Sept 2016 Connections

Connections news • ideas • events September 2016

Issue 5 Vol. 3

It is easier to love humanity as a whole than to love one’s neighbor ERIC HOFFER

Love your neighbor as yourself but don’t take down your fence

The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself.

There is no commandment greater than these.

MARK 12:31

CARL SANDBURG

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Won’t you be my ~ MR. ROGERS

The good neighbor looks beyond the external accidents and discerns those inner qualities that make all men human and, therefore, brothers.

MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR.

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A good neighbor is one that does not put a password on their wifi.

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Loving your neighbor means helping those in need even if they don’t live next door!

VEGGIETALES

The Bible tells us to love our neighbors, and also to love our enemies; probably because generally they are the same people.

G.K.

CHESTERTON

Do not waste time bothering whether you ‘love’ your neighbor; act as if you did.

As soon as we do this we find one of the great secrets.

When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him.

C.S. LEWIS

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Front porches and connecting

he house my mom grew up in is on MacDougal Street in Fostoria, Ohio. That house has one distinguishing feature. It has a great front porch. Her family always gathered out on that front porch where they would talk to all of the neighbors who walked by.

In 1969, my immediate family was living in Kansas City.

However, we were at my grandparent’s house the night The Eagle landed on the moon. Our whole family was there – my grandparents, parents and cousins. In fact, one of my cousins was born during the moonwalk so we called her Miss Moon for years. We were all sitting in the dark front room of the house; huddled around the television and watching it all unfold. I remember taking my grandfather’s binoculars out onto the front porch and looking up at the moon through the binoculars to see if I could see Neil Armstrong. There were other neighbors out on the street that night and I swear I wasn’t the only one looking up. That porch holds many great memories for my family.

When my grandmother passed away, my mom received a modest inheritance. She decided to use it to add a front porch onto her house just like the one on McDougal Street. Because of modern building codes, she couldn’t build it exactly the same. But it’s close and it’s a very nice front porch. I sit on it often and neighbors always stop by to talk.

We are so disassociated from our neighbors these days that I can’t help but wonder if it all started when we stopped building great front porches? Porches where we sat with our families, talking into the night and waving to our neighbors.

Instead, we started building decks in our backyards where it is more private. On one hand, moving from the front porch to the back deck seems like a small thing. On the other hand, it is very symbolic of our tendency to isolate ourselves from each other.

In fact, it seems like all of the places where we typically used to spend time with our neighbors are having trouble surviving. Bowling alleys, pool halls, nightclubs, bridge clubs,

PTAs, various fraternal clubs and organizations. Even neighborhood pubs and mom & pop restaurants have morphed into sports bars and chain restaurants in strip malls. It’s no wonder that attendance in churches of almost every denomination is on the decline.

One of the few growing denominations is the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS). You know, the church that’s out walking around in your neighborhood? I realize that the Episcopal Church is never going to be about door-to-door “conversation” and I’m not suggesting that we go there. However, it does make you wonder how much of their success comes from simply being out there and engaging with people in the neighborhood.

Of course, as Christians, our neighborhood is much more than just a geographical area. When Jesus was asked, “Who is my neighbor?” he told the parable of the Good Samaritan.

Jesus most certainly used a Samaritan as an example because they were unclean outcasts who were despised enemies of the Jews.

So, if our neighbors are not just those who reside within our geographical neighborhoods, but are also the outcasts and our enemies, then we really have our work cut out for us. If we live in a society where it is difficult to connect with those who are like us, then how much more challenging is it for us to connect with the outcasts and our enemies? Please remember that in these times of division, fear and hatred, it is more important than ever to reach out to all of our neighbors, no matter who they are. I believe that our connection with God is directly tied to our connection with our neighbors.

David Dreisbach serves as Director of Communications for the Diocese of Southern Ohio.

Contact him at ddreisbach@diosohio.org.

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FOLLOWING JESUS L

into the neighborhood

ate summer is not the best time for official visitations, so this is when Margaret and I can enjoy Sunday mornings together in the pew. Recently we were at the cathedral and heard an excellent sermon by Forward Movement director Scott Gunn on this portion of a passage from Colossians: “Now you must get rid of all such things – anger, wrath, malice, slander and abusive language” (3:8). As Scott reminded us, our current political atmosphere is being deeply marred by these very things. He asked us to consider how we could disagree about policy and direction without vilifying one another. Answer: Imagine one good reason why someone you know is going to vote differently from you. This exercise in empathy need not lead to agreement, but it will steer us toward communion and away from anger and malice.

The point here is that we as Christians are always called to reconciliation, no matter how much we may disagree about direction or policy. Life in Christ is about communion even in the midst of disagreement. We have learned over the years how vital this is for our life together in the church. But we are now beginning to realize that this principle – reconcili-

ation wherever possible for the common good – impels us to explore relationship with the neighbors that surround us.

Why? Because the ministry of reconciliation knows no bounds.

Reconciliation with the church leads us to reconciliation with the world, and the world encounters us first and foremost in the people, businesses, non-profits, government agencies and faith communities that are close by. That’s what “neighbor” means: whoever is “nigh,” that is, close by.

This is obviously true for our life together in the church.

When we gather for worship, we should be primarily focused on reconciliation and the practice of forbearance. That is the whole point of church – to be a sort of incubator for a new attitude to the neighbor. But we can only be such an incubator if we are constantly pushing outwards, resisting every temptation to be simply about ourselves. The temptation to turn inward is great, despite all our desires to welcome new people.

We all want to minimize challenging differences in race, class and age if this means changing our ways.

This mirrors what happens in so many of our neighborhoods, both urban and rural. We choose to live among people

who are like us, and so we segregate ourselves along racial, economic and even political lines.

Even so, most of us don’t know our neighbors, however much they may reflect our demographic profile. We live in a radically privatized society, and have few built-in opportunities to engage with the people who are next door.

But isn’t this also true of most of our congregations? So many of us are completely distanced from the neighborhoods that surround us. Sometimes this is because the neighborhood has changed, and the congregants come from other places. It is not uncommon in the Episcopal Church to find a white congregation in an African-American neighborhood, or an affluent African-American congregation in a poor neighborhood of the same ethnicity.

Obviously, there are racial and classist reasons for these disjunctions between parish and neighborhood. But that’s not the whole problem. Many of us are located in extremely homogenous neighborhoods, and yet are disconnected from what is really going on around us. And no wonder! We are all mired in matters that seem to have to do with our individual institutional survival, and so feel unable to rise to the real, life-giving challenge the Holy Spirit is presenting us with, namely, to follow Jesus into whatever is around us, and to put our survival to one side. What other faith community nearby can we reach out to (Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhism, Hindu, etc.)?

What local agencies and institutions can we partner with to become more visible, more trusted, and more effective in our neighborhood?

When Jesus says, “love your neighbor as yourself,” it’s about paying attention, showing interest, offering help, partnering where possible, expressing disagreement honestly and with respect. And all this without choosing whom our neighbor is.

Whoever is nearby counts. This doesn’t mean that we don’t look after people far away – absolutely not. But unless we practice hands-on partnership with people and institutions that are close by, we will not be able to imagine and pursue authentic partnerships with people and institutions in other lands. We have evidence of this right in our own diocese. Look at the people and parishes in Southern Ohio that have forged deep relationships in Honduras, Russia and Liberia, and you will find an answering commitment to connection with their local community.

I often talk about the embrace of connection as a pillar of our tradition. But connection, while a universal reality, remains an abstract idea until we break through our denial and begin breaking down the walls that separate us. This is what Jesus did constantly – he was always available to the people who were around him, and often actively reached out to them. It’s important to note that Jesus was not trying to fill pews, but to transform lives by bringing them into a new

kind of relationship with one another. Isn’t that what the Holy Spirit is dragging and driving us toward right now? Are we not being forced outwards to make friends with the neighbors we find ourselves among?

I call this following Jesus into the neighborhood. Of course this is not only about gaining the trust of individual neighbors. It’s about learning how a whole neighborhood works.

Who are the major players? Are people working together on issues of common concern, or are the barriers to communication, let alone cooperation, too great? Where is there light, and where are there pockets of darkness? To what extent are people of faith working together across denominational lines?

What assets and resources embedded in the community are lying fallow and unused? What are stories people tell about themselves and their community? What is our place in all of this?

So how can we follow Jesus into the neighborhood? This will look different for every congregation and every individual disciple. I know of one congregation that has been walking its neighborhood, two by two, and then gathering to pray for the people and situations they encountered. Another has offered its kitchen to someone trying to start a catering business.

Many of our congregations have been engaging their neighborhoods through community dinners and offering space for community gardens. Some have begun to send representatives to their local neighborhood association, and others have asked how they can help the local schools with tutoring and family support. For some, it simply begins with a friendly call on the Methodist church across the street.

Note that none of these is an example of outreach. Outreach is fine as far as it goes, but, as the word itself implies, it is about forays from an inside to the outside. When we do outreach, we remain centered on our own foundation, choosing what resources we will share and with whom we will share them, all the while retaining our own separate existence.

Following Jesus into the neighborhood is an entirely different matter. It requires a quantum leap from locating our center in ourselves to locating it in the neighbors that surround us, come what may.

Merciful God, you have commanded us to love our neighbors as ourselves; help us to love our neighborhoods as well, finding Jesus there. In his name we ask it.

The Rt. Rev. Thomas E. Breidenthal is the Bishop of the Diocese of Southern Ohio. Contact him at tbreidenthal@diosohio.org.

Some of the PIMIL sponsored students in Liberia.

MINISTRY IN LIBERIA an expression of mission with our neighbors

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inistry in Liberia is in consonance with the 1835 General Convention of the Episcopal Church, when the Church declared itself to be the “Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society”. Just a year later, the Episcopal Church established a mission to Liberia by sending several missionaries. Thus, Liberia is believed to be the first foreign mission of The Episcopal Church of the United States. Now nearly two centuries later, numerous activities have been established by the Episcopal Church, such as the instrument of the covenant committee and support of Cuttington University. Dioceses have also established companion relationships.

In the Diocese of Southern Ohio, two instruments have been the driving force in carrying on ministry in the Diocese of Liberia. The first is the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) adopted by the General Convention in 2006 and subsequently, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the General Convention in 2015. Second, the Report on Liberian Discernment to the 139th Diocesan Convention by the National and World Mission Commission encourages us “to foster stronger ties with our fellow Anglicans, build upon existing and emerging activities initiated by individuals and congregations …

The Diocese of Southern Ohio will continue to encourage grass roots relationships with the Episcopal Church of Liberia …” It is exciting to see the bonding of congregations, individuals and families with the Church in Liberia in several ways: infrastructure, pen pal relationships, relief, and education.

INFRASTRUCTURE

Through participation in PIMIL (Partners-in-Ministry-inLiberia), St. John’s, Worthington, has undertaken the repairs of the Episcopal elementary school in Robert’s Port which was severely damaged during 14 years of civil war in Liberia.

Funds raised by St. John’s have replaced doors, secured the windows, provided arm-chairs for the students in the classrooms and now is replacing the unhealthy and damaged asbestos roofing with quality corrugated zinc. The principal of the school wrote, “Your intervention in the reroof project of the Elementary School was timely … the hooks that should hold the asbestos sheets are very old now and we experience constant leakages whenever there is a storm.” The Bishop of Liberia, the Most Rev. Jonathan B. B. Hart expressed his gratitude to St. John’s rector for the project: “This comes to express thanks and appreciation to you and members of your church on behalf of the Episcopal Church of Liberia for your contribution to the ministry of our church … Please be assured of our prayers for you and the members of your congregation so that we will have a cordial working relation.”

PEN PAL RELATIONSHIPS

A pen pal relationship is established between the Sunday school children of Trinity, Columbus, and the Sunday school children of St. John’s Irving Memorial Episcopal Church in Robert’s Port. Letters, photos and gifts have been exchanged.

The vicar of St. John’s acknowledged the special funds from the Trinity School to celebrate the joy of Christmas: “Over two hundred and fifty children participated; including other churches and non-Christians.” A pen pal relationship also has been established between a PIMIL student, Diana Yengbeh, and the Sunday school of the sponsoring congregation of St. Andrew’s, Pickerington.

The Rev. Abby Flemister at the PIMIL 7th annual International Luncheon and Silent Auction in July. Photos

by Tammie Vanoss.

RELIEF

With the outbreak of the Ebola virus in Liberia in 2014, the diocese, through the National and World Mission Commission, joined the PIMIL-led rice campaign to send over $4,000 to the nearly 90 PIMIL families to sustain them during the epidemic. A beneficiary expressed gratitude for receiving the charity funds: “… All hopes of celebrating Christmas in the ‘regular Liberian way’ was dim. … It was used to place food on the table of my family.”

EDUCATION

PIMIL broke the previous 100 student barrier by sponsoring one hundred and seven students in 2015. This shattering of the “glass ceiling” was possible because of successful annual fundraising of $15,000 that gave PIMIL the opportunity to offer scholarship assistance to 16 of the over 2,000 Ebola orphans to attend school. Here too, the diocese, through the N&WM Commission, offered a grant to assist the effort. The new goal of PIMIL toward Ebola orphans is to support 100 students. We are well on our way toward that goal, raising $16,292 at the PIMIL 7th annual International Luncheon and Silent Auction fundraiser in July. Proceeds from this fundraising benefit both post-Civil War students and Ebola orphans.

The Rev. Abby Flemister is a retired priest at St. Matthew’s, Westerville. She also serves as PIMIL Director. Contact Abby at aflemister@insight.rr.com.

Centerpieces at PIMIL’s annual international luncheon featured the flags of the US and Liberia.

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Being a neighbor

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his summer in Luke’s gospel we’ve heard the parable of the Good Samaritan. Jesus makes it clear that to inherit eternal life; one must love the neighbor as much as we love ourselves.

Across the diocese this question, “Who is my neighbor?” has been the subject of Bible studies, sermons and conversations at pub tables.

Out of our conversations at Christ Church, Ironton, the following account of the meaning of neighbor and the provision of mercy inspired and touched me.

Being a neighbor takes time, and for me it requires reordering my priorities. A quick look at my day planner says I value my schedule over simply being available.

My checkbook says I value creature comforts more than I value service to my neighbors.

A woman was recently retired after years of work as an oncology nurse at a large metropolitan hospital. She was looking forward to retirement and having time to do some special things she’d missed as a full-time caregiver. One of the things she wanted to do was to be more involved with a family Christmas custom. Each year, she and her husband placed a calendar and card in their neighbors’ mailboxes before the New Year. They knew most of the neighbors by face and maybe name, but hadn’t spent time with their neighbors since their children were small.

With more time to commit to the family practice, this past Christmas, the woman hand-delivered the calendars to her neighbors’ doors. One particular man invited her in. “I’ve always wanted to get to know you,” he said. “My wife and I have appreciated your calendars over the years.

We always thought we would call on you, but somehow the time slipped by.” The man went on to say that his wife had died several years before and he was always lonely during the Christmas season. He also explained that he was presently receiving radiation for his own cancer.

As an oncology nurse, the woman knew what he was facing.

During Christmas week, she baked a custard pie and dropped it off. Her neighbor encouraged her to stay a bit and talk. They each shared stories about their marriage, children, and work.

The man recovered and soon was dropping off bouquets of flowers or cookies from the grocery. A friendship bloomed.

When a week or so passed and the woman hadn’t seen or heard from her neighbor, she was concerned. A visit revealed that the man’s cancer had returned and he was depressed and frightened.

As his condition worsened, the woman did what the man’s children couldn’t do. She arrived each morning to feed and shower her neighbor. At night, she and her husband would help him into bed. One morning, the man said, “It’s time for Hospice, will you help me get enrolled? My children can’t bear to discuss it.”

Even with Hospice care, the woman went every day to spend time with her neighbor. She said she cared for him as she would have wanted her own father to be cared for.

Confined to bed, the man finally needed complete care, so in

between the hospice nurse’s visits, the woman bathed, fed and read to her neighbor. Within a few months, the man died, and his family asked the woman to be a reader at his funeral. She had become more than a neighbor, she was a friend.

As the woman told this story, tears glistened in her eyes. “I never imagined how hand-delivering our annual holiday calendar would result in a life-changing relationship for me and for my neighbor. I thought when I retired my nursing days would come to an end. Evidently God had other plans.”

As the woman patted her eyes dry, I knew I’d heard a sacred story, which might possibly have been the best illustration of what it means to love a stranger as much as one loves oneself. To love another as much as one would love their own parent seems to be the gold standard for Jesus’ commandment.

Most of us can’t nurse a hospice patient, but we do know how to peel potatoes for a casserole, or buy a box of cookies at the grocery store. We all know how to sit with another and listen, with no agenda other than the offer of presence.

Being a neighbor takes time, and for me it requires reordering my priorities. A quick look at my day planner says I value my schedule over simply being available. My checkbook says I value creature comforts more than I value service to my neighbors.

Listening to the woman’s story has inspired me to look for opportunities to connect with others, to be present, to remember that each encounter holds more possibilities for relationship than I could ever imagine. Every opportunity for relationship also holds the possibility for transformation – for me, for another, for our lives, our community, maybe even the world.

Jesus says the neighbor is the one who shows mercy. In the woman’s story, she extended her gift of care giving, which looked like mercy and exhibited love.

The Rev. Sallie Schisler serves as Priest-in-charge of Christ Church, Ironton.

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BETHANY

REDEFINING THE NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL

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hen Jesus answers the question “Who is my neighbor?” in the parable of the Good Samaritan, he challenges us to think not simply of that person who looks like us, or who lives next door to us, or who drives the same sort of car we do. He challenges us to move beyond those visible connections and to look for “connections in diversity.”

In light of this parable Bethany School

embodies “neighborliness” by providing a safe and caring environment for children and their families with various backgrounds. This practice has resulted in making Bethany unique in Cincinnati schools and among the 1,200 Episcopal schools nationwide, and also serves as a model for the diocesan community of Southern Ohio for how differences that may draw people apart can actually bring people together in the spirit of neighborli-

ness that transcends boundaries.

In May I chaperoned the eighth-grade class on its annual trip to Washington, D.C. Bethany School students eagerly await this opportunity from their earliest years. Whether it’s the actual sites they visit in Washington D.C. or the long bus ride to and from our nation’s capital, or the fun they experience staying with each other in the hotel, this trip is an important event that glues a class together as

they prepare for graduation and life beyond.

The second morning of the trip I watched the first students arrive at the breakfast buffet at the hotel. The table filled up over a ten-minute period as students sleepily arrived in the dining area. Three boys and three girls sat at one table.

Justin, Lucy, Chris, Alexa, Kristen and Krishna ate their breakfast and joked with each other.

The students’ ethnic diversity encapsulated the powerful significance of a Bethany School education. At one table, these students represented ethnic heritages from Africa, Europe, Asia and India. The amazing thing is that this is not unusual at Bethany School.

From its very start the school has been diverse in the ethnic makeup of the student body in addition to a significant socio-economic and religious diversity woven into the mix. Today the student body is just under 50% African American, 35% European American, and healthy representations of students with Hispanic, Asian and multiracial backgrounds. Although students predominantly come from Christian traditions, denominational affiliation varies widely, along with students who identify as Hindu, Muslim or no religious identity. Episcopalians make up only a small number of families. But, it is the distinctly neighborly attitude that attracts families to Bethany, and it is this neighborliness that lies at the heart of Episcopal belief and practice.

For many of us, going to school in our childhood meant walking down the street and going to the neighborhood school. Although we may have

received a wonderful education in academics, we also may not have had the opportunity to expand our horizons in connecting with students outside of our immediate neighborhood or outside of our cultural or ethnic or socioeconomic or religious community. In the interconnected world that we live in it is that much more vital that we seek those opportunities to overcome our differences simply through such everyday activities as going to school.

As Bethany School prepares to embark on an ambitious building project to update its campus, it is also important that the bricks and mortar reflect the history of diversity that has permeated this community in such profound ways for so many generations of students and their families.

Even now the school continues to seek out and to embody the true nature of what it means to be a neighborhood school. For a student at Bethany School, my neighbor may live in a totally different part of Cincinnati than where I reside. My neighbor may eat different foods at home than I do. My neighbor may worship in a different manner than I am used to. My neighbor may have a different skin color than I do. But, as members of the Bethany School community, my neighbor and I are a part of a beloved family that seeks strength in its diversity.

David Gould serves as Assistant Head of School at Bethany School. You can contact him at gould@bethanyschool.org.

For over 100 years Bethany School, the only Episcopal school in Ohio, has quietly cultivated a community of students and families from one year to the next. Recently, the school has started to more actively reach out to alumni and families with ties to the school. If you or someone you know is an alumnus of Bethany, please visit http:// bethanyschool.org/ alumni/ for more information or to update your contact information, or call Margie Kessler at 513.771.7462 ext. 100. We are eager to connect with our graduates and to have them share with others what sort of impact Bethany School had upon them as they grew up.

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Memories of teenage years living in Saudi Arabia.

Community

begins in the face of a stranger

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hat is the name of the street you grew up on?” “What elementary school did you attend?” These are a couple of typical security questions you might see when setting up online banking or bill payment. I always have to sidestep those questions, though, because my answers are a bit…complicated. Growing up, my neighborhood was everywhere and nowhere; as the daughter of an engineer, we were constantly on the move, going from project to project, town to town. By the time I graduated from high school, I had lived in seven states and two countries and attended about a dozen different schools.

Moving meant figuring out the culture of the new

place and how to fit in (or at least not stick out too far).

I remember when we lived in Texas we were required to call our teachers “ma’am” and “sir”. The first time I did that in Michigan, though, I was sent to the principal’s office for being a smart aleck. Our next move was to Louisiana and back to the traditional southern respect.

I became extremely adept at treading lightly and anticipating the reactions of those around me; in a way, I was a chameleon, blending in with the environment and the expectations of my neighbors.

Our biggest move both geographically and culturally was to Saudi Arabia. The name of that place probably brings certain images to mind, but an outsider’s view can-

not even come close to doing it justice. To say I loved Saudi is an understatement – I ADORED it there. Living in Udhailiyah made me feel like I was part of something, probably because it was the ultimate melting pot. My friends were from the US, South America, England, the Middle East and the Far East.

There was the gardener, PB, who was a part of the famed Gurkha fighting force back in Nepal. Our dentist was from England and we had nurses from Sri Lanka. We learned Arabic and French from a Lebanese teacher. I square-danced with partners from Portugal and Sweden. I babysat children from Scotland and the Philippines. We were everyone.

We learned about tolerance. When public drinking fountains were turned off during Ramadan, we didn’t get upset because our freedoms were being violated, we simply respected our Islamic neighbors enough to eat and drink inside. The Saudi security officers let us have our Christmas parties (Santa would go from house to house in a golf cart) and I once even found a nativity scene snow globe at an Arab souk.

We learned about community. Our particular camp was quite far inland and isolated from the rest of the country, so there is a certain amount of dependence on each other in those circumstances. There wasn’t a lot of entertainment, either – TV only ran a few hours each day and was heavily censored, as were movies – so we spent time with each other, getting to understand and appreciate our differences. As another expat brat said, “Living there didn’t change me. It formed me. It’s

not that I accept other cultures; it’s that I never question their validity in the first place.”

We truly believed in the legitimacy of our friends’ beliefs and would have fought hard against anyone who disputed them; and yet we still felt the freedom to have our own set of values and norms. I think our ability to embrace each other in this way was because we were curious about our friends – it’s hard to hate the familiar. Part of the divisiveness of the current American culture is the lack of healthy curiosity about what really makes each other tick; it’s easier to dismiss your enemies when you don’t see them as actual living, breathing people. For all the oversharing that takes place on social media, I don’t believe we really know (or care to know) one another.

Although I am proudly American, the culture shock back in the US was a huge surprise. I felt small and unnecessary. The sense of community that so permeated everyday life in Saudi was not present; things were homogenized and sanitized and rather colorless. Even decades after leaving the Middle East, there is a tremendous sense of loss and I grieve the sense of belonging that I left behind.

But community can be everywhere and can be created in the simplest ways. Talking to a young woman in line at the grocery store led to the discovery that she grew up just a few miles away from the boarding school I attended in Arizona.

Complimenting a fellow traveler’s shoes on public transport led to a discussion on our mutual fears for our daughters starting middle school.

We are more alike than we often want to believe. We are all lonely to some degree, and we all just want to be heard no matter our skin tone or belief system – THAT is the shared experience that can be a starting point. There is nothing quite like the experience of recognizing a kindred soul in the face of a stranger. That is how community begins.

Tammie Vanoss serves as the Digital Communications and IT/ Data Specialist for the Diocese of Southern Ohio. She is also a regular contributor to the Episcopal Café (www.episcopalcafe.com).

You can contact Tammie at tvanoss@diosohio.org.

Tammie’s visa, with just a few of the stamps received entering and leaving Saudi Arabia.

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“Háályá Ayóo Díyín” – Because Jesus is Holy, We Gather

The hospitality area at St. Christopher’s, Bluff, UT

ne of the wonderful gifts of sabbatical is the re-discovery of familiar neighborhoods and the chance to experience the unfamiliar neighborhoods that impact our lives. The second week of June gave me an opportunity to be a pilgrim alongside our Navajo brothers and sisters, a heretofore-unfamiliar experience. My time there coincided with the 40th anniversary of The Episcopal Church in Navajoland. It was a privilege to join David Thomson and John Grate, both from the Native American Council at Christ Church Cathedral, for the Navajoland Convocation (we would call it Convention), the theme of which was “Because Jesus is Holy, We Gather”.

During the weekend event, deep conversation occurred regarding addiction, one of the most significant challenges faced by folks on the reservation. Alcoholism in particular is rampant, and proves a difficult disease to combat. The Navajo who are in recovery remember becoming alcoholics very easily. One of the goals of the church in Navajoland is to provide pathways for recovery. During the Convocation, workshops were held to give participants a chance to talk about the deep wounds that have occurred as a result of addictions and violence. For some, the pathway to healing and recovery began.

As an observer, I was reminded that those affected by alcoholism are found

everywhere. Many of us can recount stories of pain or wounds we carry based on experiences with loved ones who are alcoholics. Around us every day – on the streets, in our workplaces, in our homes – are folks worthy of our prayers and encouragement towards health. I began to wonder, “What is my attitude towards addicts in general? What is my church doing to support people in recovery, to encourage people on the path to recovery, and to support people seeking relief from addiction?”

After the Convocation, at All Saints’ Church in the outskirts of Farmington, New Mexico, I spent a few days with a Navajo priest Cathlena Plummer, their rector, and LaCinda Constant, a Navajo laywoman. These two indigenous women graciously shared their joys and challenges of living on, and working with folks who live on the reservation, and provided opportunities for me to be with others and hear stories. The trip was a kind of pilgrimage, during which I encountered stories of several congregations in the Diocese of Southern Ohio who have had or continue to have significant ministry connections with Navajoland.

Life on the reservation is layered because one is a member of a sovereign nation and also a resident of a state and an American citizen. All of these geopolitical entities encounter each other in odd ways, and if one lives ‘on the border’, it can be even more challenging to navigate. I wondered again, “What is the infrastructure that my neighbors need to navigate who have limited resources or rely on government services? How is it possible for a person on the margins of economic health to keep a job and meet all of the reporting requirements of our helping institutions, including the government?”

It was my privilege to travel a good bit of the reservation, from St. Christopher’s in Bluff, Utah, where a blue corn growing project and hospitality house program are beginning, to Good Shepherd in Fort Defiance, where a growing microenterprise is housed. Our Navajo neighbors are creative and striving to find ways to provide economic sustainability for their families and their churches. The riches of creation are visible in Navajoland, and the capacity of the community to explore self-supporting ministries is dependent upon encouragement from others. They don’t need to be ‘fixed’ and they don’t need to be ‘rescued’ from their situation. What they need, and what all of our neighborhoods need, are partners for the journey. I began to wonder, “How am I a partner on the journey for my neighbors here in Cincinnati? How can I be a partner on the journey for folks in Navajoland?”

The beautiful blend of indigenous culture and Christian faith can be inspirational to us, as we strive to engage our neighborhoods. I was reminded that we are not called to be separate from the community, but rather we are called to embrace our neighborhood and our neighbors, like many of

A poster still on display at St. Mary’s of the Moonlight demonstrates the deep connection the congregation feels with their neighbors in Southern Ohio at Trinity, Hamilton. our congregations do, and find ways to grow together. What is God inviting me to be and/or do in response to my pilgrimage?

This is a question I will work with for a long time. Hopefully there will be opportunities to journey with my neighbors in ways that are life giving for all of us. And indeed the place where I find sustenance week after week, is in our gathering, ‘Because Jesus is Holy.’

The Rev. Anne Reed served as the Canon for Mission in the Diocese of Southern Ohio for seven years, until August 2016. You can contact Anne at dcnareed@ gmail.com.

Useful resources: Alcoholics Anonymous http://www.aa.org/ Episcopal Recovery Ministries http://episcopalrecovery.org/ Bridges out of Poverty by Ruby Payne Toxic Charity by Robert Lupton Bridges out of poverty training http://www.ahaprocess.com/ State of Ohio resources http://mha.ohio.gov/

Go, and do likewise

From the parable of the Good Samaritan:

“Which of these three, do you think, was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of the robbers?” He said, “The one who showed him mercy.” Jesus said to him, “Go and do likewise.” (Luke 10:36-37)

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“Go and do likewise.” It’s just four words, a brief command, but not always easy to follow. Sometimes the victims of injustice are indeed battered and bleeding, their wounds fully visible. Other times, the wounds may be obscured by political rhetoric or psychological distance. And in the case of American racism, many of us find it difficult to acknowledge our roles as both perpetrators and wounded.

We are all tangled up in this unholy mess, but how are we called to be neighbors, to “go and do likewise,” in the midst of it? Perhaps one small way of “doing” is to pursue positive change within our own sphere(s) of influence, whatever they may be. Having spent the past decade working with children and youth in the church, I am fully convinced of the importance and necessity of ongoing anti-racist engagement in children’s ministries.

Unlike predominantly black congregations, predominantly white churches have the privilege of being able to avoid racerelated issues much of the time – but this avoidance constitutes both a failure to follow Christ’s way of justice and dignity for all and a failure to equip young people to live courageously in a society saturated with racism. Just as children of color

have to develop coping and countering strategies for survival in a racist society, white children can and should be taught to recognize and counter racist language, actions and structures as best they can. And indeed, whether or not adults intentionally teach children about race and racism, education is happening (for better or, more commonly, for worse).

When adults stay quiet about issues of race it doesn’t mean that children won’t notice racism around them; but it does mean that children will internalize the message that they should quietly accept things as they are and not raise questions. Rather than remaining silent and thus reinforcing passive acceptance of racist institutions and practices, we are called to engage in the work of anti-racism in our parishes. To that end, I offer this list of basic questions and strategies as a starting point for the parish that seeks to honor its children by equipping them to resist racism as an integral component of their lived faith.

• Do not avoid topics of race, ethnicity, and/or skin color.

Don’t tell kids that it’s not okay to notice or talk about these things. Answer questions as honestly and clearly as possible.

• Pay attention to the artwork that decorates the church (in the sanctuary, classrooms, hallways, etc.). Are images of Jesus, angels, saints and other figures diverse in their coloring or homogeneous?

• In Bibles specifically, do the illustrations tend to show “good” people with lighter skin than “bad” people? Is Jesus always depicted as the lightest-skinned person in a group?

• Make sure that all the materials you use with children reflect the diversity of human skin colors (for example: bandages, baby dolls, craft figures, crayons).

• Avoid using language of darkness and light to talk about sin/evil and innocence/moral purity.

• To the extent that it is possible, are people of color part of the leadership and teaching team? Do kids see diverse examples of adult leadership and mature faith?

• Who are the heroes we hold up in our collective consciousness, both past and present? Celebrate heroes of diverse identities.

• Point out and discuss instances of everyday racism, and ask children and youth to reflect on their Christian responsibility to promote justice and dignity for all people.

• Engage opportunities to emphasize the global nature of our church, the Episcopal Church, as one part of the worldwide and diverse Anglican Communion.

• Pay attention to how groups of children organize, asso-

Suggestions for further reading: The First R: How Children Learn Race and Racism by Debra Van Ausdale & Joe Feagin What If All the Kids are White? Anti-Bias Multicultural Education with Young Children and Families by Louise Derman-Sparks & Patricia Ramsey Anti-Bias Education for Young Children and Ourselves by Louise Derman-Sparks & Julie Olsen Edwards

ciate and divide themselves, and question them about it when possible. Challenge any assumptions of relative worth and/or normativity.

• Pay attention to which children and teens typically dominate discussions, and which ones receive the most attention from adults, both positive and negative. Explore any patterns you may notice.

• When exclusion happens in groups of kids or youth, assess who is doing the excluding, who is being excluded, and what are the stated reasons. Challenge assumptions about value and identity in light of the Gospel.

• Pay attention to how children express and negotiate different aspects of their identity, and urge them to hold their identity as children of God at the forefront.

• Monitor the degree to which children compete with each other and emphasize winning or beating the other. Point out dynamics of superiority and entitlement in these kinds of competitions, and work to dismantle them. Emphasize the equalizing reality of the reign of God. The Rev. Margaret Leidheiser-Stoddard was ordained to the diaconate in June 2016 and serves her residency at St. John’s, Worthington.

Whether or not adults intentionally teach children about race and racism, education is happening

An immersion in

RUSSIA F

me

Dasha and I toured Saint Petersburg multiple times over the course of the trip. Dasha studies in the city and was able to show me completely new things and some classics I cannot get enough of, such as the Church on Spilled Blood.

our years ago, I had the opportunity to travel to Russia with a youth group through the Miami Valley Episcopal Russian Network. This trip allowed me to visit Saint Petersburg, Novgorod and Sablino, where I toured and volunteered, making connections with students that have stood the test of time. We spent one week in Sablino where the group worked at the youth center, helped with the children’s summer camp, experienced Russian Orthodox services and went on home visits. We also spent a week touring historic cities. I instantly fell in love with the complexity of Russian culture because of the pure beauty I experienced during my first trip.

Just over a year ago, I applied for the Foreign Language Academy at Kent State University where Ohio funds an immersion program for high schoolers to learn critical languages. For me, the choice between Chinese and Russian was simple because I was already fascinated by Russian history and culture. For one month, I was immersed in learning the language, an experience that proved to be very helpful to my learning style. I subsequently transitioned into an online course for the remainder of my senior year.

After high school, graduation money and saved paychecks from my job allowed me to fund a personal trip to Russia. Because I desired to practice the language in an immersion environment once again, I contacted Dr. Igor Tolochin who helped me get my visa application as well as to communicate with Father Nikolai Aksenov (rector of St. Nicholas Church in Sablino, Russia) about making a threeweek trip to northwestern Russia. Once again, MVERN was instrumental to my accessibility to such travel and because of my connections and friendships in Russia; I was able to have a very fulfilling journey. People from MVERN

During my stay in Sablino, I enjoyed many walks around the town as well as weekly services at St. Nicholas Church.

Although I was raised Episcopalian, I find the Russian Orthodox religion fascinating and spiritually effective, and it was so interesting to learn more about the culture through observing such traditions.

and St. Paul’s helped me plan and organize the trip, molding this crazy idea into something that worked out extremely smoothly.

I spent most of my time at the St. Nicholas youth center in Sablino, which was busy with their annual summer camp, teachers in training from Moscow, resident workers on the school’s exterior, and ever-occupied cooks. This allowed me to practice speaking Russian more than ever before. The people who were living at the school were so welcoming that it was amazing how much I learned from them. Grisha, Father Nikolai’s youngest son, came to visit me at the school often. We went on many excursions to Saint Petersburg by train, where we explored the city by foot, saw landmarks, toured St. Isaac’s Cathedral, the Russian Museum, and saw Dostoevsky’s The Idiot at the Maryinsky Opera. We also were able to spend two days exploring Pushkin and Pavlovsk, small towns on the outskirts of Saint Petersburg where Alexander Pushkin grew up, Catherine the Great’s palace is located, and where Fr. Nikolai’s family lives. I was honored to stay at the Aksenov home and share meals with the whole family. I also was grateful for the help from friends and the Aksenov family, whose support made it possible for me to do everything I really wanted to on this trip and more. The last week of my visit, Fr. Nikolai organized a special tour of the Peter and Paul Fortress for me and my friend Dasha. We were able to climb very high into the steeple of the cathedral to listen to a young woman perform the carillon bells, which was a completely new and awe-inspiring experience.

I also was able to return to Novgorod with my two closest friends, Dasha and Lena,

whom I met four years ago while they were attending the youth camp in Sablino. We explored the city for two days and with some planning and communication, the three of us were able to do all of the sightseeing we had discussed prior to our excursion. Although I had visited Novgorod before with MVERN, we saw many new things. We toured the Museum of Art and History, the Kremlin, St. Sophia Cathedral, the entire Wooden Architecture outdoor museum, ancient monasteries and churches, as well as a Russian dormitory, where Lena lives. Because I had studied Russian for only a year, it was helpful that Lena had studied English far longer and also wants to be a translator. It was easy to speak a mixture of English and Russian with my peers and it was good practice to discuss correct grammar and interpretation.

Although sometimes confusing, being immersed into the language and culture of Russia taught me so much over three weeks. Student teachers, who were the same age as me, the cooks and all other residents at the school made a point to include me in conversations and simplify sentences if I didn’t understand.

The people with whom I interacted the most were welcoming and understood my sometimes-botched Russian. Because of this trip, I feel prepared and motivated to continue my studies.

Sarah Penix is a member of St. Paul’s, Oakwood, and a recent graduate of Oakwood High School. She is now a double major in Russian language and News and Information Journalism at Ohio University.

Grisha and I spent a day in Pushkin, a su burb of Sain t Petersburg n amed after the poet who wen t to school in the small city. Th e Cathedral of Saint Catherine th e Martyr is lo ca ted in the cente r of the city , leading up to Cather ine the first’ s palace.

The church was originally constructed during imperi al times but was dest royed during Soviet rule. Reconst ruction occurr ed in 2006.

Book review:

W

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Americanah

ho is our neighbor? An essential question in the face of current political rhetoric around the issue of immigration and rising racial tensions in the US. Who is our neighbor and how do we define ‘neighborliness’? When a lawyer asked Jesus how he might inherit eternal life, he answered his own question by reciting the summary of the law – love God and love your neighbor as yourself. But the lawyer didn’t like his own answer, so he pushed Jesus for more, for an answer that suited his own definition of ‘neighbor’ better. “Who is my neighbor?” he asked. Again, after hearing the tale of the Good Samaritan, the lawyer was forced to answer his own question. “The one who showed mercy.” The one who went out of his way to help a stranger. The one who looked at an enemy, an untouchable, and saw not his race, not his religion, not the politics of his ancestors, but a person, a neighbor, in need of healing and comfort.

My summer reading included the book Americanah by Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie. The book opens as Ifemelu prepares to return from the US to her home in Nigeria after a 15-year stay. As she spends the hours required to have her hair braided, her mind and heart return to her early years in Africa and to Obinze. A story of love, lost and found, frames a much deeper exploration of race and immigration. As teenagers, both Ifemelu and Obinze dream of emigrating to the West. Ifemelu receives that opportunity through a college scholarship and fares well in the US after some initial

Throughout her story, Adichie creates dialogue among American Blacks, Non-American Blacks and Whites that is both humorous and convicting.

Her well-heeled employer, Kimberly, tries painfully and laughably to exhibit her identification with Africa’s problems and to apologize for all things racist in America. It was as though Kimberly believed, Adichie writes, “that she could, with apologies, smooth all the scalloped surfaces of the world.”

struggles. She succeeds as an academic and blogger. Obinze’s experience in Britain is not as positive and ends in deportation.

As she navigates her first few years in the US, Ifemelu sees herself as black for the first time. She says to a friend, “I came from a country where race was not an issue. I did not think of myself as black and I only became black when I came to America.” Later, she creates a blog entitled “Raceteenth or Various Observations About American Blacks (Those Formerly Known as Negroes) by a Non-American Black.” It is in the blog entries that Adichie mines the depths of racial issues most directly.

In one blog post, Ifemelu relates a discussion from one of her graduate classes about white privilege. A student from Appalachia who grew up poor asks, “Why must we always talk about race anyway? Can’t we just be human beings?” The professor replies that that is exactly what white privilege is, that he could say that. “Race doesn’t really exist for you because it has never been a barrier,” adds the blogger.

In other blogs the author gives Non-Blacks advice like, “Try listening, maybe. Hear what is being said. And remember that it’s not about you. American Blacks are not telling you that you are to blame. They are just telling you what is. If you don’t understand, ask questions… Sometimes people just want to feel heard.”

Throughout her story, Adichie creates dialogue among American Blacks, Non-American Blacks and Whites that is both humorous and convicting. Her well-heeled employer, Kimberly, tries painfully and laughably to exhibit her identification with Africa’s problems and to apologize for all things

racist in America. It was as though Kimberly believed, Adichie writes, “that she could, with apologies, smooth all the scalloped surfaces of the world.”

Americanah, published in 2013, is Adichie’s third novel and a national best seller. Her first book, Purple Hibiscus, won the Commonwealth Writers’ Prize for Best First Book (2005). She has also written Half a Yellow Sun, a National Book Critics Circle Award Finalist, and a collection of short stories, The Thing Around Your Neck. Born in Enugu, Nigeria, Adichie studied in the US. She now divides her time between Nigeria and the US. So back to the question, “Who is our neighbor?” I met new neighbors in Americanah. And I met myself – my own racism and my hope for change. The greatest pleasure of reading is that it opens our often-parochial view of the world onto wider horizons and deeper understanding. As I have thought about what books address who our neighbors are, I have come to the conclusion that every story, every novel answers that query. Our neighbors are the other, those very much like us and those very different, those we know and love and those we have yet to meet. Our call? To love our neighbors. As Ifemelu ends one of her blog posts, “Here’s to possibilities of friendship and connection and understanding.”

The Rev. Dr. Lee Anne Reat serves as vicar at St. John’s, Columbus.

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Being a good neighbor to

Mother Earth A

s I sit in my office and look out onto the lush green land here at Procter Center, I’m thinking about what it means to be a good neighbor. The first thing that comes to mind for me is being a good neighbor to our Mother Earth. She is under assault on all fronts and sometimes it can become overwhelming to think about. But what can I do – one tiny person in the universe?

Habitat preservation and restoration are critical factors in treating our Earth like a good neighbor. As they say – we aren’t making any more land, so we best preserve what we have. Backyard habitat restoration can have a really big impact on insects, birds and mammals. Does what I plant in my backyard really make a difference? Yes, it does and in a big way. The bottom of the food chain has been affected by the fact that we have planted many foreign plants in our yards and the insects will not eat those foreign invaders. So what are the insects eating? Probably nothing in your yard. Are all the leaves on your trees intact with no holes?

Birds need insects to feed their babies. If they can’t find a juicy caterpillar or other invertebrate, then they don’t have anything to feed their young and they will starve. Caterpillars may eat your plants and leave holes, but those holes indicate a healthy eco-system in your backyard and you will be blessed with healthy chirping birds and beautiful moths, butterflies and pollinators.

So what do I need to plant in my backyard to attract these things and have a healthy eco-system? In two words – native

plants that have been found in Ohio and the region for eons.

Insects have evolved to eat these plants and they must have them to keep the bottom of the food chain thriving, which is the foundation for all creatures big and small. Now that is being a good neighbor to our Mother Earth!

At the Procter Center, we have replaced a tangled mess of weeds and grasses with beautiful native plants in both the courtyards that surround the Conference Center. Each plant will be labeled so that you can see what the plant is and how it is growing in our garden in case you would like to plant it in yours. Some examples of native plants that are easy to grow are Black-eyed Susan, Purple Coneflowers, Butterfly Milkweed, Dense Blazing Star, Royal Catchfly and Sky Blue Aster to name a few.

If you are looking for native plants, try to find a local nursery that specializes in growing natives. Natives in Harmony in Marengo, OH, (nativesinharmony.com) and Scioto Gardens in Delaware (sciotogardens.com) are two that I can recommend.

And next time you are at Procter, stop by and I will take you on a tour of our new gardens.

Amy Boyd began her ministry as Executive Director of the Procter Center June 1. You can reach Amy at aboyd@diosohio.org.

Neighbors helping neighbors in Ironton

I

n the heart of Appalachia, jobs – or the lack of them – is a huge issue. Once the big manufacturers left the area, an economy built on shoes, and steel, mining and refined iron ore became nothing more than a memory. Sons no longer follow their fathers into the plants or factories, and welfare has become a way of life as industry and manufacturing jobs failed to reappear.

Churches in our part of the diocese often are asked to close the gap between what is available and what is needed. Handouts for food, gas, rent and utilities are an everyday occurrence in a small parish, regardless of denomination.

And yet the spark of entrepreneurship abides. The challenge for our congregation – how can we fan that flame and transform a community culture from a handout to a hand up?

It started with a young man who wanted to offer martial arts training for Ironton’s children who couldn’t afford a membership to the YMCA. The instructor, who was teaching at a Y, saw an opportunity to grow his own small business. With the help of his wife and a leap of faith on the part of our parish, we invited him and his students to use our parish hall twice a week. That was five years ago, and today, the fledgling martial arts class enrolls enough students to supplement the instructor’s income, which helps send his wife to nursing school. All while making healthy, physical activity available at a low cost for Ironton’s children. An idea, a space – and a new small business was born.

It didn’t stop there. Along came a woman who loves to bake. She made cakes and cupcakes for friends and family members. Out of work as a bookkeeper, she thought she could supplement her income by expanding her baking business. Her home kitchen was too small, so she began to cook in the parish hall. An idea, a space, and a faith community that said, “sure, make yourself at home” – and today this woman has a thriving business and uses social media and farmer’s markets to expand her customer base.

Two others also have used our parish hall as space for

their micro-businesses. On most days, the parish hall is a beehive of activity, with cell phones ringing, sweet smells pouring out of the kitchen and some occasional window rattling as boys and girls practice their high kicks.

The church’s mission is to share the transforming love of God. We had no idea that in several cases that would look like an invitation to share our underutilized facility with people who had ideas, but nowhere to make them happen.

I wonder sometimes, what if every parish nurtured just two micro-businesses every year. As a diocese, we could incubate over 100 new jobs every 12 months.

Is it inconvenient to invite a micro-entrepreneur into your space? Sometimes. Does it mean the building experiences wear and tear? Yes. But does the invitation hold the possibility for new life? Absolutely, which seems like one of God’s promises to make all things, even the tired and run down things, new.

The Rev. Sallie Schisler serves as Priest in charge at Christ Church, Ironton.

Neighbors helping neighbors Many of us know of an entrepreneur trying to launch a business out of their home or garage, or someone whose hobby is turning into a chance to fulfill a lifelong dream. If you take a look into the neighborhoods in which our churches are located, there is likely an entrepreneur or two on the cusp of making their business successful, if only they had (fill in the blank). And it’s highly likely that, whatever that need is, it can be found at that church down the street.

Often the needs of a small business owner have little to do with funding. Micro-enterprises benefit from connection within their community by gaining access to something that has been keeping them from growth and success. So what assets do our churches possess that could fill those needs?

WHAT THEY NEED

WHAT WE’VE GOT TO OFFER

SPACE Performance or exhibit space Parish Halls Classroom space Kitchens Meeting space Classrooms Gardening space Grounds EQUIPMENT Commercial kitchen equipment Kitchens Office equipment Office equipment Tables, chairs, etc. Facilities

EXPERTISE Technical assistance Business plans Financial reports

Parishioners with professional skills

REFERRALS Customers Investors

Connections within the community

The types of partnerships and resources available in a micro-enterprise community partnership have real potential to bring new energy to congregations. And it doesn’t necessarily mean a big investment on the part of the church. Christ Church, Ironton, has become a micro-enterprise incubator just by making underutilized space available to small businesses that need it.

You may be wondering – what does the church get out it?

Referrals work both ways – churches can benefit from the business as well.

•Possible income generation through rent, services •Differentiates you from all the other churches in town Every church does outreach, but a church that helps small

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businesses get off the ground – that could really put your congregation on the community’s radar.

Through extensive work by the Rev. Sallie Schisler and the Rev. Ron Dower, the diocese has been studying the possibilities of micro-enterprise partnerships for congregations and what role the Episcopal Church can play in supporting microentrepreneurs, especially in Appalachian Ohio. Is your church already a micro-enterprise incubator? Or would you like to know more about how to get started? Contact the Rev. Jason Leo, Missioner for Congregational Vitality, at jleo@diosohio. org. Jason wants to hear what partnerships are already out there and can’t wait to help you get started with forming a partnership with a micro-enterprise in your area.

MISSION RS ARE F A E S O T S E M O C L WE ERS G N A R T S WITH

PEACE,

VEGETABLES I n a plot that cozies up to the Duwamish Waterway, in the shadow of tug boats and a grain storage warehouse, is an unlikely sight: eight raised beds of lettuces, green tomatoes and squash blossoms.

There’s a carpet of wood chips.

There’s a picnic table and some benches. A small compost bin stands against a chain-link fence. On the other side of the fence grow wild raspberries, cascading toward the waterway where tugboats pass on their way to work in the Port of Seattle.

“It’s spectacular here,” exclaimed Mission to Seafarers Seattle Director Ken Hawkins on a recent afternoon as tugs sounded their horns and traffic on the West Seattle Bridge streamed

overhead.

The idea of planting vegetables on a plot of land at the Mission to Seafarers Seattle office came to Hawkins and Johanna Padie, a Seafarers supporter from St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in Bellevue, Washington, during a conversation in the fall of 2013 about using more of the Mission’s space for ministry. The corner of land in question was “just rough, gray dirt,” he said.

The idea of an urban garden emerged and Hawkins contacted Seattle-area resident Brian SellersPeterson, senior advisor to the president of Episcopal Relief & Development and a champion of church-community agriculture. Hawkins said SellersPeterson and Padie made the garden

Volunteers fill a raised bed in the Seattle Mission to Seafarers’ port garden. Photo: Mission to Seafarers Seattle via Facebook

happen.

In 2104, volunteers built and cultivated six raised beds for which St. Margaret’s donated the materials. That year the beds produced 1,000 servings of vegetables for local food banks and shelters. Lutheran volunteers added two more beds in 2015. Also last year, employees from Microsoft, which is headquartered in the Seattle area, helped to do general maintenance and they will return this year during the local United Way’s annual “day of caring.”

Volunteers grow vegetables for visiting seafarers, and donate to a local food pantry and churches. Other volunteers come to help with maintenance, such as the group of junior high school students from the Episcopal Church of the Continued on next page

Johanna Padie, a parishioner at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church in Redmond, Washington, helped start the Mission to Seafarers’ gardening ministry at the Port of Seattle. Photo: Mission to Seafarers Seattle via Facebook

A video about the Seattle Seafarers port garden can be viewed at dsoConnections.org 28

Holy Cross in Redmond, Washington, that came on a recent weekend to pull weeds, spread more wood chips, trim up the fence line “and help us continue to make this a place of welcome,” in Hawkins’ words.

The beds yielded 2,000 servings of food in 2015, Hawkins said, and earlier on the day he spoke to Episcopal News Service, volunteers harvested between 20 and 30 pounds of food. This year volunteers planted the beds with tomatoes, zucchini, squash, kale, chard and lettuces. Most of the food that doesn’t go to seafarers aboard their ships goes to the West Seattle Food Bank, about three miles south of the garden, and area Episcopal and Lutheran churches.

In 2016, Hawkins said, a conversation about how to offset the carbon footprint of churches buying altar flowers that come from outside the United States led to volunteers planting flowers and bulbs at the center. The church saved hundreds of dollars using the flowers and much of that money came back to the Seafarers in the way of donations. Amid all the work involved, “we built community at the mission,” he said.

The garden is just a part of the Mission to Seafarers’ ministry.

In operation for more than 40 years, the Seattle center provides onboard services to 30,000 seafarers. And volunteers greet cruise ship employees each summer. Some of those cruise ship employees get a ride in one of the mission’s vans from the port to downtown Seattle.

They’re asked to donate $5 for the ride (as opposed to the $20 or more that a taxi ride would cost) and the donations go back into the ministry. More than 10,500 crewmembers make use of the service during the summer.

The mission also provides chaplain services and, at Christmas, volunteers sew, fill and distribute ditty bags with toiletries and a hand-knitted hat. Seafarers can use computers at the Mission to Seafarer’s Seattle center and can also connect their own devices to the Internet through the center’s Wi-Fi. Volunteers bring cell phones and low-cost phone SIM cards to seafarers who cannot leave their ship so that they can call home while in port. They also offer to do any necessary shopping for the mariners.

The Seattle Mission to Seafarers has hosted people from 100 countries. A third of them are from the Philippines and roughly another third come from China, India, Malaysia and Indonesia, according to Hawkins. Many of those seafarers have spent weeks, months and even years aboard their ships. U.S. Homeland Security rules make shore leave difficult for many seafarers.

Forty percent of Washington’s jobs depend on international trade and those jobs pay 25 percent more than those in local manufacturing and the service sector. Seafarers “are lubricating the lives of one of the wealthiest cities and states in the world” yet they live below many people’s radar, Hawkins said.

“They’re strangers in a strange land when they come here; they’re strangers in their own land (when they return). We have a chance to welcome those people and get by the traditional mission condescen-

FOOD for thought

sion that plagued us for centuries,” he said. “I don’t think you can truly welcome a stranger if condescension is built into your attitude.”

In the Mission to Seafarers’ work “there’s a chance for us to make a difference in people’s lives that is tangible and I believe as Christians and the children of God, we’re called to do that,” he said.

That chance to change people’s lives comes with a dichotomy, Hawkins said: “We go out expecting to change someone’s life and what happens is we are changed” by meeting people who are some of the unsung workers of the global economy.

Counting the 300 women and a few men from all over the United States who knit hats for the Seattle Mission to Seafarers’ Christmas gift program, the ministry attracts more than 400 volunteers. “I believe if we can inspire 400 people, that is the power of evangelism,” Hawkins said.

Those volunteers “see the world through our eyes of service, humility and humanity,” Hawkins said, who added that part of the ministry’s mission is “to bring ourselves to the rest of humanity and bring our brothers and sisters to these places so they will experience the world and other people in a truly inspiring and wonderful setting.”

And, it might just be “more about the church of the future than most of the structures we have throughout the Episcopal Church,” he said.

The Port of Seattle is one of more than 200 ports in 50 countries where the Mission to Seafarers International ministers. Founded in 1856, the ministry has its roots in the Anglican Church and today Queen Elizabeth II is its patron.

This article was originally published Aug. 1, 2016, at www.episcopaldigitalnetwork.com.

The Rev. Mary Frances Schjonberg is an editor and reporter for the Episcopal News Service.

The Diocese of Southern Ohio has a long history of mission to inland mariners who work on the boats transporting goods up and down the Ohio River through the Seamen’s Church Institute’s Christmas on the River initiative. (www.seamenschurch.org) Christ Church Cathedral coordinates a group of Cincinnati-area volunteers who knit hats and scarves and bake cookies for the crewmembers at Christmas time, and several other congregations that lie close to the banks of the Ohio have ties to the ministry as well.

This idea from Seattle could add a whole new dimension to that mission. Are port gardens a way that our Ohio River towns can welcome our neighbors to our shores?

Julie Murray, editor

EVERYONE IS OUR

NEIGHBOR

There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, (Galatians 3:28)

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This teaching of Jesus that was central to his life and work, was not only revolutionary in His day, but continues to form the core of the work for social justice by Christians and non-Christians today.

The idea that we are all created equal children of God, and must treat each other as friends and neighbors, regardless of personal endowments or social situation, lies at the heart of what we say we stand for as followers of Jesus. Just as the New Testament teaches us that God created all of us as his children, so did the Old Testament teach us that God created us to be stewards (Genesis 2:15) of His Kingdom – not only the land, but all resources AND all living things that live upon the earth.

This means all people of the earth! It means all of us:

Ourselves, our families, our friends, those we do not yet know, those who we will meet in the future, and those who are our enemies or want to do us harm.

EVERYONE! Yet now we seem to be, increasingly, a nation and a world divided. After 75 years of working to build one world through peaceful liaisons, disarmament and sharing of resources, once again we see a rapid push towards nationalism and regional sectarianism. Many people are turning their backs on their neighbors and wishing to build a cocoon to ensure that those who are different are shut out, demonized, marginalized, and in some cases, criminalized.

Regardless of the reasons for this drift to isolationism – be they religious beliefs, geographical separation, social mores, elitism, racism or prejudice, they all stem from fear. There is a tendency

to define some people as ‘others’ – ones to be avoided, excluded, demonized and denigrated. Whether because of personal fear or cultural upbringing, each group feels the right to protect their world and their future by doing everything in their power to ensure that no one who is not ‘one of them’ thrives in their world.

In some cases, laws are written to exclude ‘those people’ from the basic rights all people should enjoy.

But God did not put us on this earth to build societies that segregate and alienate. Scripture tells us: “let us love one another, for love comes from God.” (1 John 4:7) “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

(John 13:34)

true religion and all others are false. We must remember that we all worship the same God, no matter what name we give him . . . and that we are all children of that same Creator. Therefore, it is commanded that we do justice for all people.

The real and imagined walls we seek to build to keep the other out must be dismantled – brick-by-brick, lie-by-lie, prejudice-byprejudice. And when injustice exists, we must speak out in love, not in violence. We must be persistent and unflagging in working for justice for all or there can be justice for none. To remain silent, to say, “this is not my business,” is to aid and support forces of evil in our neighborhoods and our world. We have become so accustomed to daily shootings and violence that we hardly take note of it, or simply say ‘there’s another one’. We hide in our living rooms watching 24-hour news and observe ‘what a shame’ or, ‘at least we don’t have that here,’ or have no reaction at all. To quote a recent protest poster: Silence = Violence.

If we are willing to accept God’s mercy, we must show that mercy to others. We must welcome the stranger, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the suffering and defend the weak (Matthew 25:42-46). All of these people are our neighbors.

It is time for us to come out of our safe, secure homes and go into the world, living into the commandments and teaching of Jesus to live among and care for our neighbors. They are not so different from us, and when we get to know them, and eat with them, we will be able to build a better world for everyone. But first, like the Good Samaritan, we must cross the road.

To quote Henri Nouwen: “We become neighbours when we are willing to cross the road for one another. There is so much separation and segregation: between black people and white people, between gay people and straight people, between young people and old people, between sick people and healthy people, between prisoners and free people, between Jews and Gentiles, Muslims and Christians, Protestants and Catholics, Greek Catholics and Latin Catholics.

There is a lot of road crossing to do. We are all very busy in our own circles. We have our own people to go to and our own affairs to take care of. But if we could cross the street once in a while and pay attention to what is happening on the other side, we might become neighbours.”

When injustice exists, we must speak out in love.

The topic of this edition of Connections centers on neighbors. But what is a neighbor?

Does it mean only those that live on the block we do, or go to our church, or are members of our social clubs, or as in the Old Testament, all Israelites, no matter where they lived? In the New Testament, in the Parable of the Good Samaritan, Jesus expanded neighbor to be those who were enemies or considered ‘unclean’.

This is made clear in Matthew 5:44-45: “But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.”

There was no distinction between the righteous (Hebrews) and anyone else (unrighteous) living on the earth. The second Commandment, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:39) expanded the definition of neighbor to the whole world.

Our planet is shrinking. With 24-hour news service and the Internet we can immediately see the needs of other people around the world as if they were right next-door. With faster modes of travel, we can reach far off places in hours, not days.

Whether we like it or not, everyone is our neighbor.

If we are to follow Jesus’ teaching about our neighbors, it is incumbent upon us to expand our vocabulary from ‘us and them’ to ‘we’. We are all in this together; whatever affects someone in Somalia, Afghanistan or Orlando, affects each one of us. If there is injustice anywhere in the world, sooner or later we are all affected by it. We have been given a Biblical imperative to “do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.” (Micah 6:8) Notice that it says your God, not our God. One of the great dividers is the concept that Christianity is the only

The Rev. Deniray Mueller serves as the legislative liaison for the Diocese of Southern Ohio and convener of the Social Justice & Public Policy Commission. Contact Deniray at deniray@deniray.com.

Check out our Featured Books section at dsoConnections.org You can find links to all books referenced in each issue of Connections at our Amazon store. Look for the Featured Books tab under Resources Articles with this icon have more content available in the online version.

Search by title, author or topic at dsoConnections.org.

Check out a few featured YouTube videos on each

Love God, Love Neighbor The Forum for Theological Exploration (www.fteleaders.org) offers an open invitation for a new generation of leaders to hold the church accountable by becoming a part of it: https://youtu.be/VlbnaOV8Ehk

The Jericho Partnership Most of us see people in pain and don’t know what to do. The Jericho Partnership, as a collaboration of congregations, ministry organizations, private foundations, volunteers and generous donors in Danbury, CT, has been working together to serve their neighbors in need. https://youtu.be/XeD6EQ9UafI

COMING UP NEXT: CONVENTION The November issue of Connections will feature all things convention and does double duty as the convention guide for all convention delegates.

A new year of news, reviews, reflections and feature articles will be back again in January 2017. We’re looking forward to covering a whole new set of topics in the New Year, beginning with healing. In this age of seemingly unending violence, hatred and political vitriol, what is healing? Where or how do we find it? How do we offer it? We want to hear your stories! Deadline for the January 2017 issue is December 1, 2016.

Send items to communication@diosohio.org.

issue’s topic on our video page: dsoConnections.org/video

Who is my neighbor?

2nd Mile, a non-profit organization in Denver, CO, that has sought to invest in communities with simple, direct and unyielding kindness, asks the question, “Who is my neighbor?”in today’s fast-paced culture. https://youtu.be/D12Z3tfr7aQ

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Love Your Neighbor The Veggie Tales sing the Love Your Neighbor song: https://youtu.be/uLxt6-1dzwQ

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Called to mission with our neighbors

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EMN? When we told people we were going to the GEMN conference some looked at us with a quizzical look like “why would a clergy person be going to a jewelers’ convention?” Acronyms are great for those in the know, but otherwise they can be downright confusing.

We may have clarified things a little bit if we hadn’t purposely left out the world “mission” just to see how people would react!

GEMN – the Global Episcopal Mission Network – began as a consortium of Episcopal dioceses interested in fostering mission.

It may come as little surprise that the Diocese of Southern Ohio was one of the original dioceses. (Our diocese also played an important role in the creation of the original Presiding Bishop’s Fund for World Relief, now Episcopal Relief and Development).

For decades the Diocese of Southern Ohio has been offering leadership to the wider neighborhood and standing with folks far and near to offer support and encouragement.

This year’s GEMN conference was held in Ponce, Puerto Rico, with the theme: “God’s Mission with a World in Continuous Motion”/”La Misión de Dios con un Mundo en Continuo Movimiento”. The theme was chosen to address the reality that there are always people migrating from one place to another for freedom and economic opportunity. Much of our

nation’s history is a result of this fact. And today we are faced with millions of refugees fleeing war and systemic violence.

People are fleeing for their very lives – and those people on the move are our neighbors.

The conference focused on mission in the midst of the current mass migrations. There was time for fellowship and conversation, time spent staffing an exhibit of the Sisters of the Transfiguration mission in Ponce which has spanned nearly forty years and enjoying good food and worship, but the keynote speeches, panels and workshops invited us to consider neighborliness more deeply. Presiding Bishop Michael Curry reminded us that evangelism is an act of neighborliness. He quoted DT Niles, saying, “Evangelism is one beggar telling another beggar where to find some bread.” We could say this is one neighbor seeing and acknowledging the hunger of another neighbor and sharing the news that there is somewhere to find sustenance.

A truth that has been circulating in my head while writing this article is that mission is not something we choose to do; it is something we are called to do. It flows from our connections as members of the Body of Christ into new connections with our neighbors (near and far) who are in need of the healing and reconciling touch of our Lord. It is through our hands that that healing often occurs. The Rev. Titus Presler, theologian and workshop presenter, reminded us that the focus of our mission is reconciliation – reconciliation with our neighbor, with God, and with the cosmos.

Each member of Christ’s Body is called to mission. As Paul would say, “until all of us come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to maturity, to the measure of the full stature of Christ.”

The Rev. Tom Fehr serves as the chair of the National and World Mission Commission for the diocese. You can reach him at tjfehr@gmail.com. Deacon Anne Reed represented the diocese at the conference as the former Canon for Mission. You can contact Anne at dcnareed@gmail.com.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT MISSION GRANTS One of the ways that our diocese encourages and supports mission is through Sustainable Development Mission Grants administered by the diocese’s National and World Mission Commission. Grants are funded by a convention resolution that sets aside .7% of the convention budget for mission grants.

Familiarize yourself with the new Sustainable Development Goals (SDG’s) by visiting the website of the United Nations Development Program at www.undp.org/. Consider how your mission might fall within these goals and then apply for a grant to sustain or grow your mission. Applications and instructions are available at http://diosohio.org/finance/grants-loans/. Submission deadline is October 1.

Well done, good and faithful servant.

Just as many of our congregations face reductions, it is with a heavy heart that Bishop Breidenthal has made the decision to reduce diocesan staff as well. The bishop announced July 15 that the position of Canon for Mission had been eliminated. The Rev. Anne Reed faithfully filled the position since 2010. Her last day on diocesan staff was August 5.

Bishop Breidenthal created the position of Canon for Mission seven years ago to further social justice work in Southern Ohio. However, recognizing that much of the mission work in the diocese is being done in our parishes and across regional boundaries, the bishop felt the need for involvement from his office was not so great as to justify continuing a full-time position to oversee it.

Anne was a valuable team member and her commitment to Christ, the church and the diocese was obvious to all who worked with her. Please join us in thanking her for all she has done.

Anne’s responsibilities as liaison to specific ministries have been reassigned.

Canon Lynn Carter-Edmands

Commission on Ministry

The Rev. Karl Stevens School of Ministry Residency

If you have any questions about which staff member you need to speak to about a specific ministry, contact Ann Sabo, Executive Assistant to the Bishop, at 800.582.1712 or asabo@diosohio.org

mission

Bishop Breidenthal’s office Social Justice and advocacy Latino ministry National and World Mission ECW Procter Fund Requests

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MVERN CELEBRATES

20 YEARS OF FRIENDSHIP

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Guests of honor at the dinner celebrating MVERN’s 20 years of mission and friendship. Bishop Tom Breidenthal, Fr. Jack Wilson, Fr. Nikolai Aksenov, Dr. Igor Tolochin, Chris Saunders, Joey Thiele, Bishop Ken Price.

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he Episcopal Church has a long history of cooperation with the Russian Orthodox Church, going back to the early 19th century when Episcopalians in California offered hospitality to Russian congregations and cooperated in pastoral work in Alaska. Decades later, Orthodox Bishop Tikhon was made an honorary member of the Episcopal House of Bishops when he accompanied Russian laborers as they arrived on the East Coast.

Before the advent of communism, Orthodoxy had been a guiding light for the majority of Russian Christians. However, everything changed as the communist Soviet Union sought the elimination of religion. In two short decades, the Soviet Union

became a predominantly atheistic society.

In 1991, following the break-up of the Soviet Union, the Russian Orthodox Church was again free to function and experienced a resurgence in activity. But the Church was faced with thousands of desecrated or destroyed churches and a critical shortage of priests. In 1993, Patriarch Alexei II appealed to the late Presiding Bishop Edmond Browning for help in restoring and revitalizing the life and ministry of the Russian Orthodox Church. In response to the Patriarch’s plea, a parish partnership program was designed to bring people together to build personal relationships and create mutual understanding and support between American Episcopalians and Russian Orthodox.

Chris Saunders and Joey Thiele, parishioners of St. Paul’s,

St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church, Sablino, Russia

Oakwood, accepted that challenge and set to work to form what was to became the largest and most active Episcopal/ Russian Orthodox partnership in the US. The Miami Valley Episcopal Russian Network, MVERN, is a consortium of 13 Episcopal and Orthodox churches in the greater Dayton/northern Cincinnati area, and is linked with St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church in the village of Sablino, Russia.

During the past two decades, MVERN has taken more than 300 Americans, including 119 youth, on 20 pilgrimages/mission trips to Russia and brought 29 Russian teens to Dayton.

In addition, they have provided tens of thousands of dollars in support of the outreach projects of Fr. Nikolai Aksenov, the visionary rector of St. Nicholas. With MVERN’s help, Fr. Nickolai has expanded St. Nicholas three times, and a dilapidated youth center has been transformed into a spacious facility that welcomes both children and adults to classes seven days a week in addition to hosting a large summer camp.

In November 2002, MVERN sent a 40-foot container to Sablino, filled with more than $200,000 worth of medical supplies for the regional hospital, computers for the local

schools, sewing supplies and coats for the prison, and Christmas gifts for the children at St. Nicholas Church and the orphanages. MVERN has continued to provide school supplies, clothing, medical supplies and toys for both the nearby Municipal Orphanage and School For Developmentally Disabled Children, and also sponsored an alcohol and drug addiction program in nearby schools.

Additionally, MVERN provided funds to help build a freestanding chapel in a nearby women’s prison, the first in any Russian prison. And with a special grant from the Diocese of Southern Ohio, MVERN also helped to build a chapel on the foundation of the sanctuary of the original church, which was destroyed during World War II. On June 26, MVERN celebrated 20 years of mission and friendship with a gala at St. George’s, Dayton. More than 125 people enjoyed a festive evening of Russian food and culture, reconnected with friends and reminisced about Russian trips with fellow travelers.

After 20 years, MVERN’s original mission has been achieved. We have witnessed an increased understanding between the people of two Christian faiths and spiritual growth in both communities. We will maintain our relationship with St. Nicholas and continue to be a conduit for funds for Fr. Nikolai’s extensive ministries. Although MVERN will no longer organize trips, we will facilitate visits for Americans interested in visiting Sablino and perhaps staying for a few days in the Youth Center.

The challenge to Episcopalians and Orthodox Christians is to celebrate the amazing evidence of God’s grace and faithfulness at St. Nicholas Church in Sablino, and to continue to consider ways in which we can work together, as neighbors, offering our witness in a tense and divided world.

Chris Saunders is one of the founders of MVERN and attends St. Paul’s, Oakwood.

MVERN youth travelers arrive in Russia, 2008

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A video describing MVERN’s work is available for viewing at dsoConnections.org.

Check out MVERN’s website at www.mvern.org.

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New faces in the neighborhood Holy Trinity, Oxford, has called the Rev. Sara Palmer as rector. She previously served as assistant rector of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in High Point, NC. Sara grew up in the county of Surrey, England. She gained her B.A. with Honors in French and Latin from Bristol University and her Post-Graduate Certificate in Education from King Alfred’s Teachers’ Training College in Winchester. After two years, Sara left her job teaching French and German in a junior high/high school to train to become a missionary in South America. She attended Cliff Bible College, Sheffield, and the Lebanon Missionary College in Berwick-on-Tweed before a three-month orientation in Sevilla, Spain. She met and married her American husband, David Palmer, in 1986 in Bolivia, where they planted a new congregation in Santa Cruz. They moved to the US in 1987. Sara served as Lay Hispanic Missioner for the Yadkin Valley Cluster, in Salisbury, NC, before attending Virginia Theological Seminary. Sara and David have a grown son, Steven. Sara began her ministry in the parish in July.

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The Northern Miami Valley Episcopal Cluster has called the Rev. Dr. Donald Duford as Priest in charge. Don has served a number of churches in Michigan and has held positions in churches and other organizations as spiritual director, chaplain, educator, administrator and counselor. He earned undergraduate degrees from Madonna University and the Graduate Theological Foundation, and a Doctor of Divinity from Sacred Heart Seminary.

Further study and vocational experience include Natural/Family Systems, Conflict Management and Congregational Development and Growth. He is also a licensed professional counselor. Don and his wife, Kay, make their home in Marysville and began their ministry in the Cluster July 10.

Christ Church, Glendale, has called the Rev. David A. Pfaff as rector. David has been an Episcopal priest since 1993. After obtaining his undergraduate degree at the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, he obtained his Master of Divinity degree from The General Theological Seminary in New York City. He previously served as rector of St. Mark’s Church in Milwaukee, WI, followed by eight years as Canon to the Ordinary for the Episcopal Diocese of Milwaukee and then service on the church-wide staff of The Church Pension Group. David and his wife, Emily Vaill Pfaff, have three children. His first Sunday with the parish was August 7.

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Church of the Redeemer, Hyde Park, has called Philip DeVaul as rector. A California native, Philip most recently served as rector of St. John the Divine in Orange County, CA. Throughout his life as a priest he has engaged in a broad spectrum of ministries and communities, leading worship in hospitals and house churches, in a jazz club, and in a traditional parish. He helped to start a successful church plant in Santa Monica, CA, and also served as chaplain, teacher and assisting priest at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church and School in San Juan Capistrano, CA. Philip and his wife, Krista, have two children. The DeVaul family expects to relocate and get settled in Cincinnati in September, and Philip will begin his ministry in the parish in early October.

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GOOD NEIGHBORS The Episcopal Network for Economic Justice (ENEJ) presented the Gloria Brown Award to Price Hill-based Transformations CDC (TCDC) for “outstanding faith-based economic justice” work during their recent summit held in Cincinnati.

ENEJ president Dianne Aid, center, presented the award to TCDC organizer Nancy Sullivan, right, and the Rev. Paula Jackson, left.

Transformations CDC, created as an independent organization by Church of Our Saviour/La Iglesia de Nuestro Salvador, Cincinnati, is developing a worker-owner cooperative of immigrant women making tamales, as well as various educational and health initiatives.

During the summit, ENEJ members visited the Community Matters/Education Matters campus in Lower Price Hill, where they enjoyed tamales, hibiscus tea and a wonderful salad prepared by the cooperative. Sullivan shared with summit attendees some of the issues facing Central American immigrants, including the reasons young mothers and teens have felt forced to flee the violence in their home countries, as well as the work the organization does to provide education and other forms of support.

Ana De León, who along with her older sister, María, were the first two students of the Homework Club in Forest Park, received her diploma from DePaul Cristo Rey High School during commencement exercises held at Mt. St. Joseph University in Cincinnati on May 31. Ana was in the fifth grade when Homework Club was started at the Latino Ministry Center in January 2009. Ana is pictured here with Carlos and Glenda deJesús, organizers of the Forest Park Homework Club. Ana will attend UC-Blue Ash this fall.

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WHO ARE YOUR NEIGHBORS?

DO YOU KNOW THEM?

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Krista Abernathy serves as secretary of the church and vestry at St. James, Piqua. Contact her at stjamespiqua@yahoo.com.

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t St. James, Piqua, centrally located on “Mainstreet Piqua”, we are working very hard at getting to know our neighbors through our S.T.A.R. mission – which stands for Stop, Take a moment, And, Relax.

We concentrate on one area each month and give the people we meet a brown bag containing a small bottle of water, a snack and a note encouraging them to stop a moment, collect their thoughts and take a breath. The areas we target are Mainstreet, YMCA, YWCA, library, post office, two funeral homes and small businesses around the church.

Our neighbors are very gracious and happy with our contribution to help them get through their day.

Our most recent neighborhood project is to invite all Pokémon Go players to St. James. We are inviting anyone who is at the church looking for Pokémon to come inside, where we are happy to show them around and offer them something to drink.

Additionally, we are working with Mainstreet Piqua on the annual Holiday Parade. The church plans to have volunteers hand out candy and walk with our church van in the parade. The St. James Knitting Circle is busily knitting scarves, hats, gloves and mittens for Christmas on the Green, and the church will decorate nine trees downtown where anyone who needs any of these items can take what they need. We also are working with the Piqua Arts Council on a Holiday Concert with local and professional talent to be held at St. James.

We have also volunteered to put together a reception following the concert.

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LEADERSHIP TRANSITIONS

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AT OPEN DOOR

vie Foulkes started in 1981 as a volunteer at the Open Door Ministry at Church of the Advent, Walnut Hills, drawn to the ministry as a result of growing up in a household where dysfunction was the norm. Her father suffered from mental illness, her mother, alcoholism. In 1985, she was hired to work in the payee program and became the Executive Director in 1996. Now, after serving nearly 20 years in this ministry, Evie is stepping down. Assistant Director Nancy McFadden will retire later this year as well. Both women have long and illustrious records serving this ministry.

“We try to work in a circle of caring with the client, case managers, and Open Door Services,” Foulkes says.

Evie has always showed a strong sense of mission and integrity in her work at Open Door. She is a life-long Cincinnatian, a graduate of Seven Hills High School, and the University of Cincinnati. In retirement she and her husband David plan some welldeserved travel to visit their two children and three grandchildren (scattered around the US).

Nancy McFadden joined the Open Door in 1988 as a part-time employee, but moved quickly to full-time status. As assistant director she has served as a payee, in addition to taking over much of the banking and accounting detail work necessary for the payee program. While she has been a “behind the scenes” type person, Nancy has always shown the compassion and integrity needed to gain the trust of her clients and coworkers. She would not hesitate to stop and peel away the crumbling socks of a client to clip his toenails, and then spend hours preparing daily money envelopes for payee clients.

Recognizing this high standard of exemplary service, Open Door is pleased to welcome our new Executive Director, JoAnn McIntosh. JoAnn began in her position July 1. She has had a long, successful history of nonprofit work in Greater Cincinnati and possesses outstanding skills in program management and development.

JoAnn earned her BA in Social Work at Northern Kentucky University with a minor in Art. She’s a Certified Family Development Specialist, and a Licensed Social Worker in the State of Ohio. She has held management positions at the Shelterhouse, the Salvation Army, Ohio Valley Goodwill Industries, Brighton Center, and Victory Neighborhood Services.

The Open Door is an important ministry of the Church of the Advent. Since 1972, the Open Door Ministry has served disadvantaged people with mental illness, disabilities and drug addiction, as well as providing a representative payee program, food pantry, welcome center, parish nurses, and the Ohio Benefit Bank. Please welcome JoAnn to our ministry and help us continue this vital city ministry.

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Ken Wright is a member of Church of the Advent and can be reached at churchoftheadvent@fuse. net.

Evie Foulkes

Nancy McFadden

JoAnn McIntosh

S

PROCTER NEWS Be a part of the future of Procter Center

trategic planning two years ago by a case study team at the Procter Center indicated a need for a board of directors comprising members from various specialized fields, including hospitality, food service, marketing, property maintenance, fundraising and finance. Several individuals with those particular gifts stepped forward, and Procter Center’s Board of Directors was commissioned by Bishop Breidenthal in January 2015. Last year, the 141st annual convention also elected three “at large” members, who along with representatives from the Trustees of the Diocese, Trustees of the Church Foundation and Diocesan Council comprise the Board of Directors envisioned by the Case Study Team.

The current chairs of the Marketing & Fundraising Committee and of the Finance & Operational Analysis Committee are stepping down to pursue

other priorities at the end of 2016. Both have contributed significantly to the initial reorganization of Procter Center’s operations and will be missed. With new Executive Director Amy Boyd now on board, it is especially important to have a full complement of directors to assist with strategic planning and other functions associated with a committed Board of Directors.

The chair of the Marketing/ Fundraising standing committee of the Procter Center Board of Directors is responsible for working with and supporting the Procter Center Executive Director to plan and coordinate the marketing and fundraising efforts of the center, including but not limited to the website, brochures and annual campaign.

The chair also oversees the marketing and fundraising committee and reports to the board on the marketing and fundraising activities of the center.

The Finance and Operational Analysis chair supports both the Executive Director and the board in all areas related to the budget, progress toward financial goals and making effective choices regarding operations of the center. This work includes regularly reviewing the center’s monthly financial statements as well as generating key performance measures of the center not directly captured in the financial statements. The Finance chair also generates custom analyses to inform key functions such as pricing and collaborates closely with the Marketing chair and other board chairs to enable the board to make effective strategic choices regarding expenses and income-generation programs.

If you are interested in filling one of these available board positions, please contact Jon B. Boss at jbboss@fuse.net or 513.761.2630. Resumes should be forwarded to Jon no later than November 1.

THE DOCK IS HERE! The sun is rising on the new dock at the Procter Center thanks to generous donations made to the Friends of Procter Fund. We hope you will come out and enjoy it soon!

EVENTS PROCTER HARVEST FESTIVAL

Join us at the Procter Center on Sunday, Oct. 16 from noon to 4 p.m. for our first Harvest Festival!

Pick your own pumpkin to carve or paint, and enjoy a hayride farm tour. Come spend a glorious Fall day fishing, hiking or just enjoying the fresh country air at the farm. We’ll be offering up some foot-stomping music and an old-fashioned pig roast with all the fixins!

Register online at proctercenter.org by Oct. 9.

Cost is $8/child, 3 & up, and $12 per adult. For questions, call 740.206.2036.

2ND ANNUAL UGANDAN DINNER

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Grace Church, College Hill, will hold its 2nd annual Ugandan Dinner on Saturday, Sept.

17 at 6:30 p.m.

Pre-sale tickets are $35/person or $60/ couple. Tickets at the door will be $40/person, $70/couple. Join us for a fun-filled adult night out that will include a delicious full ethnic dinner, champagne/wine/beer, live DJ playing African music, Ugandan dance, Silent Auction and Raffle. Grace Church is located at 5501 Hamilton Ave. in Cincinnati. For additional information or reservations, contact Kristin at kblackburn33@gmail.com or 513.503.3586.

SAVE THE DATE

Save the date for some great 2017 events at the Transfiguration Spirituality Center Jane Vennard’s Weekend Retreat – Feb. 3 to 5, 2017 “Fully Awake and Truly Alive: Spiritual Practices for Everyday Life” Kathleen Dowling Singh’s Weekend Workshop May 19 to 21, 2017 The Grace In Living (her new book coming November 2016) The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori’s Weekend Retreat – Sep. 29 to Oct. 1, 2017 Former Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church (20062015) Retreat Topic TBD Overnight rate $250 , Commuter rate $140 Find more info at www.TSCRetreats.org

AN EVENING OF JAZZ AND PRAISE

St. Margaret’s, Dayton, presents an Evening of Jazz and Praise on Friday, Sept.

30 at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 at the door. Music featuring Bob “Big Cutty” Bass & Friends, Deron Bell, Khalid Moss, Doug Toles & The Witnesses for Christ Chorale, and the Trotwood Community Choir. Tickets can be purchased at St. Margaret’s (5301 Free Pike in Trotwood) on Mondays through Fridays, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., or at KMG Pharmacy at 846 E. Main Street in Trotwood. .

FESTIVAL OF THE ANTIQUE

St. Paul’s, Chillicothe, presents the Festival of the Antique, Sept. 9-11 at the Elk’s Lodge (42 W 2nd Street). The show and sale will offer art, furniture, jewelry, porcelains, prints, rugs and silver, and will feature prominent dealers from across the nation. Show hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday, Sept.

10 and noon to 5 p.m. on Sunday, Sept.

11. Admission is $8. A preview gala will be held on Friday, Sept. 9 from 7 to 9 p.m. Tickets for the gala are $15/single, $25/couple. For more information, call 740.703.8152 or visit Chillicothe Festival of the Antique on Facebook.

LIVING WHOLEHEARTED LIVES: 2016 WOMEN’S MINISTRIES ANNUAL MEETING

“Living Wholehearted Lives,” the 2016 annual Women’s Ministries meeting, will be held Saturday, September 24, 2016, from 9:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Procter Center.

Connect heart, mind and spirit to ministry as we learn more about hearing the quiet and persistent voice of God speaking love to us.

Grow in your ministry of serving and seeking to transform unjust structures of society, challenging violence of very kind and to pursue peace and reconciliation (the 4th Mark of Mission) especially as it applies to women. The event is sponsored by the Episcopal Church Women of the Diocese of Southern Ohio.

Our workshop leader is the Rev. Mary Laymon, Pastor, Spiritual Director, Retreat and Pilgrimage Leader at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Terrace Park. Pastor Mary has served as a pastor for over 17 years in rural, urban and suburban settings.

Her passion is helping people of all ages know God and hear the voice of the Holy within them.

Cost is just $10 per person. The deadline to register is Sept. 12. More information and registration can be found at www.diosohio.org. Conference coordinator is Kathy Mank, contact her at 513.560.2126 or kathymank@gmail.com.

You can find links to lots of great events going on around the diocese at dsoConnections.org under the eConnections tab!

The 142nd annual convention of the Diocese of Southern Ohio will be held November 11-12, 2016 at the Crowne Plaza North in Columbus, Ohio.

Registration is opening soon! You can find all convention registration information and resources at www.diosohio.org. Watch our weekly eConnections for the most up to date convention information!

IMPORTANT DATES Sept.

12

Deadline for Constitution or Canonical changes

Oct.

29

Deadline for nominations, resolutions, annual committee reports

2

East area Preconvention hearing at St. Paul’s, Logan, 2 p.m.

Nov.

17

Deadline for hotel reservations at guaranteed rate

19

Cincinnati area Preconvention hearing at St. Thomas, Terrace Park, 7:30 p.m.

22

Dayton area Preconvention hearing at Christ Church, Dayton, 2 p.m.

23

Columbus area Preconvention hearing at St. John’s, Columbus, 2:30 p.m.

1

Necrology due

PRE-CONVENTION HEARINGS

NECROLOGY

RESOLUTIONS

HOTEL ACCOMMODATIONS

Convention delegates are strongly encouraged to attend a hearing in order to make informed decisions when voting at convention. Mark your calendar now for the dates.

All proposed resolutions must be sent to convention@diosohio.org and received by Sept. 29. Those submitting resolutions are expected to attend or have a representative present at all pre-convention hearings. Contact resolutions committee chair Jim Heathcote at 937.446.2108 or jheathcote@earthlink.net with questions.

CERTIFY YOUR LAY DELEGATES

Congregations are canonically required (see Canon III, Section 5) to submit a Certificate of Election of Lay Delegates as soon as possible after they have been chosen at your annual meeting. If your congregation has not yet reported your election, you can download the certification form from the diocesan website in the convention section. If your lay delegates have changed since a certification form was submitted, you must complete a Change of Delegate form. The form can be found on the convention page of the diocesan website.

NOMINATIONS

There are several elected positions for which we seek nominees at this year’s convention.

Descriptions of each of the positions can be found in the July issue of Connections or on the diocesan website in the convention section. Nominations must be received by Sept. 29. The nomination form can be found on the convention page of the diocesan website. Contact nominating committee chair Nadya Richardson at Nadyar125@aol.com if you have any questions.

The necrology is the list of people from each congregation that have died since the last convention.

Submit these names to Geri McDaniel at gmcdaniel@diosohio.org by Nov. 1. If you have questions, contact Geri at 800.582.1712 ext. 105.

A block of rooms has been reserved at the Crowne Plaza Columbus North, 6500 Doubletree Ave. The room rate is $109 plus tax for a single or double.

The reservation deadline is Monday, October 17, 2016. Reservations can be made by phone by calling 614.885.1885, choose option#2. Once connected to reservations for the Crowne Plaza Columbus North location, ask to make reservations at the Episcopal group discounted rate or reference the code EDS. A direct link to register online is available on the convention page of the website.

EXHIBITOR INFORMATION

The location for the convention has less space for exhibits than other venues. It is our best estimate right now that we can safely provide space for 40 exhibits. Since we had over 50 exhibitors at last year’s convention, make sure to to register your space early!

You must register and pay in full on or before Oct. 21 to secure your space. The price is $25 per table, no electricity; $50 per table with electricity. Registration information can be found on the convention page of the website.

If registrations exceed the available space before the Oct. 21 deadline, we will start a waiting list.

If you have any questions about exhibits, please contact the Rev. Bill Bales at wbales@roadrunner. com.

CONNECTIONS

The official publication of the Diocese of Southern Ohio www.diosohio.org

The Rt. Rev. Thomas E. Breidenthal, Publisher David Dreisbach, Art director Julie Murray, Editor Amy Svihlik, Designer Dave Caudill, Copy editor

Submissions: Connections encourages the submission of articles and pictures. We reserve the right to edit material offered for publication. All submissions must include name, phone and email address for verification.

Send submissions to communication@diosohio.org.

Next deadline: Oct. 1

Connections (USPS 020933) is published bi-monthly by the Diocese of Southern Ohio, 412 Sycamore St., Cincinnati, OH 45202-4179. Periodical postage paid at Cincinnati, OH. This publication is sent to all members of Episcopal congregations in the Diocese of Southern Ohio and is funded by mission share payments to the diocesan operating budget.

Other subscriptions are $10 annually.

POSTMASTER: Send changes of address to Connections, 412 Sycamore St., Cincinnati, OH 45202-4179.