service Corps is an opportunity for young people, usually recent college graduates, to spend a year in a new place gaining experience working for not-forprofit organizations, and living in intentional community. While the Deaconess Anne House is in the middle of its first year, the Episcopal Service Corps has been in existence for over 20 years and now has houses in over 25 locations across the United States. The seven corps members

are Anna, Stacey, Delilah, Miranda, Michaelene, Jillian, and me, Eric, the sole male of the group. We come from as far as California and Florida to as near as Illinois. While the corps members come from diverse backgrounds in the Christian faith, our program is deeply rooted in the Episcopal tradition. Each weekday, Morning Prayer is read from the 1979 Book of Common Prayer and each Monday night there is a community Eucharistic celebration led by the program’s director, Jonathan Stratton. Morning Prayer (7:50 AM weekdays) and Monday night Eucharist (7:30 PM) are open to everyone. Living in intentional community is no cakewalk, so Fridays are reserved for community meeting time where thanksgivings are expressed and grievances are hashed-out. This helps prevent passive-aggressive behavior and keeps the community healthy. “Living with seven people can be hard sometimes,”

says Jillian. “A lot of mindfulness goes into things. You are always thinking about your actions.” On certain Fridays, guest speakers come to teach the corps members. “We have workshops with nonprofit leaders, and a spiritual director teaches us different spiritual practices,” says Michaelene. While being a part of the Deaconess Anne House is difficult, whether it be living with so many new people, being so far from home, or working at rewarding but challenging organizations, much of the time is spent playing Monopoly, cracking jokes, and doing yoga on the kitchen floor. “It has been great to live in a place like Old North,” says Jillian. “They are driven to create a good community. It’s really great to be a part of that.” Michaelene agrees. “At first impression I was nervous when I saw the neighborhood but then I was able to go to the farmers’ market on Saturday mornings. It made me feel connected to the community.”

Come August, we will say farewell to our seven new neighbors and prepare for next year’s cohort of spunky young idealists. Till then, there will always be plenty of energy at the house with the red door on Sullivan Avenue.

DAH calendar 2014-2015 Diocesan members are invited to participate in these events and services. RSVP may be requested, please check nearer the date online at: www.diocesemo.org/dah

September 13, 2014, 6 PM - Commissioning of interns October 4, 2014, 4 9 AM - Farmer’s Market and Old North St. Louis Tour December 6, 2014, 9 AM - Advent Quiet Day at DAH February 14, 2015, 9 AM - Lenten Quiet Day at DAH May 23, 2015, 6:30 PM - Pentecost Potluck at DAH May, 2015, to be scheduled - Old North St. Louis house tour July 11, 2015, 9 AM - The Way of St. Benedict The Episcopal Diocese of Missouri

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Deaconess Anne House

Liturgical Rhythms of the House Michaelene Miller invites us into the routines of Deaconess Anne House, defined by prayer, worship, and community. Come, thou fount of every blessing, tune my heart to sing thy grace! Streams of mercy never ceasing, call for songs of loudest praise... I awake Monday to another hymn marking the start of Morning Prayer. If the three clangs of the bell at 7:45 AM, the five minute warning, didn’t stir me from sleep, then the morning voices of various housemates singing out songs of praise call me to consciousness. Each pair of roommates is designated a specific day, Monday-Thursday, to attend Morning Prayer in the chapel room with our director, Jon Stratton, at 7:50 AM. “Old or New Testament?” roommates ask each other over cereal, hoping to be spared the struggle of trying to pronounce the difficult names of the Old Testament so early in the morning. On Fridays, prayer is mandatory and also moved back to 8:30AM, since we all stay home for a day of community formation and discernment. Friday services are designated for experimenting with untraditional liturgies and practices or meditations led by housemates. Some only attend on their specific morning of the week, while others have made it part of the personal rule of life to attend more regularly.

The marinade is prayer.

It matters little if you are seated in the chapel, at the kitchen table in the next room with cereal, or upstairs brushing your teeth, because prayer is present in the Deaconess Anne House. This presence, and the focused intentionality behind it, seems to transform the space and daily actions of my housemates into something more that reveals an aspect of the Holy. MAKING DISCIPLES

I believe that this is not only felt within the house, but that, in different ways, we take it with us as we exit our house’s red door and enter into the world. The words of the liturgy fill every room. A reverent level of quiet claims the house until the Peace is passed amongst those in the chapel. As Bishop Wayne wrote in November, “I also feel and understand what Urban T. Holmes III meant when he described the daily office as a marinade.” It seems to permeate our space and lifestyles. Whether or not I consciously acknowledge it every day, Morning Prayer is steadily affecting me. It is an austere, yet beautiful way to wake up. It aligns my days with a focus that sets this year apart from any other year of my life.

Breaking bread.

Shared community meals on Monday nights and our evening Eucharist services also compose the liturgical rhythm of the Deaconess Anne House. The first Monday dinner of every month is designated as the house’s hospitality night and is open for guests. The remaining Mondays are reserved for the Deaconess Anne House interns as a time of being together at the table. We naturally grow in fellowship as we share our stories, laughter, and time together. Interns that cook (delicious food) together (and clean together), stay together. Every other week we include an evening Eucharist, alternating with our Jesus and Empire class, also followed by Eucharist. Eucharist has become a time of introspection and group exploration of different liturgies, Bible readings, life experiences, and Old North community issues.

BUILDING CONGREGATIONS

Many of these practices are new experiences for me and I believe that they are helping all of us to cultivate and live with a mindfulness of God’s presence that extends into the everyday, mundane experiences such as washing dishes or changing the toilet paper roll once it runs out.

Learning Midwestern Anna Lacey on culture change, hospitality, and gratitude. Moving to the Midwest from Southern California has been quite a culture shock. It’s as though I’ve moved to a different country--where people are actually nice to each other. I applied to the Episcopal Service Corps because I had no idea what I wanted to do with my life after I graduated from college. The world seemed so big, scary, and completely unapproachable. I heeded my campus ministry chaplain’s advice and applied to ESC to give me the space to think about my next step while working with a nonprofit and growing spiritually. It was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. Deaconess Anne House is about half way through its first year, and it has been one of the best experiences of my life.

Welcomed.

I think I’ve found a second home in St. Louis and in the community I’ve found here, not only in my house or my neighborhood, but in the city as a whole. St. Louis is welcoming and that has made moving to a new city with people I have never met before a little easier. I feel welcomed by my placement site, Places for People, where I work 32 hours a week. Specifically, I work in a residential facility, CJ’s Place, for adults with mental illness who also have a substance abuse issue and/or are HIV positive. I spend my

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Deaconess Anne House time there with some amazing people. The clients and staff are some of the most entertaining people you will ever meet, and I feel so lucky to be able to work there.

We believe Jesus still walks these streets

On Good Friday, a small crowd of about twenty five pilgrims led by Deaconess Anne House members made their way through Old North St. Louis to Discerning the path. walk the Way of the Cross, prayThe spiritual formation ing the traditional fourteen staand discernment time that we tions commemorating Christ’s have on Fridays really drew me journey to the cross. to Deaconess Anne House. It’s “We believe Jesus still a time for us to figure out and walks these streets,” said Fr. Jon better understand our gifts and Stratton after asking the group talents and how best we can use to reflect on signs of Christ’s those to help others. presence while prayerfully walkIt’s helped me to forge ing the streets of the historic through my interests and beneighborhood, a neighborhood gin to narrow down what path that has seen good times and I start walking down. While bad times. extremely difficult to even begin The group stopped to pray to understand how my talents, at fourteen sites in Old North, gifts and interests can best places that speak to both the be used to help those around suffering and the resurrection me, I think I’m starting to get hope felt in the north city air. somewhere and this program is DAH intern Jillian Smith helping form me. led the third station, “Jesus I feel so fortunate to be falls the first time” guiding the a part of the Deaconess Anne group outside to the future site House, especially in its inauguof Magdalene St. Louis. Facing ral year, and am so grateful for the group of pilgrims, Smith the people I’ve met here. said, “The Magdalene House was It has been an amazing purchased for use in 2014 by experience and I am very eager Magdalene St. Louis. This house, to find out what the rest of this though old and worn by time, year has in store. will provide a new, safe haven for women who have lost their

way. The love and healing that will occur here will only add to the house's and the neighborhood's rich history.” A time of reflection was followed by the prayer, “O God, you know us to be set in the midst of so many and great dangers, that by reason of the frailty of our nature we cannot always stand upright: Grant us such strength and protection as may support us in all dangers, and carry us through all temptations…” The group continued to stations that included Crown Square, Grace Hill, the Community Garden, and several other ONSL landmarks. At the fifth station, the group reflected on Simon of Cyrene’s bearing of Christ’s cross as DAH intern Miranda Caulkins spoke to the pilgrims about Grace Hill Settlement House. Caulkins said, "The original church was wooden, shaped like a cross, and built on high ground, but in 1881, the church was lowered to street grade and expanded to seat 700. By 1910, Grace Church had weathered several financial crises and was so poor it resigned its charter, but the current Bishop, Daniel Tuttle, refused to

let the church die. The church became a “mission” and merged efforts with other charities in the neighborhood, including Holy Cross Dispensary, which was originally located on 14th and Cass. Through engaging in settlement house work, such as bringing affordable health care to children and adults, offering programs like the Girl’s Club and Mother’s Guild, as well as running a library, kindergarten, summer school, resale store, and the only public bath in the neighborhood, the many neighborhood organizations grew into one agency, first called the Holy Cross Corporation in 1910 and then Grace Hill House in 1939." The pilgrimage ended in the backyard of the Deaconess Anne House, where those in attendance observed the Good Friday Liturgy presided over by Marc Smith, rector of Episcopal Church of the Ascension. Participants reported feeling deeply the loss and the hope of these blocks, guided by the group of young people at Deaconess Anne House. Director Jon Stratton plans another intern-led Good Friday Way of the Cross in 2015.

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Alert! Christ breaking into the world

The Episcopal Church in the Worldwide Anglican Communion: 80 million Christians around the world, led by the Most Rev. and Rt. Hon. Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury in The Episcopal Church: 2 million Episcopalians in 109 dioceses and three regional areas in 17 nations, led by the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop and Primate. in the Diocese of Missouri: 12,000 members in 43 congregations, campus ministries and an intentional community, led by the Rt. Rev. George Wayne Smith, 10th Bishop of Missouri.

SEEK, Eastertide 2014

Episcopal Diocese of Missouri Offices of the Bishop 1210 Locust St. St. Louis, Missouri 63103 Seek is a quarterly publication of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri. Diocesan members may request a complimentary subscription by mail: send address to the Offices of the Bishop attn: Seek Subscription. Seek is also distributed to each congregation in the diocese. Archived editions of Seek are online at diocesemo.org. Editor: Ms. Beth Felice, Director of Communications Editorial Board: the Rev. Dr. Daniel Handschy, Dean of the Episcopal School for Ministry; the Rev. Jon Hall, Rector of St. Martin’s Episcopal Church, Ellisville; Mr. Ken Luebbering, Grace Church, Jefferson City; Ms. Sarah Bryan Miller, St. Peter’s Church, Ladue; the Rev. Dr. Marc Smith, Rector of Ascension Church, Northwoods; the Rev. Dr. E. Daniel Smith, Canon to the Ordinary, Diocese of Missouri. Submissions by post attn: Beth Felice, or by email to bfelice@diocesemo.org. Deadline: July 18, 2014.

MAKING DISCIPLES

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At first, I journaled about my experiences and things observed during prayer times. As I wrote, my thoughts morphed into prayers. Being in that strange and unfamiliar village, silenced by language barriers, I was able to pay attention to everyone around me-- all the different cultures, lifestyles, and spiritual practices, all of them focused on discovering the love of the resurrected Christ. Alert, my eyes and ears opened. The unexpected love that I felt extended from these new, foreign neighbors moved my heart to open.

Hearts broke open.

The Messiah, unexpectedly coming as a baby born in a lowly manger, caused many to stop and pay attention. The unexpected, unconventional love that Jesus extended to the lowliest outcast made people think. In Advent we open our hearts in preparation to receive Christ and reflect on how Jesus first broke into the world, all the while awaiting the unexpected second coming. There is something about the unfamiliar and unexpected that causes us to stop in our tracks and pay attention.

For months I’ve been integrating the neighborhood of Old North, its people, and its needs into my life. It is a different kind of neighborhood then I have ever lived in before. Those that I now call neighbors are different than I expected. Bishop Wayne said at Convention that Deaconess Anne House was not put in Old North to fix it, but to become a part of it. We are not here to bring Christ into Old North. We are here to witness the Christ that is already present--sometimes in the most unlikely places and people, the ones we look at with difficulty. As I get to know my neighbors and the streets of this neighborhood, Christ is continuously breaking into my life in unexpected ways, like the random, big smiles, waves, and shouts of “Morning, beautiful dog!” from rough looking characters whenever I run our neighbor’s dog, Roscoe. Alert, I smile and wave back. My compassion grows. Deaconess Anne House intern Michaelene Miller led the Advent Quiet Day with this message. The second group of interns will also lead an Advent quiet day for diocesan members on Saturday, December 6, 2014.

Web link to this issue’s online galleries.

Twitter users invited to follow the People of DioceseMO Each week, one diocesan member will tweet about living as a follower of Jesus in the Diocese of Missouri. If you are on Twitter, follow @OurEpiscopalMO. Or, follow the week’s narrative on the related blog at OurEpiscopalMO.blogspot.com. And if you do tweet, consider participating in this project and signing up for a week of sending the message of faith into the world via Twitter.

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Here to witness.

All web links referred to in each article. Plus, more and larger photos and videos. Use your smart phone to read this code, or

open your browser to:

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Making Disciples

The work continues: news from the dismantling racism round table Two recent articles pinpoint the need for simple conversation about “race.” One is from the former baseball player Doug Glanville, now a writer and commentator. You can read about his recent experience of racial profiling in The Atlantic. I Was Racially Profiled in My Own Driveway: A retired Major League Baseball player explains how he's trying to turn an upsetting encounter with the police into an opportunity for dialogue, which is available online at http://goo.gl/oboCNB (We’ve used a link shortener, or follow the QR code on page 10 for all edition web links.) Basketball fans may have heard a little something about the owner of a team in Los Angeles. Jonathan Capehart wrote about that in the Washington Post, That honest conversation about race everyone wants? We can’t handle it . Also available online at http://goo.gl/5QBMmv . Joyous news as well, from a little closer to home! Julia Bullock, daughter of Allyce Bullock (St. John’s Church in Tower Grove) recently won the $15,000 Naumburg Prize for her singing artistry. She has received

glowing reviews in the Washington Post and the New York Times. To hear a bit of her exquisite singing, listen to the short video on the New York Times website, http://goo. gl/nllvKC . What have you seen or read recently that gives you hope or despair as we all continue the work of repairing the human and spiritual fabric within our Church and Diocese? The diocesan Dismantling Racism Commission meets the first Saturday of each month, 10 am to noon, at Holy Communion Church in University City. In addition to planning the diocesan training on systematic racism and diocese-wide events, updates on their work with individual churches with the Seeking our Past, Creating our Future materials, they discuss recently released materials and titles, and events of the day through the lens of the work of dismantling racism in the church. Anyone with an interest in this work is invited to attend. Follow the work of the commission at www. diocesemo.org/DR

Benedictine practice, pastoral presence Community of Hope offers next training The Church of St. Michael & St. George will offer the Community of Hope Training Program beginning September 8th, 2014. This 14-week program trains and supports volunteer lay pastoral caregivers to provide a ministry of presence in community settings such as outreach to homebound or hospitalized parishioners, as well as visits in hospital and hospice settings; shelters for the homeless or abused; and nursing and retirement homes. The training is grounded in Benedictine spirituality and teaches a rule of life that manifests itself in pastoral care ministry.

Participation is open to all members of the diocese. The Community of Hope Training Program will meet on Monday evenings from 5-8 PM, September 8th through December 8th, at The Church of St. Michael & St. George. The cost for the program is $75; scholarships are available. For more information and for an invite to an informational session, please contact Nancy Ferriss at 314.974.3386 or Mary Ann Cook at 314.726.5860. Read more online: diocesemo.org/COH

I say a little prayer God’s spirit poured out at Pentecost breaks down every barrier that divides us Pentecost, Sunday, June 8 marks the end of the fifty days of Easter. “And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit, and began to speak with other languages, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” If shares on social media are any indication, this diocese appreciated the work of the monks in Cambridge and their daily online reflection on language and faith, Brother Give Us a Word. Beginning on the Day of Pentecost, Brother, Give Us a Word will “speak with other languages” for one month: in English, French, Italian, American Sign Language through video, Spanish, Portuguese, and Oji-Cree. “This has been quite a journey to achieve,” said Jamie Coats, Director of the Friends of SSJE. “Seeing Christ in the stranger is very hard, especially when you do not speak their language.” The Society of Saint John the Evangelist is a monastic community for men in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada. Follow along online or sign up for a daily email each morning at www.SSJE.org/word.

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Hashtag this! Local communicator imagines tweeting to evangelize, dreams up a social media movement to proclaim the Good News. Have you heard about a grass roots project to encourage the often cautious Episcopal folk to proclaim boldly their affection for church on June 29? It’s called social media Sunday. Two Episcopal moms wondered aloud on social media, what if we chose one day for people to share their story of faith online? If instead of selfies in the latest fashions we chose selfies in choir and acolyte robes. If we tweeted, Instagramed and Facebooked the Good News with a common identifying hashtag, #Episcopal. One of those two moms happens to be Laura Catalano, member of St. Timothy’s Church in Creve Coeur. She’s a lifelong Episcopalian, and has been in St. Louis and at St. Tim’s almost seven years.

Social media prayers.

Laura burst onto the church social media scene last year with a website called Episcopal Share that features prayers and verses from the Book of Common Prayer 1979, some overlaid on images. They are easy for people to share with friends on social media. “I’ve been shocked how far some of those prayers have traveled. They’ve been seen by more than 10,000 people,” she said. The Compline prayers are particularly beloved. “I grew up with the Book of Common Prayer, so didn’t understand how extraordinary it was.” She followed popular evangelical blogger Rachel Held Evans, author of two viral posts: 10 reasons I left the church and 10 reasons I returned to the church. “She listed the BCP as one of the reasons to return.”

MAKING DISCIPLES

Leave room for a holy experiment.

No digital foreigner, she helped her university department build its first website in 1997, Laura hadn’t mixed faith much with technology. Being a lifelong learner, when her church was considering a new website platform, she thought she’d build a test site on Wordpress, “to see what it was like. I had no idea this site would take off in the way it has.” It was the same thing on Twitter. Laura was at a church search committee and a lead member of the communications team, Susan Moenkhaus, approached her with the idea of getting St. Tim’s onto the platform.

How to get involved on June 29th.

It’s pretty simple. If you’re already on social media, send out a post about worship, the readings, the sermon. Tag it with #Episcopal. If you’re comfortable with the media offer your priest and vestry a mini how-to workshop. If you’re in a community with members online, encourage one another. The church communicators are hosting a meeting on Tuesday, May 27 at 7 pm at St. Tim’s to hear from Laura, to trade stories about what they’ve already tried and hope to do in the near future. Anybody who has an interest is invited to attend in person, or dial in via web conference. Follow the information on page 10 for a link to all resources and addresses cited in this newsletter. EspicopalShare.org

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Festival Evensong on June 26 On Thursday, June 26, Christ Church Cathedral will host a festival evensong for the feast of the Nativity of St. John the Baptist. Worshipers will enjoy glorious music and medieval pageantry and be invited to join in prayers for peace in the Holy Land and the welfare of the poor and sick. Both the Bishop of Missouri and the Dean of Christ Church Cathedral will participate. This annual festival evensong and service of rededication is celebrated by the Order of St. John, which is both an active, practical charity and an order of chivalry headed by Queen Elizabeth II. This year's service will include the world premiere of an anthem in which Horst Buchholz, the Director of Music at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis, sets to music a poem by the great German poet Friedrich Schiller. The guest speaker will be Palmer Hamilton, the new Prior of the Priory in the United States of the Order of St John. Evensong will begin at 6:00 PM. Christ Church Cathedral is located at 1210 Locust St., St. Louis, MO. For more information on the Order of St. John, contact the Rev. John Kilgore, M.D, K.St.J. at (314) 960-6500.

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Making Disciples

In the good old summer time… Campfire stories through the ages of diocesan summer camps by Sue Rehkopf, Diocesan Archivist. Church affiliated youth camping began before the turn of the last century in the Diocese of Missouri. An article in Church News in 1892 reported on a camp for choir boys sponsored by St. John’s Church. The location had not yet been decided, but they hoped to head for the woods. In August Church News reported that the rector and the boys had been at camp at Meramec Highland on the “Frisco” Railway, 14 miles from the city for five days and planned to stay as long as their money held out. That same summer 70 Cathedral and Good Shepherd choir boys completed their 6th annual camp-out at the Arsenal grounds sleeping in tents close to the river.

Not just for the boys.

In 1892, Church News also reported that boys would not have the monopoly on summer camping. St. Peter’s sponsored a camp for young women on the Meramec River at Glencoe. Anna Beverly Skinker of St. Stephen’s House would be in charge (she later would join Deaconess Anne in the work at Holy Cross House) and the camp would be open from July 1 to September 1. The small fee of $3.60 would provide two

1901 Choir camp with Christ Church Cathedral boys

weeks of camp and transportation by train from St. Louis. Many other congregation-sponsored summer camps would follow. In the 1920s, the Girls Friendly Society opened Holiday House, a summer house in Monarch, Missouri near the Missouri River. (GFS chapters across the county offered similar camping programs; a few Holiday Houses are still in existence.) In 1922 Church of the Holy Communion offered low cost or free camping for city children at Camp Huldina, south of St. Louis on the Meramec River.

St. Stephen’s-in-the-Hills.

One of our best remembered camps was St. Stephen’s-in-the-Hills. In the first decade of the 20th century, William and Elizabeth Donaldson donated 100 acres near Allenton in St. Louis County to be used for a camp for St. Stephen’s Church. This camp provided an escape from St. Louis’ oppressive summer heat and crowded city neighborhoods for both children and adults from St. Stephen’s…mothers often joining their children as cooks and camp staff. Or sometimes just a weekend for moms to be away from the city. It was a time for swimming, hiking, playing ball and just having fun. The early camping program was established by the Rev. Henry Mizner, minister at St. Stephen’s Church. Mr. Mizner spent summers at St. Stephen’s-in-the-Hills, usually taking the train back to the City on weekends for church services. Camp ran from mid-June to the end of August, and often longer, with more than 400 campers of all ages some summers. The property originally included the farmhouse, cabins and dormitories for campers. Soon a new chapel was added in mem-

Field day at St. Stephen’s-in-the-Hills

ory of Mrs. Donaldson. New buildings were added over the years…a new cabin for the rector, dormitories, a recreation building, cisterns for water, and finally in the late 1950s, the outhouses were replaced! In 1948, the Rev. Charles Washburn became rector of St. Stephen’s, and he carried on the tradition. Staff, except for the cook, were volunteers. Many of the counselors (or “crummyhunchers” as Mr. Washburn called them) were teenagers and young adult members of St. Stephen’s.

Two dioceses collaborate.

In 1935, the Dioceses of Missouri and West Missouri joined together to offer a 5 day youth conference in Columbia. The location would be the campus of Christian College, and more than 100 high school students attended. Summer conferences in Columbia would continue through 1948.

A new focus: conference center.

In 1949, the Diocese decided to try something new…a 10 day youth conference for senior high school students at the Lake of the Ozarks. The site was a former Civilian Conservation Camp in Lake of the Ozarks State Park. Then a camp for the Future Farmers of America, the camp was a bit primitive. The cabins were the original barracks built by the CCC boys, and to go swimming meant a long trek down the hill to the lake. Staff included clergy and lay people, even the cooks and the camp nurse or

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doctor came from our congregations. In addition to cleaning the bath houses and rec hall each morning, conferees staffed the mess hall, serving meals, and even washing dishes in the early days. The theme that first year was “My Church Can Help Me.” Morning classes explored the theme; afternoons and evenings were for activities. Almost 90 young people attended that first year and the conference was considered a success. Senior Conference became an anticipated annual event for high schoolers throughout the Diocese. In 1950, the first issues of The Ozark Sun were published and printed on the old mimeograph in the Office, reporting on camp news and gossip, along with updates on the weather (hot!) and on how the Cardinals were doing. Certain activities became tradition… the hike to the fire tower, the scavenger hunt, skit night, the dance and the final night campfire at the lake and the silent hike back up the hill.

Junior highschoolers make the grade.

In 1952 the Diocese initiated a conference for junior high school students. Initially using a smaller nearby camp, 41 students attended the first year. In 1953, this conference moved over to the FFA camp, now called Camp Rising Sun. The two conferences were held in succession in August. In 1962, the Music Commission added

Junior Choir Camp for students in 4th to 7th grades. This camp was held at Mound Ridge, a camp outside of St. James, owned and operated by the Presbytery. This was a week devoted to learning music and liturgy, and with many of the boys from the Cathedral’s boys choir in attendance, campers went home knowing more about church music than many of their parents. But it wasn’t all about church music. Activities included swimming in the Meramec, and then in the pool after it was built a few years later, crafts and sports. The camp was built on the side of a hill, so campers and staff always seemed to be going up or down hill…cabins at the top, mess hall and recreation building in the middle, with the river at the bottom. In 1968, the emphasis on music was discontinued, and the program moved to a more traditional church camp program.

Interest wanes in the 1960s..

Interest in church camps began to wane in the late 1960s and early 1970. Schools were starting earlier, teenagers heading for college were holding summer jobs, families were taking vacations and Junior and Senior Conferences, along with St. Stephen’s-in-the-Hills were finding it harder to attract interested conferees. Camp schedules were merged with the Presbytery’s and most often held at Mound Ridge, and occasionally at St. Stephen’s-inthe-Hills. Vandals destroyed many of the building at St. Stephen’s-in-theHills. A camp and conference committee was put in place to explore ways to make camps a viable program. As St. Louis development spread further west, offers were received to purchase the St.

Stephen’s-in-the-Hills property for housing developments, and the property was finally sold in 1985.

Two dioceses collaborate, one more time.

In 1997 the Diocese offered a new camping experience in a joint program with the Diocese of West Missouri at Cliff Springs Camp near Lebanon. Camp sessions were available for several age groups from primary grades through college freshmen. After the 2004 sessions, citing years of deficits and inability to attract enough campers to provide the necessary revenue, the Diocese of West Missouri finally closed the camp facilities and put the property up for sale.

Camp Phoenix rises.

Not willing to give up on a camping program for the Diocese of Missouri, organizers appeared before Diocesan Convention in November 2004 and presented their plan. With a convention offering of $1450 and an anonymous donation of $5,000, Camp Phoenix was off to a good start, and in 2014, it’s still going strong. Church camps are a great place to make friends and memories. Whether you attended St. Stephen’s-in-the-Hills or Senior or Junior Conference at Camp Rising Sun, Cliff Springs, Choir Camp at Mound Ridge, Camp Phoenix, or church camp in another diocese, you remember those summers. You remember your cabin mates and counselors. You met kids from other churches around your diocese. The memories last forever, and many times the friendships do too. There is still time to register for Camp Phoenix this summer. Help our children make their own church camp memories.

Bishop Lichtenberger at bat. Camp Rising Sun, 1951

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To see more photos, and see them in higher resolution, follow the links on page 10. The Archives is the repository for all the official and historical records of the Diocese. Our collection includes a library, and extensive document and photograph collections.

Making Disciples

Upcoming Summer Youth Events by Danielle Dowd, Youth Missioner for the Diocese of Missouri The summer is a busy time for youth in the diocese. This summerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s schedule includes a service opportunity, Camp Phoenix, Anytown Youth Leadership Institute, and the Episcopal Youth Event.

Episcopal Youth Event.

The Episcopal Youth Event (or EYE), is an event, modeled after General Convention but with a focus on youth, that runs on a 3 year cycle. Youth who attend EYE can expect their days to be filled worship, discussion, fellowships, and workshops. The Presiding Bishop will be in attendance and presiding over worship. Youth can choose from a variety of workshops that range from silly to more practical. This yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s event will be held in Villa Nova, Pennsylvania. The Missouri Diocese will be sending 5 youth delegates to EYE; Maddie, Annabel, Tucker, Katie, and Wes. All of our delegates are receiving full scholarships for the event. The delegates plan to report back to their home parishes and the larger diocese about the exciting things that they learn and see at EYE.

assist with Episcopal City Mission's "Summer Celebration." Episcopal City Mission is a ministry in St. Louis that provides chaplaincy and support to youth in detention centers. The "Summer Celebration" is their big summer fund-raiser. Our diocesan youth have the opportunity

to help put on a carnival for the "Summer Celebration." This is being coordinated by Jillian Smith, one of the interns at Deaconess Anne House. Any youth in grades 6-12 who want to participate should contact Jillian at jillian.smith57@gmail.com or call the ECM office at 314-436-3545. continued on next page

Camp Phoenix 2014

Anytown Youth Leadership Institute.

The diocese is sending at least one youth to the Anytown Youth Leadership Institute training. Anytown is a program developed by The National Conference for Community and Justice of Metropolitan St. Louis. At Anytown, youth will learn about several different intersecting identities such as race, class, and gender, through discussion and hands on activities. Youth will also have an opportunity to further explore these issues through workshops tailored to their interests, such as poetry or film-making. The goal of the Anytown Youth Leadership Institute is to equip youth to be leaders in the area of social justice for their churches, communities, and schools.

Service Opportunities

In my time traveling around the diocese, when I talk to youth about the things that they care about, they most often say that they want more opportunities to serve together. This summer, our diocesan youth service project will be to

Sunday, July 27, through Saturday, August 2 Sign up NOW for the official summer camp of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri. Campers swim, ride horses, hike, canoe, and participate in crafts, archery, and an outdoor adventure course. Each day includes a joyful spiritual connection to our Episcopal faith.

Registration deadline is May 31, via the registration link on the website, where ALL of the information can be found: www.camp-phoenix.org

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Episcopal City Mission

Learning to pray 1 Corinthians 14:15 What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also, I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. Alex enters and wants to pray with me. Episcopal City Mission Chaplains often have the great privilege of teaching kids the practice of prayer for the first time. I ask him what he wants to pray about and he mentions the usual: his case, his family, and his relationship with his Mom. His dad takes care of all the children because his mom left awhile back. Anger overtakes Alex as he describes this abandonment and his relationship with his mother. We talk about the forgiveness he wants from God and the forgiveness he needs to offer his mother.

Alex nods and is ready to pray. A smile comes when he asks God for help with forgiving his mother.

But I do not know how to pray.

The family prayer station is another activity where we teach kids how to pray. Youth engage in an interactive prayer activity like writing a letter to God or creating a prayer for the problems in our world while lighting a candle. One Saturday, Alex comes to the prayer station program and is challenged to create symbols that represent the two most important family members in their life and to pray for them. Alex makes a pipe cleaner to represent his mother. God is Good! The Rev. Dietra L. Wise is a chaplain to kids in detention through Episcopal City Mission. She has developed programs to engage youth in spirituality around their interests in media and music, and organizes ECM’s quarterly Christian Hip-Hop Chapel Services. She teaches weekly Hip-Hop Faith Dance classes, a dance form that combines creativity, hip-hop culture, and Christian spirituality. Ordained in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), She earned degrees from Howard University in Washington DC, and Eden Theological Seminary in St. Louis.

But I do not know how to pray.

Our prayer starts and I wait for him, but he stops me to say, “Ms. Dietra, I do not know how to pray. I have never prayed out loud before.” I offer a simple guide: • address God by name, • thank God for everything that God has already done, • share your petition, and close. Episcopal City Mission holds two fund raisers during the year: in summer, a family friendly fest, and an elegant dinner in the autumn which this year celebrates 60 years of ECM ministry.

Summer Celebration • • • •

Friday, June 20th, 5:30 - 8:30 pm at Grace Episcopal Church; 514 E. Argonne, Kirkwood, MO 63122 Theme is "Family-Friendly Carnival" with game booths run by parish youth groups, free petting zoo and bounce house Ticket price includes food & drink. Adult -

MAKING DISCIPLES

• •

$15; Child (5-12 yrs) - $5.00, Children under 5 yrs are free; Maximum per family - $50 All children receive 5 free game tickets; Game tickets are 50 cents each or 3 for $1 Yes, you read that correctly, “run by youth groups.” Is your flock involved yet?

Moment in Time • • • •

Thursday, October 2nd, 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm at Windows on Washington Theme - "Sensational at 60" to coordinate with ECM's 60th Anniversary Music to be from the 50's & 60's

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Upcoming Summer Youth Events continued from page 15

Youth Advising Committee.

This June I will be sending out applications for youth who are interested in advising me as I plan and coordinate events for youth in the diocese. Youth in grades 6 -12 are eligible. Applications will be due to me at ddowd@diocesemo.org by September 1st. Youth will have an opportunity to meet together with me in the Fall and the Spring to discuss options and explore ideas for ways to improve youth ministry in the diocese.

Episcopal School for Ministry

Why an Episcopal School for Ministry? What are we here for?

The Episcopal School for Ministry understands itself as a resource to the Diocese of Missouri and its congregations for moving the church from maintenance to mission. The decline in attendance in all mainline denominations (indeed all American denominations) forces on the church the question of identity and purpose: What are we here for?

serves as Christ served. Graduates of the Program for Theological Formation, whether ordained or not, act like yeast in the lump of dough, leavening the whole Church to understand itself in this way.

School for Congregational Development

The School for Congregational Development addresses the shift in congregational leadership, identity and mission necessary to meet the challenges facing the Church in this new context. God’s purpose for the church. ESM encourages congregations to send A deep trust that God has a purpose for teams of lay people to the School, as these the Church provides the foundation for the teams will be involved in very practical whole curriculum of ESM and its various exercises of identifying and understanding programs. Through its worship and service, a congregation’s history and culture and the Church participates in the sanctificaidentifying and engaging opportunities for tion of the world to God’s desire and purmission in the local community. pose for all people and the whole creation. The School for Congregational Development will help congregational leadership Program for Theological Formation (PTF) think of the life of the local congregation in When most people in this diocese terms of incarnating God’s purposes for the think of the Episcopal School for Ministry, world at the local level. they have in mind the three year program The School for Congregational Devel(PTF) that meets one weekend per month at opment meets one weekend a month, eight Eden Seminary. months a year for two years. In the minds of many, this program serves as the primary training ground for Making Disciples Conference those who will serve as deacons in the dioEvery year, in the late summer or early cese. While many of the recently ordained fall, ESM sponsors a single day conference deacons (and those aimed at providing resources for individuals ... to act like “in the process”) have to live out their lives as disciples of Jesus in attended, the PTF yeast in the the world. serves a much greater In 2014 the conference is scheduled lump of dough, purpose. for September 20 with Suzanne Guthrie, leavening the PTF trains stuwho has served the Episcopal church as whole Church dents to think of the parish priest, chilChurch at Eucharist dren’s priest, Christian as the continuation of the incarnation of Education consultant, Christ in the world. columnist on chilThe worship of the Church particidren’s spirituality and pates in Christ’s self-offering for the reas college (Vassar) and demption of the world; the church offers university (Cornell) from the earth and its own efforts for God’s chaplain. saving purposes. “My interest in In its ministry to the world, the Church mystical theology

began at the age of twenty-two ,” Suzanne writes, “when I read the Autobiography of Teresa of Avila. I’m interested in questions about how people ‘learn’ to discern layers of consciousness of the Holy. And I’m particularly fascinated by the unending mystery of prayer itself.” The conference will be held at Good Shepherd Church in Town and Country and will use their broadcast facilities to offer some form of online streaming.

Living With Empire: Jesus, demons and communities of resistance.

This course will be offered every other Thursday evening during the academic year as a joint effort with Eden Theological Seminary and Deaconess Anne House. Eden students will receive credit for Second Year Ministry Seminar. There are a limited number of spaces available to motivated members of the Diocese of Missouri. Contact the Dean for information.

Calendar

August 23 - New term begins for both the Program for Theological Formation (PTF) and the School for Congregational Development September 20 - Suzanne Guthrie at Making Disciples Conference Comprehensive information online at: diocesemo.org/ESM The Rev. Daniel Handschy is Dean of the Episcopal School for Ministry, and rector of the Episcopal Church of the Advent in Crestwood. In May 2012, he received a PhD in Historical Theology from Saint Louis University and is currently teaching Ethics as an adjunct professor at Eden Theological Seminary. “I enjoy the connection between teaching theology and practicing it in the parish ministry.,” he writes. “Advent has taught me how to be a priest and how to do theology. There is still plenty to learn.”

The Episcopal Diocese of Missouri

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Companion Diocese Committee

Diocese of Lui, South Sudan

South Sudan on the brink

With the political situation changing minute-by-minute, Evelyn Smith writes about the people of Lui, and what comes next.

Horrific and hard-to-read are the accounts of war and fighting in South Sudan. Since December 15, the country has been in turmoil following a political power struggle between President Salva Kiir and his ex-vice president Riek Machar. Although it has been a political fight, both men are from different ethnic tribes which complicates matters. Fighting continues with the mass killings of hundreds of civilians, despite the ceasefire agreement signed on January 23, 2014, especially near oil-rich towns of Bentiu, Unity State, and Bor. We have read about child soldiers being recruited, and women and children hiding in churches being attacked, raped, and killed. More than one million people have been forced to leave their homes.

How is Lui diocese affected?

All this is upsetting and difficult to understand especially since South Sudan began with such hope and excitement when it achieved independence from Sudan in July 2011. With all this negative news we continue to receive comforting messages from Lui and know that the people in Western Equatoria State are safe. Communication continues to be difficult although Bishop Stephen was able to send out an Easter greeting. Part of his message is posted on luinetwork. diocesemo.org

Are future mission trips planned?

People in the diocese have asked when weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll travel back to Lui. As of right now it is impossible to speculate. Safety of traveling missioners needs to be a top priority for all, and canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t be guaranteed at this time. Yes, mission work needs to happen, and if it means that we can only send funds to Lui then we will continue to pursue that route. MAKING DISCIPLES

A Litany for Peace in South Sudan

The weekly phone conference.

I have been privileged to be a part of a partners group who gather together by phone from all over the Anglican Communion on Fridays. AFRECS; the Rev. Ranjit Mathews, Episcopal Church officer for global relations and networking; partners from England, Canada, Australia and South Sudan all take part in sharing information and support, and advocate for the people of South Sudan. Every call starts and ends with prayer. This group shares concerns and brainstorms how we can get the message out to the community at large and share the information of the people in South Sudan who have been affected by war, who have become IDP ( internally displaced people ) living in camps, who are dying in the streets..

The relationship matters.

Our companion relationship with Lui is important to me and I have made 3 trips to South Sudan. Hopefully in the near future missioners from our diocese will be able to return to the country, and the work of building relationship with our Moru brothers and sisters will continue Evelyn Smith is the chairperson of the Companion Diocese Committee. Please see page 10 for links to online stories connected to this situation, including an Episcopal News Service profile of the weekly calls. Everyone is invited to read the group blog of the mission partners ( from Missouri, the U.K. and Sweden) on: LuiNetwork.diocesemo.org . The situation in South Sudan is fluid. Between the time this was written and the day it was set, a second peace treaty was signed by Kiir and Machar.

BUILDING CONGREGATIONS

Developed in this diocese for a day of prayer in February, and offered to the whole church for the May 18 churchwide day of prayer for South Sudan. Holy God, Creator of heaven and earth, Have mercy on us. Holy and Mighty, Redeemer of the world, Have mercy on us. Holy Immortal One, Sanctifier of the faithful, Have mercy on us. Holy, blessed and glorious Trinity, One God, Have mercy on us. Hear us when we cry to you for the people of South Sudan, How long, O God? Will you forget us forever? Hear us when we cry to you for those killed in the recent violence, How long, O God? Will you forget us forever? Hear us when we cry to you for the wounded, How long, O God? Will you forget us forever? Hear us when we cry to you for those who have lost their homes, How long, O God? Will you forget us forever? Hear us when we cry to you for those who mourn, How long, O God? Will you forget us forever? Hear us when we cry to you for those who have been raped, How long, O God? Will you forget us forever? Hear us when we cry to you for the internally displaced, the refugees, and the orphans, How long, O God? Will you forget us forever? Hear us when we cry to you for those who have committed violence and murder, How long, O God? Will you forget us forever? For aid workers who risk their lives to provide sanctuary, Hear our cry, O God, and listen to our prayer. For those who have taken in refugees from violence, Hear our cry, O God, and listen to our prayer. continued on next page

FOR THE LIFE OF THE WORLD

For the Life of the World For those who work for peace, Hear our cry, O God, and listen to our prayer.

sense of national unity. Show the light of your countenance and we shall be saved.

For the diplomats of the United Nations, the African Union and all involved in the peace process, Hear our cry, O God, and listen to our prayer.

Let your people in South Sudan again know peace. Show your servants your works, and your splendor to their children.

For the leaders of the nations, that they may have the wisdom and courage seek peace and justice, Hear our cry, O God, and listen to our prayer. We pray, O God, for the safety of our friends in Lui Diocese. Show the light of your countenance and we shall be saved. We pray for your holy Church in South Sudan that it may stand firm as a witness to your peace and reconciliation in a war-torn land. Show the light of your countenance and we shall be saved. We pray for Archbishop Daniel and the work of the Reconciliation Commission. Show the light of your countenance and we shall be saved. We pray for the bishops, priests and deacons of the Church in Sudan as they minister to their people in the face of great adversity. Show the light of your countenance and we shall be saved. We pray for the people of your Church, that they may choose the path of forgiveness over vengeance and be a powerful witness to your reconciling love. Show the light of your countenance and we shall be saved. We pray for Bishop Stephen and Lillian, for the clergy and people of the Diocese of Lui, for the Mothers’ Union, the teachers, catechists and all who long for your day of peace. Show the light of your countenance and we shall be saved. We pray for an end to tribal conflict and a new

Let the displaced return to their homes. Show your servants your works, and your splendor to their children. Let the leaders of the nation work for the common good. Show your servants your works, and your splendor to their children.

19 continued from last page first cure as Assistant Rector at the Church of the Epiphany, Washington, D.C. While she was in the Philippines, she and Christ exchanged letters. “He wrote to me while I was away, and the rest is history.” Chris and Melanie were married at Christ Church Cathedral September 2012, and are expecting Baby Slane to arrive in November. “I feel so blessed,” she proclaimed. Emmanuel Church in Webster Groves has called Melanie as Assistant Priest.

God’s hand visible.

St. Martin’s rector Jon Hall said the time was right, St. Martin’s was ready for a full time assistant. The vestry and search committee narrowed down their list of names, and Let the men and women of the cities and towns brought candidates in to interview. “We met and villages resume their livelihoods. Show your Chris, and the more I learned about him, the servants your works, and your splendor to their more I realized what a great fit he was for us.” children. Chris Slane is a lifelong Episcopalian. Grandson of a storied Hawaiian priest, with Let the children return to their schooling and deep Midwestern roots, he has degrees from play. Show your servants your works, and your both Doane College and the University of Nesplendor to their children. braska in Lincoln, and VTS. He was ordained to the transitional diaconate this April 27th in Let the gardeners grow food and the herdsOmaha Nebraska. men tend their cattle. Show your servants your At St. Martin’s, Chris will oversee children works, and your splendor to their children. and youth programs. “We already have a great intrastructure at St. Martin’s,” said Fr. Jon. Increase the prosperity of the nation, provide “Parents, teachers, and volunteers involved in water and all things needful, and gather the peo- Sunday school, Vacation Bible School, youth ple under their mango trees. Show your servants ministry and groups,” the church was just lackyour works, and your splendor to their children. ing that one shepherd at the center. “And, really, anytime you’re doing minisLet your people again sing with joy. Show your try with young people, you’re doing ministry servants your works, and your splendor to their with families.” Chris will share in the preaching children. rota and play a significant role in new member ministry. “A part of the job will be opening the Hear us as we pray for South Sudan, conversation about outreach, not only through And let our cry come to you. family ministry, but as a whole congregation.” Both Melanie and Chris begin their posiHoly God, tions in the diocese on July 1. Holy and Mighty, Holy Immortal One, Have mercy on us.

Seek is mailed at no cost to diocesan members and friends. Get on our mailing list by post, email, or phone. Diocese of Missouri, 1210 Locust St., St. Louis MO 63103 info@diocesemo.org 314-231-1220

Next issue: mid-August

Canon to the Ordinary Dan Smith. newly ordained Chris Slane, and Fr. Jon Hall in Omaha.

The Episcopal Diocese of Missouri

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For the Life of the World

Why I love praying in SIGN (Language) A top 7 list from Emily Hillquist Davis, vicar of St. Thomas Deaf Episcopal Church, a church that has been worshiping in Sign Language since 1876. •

•

In sign language you HAVE to look at the One you’re talking to so they can SEE what you mean. Looking UP to communicate with God, I become knee-high: a toddler reaching up tapping, yanking on my daddy’s jacket—or my Grandmother’s—to get their attention.

sorrow when I’m hurting. •

When I pray from knee-high, looking up, I know better what it means to relate to God as “Abba,” “Daddy,” a caring parent, as Jesus taught.

•

In Sign Language you become what you’re talking about. In order to show it, you have to BE it.

HOW WE LIVE. (lex orandi, lex credendi … lex vivendi.) How blessed am I to have to enter physically into the meaning of our prayers in my work with St. Thomas Deaf Church! Sign Language is a transformative gift for any who are brave enough to let the Word become flesh in a very literal sense. Watch the TED talk by Amy Cuddy: “Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are” & the presentation by conductor Benjamin Zander on the “Art of Possibility” found at poptech. org (esp. the first 5 mins & again at about 10:50 where he suggests we respond to our mistakes by throwing up our arms and exclaiming “How fascinating!”).

I’m not alone. My Companion is there not only to help me, but is curious about I’m fascinated by research demonstratmy perspective; excited by my crazy ing how our physical postures influence our questions. body chemistry and elicit corresponding emotions. Praying like this, I can’t believe God Instead would have anything other than love for of harping me. on dogma, Episcopalians Whenever I tap to get God’s attention, claim WHAT God looks me full in the face, immediWE PRAY IS ately, all mine, glad to be drawn into a WHAT WE moment of intimacy. God is touched BELIEVE, and —perhaps proud, perhaps full of pity, or that becomes

The Rev. Dr. Emily Davis is vicar of St. Thomas Deaf Church and assistant at St. Martin’s Church in Ellisville.

The Great Thanksgiving — Bishop Smith's Visitation — St. Martin's, December 8, 2013

The path to serving Christ leads back through Missouri was Grace, my parents took me to church every Sunday,” said Melanie. “They still attend Grace. I did all of the youth activities there: Sunday school, mission trips, choir, We have been following her contriaccolyting, confirmation class--you name it. butions to this diocese as a youth leader at I loved Church. I still love Church.” Grace, as a peer minister at Episcopal CamShe went to Mizzou and was very pus Ministry, while she blogged her minisactive in Episcopal Campus Ministry. After try at a pineapple farm in the Philippines, graduating, she volunteered in May 2009 for through degrees and ordinations…and now Waters of Hope, the bicycle ride around the Melanie is returning to serve the people of diocese to raise money for water projects in Emmanuel Episcopal Church. Sudan, organized by (at that time) Mizzou’s campus ministry chaplain Joe Chambers. Ministry path wends through diocese. One of the riders she met was Chris Slane. Melanie Jianakoplos grew up at Grace We followed Mel’s of discernment Church in Kirkwood. “My childhood church and work on a pineapple collective in the Christopher and Melanie Jianakoplos Slane begin assistant positions at St. Martin’s and Emmanuel Church in July.

MAKING DISCIPLES

BUILDING CONGREGATIONS

Philippines with the Young Adult Service Corps of the Episcopal Church. “This is an amazing program that more young people need to know about,” she said. “It changed my life.”

Mysterious and wondrous ways.

Melanie received her M.Div in 2013 from Virginia Theological Seminary, was ordained to the priesthood, and took a

FOR THE LIFE OF THE WORLD

continued on page 19