2019 Pentecost Southern Cross

VOLUME 50 | ISSUE 2

PENTECOST 2019

Southern Cross MAGAZINE OF THE DIOCESE OF SOUTHWEST FLORIDA

A day in the

Life

OF ST. MARY’S

WHY I LOVE SUMMER CAMP

•

PLANTING THE SEED

SUN CITY EXPANDS • DIOCESE AT U.N. • WHY I CAME BACK TO CHURCH

YOUTH SUMMER CAMPS

CAMP 2019

Our campers participate in a Christian program designed to deepen their faith and strengthen their friendships through a variety of activities. Campers learn team-building skills and are challenged on our ropes courses, enjoy canoeing and kayaking on the Manatee River, and get a chance to just be themselves playing games and creating arts and crafts. Come experience God’s love through great music, worship and food this summer! Six sessions are planned for 2019.

WWW.DAYSPRINGFLA.ORG

ADOPT-A-CAMPER SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAM Support our diocesan youth ministry by participating in the Adopt-A-Camper Scholarship program! Your donation sends a child to a camp session they may otherwise be unable to attend, and gives them memories which last a lifetime. You’ll receive a thank you note from your camper, and if you choose, you can inspire them with a note to your camper ahead of their camp session. For more information about this program, contact Greg Randall, Camp Director / Director of Youth Ministry & Programming at

grandall@episcopalswfl.org

BEST. SUMMER.

EVER.

From the Bishop OUR DIOCESE IN ACTION My dear friends, My family moved to Tampa when I was in the last few weeks of third grade. I was enrolled in St. John’s Episcopal School, and finished the grade without knowing my classmates, the school culture, or the course materials.

When fourth grade began, my whole world changed. Within the space of a few months, I began to learn to write in italics penmanship, as well as learning the extraordinary literary world of Greek mythology, the art of composition and grammatical usage, and the fact that math was complex.

I also learned that when there was a national crisis (when President Kennedy was assassinated), we gathered in the church in prayer. I learned that negative behavioral actions would be met with immediate disciplinary consequences; and that the teachers and other grown-ups required respect, attention, and honor. I learned that we could ask real questions about God, the Holy Scriptures, and life, and expect to be answered. I also began to learn about the beauty of Anglican worship in ways still useful to me today.

So much of this was under the administrative direction and personal leadership of the headmaster, Fr. George Burchill. He remains as the most senior canonically resident clergy member in the Diocese of Southwest Florida. It is a great honor for me to see in the Episcopate that I serve the man who shaped me so clearly and qualitatively in one of our Episcopal schools.

This Pentecost issue of Southern Cross contains a story of another strong character-developing headmaster, Mr. Scott Laird. It is a deep pleasure for me to continue to see such strong evidence of the academic formation of young people into the leaders of tomorrow. This narrative of formation is, furthermore, a primary purpose and activity of the diocesan summer camp programs at DaySpring. Please read about this year’s camp purpose in transforming young lives and also meet the camp counselors. It is an exciting year!

You will also find in this issue an edifying article about our church plant in Wesley Chapel in Pasco County. This is the result of the compelling work of the Rev. Adrienne Hymes, the bishop’s staff, the Diocesan Council, and importantly, the work of the delegates of our Diocesan Convention. Said more simply, the energy, authority, and empowerment of the entire diocese is behind this new emerging congregation.

There is so much good information and insights regarding the rich vitality continuing to unfold in the life of this diocese in individual congregations, schools, clergy leaders, in personal spiritual journeys, and capital campaigns.

To top it all off, the Presiding Bishop chose our own Mrs. Karen Patterson to represent the Church at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.

I remain constantly proud and honored to serve our diocese as the Fifth Bishop. In addition, though, many times I feel “Wowed!” Looking through what is described in this issue of Southern Cross regarding our shared lives here, is one of those times. I hope you are “wowed” too. God bless all of you. Have a peaceful, healthy, safe, and life-recreating summer.

Love in Our Lord, The Rt. Rev. Bishop Dabney T. Smith

Bishop Smith with Fr. George Burchill and his wife, Nancy, at a recent parish visitation at St. John, Tampa

SOUTHERN CROSS Geraldine “Jerry” Buss | Bookkeeper jbuss@episcopalswfl.org Marilyn Erfourth | Receptionist merfourth@episcopalswfl.org The Rev. Martha Goodwill | Director of Congregation Support mgoodwill@episcopalswfl.org The Rev. Christopher Gray | Canon for Stewardship cgray@episcopalswfl.org The Rev Adrienne Hymes | USF Chaplain, Missioner Church Ext. ahymes@episcopalswfl.org Michelle Mercurio | Administrative Assistant mmercurio@episcopalswfl.org The Ven. Dr. Kathleen Moore | Archdeacon; Dean, School for Ministry kmoore@episcopalswfl.org The Rev. Richard H. Norman | Canon to the Ordinary rnorman@episcopalswfl.org Jan Nothum | Bishop’s Administrative Assistant jnothum@episcopalswfl.org Carla Odell | Executive Director - DaySpring execdirector@dayspringfla.org Garland Pollard | Director of Communications gpollard@episcopalswfl.org Greg Randall | Director of Youth Ministry & Programming grandall@episcopalswfl.org Tana Sembiante | Administrative Assistant to Canon Norman tsembiante@episcopalswfl.org Anne Vickers | Canon for Finance & Administration | CFO avickers@episcopalswfl.org 4

YEAR 50 | ISSUE 2 | PENTECOST 2019 FIRST PUBLISHED AD 1970

Bishop | The Diocese of Southwest Florida The Rt. Rev. Dabney T. Smith Assisting Bishops The Rt. Rev. J. Michael Garrison, The Rt. Rev. Barry R. Howe Canon to the Ordinary The Rev. Canon Richard H. Norman Canon for Finance & Administration | CFO Anne Vickers Editor & Director of Communications Garland Pollard Managing Editor & Creative Director Shannon Weber Contributing Writers The Rev. Alexander Andujar, The Rev. Jessica Harris Babcock, the Rev. Nicholas Caccese, Connor Carlisle, Brian Cleary, Donna Francisco, Sophia Hyde, Sandy Rogers, Marcella Robinson, Paul Judkins, Steve Reilly (Englewood Sun), Deborah Walk Advertising Inquiries Garland Pollard | 941-556-0315 | gpollard@episcopalswfl.org Subscriptions | The Southern Cross is mailed to parishioners of the Diocese of Southwest Florida from member parish lists. Contact merfourth@episcopalswfl.org to subscribe or update delivery preferences Editorial Submissions | The editors welcome submission of articles for every section of the magazine, including features, news and departments. Please submit articles to gpollard@episcopalswfl.org 2019 Submission Deadlines Lent/Easter: January 25 Pentecost: April 12 Advent Issue: October 25 On the cover Students begin their day at St. Mary's Episcopal School, Tampa.

FEATURES 18 THE BELLS OF ST. MARY'S

The Episcopalian spirit is alive and well at St. Mary's, under the watchful eye of Scott Laird, longtime headmaster. A look at a day in the life of a model parish school.

24 THIS IS WHY I LOVE CAMP

We know about the importance of youth formation, and often take it for granted. We know the what, when and where of Dayspring Summer Camp programs; this month, we focus on the "why."

30 PLANTING THE SEED

The Episcopal Church is in the church-planting business again, and our church plant in Wesley Chapel is a prototype for a new era of congregation starts.

DEPARTMENTS

Communications | Building an Archive Meet the Priest | Jessica Harris Babcock Parish Life Dayspring In Memoriam

YOUTH | AN EAGLE HITS THE BEACH Spiritual Life | Chrism Mass Mission Seminarian Letters Parish Cookbook Love | Perfectly Packable God's Love in Action Around the Diocese Transitions Looking Back

6 7 8 12 13

14 15 16 36 38 40 42 45 46

Communications BUILDING AN ARCHIVE

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his January, former Ringling curator Deborah Walk spoke to the diocese at the annual Word Out marketing, evangelism and communications day. Walk was curator of the Ringling circus collection at the John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art; in her retirement she has begun helping Episcopal parishes better collect and promote their unique history and features.

While she has an appreciation for history for its own sake, her interest in archives is purely future-focused and Gospel-fixated. Her thesis? Archives not only record the history of an organization, but in the case of a church, tell the world the meaningful story of God’s people, in action.

Archives can take many forms, and are often maintained because of their permanent legal, administrative, or historical value. An archive is also the name of the building or space that houses these records. Most simply, it is the record that remains when work is completed.

These records can take on many forms: original documents and paper records are a primary part of most historical archives, but photographs can also dominate, especially as it relates to important milestones, events and people. In recent years we've seen an increase in types of media in archives: videos have become easier to come by, and oral histories captured through audio - think NPR's StoryCorps have regained popularity as a way to capture first-person accounts of critical moments in time.

Archives, well run and maintained, reveal the past and proclaim boldly the movement of God in a faith community.

They reveal the character and work it took to get a group to where they 6

by Deborah Walk

EXCLUSIVITY Each archive should contain information solely unique to it: original photographs or documents properly preserved and duplicated nowhere else. You need not worry about the size of the archive, but rather how wellmaintained the items are contained within.

SELECTIVITY An archive isn't a library or a dumping ground of unwanted or discarded items.

Rather, archives are well-organized so that important information and records are not only preserved, but easily accessible.

HISTORY Archived records are used for parochial reports to the dioceses. Since the advent of the church, critial documents like birth, death, baptism and marriage records were exclusively maintained by the church. Today, parishes can opt to house this information online as well, giving people more streamlined access and allowing them to connect to their extended families via ancestry searches.

SECURITY A critical requirement for one-of-a-kind or original documents and records is that they are in a secure place with proper supervision and management. The Episcopal Church's The Manual of Business Records in Church Affairs: Records Management for Congregations has outlined those records that are deemed to have lasting value.

CHRONOLOGY To create a master chronology or timeline, you need church reference volumes.

The diocesan First Fifty Years can help you get started. Archives can also be a way to look towards the future by allowing you to get a head start on milestone anniversaries or upcoming important events. Chronologies often include national and even international events in addition to local ones, which help give context to overall parish history. are today, and give them a foundation on which to build the future on.

Newcomers to a church can experience some of the same important events as longtime parishioners by exploring

the history found in old photographs and video, where second and third generation families can look back on key moments which overlap with their own personal histories.

Meet the Priest JESSICA HARRIS BABCOCK The new rector of St. Mark's, Marco Island

thriving parish. It was on one of these trips that I realized what God was calling me to do and I thought, “This is actually insane. Drop everything and go to seminary? Really?” On that particular trip I remember asking a dear friend who happened to be the church secretary, “What would you think if I told you I want to be a priest?” Her response was, “Honey, you don’t want to do that. It’s the worst job ever!” Thankfully, I didn’t take her advice.

Q: You met your husband Dwight while doing overseas Peace Corps work. Are you able to incorporate some of what you learned in your parish ministry?

Q: Is there a particular moment of childhood in the church that you remember well?

A: There are two moments that stand out: one was my confirmation. I remember how intimidating the Bishop was in his tall mitre, and that his hands felt very heavy as he prayed over me. The second would be my youth group.

EYC (Episcopal Youth Community) was a big part of my life growing up and I’m still in touch with my youth minister, who is now 93 years old and ends each phone call with, “Remember, Jesus loves you!” These experiences are clear opposites: we would do well to ask ourselves, “How do our youngest members see and experience church?”

Q: Do you remember when you had your first call to ordained ministry?

A: I led our Cuba Mission for St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Jacksonville as a layperson. Over a 20-year period, our church assisted in the rebuilding of a small church in Itabo, Cuba that was abandoned after the revolution: today, it’s a

A: My husband Dwight and I met while serving in the Peace Corps in the Marshall Islands, a small country in the North Pacific. We joke that our relationship can withstand anything because we saw each other at our absolute worst during those two years—dengue fever, dysentery, you name it, we had it!

But even at the young ages of 22 and 24, we were called to serve others and to love and appreciate learning from people from other cultural backgrounds. That call is still alive and well over 30 years later, as we continually incorporate overseas mission into our ministries. There’s nothing we love more than taking a bunch of Episcopalians on a mission trip, changing their perception of the world’s people and religions.

Q: As a lifelong Episcopalian, how do you think we can better encourage new churchgoers to appreciate our liturgy and worship styles?

A: We have something very special in the Episcopal Church – our liturgical traditions – but we do a poor job of teaching the theological meaning behind them. The more we can enrich the worship experience by incorporating education into our services and teach “why we do what we do,” the better.

Q: What energizes you most about the Episcopal Church these days?

A: I’m proud of my church, both here in Marco Island and nationally. I can honestly say that we’ve dealt with some tough issues and we’ve come out stronger. I’m energized by the open and inclusive nature of our denomination and our ability to live together in love while still valuing our differences. Unity is critical as we “strive for justice and peace among all people” and together learn to “respect the dignity of every human being”.

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Parish Life

A NEW BUILDING FOR SUN CITY CENTER PARISH The new addition at St. John the Divine gives parishioners more than wiggle room.

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hen the Rev. Kevin Warner arrived in 2014 at St. John the Divine, the words and spirit of genuine welcome were there for the children of the parish. The facilities to put that welcome into action? Not so much.

“They had a really nice sign, ‘Wiggly Children Welcome’,” said Warner. But if you were looking for an actual nursery, or any other room for children at their six year old church building, families were out of luck: the classrooms and nursery were miles away, on another campus.

St. John the Divine was founded in 1962 in Ruskin, the original campus location. In 2008, they opened a second church location in Sun City Center.

Although the idea of one church, two places seems simple, having two locations proved impractical in practice. After about four years, the vestry decided to sell the older campus and focus on Sun City Center, which was experiencing massive population growth along the 301 corridor. Closing the older, and well-equipped Ruskin campus, however, left them without the space critical for offices and programs.

To add to the complications, the new Sun City campus was designed and dependent on the idea of a two-campus parish, which left the now-singular location with an outmoded master plan.

Warner, who came to Florida from a parish in California, remembers growing up in Michigan as a Baby Boomer, where there were over 800 children in Sunday school with nearly 100 teachers at the ready. While church populations look different today than they did decades ago, he believes that the same opportunity to reach people exists.

8

Bishop Smith blesses the building as Verger Aubrey Thompson prays. The Rev. Kevin Warner is at far right.

Hillsborough County is booming with children; standing tall as the eighth largest school district in the United States. Last year, 27,000 new people

moved to the county, with many of them settling in the eastern part of Hillsborough. The 2010 Census listed Sun City Center as having an average

CONTEMPORARY OR TRADITIONAL? WHAT'S MOST IMPORTANT TO TODAY'S CHURCH The Rev. Kevin Warner arrived at St. John the Divine in 2014 from San Diego. He was raised in an Episcopal family; his parents were among the founders of St. Alban’s in Ft. Wayne, Indiana. At St. Alban's, he learned the sacraments, first as an acolyte at age 8, and later as a Eucharistic Minister and lector. Since his arrival, he has spent much of his time figuring out what style of worship best serves his congregation.

“A couple of years ago there was a clamor for a more ‘contemporary’ format for our 9:15 a.m. service. We obliged and eliminated traditional robes, added longer musical sets and so forth, but discovered people did not want that at all.

Surprisingly, the revolt was led by our youngest members, of elementary age, who wanted to wear robes, be acolytes, and the rest of the congregation who really only wanted contemporary music, but no other changes. A recent study shows that the next generation is very interested in liturgy, provided there is substance to go with the style. In fact, style is the least important aspect, but what is important is the substance in the worship and the discipleship of those who attend.

age of 73, but the area is changing quickly, and the average age in the larger area is dropping. In the past, Episcopal churches in Florida could count on filling up the pews with Episcopal retirees from other states who migrate and begin attending their local church when they arrive. But as attendance at Northern parishes has diminished, the supply of easy-to-recruit Episcopalians has dwindled. “That spigot is running dry,” said Warner.

The parish needed a comprehensive plan to meet the needs of a younger congregation: a plan that included additional Sunday School rooms in a separate building, new offices and improvements to the main church building and reimagining a nursery in the vesting room, which was really too small for the purpose anyway.

“You’ve got to have a plan,” said Warner. The nursery was supported by a diocesan growth grant.

Fast forward to May 12, 2019, when the new building was dedicated.

St. John the Divine - after seeing an example at the Baptist Church in Apollo Beach - opted to get a 3,200 square foot permanent modular building built to spec, and situated to the left of the church. It includes a youth room, conference room, vesting room (which can be used for meetings), assistant clergy office, rector’s office and an administrator’s office.

ROOM WITH A VIEW TRINITY BY THE COVE EXPANDS WATERFRONT PARISH HALL

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n March 25th, 1955, the Collier County News newspaper announced that Trinity-by-the-Cove had received a significant donation to build our parish hall and challenged the entire congregation to make the church more than an edifice.

The Rev. Nicholas Caccese

hen Senior Warden, Marion Fisher, was quoted as saying, “To plan just for the present would be to plan for a dead church. By long range planning, we are looking toward the future generations that will continue to make our church a living one.”

Nearly 65 years later, it’s safe to say their approach has served this church well.

Trinity-by-the-Cove is positioned to make a similar long range plan for the next 60 years. On Easter Sunday 2019, the church announced the successful completion of their capital campaign, A View of the Future: Expanding our Sacred Space in the Parish Hall.

The campaign - launched on January 28, 2019 - carried with it a goal of raising $4.9 million to expand the parish hall and open it to the waterfront. The campaign was preceded by a $350,000 gift to build a new nursery, which enabled the church to move forward in discussing the larger project at hand. The design and schematic phase should be completed over the summer months, with necessary permits obtained in the fall and an official ground-breaking sometime after Easter 2020.

The Rev. Edward Gleason, rector of Trinity-by-the-Cove, is grateful for the church’s enthusiasm and excited to once again carry the torch of planning for the future of this vibrant parish.“It's been amazing to see the generosity and excitement from so many,” Rev. Gleason said, “including the wardens and vestry, fundraising team, and all those who have pledged or given.” If all goes according to carefully thought-out plans, the expansion will be open for occupancy by Christmas 2020.

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Building By the Rev. Alexander Andujar

Community

WELCOME TO ST. VINCENT'S NEW PLAYGROUND, A GATHERING SPOT WHERE ALL ARE WELCOME

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or the last two years, St. Vincent’s Episcopal Church, St. Petersburg has been hard at work identifying how best to reach the members of our local community.

Being a neighborhood church gives us a wonderful opportunity to engage with the constant foot traffic we receive past our doors. From what we’ve seen, everyone from young parents to retirees - love spending time on our benches and on the green spaces around our lake.

But something was missing. Young parents and grandparents didn’t have a local space to bring children where they could play safely. Because of this need, the vestry and clergy determined that the next step in our “Open Campus” project would be to construct a playground that would be accessible to the entire neighborhood, where all would be welcome.

The primary obstacle, in almost any undertaking such as this, is always the same: the cost of building can be very high.

Additionally, the parish was just beginning to recover from a difficult financial season, with urgent repairs still needed to our air conditioners and our parking lot. A project for mission was desired, but hardly feasible.

Thankfully, this is when the diocese joined our discernment process. Working closely with Canon for Finance and Administration, Anne Vickers, and Bishop Dabney Smith, we learned about newly available Grants for Mission and Growth, which were announced in the fall of 2018.

These grants were created to assist parishes in recognizing a missional need in their community, and develop a plan at the parish level to make that mission a reality.

We went through months of planning and drafts of our 10

project. Canon Vickers kept us focused, with fact-finding questions about the different ways this project would affect the neighborhood around us, and what benefits would come from opening the campus to people who may never have built a relationship with a local church before.

We were overjoyed to receive a grant for $8,000 for this undertaking. As part of our proposal, our parish pledged in its budget to support the project, investing us both personally and financially. Members of our congregation have been inspired to help with their hands and their own donations.

Growing a parish is not easy. We face daily challenges about how to grow and what tools we need to spur that growth. It is comforting to know that the diocese and other non-profit organizations are out there looking for ways to help us achieve our goal of becoming a campus where everyone can come and feel welcome.

The playground opened April 13, 2019, when the neighborhood as a whole came together for the dedication.

We are so thankful that our parish is not alone in its discernment and that we are part of the larger body of Christ, a body that helps its members to heal, grow, and proclaim Jesus Christ to everyone.

PROVIDING FOR THE

PANHANDLE

Sanibel assists parishes in Port St. Joe and Mexico Beach with cleanup efforts in the wake of Hurricane Michael

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ast October, 155 MPH winds and huge storm surges of Hurricane Michael dealt a devastating blow to the panhandle of Florida. Although the region will be struggling for years to recover, on February 18-22, 2019, St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church joined in the efforts to bring some normalcy to a few residents of Port St. Joe and Mexico Beach.

Five individuals from Sanibel representing the Diocese of Southwest Florida joined parishioners from the Diocese of Iowa to do a great amount of work within the Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast. The group worked on four properties, performing plumbing and electrical work, painting, installing sheet rock, granite countertops, trim and doors.

Additionally, they repaired fencing, and performed general grounds cleanup. St. Michael’s Angel Tree sent $3,000 in gift certificates to help numerous individuals, with additional cash donations distributed during this work week to help purchase building materials and pay down high insurance deductibles.

Overall, the Diocese of Southwest Florida contributed $1,500 for tools and humanitarian aid.

It is often said that mission trips such as this one are not for the faint of heart, which is true; however, the fatigue and aches from the hard work go away, but the joy of the gift you have given to those struggling lasts a lifetime.

As much as we wish for no more natural disasters, we know that in time the forces of nature will strike again, inevitably. One critical aspect of this mission was to develop a bank of tools that would stand ready for immediate use in future disasters, potentially even working to create a tool lending library for island citizens that would have use for them in a crisis. The tools the diocese helped purchase will be a big help in establishing the future library.

GET INVOLVED Want to participate in future disaster relief efforts? Please contact the Rev. Micheal Sircy, Disaster Relief Coordinator, at sircymj@gmail.com.

A HIGH NOTE FOR LOW SUNDAY

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By Donna Francisco

he Sunday after Easter, April 28th, is known as Low Sunday, a name given to convey the contrast between it and the large Easter celebration which immediately precedes it. The Rev. Andrea Rose Hayden, our priest-in-charge, decided to continue the Easter day celebration because she believes that every Sunday we should leave church on a high. We usually have two services on Sunday, Rite I at 8 and Rite II at 10. For our extended Easter celebration, we had one service at 9 o’clock followed by childrens' games and a parish-wide picnic. The Men’s Action Group prepared hamburgers, hot dogs, pulled pork sandwiches, and - because miracles do exist - even cleaned up the kitchen afterwards. Thank you gentlemen! The ladies of the church prepared a potluck of salads and desserts to go alongside the entrees, and everyone enjoyed the fellowship and the food.

St. Nathaniel’s was founded in 1963 and serves various organizations in the North Port community. The All Faiths Food Bank of Sarasota County comes twice a month and has 200 clients each time.

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DaySpring

EASTERTIDE

CELEBRATING OUR RETIRED CLERGY

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ixty-eight retired clergy, spouses and surviving spouses of the Diocese of Southwest Florida heard a message of vocational call at their annual meeting and luncheon at DaySpring Episcopal Center. This year, the March 20th meeting was headlined by the Rev. Dr. John Lewis, director of the Iona Center at Seminary of the Southwest. The day included a message from Bishop Smith and teaching sessions by the Rev. Dr. Lewis, rounded out with a Holy Eucharist. William L. Holt, associate organist and choir director of Christ Church, Bradenton, led the music program.

Lewis, who is also lecturer in New Testament and spirituality at the seminary, believes that the ideal is that each person is seen as an agent, with a life "grounded in Christ."

“In Baptism, we are all clothed in Christ,” said Lewis, who believes that with Christ, our reasoning is transformed, indeed "everything is transformed."

The annual event for retired clergy is a well-deserved celebration of the clergy and their spouses' work in the Diocese of Southwest Florida and throughout the Episcopal Church. The annual event allows these couples to connect with other clergy in the diocese. The message of vocation is still important to the gathered clergy and spouses, many of whom actively serve parishes throughout their decades of "retirement."

Pictured here, the Rev. Dr. Lewis, at center, with the Rev. Barry Kubler and his wife, Vonceal. Kubler served at St. Martin’s in Hudson and St. Peter’s in Plant City, where he is interim priest.

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QUIET DAY

2019

ishop Porter Taylor of North Carolina visited DaySpring Episcopal Center as the speaker for our Eastertide Quiet Day retreat. He challenged the diocese and our church in general to see evangelism as more about sharing hope, and less about parading Bible facts to the unwilling, and he stressed a need to teach and show people how to come and experience the love of the Lord.

"We are the only institution that believes the love of the Lord is big enough to dissolve our differences,” said Taylor, who spoke to a group of laity and clergy at the day-long cornerstone event. "Because we are human, we have so much more in common than we thought."

Taylor asked attendees to rethink what evangelism looks like, in an era when our political and social challenges never seem to be greater. Sharing hope through our own personal experiences, he noted, helps win over people who often feel that they are in the land of despair. It is about sharing ourselves and our own journeys so that the church reaches beyond being just another civic organization, and the Bible becomes a mirror.

“We need to recover what our purpose is. You can’t spread what you don’t have,” said Taylor. "God will do with people whatever God has done in my life.”

This method of evangelism responds to the needs of today. He cited polling, which indicates that while the number of people identifying as having no religion at all is greater than ever, the percentage of people who have seen a beatific vision has gone from about 22 percent in 1962 to 48 percent in 2009.

That shows a hunger.

“People may be giving up on the church,” said Taylor. “They are not giving up on God.”

In Memoriam The Rev. Dr. William Bosbyshell, 1933-2019 ST. PETERSBURG - The Rev. Dr. William Allen Bosbyshell, past executive director of the Episcopal Counseling Center (Samaritan Center) in the Diocese of Southwest Florida and long-time Southwest Florida priest, died Friday, May 10, 2019.

"Fr. Bill," as many knew him, was not only a familiar priest at many parishes, but counseled hundreds of laity and clergy over his second career as a counselor.

Born Oct. 15, 1933 in Philadelphia to John H. Bosbyshell and Lilla Gibson Bosbyshell Mitterling, he received a B.A. from Swarthmore College in 1955. In 1958, he graduated from the General Theological Seminary, with later masters and PhD in education and counseling from the University of Florida. He was ordained deacon in 1958 and priest also that year, under the Rt. Rev. Oliver Hart. He met his wife Caroline at Swarthmore; they married after he went to seminary in New York City. Their wedding was at St. Andrew's in Tampa, where Caroline's family atttended.

The Rev. Edward John Fiebke, 1933-2019 BALLSTON LAKE, N.Y. - The Rev. Edward John Fiebke, who served as an assistant at St. Mary Magdalene from 2009 until his health prevented him from serving, died March 19, 2019. A canonically resident priest in the Diocese of Albany, he was born on September 5, 1933 in Antigo, Wisc. He served at Christ Church, Bradenton, from 1997-2003.

The Rev. Walter Benjamin Fohs, 1944-2019 LAS VEGAS, N.V. - The Rev. Walter Benjamin Fohs, the former pastor of Lamb of God in Ft. Myers, died March 2, 2019.

He was born April 20, 1944, and died March 2 following a brief time in hospice care. Pastor Walter Fohs became pastor of Lamb of God Lutheran Church in 1994; it merged formally in 2001 with the former St. Joseph's Episcopal Church to form the first federated Lutheran and Episcopal congregation in Florida, the second in the nation. In 2001, the church was named the Lamb of God Lutheran-Episcopal Adventure. He retired from the congregation in 2012.

Robert D. Setzer 1926-2019 ST. PETERSBURG - Robert D. Setzer, 94, longtime organist and choirmaster at the Cathedral Church of St. Peter, died peacefully on April 3, 2019. He was born in Tampa to Oscar and Yeotle Setzer and was the youngest of four children. Mr. Setzer was a prominent musician in the area and state of Florida in the field of church music, and was an instructor of organ at St. Petersburg College. Among his many accomplishments, he was responsible for the design and installation of the 1965 organ at St. Peter's, where he was organist/choirmaster for 35 years, as well as the Heissler organ at St. Petersburg College, where he taught. He took degrees from Rollins College, Winter Park, and Union Theological Seminary in New York City.

His career spanned over 60 years, beginning as a boy chorister at St Andrew’s Men & Boys Choir, and ending as Organist/Choirmaster at the Cathedral Church of St. Peter; a position he held for 35 years. He is survived by his wife of nearly 69 years, Mary Lee; daughter, Mari Reive; son, Robert A Setzer; grandson, Patrick Reive and granddaughter, Samantha (Nic) Holland.

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Youth

AN EAGLE HITS THE BEACH By Connor Carlisle Last fall, Connor Carlisle of St. Petersburg became an Eagle Scout, and celebrated his work building wheelchairs and enabling better handicapped access at Fort De Soto Park in St. Petersburg.

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y Eagle Project was to improve accessibility The Project Begins and sustainability at Ft. De Soto Park, by repairing two old beach wheelchairs, On April 7, we gathered volunteers, who came from purchasing and assembling two floating St. Thomas Snell Isle, The Cathedral Church of St. Peter, St. wheelchairs, and receiving donated funds for two more Andrew’s in Tampa, the Breakfast Optimist Club, friends beach wheelchairs, which we would also put together. The from Key Club, friends at school, friends from four Boy sand and water wheelchairs would help people with diverse Scout troops and others. We planted 13,000 sea oats along abilities better access the beach and water at Ft. De Soto. a 1/2 mile stretch at the end of North Beach, which was hit This helps families enjoy a day at the beach together. Some hard during Hurricane Irma. The sea oats will buffer against people with wheelchairs may have never been able to go in storms, keep the sand in place, and provide a place for plants the water before. and animals. I also coordinated a beach clean-up of North There were challenges in preparation. Three weeks Beach on both dates. As an add-on the first day of the project, before my April 7 project date, I got pneumonia and was in we also repaired 30 garbage "pickers" used for keeping Ft. De the ICU for a week in March. At the hospital, I made flyers, Soto’s grounds. Another positive impact - the donated trowels, sent emails and sent the pictures of the broken wheelchairs buckets, gloves and tarps were given to Ft. De Soto after the and parts list to Ft. De Soto. It was hard to know what parts to project, to help with future projects. order from the manufacturer's list. Another challenge was that The total value of donations was over $17,600. Of that, the wheelchair parts didn't come in on time, and some were $5,045 was cash, much of it raised at a car wash organized for back ordered. This led to a second Fort De Soto Day of Fun the project. My car wash was great - there was good weather. so I changed the project name to Fort De Soto Days of Fun. I had 18 volunteers, and raised $1001 of the $5045. Mobi Another challenge was Chair company lowered that after my first project the price of the floating day, April 7, had been wheelchairs twice. finalized and promoted, Lowe's donated trowels, the Riviera Bay Clean-up gloves, buckets, and was added to my troop's tarps, which were used calendar, and it was on the on both project days, and same day. Also, the second then donated to Ft. De project day was May 15 and Soto for future projects. had to be rescheduled to Breakfast and lunch for May 25 due to a scheduling the first project date were conflict at Ft. De Soto. Then donated, which helped to when repairing the old save money. wheelchairs, we realized we My first project needed to replace rusted day was great. There At the Eagle ceremony at the Cathedral are George and Ellen Burkhardt, Tyler and nuts, washers and bolts. was good weather; 90 Another challenge was Colin Burkhart, Reid Carlisle Jr., Connor Carlisle, Kerry Carlisle, Reid Carlisle. Colin volunteers came. Instead and Tyler completed their Eagle projects at DaySpring, Reid Jr. Completed his Eagle talking on the phone; it is of planting 1,000 sea oats, project at Azalea Little League, home of special needs baseball, where Connor has hard for people to hear and played on the Challenger League. we planted over 10,000. understand me sometimes Park Superintendent Jim because of my trach. Typing letters and flyers for this project Wilson and I talked ahead of time about the number of sea was challenging, because I am a slow typer. The paperwork oats, and he had just received a large order funded through and making all the thank you letters was hard, because my Friends of Ft. De Soto, and said he would have more ready if hands get sore when I write a lot. we had enough volunteers. At the project, everyone had jobs 14

to do, and everyone had fun.

Since some of the old beach wheelchair parts were on back order, Wilson had asked if we could repair 30 garbage picking tools. I was able to add this to the project, and get it done with a group of Scouts and adults.

Our second day also had good weather; we had 45 volunteers show up. Wilson had 3,000 sea oats left to plant, so we planted them, did a beach clean-up, assembled the newly donated beach wheelchairs and repaired the old beach wheelchairs. Wilson estimates that each plant has 7-12 additional seedlings, and the effect is like planting ten times what we planted, about 130,000!

Afterwards, we had $878.91 left to donate to Friends of Fort De Soto for accessibility projects.

Connor serves on the Youth Leadership Team of the Diocese and has attended DaySpring Summer Camp, Happening and New Beginnings. He accomplished the project amidst many challenges, including Crouzon Syndrome, which requires a trach.

Spiritual Life CHRISM MASS Diocesan clergy gathered at the Cathedral Church of St. Peter for the annual Chrism Mass of the Diocese of Southwest Florida to hear a message of the theology of healing from the Rev. Dr. Julia Gatta, the Bishop Frank Juhan Professor of Pastoral Theology at University of the South Sewanee.

“Sickness requires a special attention from the community of faith,” said the Rev. Dr. Gatta, speaking Tuesday, April 16, 2019, after the service. Gatta, who is the author of books that include the recent Life in Christ: Practicing Christian Spirituality, said that sickness isolates the Christian, and “removes us from the community.”

This removal creates “an opening for a temptation to despondency.”

A critical yet often overlooked aspect to healing is confession. The liturgy includes this, she reminded the clergy, because “sin is a great impediment to healing.”

“If we are not reconciled to each other, we have sealed each other off,” said Gatta. While clergy engaged in healing should take sensible precautions, they are not exempt from being there for the sick. In our current environment, healing

from the church continues to be made more difficult; because of medical privacy laws the parishioner needs to let the parish know they are sick.

“We are to be Christ’s presence to those who are sick,” said Gatta. She said that healing was not the same thing as curing. Although a cure sometimes does takes place, the grace of healing is always present, no matter what the circumstance.

Prayer uttered during healing, she noted, does not begin with us, and it is not just for the immediate situation. “Our prayer for one another changes the spiritual environment,” said Gatta.

The service included Hymn 441, "In the Cross of Christ I Glory," and special prayers for the consecration of Holy Oils. The Gospel reading was from John 12: 20-16, where Christ explains that the hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Suffering with Jesus in the “scandal of a crucified Messiah,” Gatta reflected on how Jesus brought about the great healing of the universe by embracing death. This is not easy, as we are “undergoing this high-risk procedure with Him.”

HEALING AND BAPTISM IN THE DIOCESE The Chrism Mass is held annually on the Tuesday of Easter Week, and includes a blessing of two types of oil. Oleum infirmorum is pure olive oil and is reserved for the anointing of the sick by our diocesan priests. The other, Holy Chrism, is olive oil with balsam consecrated by the Bishop and is distributed for use by our priests and bishops in the administration of Holy Baptism.

There are over 250 baptisms each year in the Diocese of Southwest Florida, part of the over 28,000 baptised members of the diocese. The Book of Common Prayer sets out the rubrics of the Holy Baptism service, which can be celebrated by either our parish priests or bishops. The chrism oil represents the presence of the Bishop, and the whole of the diocesan clergy, at every baptism in the diocese.

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Mission

NEWS FROM DOMINICAN MISSIONS Walk through the journey our Dominican Development Group took this spring.

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his spring, attendees of the Global Episcopal Mission Network Conference, including representatives of the Dominican Development Group (DDG), visited the work of the Dominican Episcopal Church.

The diocese - a companion diocese to Southwest Florida - welcomes dozens of mission trips each year.

The group visited three nearby church congregations, including Iglesia de la Gracia in La Caleta, Santo Tomás in Gautier and the recently completed Monte de Sión in Andrés. They had the opportunity to visit other sites, including San Pedro de Macorís to see Iglesia y Colegio San Esteban, the Bishop Kellogg Conference Center and the Clínica Esperanza y Caridad.

I was one of nine Episcopalians representing four dioceses voyaging west towards Haiti. After leaving the Colonial Zone in Santo Domingo, we made several site visits along the route which incorporated members’ special interests, ranging from medical mission opportunities to Dominican Episcopal schools. At each location, we met with the local priest, members of the church and community leaders, engaging in prayer with them and learning about their array of ministries.

Stops on this leg of the journey included Iglesia San Miguel in Doña Ana and Iglesia y Colegio San Matías in Santana, Baní. We participated in a Holy Eucharist at Santo Nombre de Jesús in Catalina, followed by visits to Iglesia y Colegio San Antonio de Padua in El Carretón and San Timoteo in Nizao, where mission teams from the Diocese of Southwest Florida will be returning 16

this summer to complete the second floor and begin development of an agricultural cooperative.

Several representatives from civil defense, police and fire services welcomed us at a Sunday Holy Eucharist at Iglesia La Transfiguracíón in Baní in order to express gratitude for the fire truck and ambulance donated by The Episcopal Church and the DDG. Following the service, we toured the school and enjoyed fellowship with a light lunch. As we continued westward, we visited the recently completed Iglesia

by Sally Thompson

Espíritu Santo in Las Carreras and San Jorge in Azua.

On Monday, we stopped at Iglesia San Pablo Apostól and Colegio Episcopal Profesora Laura Morrow in Jimani, a town on the border with Haiti.

An emotional welcome awaited us as the teachers and staff were wearing David Morrow T-shirts and each classroom had signs welcoming us to the school "with love." Morrow, a longtime supporter of DDG and our former president, died suddenly this year. We also saw the new building housing a Left: A teacher and his students in a 6th grade classroom in the Episcopal school in Jimaní. Below: The Pilgrimage missioners with Padre Vincente Peña (in center, wearing stole) and the congregation of a new Episcopal mission in Catalina, Santo Nobre de Jesús.

generator donated by David prior to his death to help overcome the frequent power outages in this region.

After visiting Jimani, the group stopped at Boca Cachón (Iglesia San Tito) and Tierra Nueva (Iglesia San Ignacio) before heading to the southern coastal city of Barahona. Tuesday’s visits included Iglesia La Redencíón, which

houses the only school for the hearing impaired in the province, and Iglesia Jesús Peregrino in Barahona. We continued on to Iglesia y Colegio San Bernabé in Pizarrete before concluding our tour with a visit to Iglesia San Marcos in Haina to see a successful and well-established school exemplifying the potential for many of the other schools we visited.

FOR MORE INFO

INTERESTED? Our next trip happens November 14-20, 2019, and will follow a similar east-west path, and will include visits to Santo Domingo, Santa Fe and La Romana, as well as San Pedro de Macorís and Boca Chica.

dominicandevelopmentgroup.org

DIOCESAN REPRESENTATION AT U.N. CONFERENCE FOR WOMENS' ISSUES

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aren Patterson, a member of St. Mary’s Dade City and the president of the National Episcopal Church Women board, attended the 63rd Meeting of the United Nations Commission on the Status on Women last March.

“I think it went really well,” said Patterson, who reported her findings from the conference at a Province V meeting of The Episcopal Church, and will soon report to our own Province IV. “I think it was really a once in a lifetime experience.”

Approximately 9,000 women and men from all the regions of the world attended the CSW63 Conference in New York. It included dozens of presentations where representatives shared experiences on topics such as protection for women, sustainable infrastructure, and violence against women. Patterson – one of seven Episcopal women selected to represent the Presiding Bishop – attended talks given by human rights attorneys, lobbyists and everyday women hailing from far-flung locales like Kenya, Ivory Coast, Italy, the Philippines, Japan and Afghanistan.

Patterson spoke on issues of mental health for women and the elderly, pulling from her own experiences within the Diocese of Southwest Florida. Selected because of her work as a court appointed guardian, and her vast knowledge of issues of the elderly and women, she

stressed that elderly women in Southwest Florida need particular attention because they often worked in environments where women were paid much less than men, and have fewer resources available to them.

The idea that the elderly are taken care of within their family home has all but disappeared in the U.S., and is beginning to disappear in countries that, until recently, considered it a point of pride how elderly family members were kept in the home. “It used to be in Japan you took care of the elderly in your home,” said Patterson. “That has gone away to a large degree.”

Although important, aging issues were not the only concern of attendees

at a conference where critical worldwide items - like violence and hunger - loomed large. Patterson, while attending a presentation on women in Afghanistan, heard the speaker talk about what it is like to live in a country that has been at war for decades. “These other countries are so inundated with other things,” said Patterson, that to them, “mental health was at the bottom of the barrel.”

Patterson has served as our Episcopal Church Women Diocesan President, Province IV President, Province IV Representative to the National Church, Periodical Club Board and faithfully continues to support the work of the ECW. 17

The

Bells of

Saint Marys 18

I

t’s a typical first Wednesday at Tampa’s St. Mary’s Episcopal Day School, 7:30 a.m. A steady stream of SUVs and wagons approach the perimeter of the parking lot, and the ritual of the drop-off commences. Omnipresent in all grade schools, the traditional drop off line is a place where rules, school guards and order reign supreme.

At St. Mary’s, there are three drop-off areas. Headmaster Scott Laird staffs the drop-off point assigned to the youngest students, positioning himself at the end of the sidewalk. There, he greets every student by name, asking after ill grandparents and remarking on new shoes. A Kindergartener reports eating three entire bowls of Cocoa Puffs for breakfast, to which hearty congratulations are offered.

Laird has been headmaster at the school since 1996.

He will retire next year, after over almost a quarter century at the school. His title - headmaster - is one that harkens back to the era of Mr. Chips, and his charmingly old-fashioned habit of shaking hands with each student is as intentional as it is disarming: he knows all of them by name. And whether they know it or not, he’s teaching these kids the subtle art of acknowledging others; how to look a friend in the eye rather than staring distractedly at a phone.

In the lobby in a book just inside the doors, is a volume entitled Honor Code, sitting on a platform. The large volume, which could pass for a lectern Bible, not only has the Honor Code, but the signatures of each and every the students in the school agreeing to abide by it. Soon children file into classrooms, and the entire school watches a short school news program beamed out to each classroom, where two students and a panel of other student volunteers run cameras, teleprompters, and a switchboard, as two students discuss the weather, school sports, and field trips.

Following the news report, the students file over to St. Mary’s Church for Holy Eucharist with the Rev. Eric Kahl, school chaplain and rector. The audience is filled with dozens of parents and grandparents, including a dad’s corner, which today seats dozens. The service? A full Holy Eucharist Rite II. A full student procession, with acolytes, follows everyone in.

The boys, uniformed in white Oxford shirts and ties, look on as their peers read the Gospel. A school choir sings, and for just a moment, the world falls into place; everything seems utterly and satisfyingly at peace.

“There's something special about the ethos and the culture when you come on the campus of an Episcopal School,” said Laird. “I appreciate it. Every day that I'm here. I really do. I think that Episcopal schools do a great job with the

The dropoff line on South Hubert Avenue, with Claire Concannon as safety patrol and Bristol and Radley Roe heading in.

mind and the body, like all the good schools, but they do put something in the heart of children that's just really sustaining.”

Parish and School St. Mary’s is one of the oldest Episcopal Schools in the diocese, founded in 1953, around the same time as St. John’s, also in Tampa. The school's founding priest, the Rev. Warren I. Densmore, arrived in 1949. He had great ambitions for the school and parish, which grew rapidly under his leadership.

In 1955, the national Episcopal magazine The Living Church published Densmore’s essay on the church’s Maundy Thursday Watch before the Altar of Repose. Densmore had set up a plywood altar borrowed from a Sunday School room and asked the parish and school to keep watch. He was touched by the response: Last year, the rector found an elementary school girl keeping the Watch with her dog by her side. She said she wanted him to see how beautiful the altar was. The rector felt that Our Lord would not mind that kind of devotion from one of His children.

Densmore left in 1958, at a time when the church had 1,000 communicants, 198 pupils and 7 teachers. As he was leaving, he had this to say about the school he founded and lovingly tended:

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“Today it flourishes and has established its reputation for being a sound educational institution, the largest Episcopal Day School in the State of Florida. This school will continue when I leave if your parents and parishioners advise the Vestry that you want the Christian faith presented in a Christian education environment as we have it at St. Mary’s School, now operating on the new property.”

Laird grew up in The Episcopal Church. He was baptized at Trinity Episcopal in Red Bank, N.J., a parish that today still boasts an evangelical heart, a commitment to traditional worship and Gospel preaching. He moved to north New Jersey, where his family attended St. Peter’s, Mountain Lakes, a small, gothic stone church. He later moved to Mendham, where he attended St. Mark’s.

“It was fun,” Laird said. “I used to love doing vespers because it would be three people on whatever it was, a Monday or Wednesday service, with the priest.”

His first work in preparatory education included the Peck School in Moorestown, N.J., where he also coached, and later taught at the Palm Beach Day School. When he found out about the opening at St. Mary’s, he immediately thought it would be a perfect fit. “I could celebrate my identity as an Episcopalian,” Laird said, “and fulfill my lifetime goal of becoming a head of school.”

Overcoming Challenges Above, Top to bottom: Laird in the control room of the morning news broadcast; news anchors Parker Caskey and Cannon Cool.

Below, left to right: Michelle Morris, Sacred Studies teacher since 2004, with acolytes Ava O'Brien, Kaia Cortes, Sadie Patrick, Mason Reeves, Hunter Newton, J.P, Lowe; Ella Prida sings at Eucharist; the Rev. Eric Kahl gives communion to Headmaster Laird; acolytes line up.

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His first decade wasn’t easy; not long after his arrival, the parish embarked upon a massive building campaign to build the current church and day school buildings. At the same time, the church’s priest left the Episcopal Church, taking with him a significant number of pledges. In spite of the difficulties, two years later, on Jan. 26, 2002, they dedicated both the buildings, breathing new life into both parish and school.

During Laird’s tenure, the school has had challenges, one of the biggest being the Great Recession. Unlike larger schools, they weren’t sitting on large financial aid budgets or endowments, but they knew they needed to keep students in seats.

So they got creative, putting people in leadership roles on the finance committee and board, and swiftly identified the situation for what it was. “We had some very bold conversations about how we were going to address the situation,” said Laird. Ultimately, they pulled a significant annual commitment from their cash reserves to make the financial aid pool bigger, allowing the school to ask families, “What does it take to keep your children here until we're through this thing?”

Over the following three years, they scaled back targeted efforts while increasing formal financial aid. Since that time, the school has also created reserves for immediate and urgent tuition needs. Keeping the tuition affordable is a key goal of St. Mary’s; its annual tuition hovers around $14,000, making it more affordable than many other preparatory schools in Florida. A building fee added on per family instead of per student keeps things affordable for large families with multiple children attending. Like most private schools, they also make sure that teachers can send their children to school with a robust teacher remission tuition program.

Currently, enrollment sits comfortably at nearly 450 from pre-Kindergarten to 8th grade. “There's this magic number somewhere between 400 and 500 students in a school, where every child knows every other child,” said Laird. During the annual strategic planning meetings, the school revisits enrollment size. “Studies are showing now that enrollment is as important as classroom size in determining student success. Every child is known by every adult, and with that comes a sense of accountability and a sense of family.”

The tight-knit atmosphere of St. Mary’s goes further than the classroom; it has also brought about programs that help build a sense of family. Older and younger students may learn in separate classrooms, but they have plentiful opportunities to experience each other: little students are paired with older students in a “chapel buddy” program, while eighth graders tutor and volunteer with younger students.

“You'll be walking through Publix, and you'll see a fiveyear-old kid who goes, hey, there's my chapel buddy, some seventh or eighth grade kid. And it's just as important for the seventh and eighth graders as it is for the little guys.”

Keeping and attracting students is one of the most difficult aspects of the parochial school, particularly one that does not depend upon church income for its support. Bottom line? It’s got to earn its keep.

“While I've observed parishes and churches struggling, in the last decade and a half with their growth cycles, Episcopal Schools are just burgeoning; doing really, really well. This is mostly based on soft data, but I get the strong impression that a lot of our families, regardless of where their spiritual journey is, come to Saint Mary's and similar Episcopal Schools for the high quality of education fused with a spiritual component.”

The Episcopal school community in the Tampa Bay area is extensive. There are a half-dozen schools, including Canterbury School, Berkeley Preparatory, St. John’s Episcopal School, St. Paul’s School, St. Alban’s Preschool, and Ascension Day School.

“Tampa is a very collegial community in terms of the independent schools,” said Laird. “We really get along well, and I think we try to make collaborative decisions in the best interest of our families, rather than worrying about our own admissions goals first. And then in addition to that, I think the Episcopal School network is really strong.”

The Episcopal Definition The Episcopal name within the context of schools has a particular meaning. Episcopal Schools include some of the oldest and most esteemed schools in the country, such as New York’s Trinity School and Hawaii’s Iolani, as well as a new group of inner city schools as part of the Episcopal Urban School Alliance. Florida has 45 Episcopal Schools; many of the leading high schools in the state have an Episcopal affiliation. Of all the states, Texas has the most, weighing in at a robust 121. In Southwest Florida, Episcopal schools employ over 800 people and educate over 4,000 students combined.

While many Episcopal Schools are independent, there are also Episcopal parish schools. While Southwest Florida has a limited number of parish schools, many clergy have

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This page: Pre-Kindergarten students lining up before chapel, from left: Fletcher Hackney, Hampton Grow, Nadia Amedie, Sienna Mae Milward, Tom Gardner, Sally Dreisbach, Amelia Sasso, Hazel Cox

WHAT IS AN EPISCOPAL SCHOOL? Kahl explains that the ideal Episcopal School is an overlay of the whole ethos of the Episcopal Church atop the traditional parish school model. What that means is that the school is “solid at the core with beliefs and creeds and practices,” yet is known as an accepting place. That means that Episcopal Schools do not apologize for their Christian call, and language, yet welcome all types of students, and do so without a religious test. Over the centuries, and across the world, Anglican education had and has that sort of general appeal, a sense that a first-rate Christian education could be given to a person of any religion.

passed through parish school doors at some point during their careers. The Rev. Eric Kahl is rector of St. Mary’s, president of the school board, and served at Episcopal Schools in Southeast Florida prior to coming here. He feels that there are enormous benefits to having a parish and school work together; when it doesn’t work, it’s usually an indication that the connection between the parish and school are broken. The Episcopal identity gives the school and parish “appropriate boundaries, direction and flavor” and works to the benefit of each. While this seems obvious, it’s not always actively practiced, and some Episcopal Schools have muffled their Christian message for the benefit of expediency.

At St. Mary’s, there’s a Sacred Studies class for each grade level which meets once a week. An assigned teacher works as assistant chaplain, assisting as needed with acolytes. Eighth graders embark on an annual world religion tour of Tampa, where they visit Hindu, Buddhist, Roman Catholic and Moslem places of worship, all in one day. Kids ask questions, and attend with Kahl, who encourages them to see the commonalities between them.

St. Mary’s has chapel twice a week, on Mondays and Wednesdays, with the Holy Eucharist held on the first Wednesday of the month. On Mondays, students use the structure of Morning Prayer for personal devotions in the Prayer Book; Wednesdays too are reserved for the traditional Morning Prayer rite. The Morning Prayer is enormously flexible and useful for both the school and the parish, as it allows guest speakers, praise band and student readings.

“It’s an unbelievable opportunity for the Episcopal Church to spread, preach and live the gospel,” said Kahl. The chapel services are the only church that some families get: Kahl was surprised when, early in his tenure, a parent came to him to make the decision to make St. Mary’s their church, yet did not attend on Sunday because of family commitments.

“I think school families are making a conscious, although 22

usually unspoken decision that Saint Mary's school and Church, Saint Mary's parish is their church home,” said Laird.

“In other words, they're committed to soccer and dance and all these activities that fill up their weekends — including Sunday mornings — so that Monday and Wednesday chapel service is their spiritual home. I was looking around this morning during chapel, and we must have had 35 to 40 fathers there, just enjoying that moment with their children.”

Kahl sees it as a gradual - and essential - process of building a community. For instance, the school comes to church en masse one Sunday a year, when the service takes the form of a school Morning Prayer. Kahl will do a Baptism this fall for a school family that does not have a church but would like to have a full Baptism on Sunday, not during the week.

This crossover from school to church has assisted in boosting attendance: the church’s family service on Christmas Eve has grown from 100 to 350, not from a pageant, but rather from school families who consider the parish their church home.

The school has about 5 percent of its enrollment as formal communicants of St. Mary’s, with around 20 percent attending a church each Sunday. There are significant number of Catholic children as well. Youth are the most important piece to the future of the church, and a key to growing the church. “I would build a school and use the chapel of the school to build a congregation,” said Kahl.

Church and Parish

St. Mary’s was founded in the early 1950s. When the Rev. Densmore started St. Mary’s, he wrote that the school was founded “amidst doubts, questioning, and some

opposition.” Even today, there are challenges which arise between the school and parish; operating costs among the most common issues. The National Association of Episcopal Schools has a set of guidelines for how to divide up costs; whoever uses a space more than 50 percent of the time pays 100 percent of the cost, and a shared expense committee often serves to help to iron out differences between the two ministries.

The Rev. Richard Norman, Canon to the Ordinary to the Diocese of Southwest Florida, is a big proponent of Episcopal Schools, having experienced parish schools in churches in London, England and Louisiana. “It’s an integral part of ministry,” said Norman. “It’s a ministry to people who are not often in our flock.” In London, he was impressed by a Sikh family who sought a Church of England school for their children. “We can deal with the religion at home,” the father told Norman. The church can provide a sense of family to those who do not have a church of their own. “It’s a bedrock for how people can live their lives.”

Laird, who retires in 2020, reflects on what makes it all work.

“I've always been big on grace,” said Laird. “I think that that's greatly undervalued in our society today, and why we don't talk about it specifically. I think we do a lot in our curriculum, in our community ministry, in our code of conduct, to promote grace.”

Left, the choir under the direction of Mrs. Lori Jungers, including Abby Bigger, Audrey McNichols, Hope Nellis, Genevieve Carrere. At top, Adelaide Carrere; Below, parents and grandparents are regulars at Monday and Wednesday services. The Wednesday Holy Communion service fills the entire church.

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love camp

By G

reg R

an da ll

this is why i

w 24

e often search for formative experiences to go hand in hand with our traditional - and essential - Christian education programs such as Sunday school and Bible studies. Families and congregations sometimes take pilgrimages, participate in parish events like pot-luck dinners, festivals, fundraisers, and concerts to provide opportunities for them and their children to live in to the ideal of Christian community.

All of these experiences are essential for formation.

Children learn by sharing, managing conflict and supporting each other during joyous and difficult times, and common worship.

Summer camp for children and young adults can be a sacred experience where the divide between heaven and earth narrows so much that one feels the essence of God’s love in community. All of the those emotions and experiences happen at summer camp, where children are offered a safe space to practice and learn how to share their faith, fall into conflict with peers and work to resolve it in a loving way, laugh and play together, and worship God through prayer and song.

Greg Randall at the canoe pullout on the Manatee River, an important part of camp activities each season.

This is why I love camp.

This is why I’m 43 years old and still wear my camp T-shirts in the Parrish Publix at least once a week. I always hope that people ask me about camp, so that I can tell them The single moment in late afternoon how much I love it. My wife when campers jump in the pool after studying the Christian camp periodically asks me if I want to donate some of my older youth sweating on the ropes course or playing model and the long-term impacts of camp. The findings program T-shirts to Goodwill games. The sensation of singing a with the hope that I’ll buy new confirm that a kind of “camp beautiful song at night while circled shirts and diversify. I usually high” exists, but the evidence around a campfire. Seeing a camper come up with some reason to for long-term growth is much hold off on the project because request a hug from a counselor after a more compelling. Surveys of deep down, I want people to week of building a friendship never gets more than 1,000 campers and ask me about what’s on my shirt 300 parents indicate that there old, even though I see it happen literally were temporary increases in and hear that God transforms general happiness but there lives at DaySpring. hundreds of times every summer. were also lasting changes that What exactly do I love about camp? The single moment in a hot, late afternoon when had to do with the relevance of faith in everyday life.

The usefulness of the camp experience is not just campers jump in the pool after a couple of hours sweating on anecdotal. Dr. Jacob “Jake” Sorenson, the group’s founder, the ropes course or playing games. The sensation of singing has published scholarly studies on camp participation. His a beautiful song at night while circled around a campfire, research, published in 2014 in the Journal of Youth Ministry, roasting marshmallows for s’mores. Seeing a camper request reported that those who attended religious summer camp as a hug from a counselor after a week of building a friendship and establishing a new role model never gets old, even though children or youth were over three times more likely to remain religious five years later than those who did not attend.

I see it happen literally hundreds of times every summer. I DaySpring Summer Camp is one of God’s tools to love the jokes that staff develop from living with one another transform lives. He draws us closer and reveals himself for six weeks. I love the enthusiastic and fun clergy and youth to us. God reveals His body of Christ in community to ministers who serve as chaplains from week to week and provide spiritual and formative programs. And I love watching us- friends, role models, spiritual guides, even parents and family members of campers when they start to miss them a campers kayak for the first time and find new confidence that little bit after being away. If you haven’t already, I urge you to they didn’t know they had. send a child to camp. Let them experience the narrow divide The Effective Camp Research Project, part of the between Heaven and Earth.

Wisconsin-based organization Sacred Playgrounds, has been

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meet the camp

counselors

T

hrough the years, DaySpring Summer Camp has developed a strong coterie of counselors and youth leaders, many of whom have been attending camps and youth events throughout their childhood. For 2019, DaySpring has a strong group of lead counselors, some from within our diocese, and others from across the Southwest.

In preparation for 2019, some of the counselors were asked two questions, as they looked forward to the season. They included telling of the gifts that they would bring to camp, and a look at what positive effect they might have on campers.

Rebecca Davis Largo Florida State University Chapel of the Resurrection, Tallahassee One gift that I bring to the Christian community at DaySpring is being a positive example of someone living the Christian faith while also being candid about the struggles and mistakes that this entails. I have been lucky enough to have many positive Christian role models to look up to and that I still look up to. I hope to follow in these footsteps while also being approachable and building close relationships with campers at DaySpring.

Julia Linthicum Johns Creek, Georgia University of South Carolina, Columbia Trinity Cathedral, Columbia I love to listen to what is going on in someone's life and help them turn whatever situation they are going through into something positive or something to fuel them and make them work harder. Listening is an important leadership quality. It is one thing to bark orders at a group of people, but it is another to bond with them, get to know them, and find the best spot for each person; this is achieved through listening. Finding the ins and outs of someone's mind allows you to make better judgment calls and delegate responsibility more efficiently.

Last summer, prayer stations were the most important and life-changing experiences I had during the summer. Being able to listen to what’s going on in each camper’s life and being a safe space for them was really amazing.

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Christen Crosby, St. Petersburg Florida State University, Tallahassee St. Peter's Cathedral No matter the circumstance, I am always there for people going through challenges in their personal life, faith journey, or someone just wanting a friend to talk to. I believe that as junior counselors and counselors at DaySpring, our job is to be there for campers and make sure they have an enjoyable experience and feel loved throughout their time at DaySpring. Spending several years as a camper at DaySpring, I practically grew up at camp and constantly feel loved and at home whenever I was at DaySpring.

Every camper deserves that same experience every time they are at DaySpring, whether they are first time campers becoming accustomed to being away from home or they have been coming to camp for several years.

Quinn Malcolm Seminole Senior, Seminole High School St. Anne of Grace Episcopal Church, Seminole I am responsible and respectful, as well as accepting, always looking for a person's strengths. I have developed a relationship with Jesus Christ and I know that this relationship strengthens and enhances all the aspects of my life. This relationship with God has helped me through some difficult times, and it has helped me to develop goals and dreams for the future. Even more, I have a strong desire to help others to develop this type of relationship.

I’ve always had a relationship with God, however, through my experiences at my church, the church youth group and at DaySpring, I have been able to strengthen it. This relationship has been a stronghold of support for me over the past couple of years. I hope to be able to show the campers that their church community and the community at DaySpring can help them further develop their relationship with Jesus Christ. The love of God and the DaySpring community can bring them joy in times of blessings and can bring much needed support in times of trauma and grief.

Nayya Bowers Palmetto SophOmore, State College of Florida My gifts of patience and love are what I bring to the DaySpring community. I have a heart for kids and young people and love to care for them. In order for me to be a difference in anyone's life, I have to represent myself the way Christ would want me to.

The key is to influence their lives not just by what we say, but also in what we do. I hope to show others that no matter what stage in life they are at, God is right there with you. I want the campers to be inspired and have the motivation and drive to continue to grow as an individual.

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William Carlisle St. Petersburg University of Florida, Gainesville St. Peter's Cathedral, St. Petersburg I am very patient and mindful. I think that these traits stem from my empathy because I have a lot of experience with friends who have varying abilities and life experiences that differ from my own. I am also very kind and eager to help others, which is why I have always looked for service opportunities and why I really like DaySpring for the help I can bring to others in bringing positivity and in strengthening others' faiths. Finally, I am very positive and I have a great sense of humor. These help me through difficulties in life and help me to help others through difficult times and worries.

I have experience in struggling with my faith which I think I can relate to others similarly struggling. I know how to sensitively approach mental health topics and topics involving diversity or disabilities. I am a very good listener and encourage-er and I can make others believe in their ability to make change in their own lives or feel good about themselves. I also am really good at bringing people together and getting people excited and keeping people positive.

Devon Shank Wesley Chapel University of South Florida Holy Innocents, Valrico I bring the gifts of community building and additional organizational mind to the team, as well as a passion and connection to better this place I care about so deeply, and grow and strengthen the community at large. I can make a difference by using my relationships to past campers to improve their experience overall.

Jada Andrews The State College of Florida Greater Mount Pilgrim Primitive Baptist Church Love is one of the best gifts I believe I have, having a patient and caring heart also are gifts I inhabit. I love to make sure that everyone is treated fairly and also get along. I do this because I know how it feels to be around a bunch of people you may not know and have nerves because you have no idea what’s in store, but with a friend anything is possible. Another gift would be the way I spread the word of God to His people that also like myself want a closer walk with Him by strengthening their faith.

By letting the campers know it is okay to be who they are, we can encourage them to learn and do things they never imagined they could do like overcoming a fear, giving positive advice no matter how big or small a situation.

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Macy Kendzior Ellenton Christ Episcopal Church, Bradenton I am a positive and energetic leader, and feel that this is necessary to connect with campers. In particular, I love to share God's love through music and arts and crafts. I feel that it is necessary to try to connect with every camper through their gifts. As a past DaySpring camper, I have seen the difference that counselors can make in someone's life. My walk with Christ truly began at a DaySpring camp, and I would love to share that with others.

Kathryn Easterling Bradenton Florida Southern College All Saints' Episcopal Church, Lakeland I am a very caring, gentle, religious young woman who has a passion for helping others.

Making them feel safe and healthy. When a kid gets hurt/sick at camp it can be very scary, so I would hope to help them not only physically feel better but also emotionally.

CAMP SESSIONS & CHAPLAINS

2019

June 4-7 | SESSION 1 | BREAKOUT ELEMENTARY CAMP Chaplains | The Rev. Ryan Whitley and Jackie Overton Breakout is a special program for rising 3rd to 5th grade students new to the camp experience. From waterfront fun to tree climbing, arts & crafts to games, the spirit of this week shines with new friends and new experiences.

June 9-14 | SESSION 2 | HIGH SCHOOL CAMP Chaplains | The Rev. Carla McCook High School Camp is about community and fun, with personal and spiritual growth as teens take their individual perspectives and experiences to the next level on the ropes course, waterfront, and with each other.

June 16-21 | SESSION 3 | MIDDLE SCHOOL CAMP Chaplains | The Rev. Michael Todd & SCF Student Team Middle School Session is always wild and energetic, packed with hilariously challenging team games, music, friendship and Christian formation.

June 23-28 | SESSION 4 | HIGH SCHOOL MISSION CAMP Chaplains | The Rev. Bryan O'Carroll & The Rev. Christian Maxfield Engaging the community and experiencing evangelism while interacting with the world, Mission Camp provides wonderful tools for developing young leaders’ call to care for the world around them.

July 7-12 | SESSION 5 | ELEMENTARY CAMP Chaplains | Ayana Grady & The Rev. Chase Ackerman Elementary Camp is packed with fun, games, community-building and music enhancing formation as rising 3rd-5th grade students squeeze every bit of fun out of their summer.

July 14-19 | SESSION 6 | MIDDLE SCHOOL MISSION CAMP Chaplains | The Rev. Janet Tunnell & Jackie Overton Building a foundation for service and outreach, Middle School Mission Camp students take part in all the fun of traditional camp activities while engaging in outreach and experiencing the beauty of serving those in need.

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Planting By G

the

ard Poll d an arl

Seed I

n 2018, the Diocese of Southwest Florida began planting traditional churches again in earnest.

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Southwest Florida has had precious few church plants in recent decades, with the Great Recession putting building aspirations of almost every parish in the diocese on hold. Bishop Dabney Smith, who arrived to Southwest Florida in 2007, began reviving the discussion about new church plants in his 2013 convention address. In it, he outlined his wish to launch five new worship communities in the upcoming years. A few years on, and that aspiration has become a reality with the launch of the Wesley Chapel Episcopal Church, led by the Rev. Adrienne Hymes.

“I am constantly pleased at the forethought of the leadership of this diocese in making sure that our budgetary recommendations are in place to help both congregations revitalize and new churches start,” said Smith. “Both happen on purpose.”

Although budgeting has been critical to fund new starts and revitalization, Smith is keenly aware that growing new congregations has to come from a much deeper place. “If one looks at the developed church in the 1950s and in the 1880s and 1890s, you will see that the first resource required was not financial, but the hearts of the people to have a church where they worship,” said Smith.

A New National Effort In 2015, the Episcopal Church General Convention decided to make a major investment in church plants.

At the convention, the budget was amended to support $5.6 million in funding for a national network of plants.

Speaking in support of that effort was Georgia General Convention deputy, the Rev. Canon Frank Logue, who is now assisting the diocese as a church planting coach.

At that time, the Episcopal Church’s church-planting skills had grown a little rusty. In the past, the efforts had been largely formulaic: identify a growing area, announce a church was opening to the community in that area, hire a priest, and it was off to the races.

“We could just have a growing neighborhood, and start a new church,” said Logue. But the model stopped working in recent decades as communities settled and needs adjusted, and as a result, most dioceses also stopped planting new churches.

“It used to be something we opposed,” said Logue. Of course, it was not intentional. The problem? Dioceses were looking at new plants from a scarcity perspective: there are only so

The Rev. Adrienne Hymes on Easter Sunday.

many Episcopalians in the world, and you need to just sort them out among current congregations, said Logue. In many dioceses - Southwest Florida being a happy exception - councils and standing committees represent older churches, many of them struggling themselves: the idea of “let’s go start a brand new one” falls flat. Why should old churches divert their resources to new ones when the old ones were failing?

Logue, who attended Virginia Theological Seminary, participated in two launches for churches in the Diocese of Virginia in the late 1990s,

including one in Alexandria. At that time, dioceses in Texas and Virginia were the ones that were recapturing the skills and expertise of how to launch churches, and he learned from their experience.

In 2004, Logue launched King of Peace Episcopal Church in Kingsland, Georgia, a parish in a fast-growing area just above the Florida border.

Today, King of Peace is thriving: Logue has moved on and now supports the Diocese of Georgia as Canon to the Ordinary. The undertaking also has helped neighboring churches. In his own experience in Kingsland, Logue

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saw a neighboring church housed in a very small building and ended up reinvesting in it. King of Peace, with a church largely under age 40, was a “fairly lively” service for some Episcopalians who came to visit, with children and youth. He would, in turn, direct them to the neighboring churches, where there would be things like EfM programs. In fact, the church plant can aid the older church. “Church plants serve as research and development about how to connect with our neighbors,” said Logue.

Logue looks to the business world for direction, where retailers are continually reinventing their store footprints, following demographics and housing starts, and using reproducible models. Stores are renovated regularly, and new locations appear constantly.

“Publix has no problem saying ‘we need to be there’,” said Logue.

Dioceses don’t always have the strategic models or resources to know how to formulate a strategy, often

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resulting in missed opportunities around the U.S. “How could the Diocese of Nevada respond to the rapid growth of Las Vegas?” asked Logue. “We missed an opportunity there. Do we want to miss the same thing as Wesley Chapel?”

Today, however, Logue believes many in the Episcopal Church see the opportunity.

“Our skill sets were developed in the 1950s and 1960s,” said Logue.

Because many of the skills of church starts were no longer in the Episcopal Church, they had to “intentionally learn from the other parts of Christ.”

That knowledge was in the evangelical church. At meetings and conferences, Logue and others began talking to other people like himself from denominations and the liturgical church, who were also interested in new church starts.

Today, there are a number of people who work on church replanting and growth at the denominational level as part of the Church Planting Advisory

Group. The Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers, Canon to the Presiding Bishop for evangelism, reconciliation, and creation care, leads the overall effort, with the Rev. Thomas Brackett as manager of church planting as part of a staff of three in the Church Planting and Mission Development Department.

Coaches around the U.S., like Logue, assist at a diocesan level, providing access to essential resources which help potential plants assess, train and collect information so they don’t have to start from scratch.

And there are bright spots on the radar now; models to observe and study, including Holy Nativity in Scottsdale, and St. Andrew’s in McKinney, Texas.

Some have to be innovative, like the revamp of Grace Church in Yukon, Okla., a place where the neighborhood has so vastly changed that the whole church had to reinvent itself.

The diocese is part of this effort, and subsequently received a $100,000

grant from the Episcopal Church’s comfortable with where we thought not be large; it’s the commitment that Executive Council for a church plant, the best planting would take place,” matters. “The numbers are not what will which was led by Adrienne. At the time, said Hymes. inspire us right now,” said Hymes. “I am Bishop Smith hoped that using the Just before the creation of the looking at how the community responds building in a refreshed way would “gain Diocese of Southwest Florida, the to each other. How they are caring for knowledge and skills that are beneficial original Diocese of South Florida had each other. If they're calling each other and portable to other regions of the an astounding 30 new church starts when sick, or picking up each other for diocese.” in various stages of development. At church. People investing in their own Indeed Bishop Smith believes the height planting in the 1960s, the vestments. I look at people who come revitalization is the task of every Episcopal Church was opening a new by themselves, and show up with their parishioner across the diocese. “As you church every six weeks, many of them family.” are reading this, I hope that your heart in temporary storefronts, leased funeral An important part of Hymes’ is inspired to challenge your church homes and Holiday Inn banquet rooms. effort is making the worship dignified, to revitalize and look around your The Wesley Chapel Episcopal Church even within the confines of a former community, and if you see places we started Sunday services the First Sunday suburban office park setting. The need to try to plant, start the conversation, say your prayers, and talk to your priest.”

I think when people hear the words ‘church plant,’ He also believes that they automatically think ‘less than.’ I know that if I show church planting is called for in the New Testament. “The up to a place that says it’s an Episcopal Church, I’m fully gathering of the resources of confident that the space will reflect the look and feel of leadership, the property, heart and finances, and the desire to the Episcopal Church and maintain the integrity of the not quit revitalizing or plant, liturgy of the Episcopal Church. which St. Paul talks about in 1st Corinthians, is what we see being enacted today.” of Advent, 2018 in an inauspicious place Episcopal flag is there, and the Diocesan as well. Their first location was space Altar Guild has provided candles and within another startup church, Savana chalice and paten. Vestments have been Crossing the Border

Church, in an unassuming office park provided from Tampa Deanery parishes Before the church plant, the on Maryweather Lane, just off Bruce B. through Hymes’ concurrent work at the Diocese of Southwest Florida had Downs near the Seven Oaks area, west St. Anselm USF Chapel Center. The altar identified two areas in the northern of Interstate 75. was donated by All Saints, Tarpon Springs. part of Southwest Florida as potential They now attract about 30 “I think when people hear the candidates for new churches: the worshippers each week, even with the words ‘church plant,’ they automatically Fishhawk area of eastern Hillsborough early 8 a.m. service time. Never having think ‘less than’ - a banal, unpolished County, neighbor to St. John the started a church before, Hymes began space. I am an Episcopalian, and I Divine, Valrico and Holy Innocents, to think not just about how many the know that if I show up to a place that and Wesley Chapel in Pasco County, church would attract, but what mix of says it’s an Episcopal Church, I’m fully a location where churches like visitors would make the community confident that the space will reflect the St. Elizabeth’s, St. Martin and St. really click, building relationships that look and feel of the Episcopal Church Stephens were a considerable distance could make the church work both now and maintain the integrity of the liturgy away. As they looked at both areas, and in the long term. of the Episcopal Church. People are Wesley Chapel seemed like the “We look for people who are pleasantly surprised when they walk into best option: statistics indicated the coming who can embrace the larger a space created for a secular business, and population was growing quickly, and vision of growth because it means feel like they are in the Episcopal Church. people were more accessible than in that they need to be able to see what’s That they feel this on their first visit is the Fishhawk community, a planned not there yet and do the hard work of critical, because if it doesn’t happen on development which was gated and bringing concept into reality rooted in the very first time, they will not return.” insular. “The bishop and everyone unwavering faith.”

Luckily, the startup church has on the church planting team were The pioneers of a church need been blessed with people who are 33

steeped in the Episcopal identity.

“Obviously, we don’t exist just for Episcopalians, but it was a surprise to know how many Episcopalians are sitting in Wesley Chapel, waiting for their own church to be built in their neighborhood,” said Hymes. “I had prepared to welcome unchurched, dechurched folks and regular people.”

Pasco County is not what everyone expects. While it is considered the country and appears rural, it is rapidly expanding and growing. Professionals line the buildings and roads; restaurants stay open later. There are also new kinds of potential members, including Anglicans from the islands, who see worship as more traditional.

“Wesley Chapel mirrors what people used to think the typical Episcopalian was. Educated. Upwardly mobile. Professional. A mix of ages.

Active retirees, and young families.”

As Canon Logue looked at the plant and at Hymes, he assessed her specific skill set as well as her motivation, and encouraged her to use her natural talents in the church.

He noticed a white board at USF, and noted that teaching would be an important part of the ministry. To that end, a Wednesday Evening prayer and Bible study, often with Anglican favorite works like C.S. Lewis, have been key to building the group.

“I didn’t feel like I had permission to set the DNA for the congregation. I initially bought into this idea that a church plant/startup/ congregation might be relegated to bare feet and campfire music; I wouldn’t attend a church like that.

Frank noticed my concern and gifted me with the message of quote, ‘Adrienne, remember that as the DNA is set for the congregation, it needs to be the church that you yourself would want to attend’.”

Adrienne, he believes, is the right one for the task. “She’s just wired the right way to organically network and connect with people.”

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Above: Dr. Gerene Thompson, Hymes, and LeGrand Jones on Palm Sunday. This page, right, and opposite: The Rev. Adrienne Hymes celebrates Easter Communion at Wesley Chapel Episcopal Church with (clockwise from top left) Elyse Waterman, Eva Waterman, Nora Cruz and Olivia Cruz.

The Episcopal Liturgy and Heritage Hymes’ work as chaplain at University of South Florida has given her a window into the next generation of churchgoers.

“What I have found with USF, and a younger population of unchurched and de-churched individuals, as well as Wesley Chapel's Episcopalians, is that you can never go wrong with tradition and being true to our Episcopal identity.”

Hymes believes that the church uniquely exists to be counter-cultural, and not look like the YMCA down

the street or a Saturday night concert.

“We offer a sacred experience that cannot be engaged in just anywhere, which necessarily calls people into the four walls of the church building,” said Hymes. “Church liturgy has its place where it does the powerful work of transformation in the gathered community. Mission work outside of the church depends upon the rootedness of the congregation in their spiritual journey.”

Hymes’ family church in Norfolk, Grace Episcopal, was led by

the Rev. Joseph Green, a leader in the African-American community. “It was a predominantly black congregation, which is generally very high church.

Fr. Joseph Green was my example for the dignity exuded by the priest. I am very cognizant of how I present myself in interacting with congregants.”

Going by the book helps too. “All our new churches will bear the mark of being Episcopal churches by being Book of Common Prayer churches,” said Logue. Even The Abbey in Birmingham, Alabama - a modern church in style and formality - follows the Book of Common Prayer, which by design and theology can be used by the laity.

“The rhythm of our liturgies has always influenced how I am approaching this church plant. The gift that we have is the structure of our liturgies which helps to bring everything back to center,” said Hymes. “I don’t have to make up anything new. It’s there already. Use it.”

“People want something deeper and they especially want something that is rooted in tradition that won’t pass away.”

The Future With the approval of Diocesan Council and the bishop, the church plant has found a new permanent rental space for church, one that allows fellowship time and where no one has to pack up after the service has concluded.

The first Sunday will be on July 7, 2019, at 10:30 a.m.

The Rev. John Reese at St. Andrew’s in Tampa has acted as a mentor to Hymes during the church plant. She attended the church while she was a deacon, and was ordained at the church in May of 2018, where she still preaches occasionally.

Reese says they have worked together on very “down-to-earth” matters, including discussions on the pacing of services and other details of worship including Christmas and Easter. Planting can be a group effort: St. Andrew’s choir has assisted with worship, and their website was put together by Vic Omila, a St. Andrew’s choir member who helped put together the St. Andrew’s website, and used the template to bring Wesley

Chapel’s web presence.

As part of the work, they have also discussed what the church should look like as it is going forward and what is needed for the service. In Wesley Chapel, they have not had a praise band; rather, the music has been from keyboard and the worship style more formal. Reese says that in many ways that makes sense for reasons: many in the culture do not have much experience with church at all, and do not know much about it. The liturgy helps visitors learn the basics of the faith and exposes them to a wide variety of readings through the lectionary.

“I am excited that there is a future for that,” said Reese, who is encouraged that they are not looking for a “reproduction of what looks like a secular music performance,” which work in some church settings. “We need to be who we are, and do what we do well,” said Reese.

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Seminarian Letters The diocese currently has six seminarians in preparation for the priesthood; some in three-year programs, and others pursuing alternate distance learning. In the spirit of our upcoming summer camp season, we asked seminarians Marcella Robinson and Brian Cleary to fill us in on what they've been doing while they're away.

Sewanee, Tennessee Hello from the mountain! I am here at the School of Theology in Sewanee just finishing up my first academic year. Jim and I, along with our dog Charley, moved up last July to live in community with other Master of Divinity, Master of Arts students and those folks working toward special theology degrees and degrees in religion and the environment. It has been an exciting time meeting other students, mostly from the South, but others from more northern climes, the Caribbean, Malawi, Kenya, and Burundi. My coursework was primarily foundational theology and liturgical courses (Old Testament Foundations, New Testament Foundations, Christian Spirituality, Church History, and the church music foundations course, Singing the Word). I also made time in my schedule to take Family Systems Theory and Spanish.

Living in the seminary community is being fully engaged with all aspects of seminary life. This means regularly participating in and attending chapel, baking bread for Eucharist, being involved with the student government, making coffee, etc. If it needs to be done for the community, there is an opportunity to be involved. Though Sewanee is a quiet place apart from the busy world, there is plenty to do This summer, Jim and I will live in the big city of Chattanooga while I participate in Clinical Pastoral Education at Erlanger Baroness Hospital, a level one trauma hospital. The program is an intensive ten-week instructional and vocational training of pastoral care in the hospital setting. I have been told to expect a tremendous amount of spiritual and emotional growth this summer.

After summer, Jim and I come back to the Mountain for my second year of seminary with coursework centered on theology. Like other seminary programs, I will begin preaching and working in a local church on Sundays during the Easter semester. It will be another busy year!

Peace to you,

Marcella Robinson Marcella Robinson is in her first year of seminary at Sewanee, University of the South. Her sending church is All Saints, Tarpon Springs. You can email her at marcella1012@yahoo.com.

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Berkeley, California Greetings and peace to everyone from the only Episcopal seminary west of the Rocky Mountains, The Church Divinity School of the Pacific. I have been a member of St. Mary’s, Bonita Springs since 2011. I am a life-long Episcopalian, growing up and living in Fairfield County, Conn. until moving to Southwest Florida. I was raised in the church, and was active throughout my life. The church community was an extended family. Serving as an acolyte, summer camp, outreach activities, and formation were important to my personal development.

I studied International Business at Northeastern University in Boston. During my studies I lived and worked in Spain for almost two years. The beauty of the European cathedrals, the Catholic culture of Spain, and a Christmas visit to Rome inspired my Christian faith. Professionally, my experience has involved marketing and management in the pharmaceutical, energy, and construction industries.

A revelation of who Jesus was and what it meant for me, occurred in when I was 31, and that experience radically changed my life. When I moved into the diocese seven years ago, I had a call to serve Jesus. By fully giving myself to the Church and Her mission, I was able to discern my call to the priesthood. The formation, community, and Christian love that exists in our diocese is a tremendous blessing and sets it apart from many. I attended Cursillo in 2012 and haven’t looked back. Being active in that ministry, exposed me to the wider community in the Diocese, allowed me to evangelize, and exposed pastoral skills I didn’t know I possessed.

As I write, I am in the final three weeks of my first year of seminary. It has been an exciting year of spiritual development, challenging coursework, and living in community. The San Francisco Bay area is a beautiful place to live and the inspiration of nature and culture is around every corner.

So why did I go to the Pacific? I think our dean, Mark Richardson said it best: “Christians today have to invent practices of ministry that meet the world on its own terms with a distinct voice, but invention can only succeed over time if it is borne out of deep and faithful grounding in the Christian tradition. CDSP helps students become the inventors of the church of tomorrow.”

That is the focus of this seminary, a bright and fruitful future for The Episcopal Church. CDSP was founded in 1893 to train clergy for the Episcopal Church in the West and was the first Episcopal seminary to enroll women. The school is an inclusive community, welcoming all and expressing God’s love for creation.

This summer I will be working with the San Francisco Night Ministry in order to fulfill my Clinical Pastoral Education requirements. This ministry serves the homeless where they are at; on the streets 11pm to 3am 7 nights a week. It is known to be a powerful experience and involves difficult work with people on the edges of society. I also am happy to announce that I will be completing my field education next year at St. Clements in Berkeley, CA. As I look ahead to Pentecost, I am confident our Lord is alive, and I pray for continued blessings on our Diocese, where my heart and spirit is filled.

Peace and Love.

Brian Cleary is in his first year at Church Divinity School of the Pacific. His sending church is St. Mary’s, Bonita Springs. You can email him at bpc13771@gmail.com.

Brian Cleary

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Church Cookbook Love PERFECTLY PACKABLE

Summer season is upon us, which means an onslaught of beach cookouts, poolside grilling and picnics in the park. We cruised through our collection of vintage church cookbooks to find some truly delicious recipes for you to take to your next summertime soiree.

by Shannon Weber, Managing Editor Welcome to the newest addition to our upgraded Southern Cross - the recipes department. Our goal for these pages is to provide you with some season-appropriate recipes perfect for any level of cook or baker - nothing fussy here.

We talk about the importance of keeping an archive on page 6. Our archive houses innumerable photos, records, and historical information, but it also houses a nice stockpile of vintage and newer parish cookbooks, ranging from the 1960's to present-day. So often, cookbooks like this are relegated to a shelf in the kitchen and forgotten, but we want you to dust them off and put them to work, just like we are.

We may forget, but these recipes are golden; cooking has come a long way in a half century, but we shouldn't forget about the recipes passed down for generations and often shared in cookbooks just like these.

Each of these recipes was hand-picked and prepared by me: a home cook who also moonlights as a freelance recipe developer and food writer. I'll admit; I was apprehensive.

Would these recipes stand the test of time? Would they be something you'd want to eat today? I'm happy to report that every recipe I tried was absolultely perfect: things came together beautifully, and I couldn't help but think what a shame it is that I don't get out some of my old cookbooks more often. I plan to change that, and I hope you do too.

These recipes all hail from two generations of cookbooks from The Cathedral Church of St. Peter in St. Petersburg: Recipe Joys from 1967, and St. Peter's Cooks from 1986. Both cookbooks have a solid offering of recipes - hot and cold

appetizers, salads, soups, mains, and desserts abound. If you have a copy, I'd encourage you to grab it, because there's a lot more in those pages than what I can fit in these pages.

Enjoy!

From | Recipe Joys (1967), compiled by the St. Peter’s Episcopal Churchwomen Author | Mrs. (Lt. Col.) John (Betty-Gail) Donor of Sherman, TX “Eternal” (24 Hour) Cole Slaw Serves | 8 to 10 | Note: This is a gorgeous salad; snappy in all the right places, with a dressing that’s tangy and just a bit briny. I made one adjustment here by adding the sugar to the liquid versus sprinkling it over the vegetables; it tends to dissolve more evenly that way. My apologies to Mrs. Donor; it’s a beautiful recipe as it stands.

Eternal Slaw 1 head cabbage, shredded 1 onion, thinly sliced 1 green pepper, chopped or thinly sliced 12 sliced stuffed green olives Hot Dressing 1 cup white vinegar 1/2 cup salad oil (grapeseed or vegetable) 1/2 cup granulated sugar 1 Tbsp prepared mustard 1 tsp salt dash of pepper | Preparation - Eternal Slaw | Combine slaw ingredients in large bowl and toss; put in refrigerator while making dressing.

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| Preparation - Hot Dressing | Combine ingredients for dressing in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil; boil for 3 minutes.

Pour Hot Dressing over cabbage mixture. Should stand 24 hours before serving (in refrigerator.) In a closed jar, this slaw will keep for months. Never freeze, simply keep refrigerated.

From | St. Peter’s Cooks (1986), made possible by the ECW and sponsored by St. Monica’s Guild

From | St. Peter’s Cooks (1986), made possible by the ECW and sponsored by St. Monica’s Guild

Author | Unknown, but I’d like to thank whomever submitted it: it’s become my new favorite “bean salad” style salad.

Author | Unknown, but again, my hat is off: it's a great basic brownie recipe with a distinctly summer feel to it.

Shoe Peg Corn Salad

Camptown Brownies

Serves | 10 to 12 |

Serves | 12 to 16 |

Note: This is another “eternal” salad - it stayed perfectly crisp in my refrigerator for over two weeks - and so addictive. It couldn’t be easier to make to take along to a cookout: it pairs perfectly with burgers or hot dogs and weathers heat like a champ.

Note: I love the title of these: it reminds me of summer and camping.

Not a fussy recipe at all to throw together, all you need is a few ingredients and your choice of nuts: I used peanuts, but pecans or walnuts would be great in these as well. The marshmallows disappear during baking, adding a whiff of toasted marshmallow to the mix and leaving behind a nubbly little top.

1 cup sugar 1/2 cup grapeseed or vegetable oil 3/4 cup vinegar 1/4 tsp salt 1 can white shoe peg corn, drained 1 can LeSeur baby peas 1 can french green beans 1 cup chopped celery 1 cup chopped sweet yellow onion 1 cup chopped green pepper 1 small jar pimento (4 oz), drained | Preparation - Shoe Peg Corn Salad | In a medium saucepan, boil sugar, oil, vinegar and salt, stirring until sugar has dissolved. Meanwhile, place all vegetables in a large bowl.

Remove dressing from heat and let cool slightly. Pour over vegetables and refrigerate: vegetables should be in dressing for at least 8 hours.

2 eggs 1 cup sugar 1/2 cup butter 2 squares unsweetened chocolate (2 ounces) 1/2 cup chocolate chip pieces 1 tsp vanilla 1/4 cup sifted flour 1 cup miniature marshmallows 1/2 cup chopped nuts (you choose!) | Preparation - Camptown Brownies | Preheat oven to 350˚F; grease and lightly flour an 8-inch or 9-inch square pan. Beat eggs until thick; add sugar gradually. Melt butter, chocolate and chocolate chip pieces in a double boiler set over simmering water. Add along with vanilla to egg mixture. Blend in flour (be careful not to overwork.) Stir in marshmallows and nuts. Bake for 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

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God's Love in Action

RISING FROM DECONSTRUCTION

,,

Sophia Hyde talks about how her faith was renewed this past Easter in Plant City.

I

went through a season in my Christian walk where I became disturbed by the tradition of getting dressed in pretty clothes and going to church, and then posting it to social media as a way to honor the most significant part of the Christ story. A day that symbolizes the greatest sacrifice, unlimited forgiveness of our enemies, and the death/ resurrection story paired with cute family pictures, just didn’t align for me.

In fact, I didn’t go to church for two years because for me, in the season of my walk, it felt forced and artificial. This year felt different. My soul yearned to go to a church service.

I felt drawn to visit a new church I haven’t been to before.

And then, a divine encounter in the grocery store led to an invitation to join someone at church, which confirmed for me that I indeed was supposed to go.

I went through five years of deconstruction. My faith was a house of cards that others built for me. One by one, the answers I was being handed did not add up and a card would come off.

Eventually the stability was gone and the house of cards fell.

That season was very dark, lonely and frustrating. Eventually, I discovered new paradigms that helped me lay a new foundation, one that made space for all the colors with which I now could see.

FOREVER MORE, WHEN I LOOK AT THE CROSS, I WILL SEE A SYMBOL OF UNITY. I WILL SEE A REMINDER OF A MAN WHO SACRIFICED HIS LIFE TO SAY "WE ARE ALL THE SAME." IN A WORLD WHERE HUMANITY CRAVES LABELS, DIVISION AND US VS. THEM, HE SAID "NO MORE."

And then Easter morning, I sat in church and a couple tears streamed down my face. It was a beautiful experience at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church. The priest’s words struck a chord so deeply in my soul that he helped to rewrite for me what I see when I look at the cross.

Forever more, when I look at the cross I will see a symbol of unity. I will see a reminder of a man who sacrificed his life to say “we are all the same.” In a world where humanity craves labels, division and us vs. them, he said “no more.”

His life of breaking these barriers made other people so uncomfortable that they killed him.

For seven years I have been going through deconstruction and reconstruction. For those of you who have never heard those terms, it’s simply vocabulary to explain a very normal process of the faith experience. Many people go through a period of time where they doubt, question and maybe even walk away from a faith experience they were handed. The foundation rug on which they built their truths gets ripped out from underneath them. And then, over time, a new foundation is set. One that they choose, they set, and is their own.

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By Sophia Hyde

,,

Above, Hyde with her husband Brandon, son Liam, and daughter Eleanora.

For two years I have been reconstructing that house. It’s been a very healing, restorative and hopeful experience. The message today felt like the last two cards coming together on top. This new lens through which to see the death and resurrection gives me so much hope for Christianity, a faith I heavily considered walking away from just a few shorts years ago.

May grace and peace be with you. Today and always.

Words

from The Rev. Barry Kubler’s Sermon “My friends, when we say, Alleluia, Christ is Risen, we are acknowledging that all the barriers that formerly separated people have been abolished. Christ’s resurrection replaces division with unity. Christ’s resurrection challenges us to replace distrust and the fear of others with understanding and love. And the word resurrection does not just imply the Good News of life’s victory over death. It also recognizes the challenges of overcoming the barriers, the fears, the distrust and the alienation that separates us from others.”

,

INSIDE THE VIKING SKY CRUISE SHIP DISASTER Sandy Rogers, the daughter of the late Rev. Allan Rogers, took a trip to Norway to celebrate her late mother, who was Scandinavian. She happened to be aboard the ill-fated MV Viking Sky, which lost power during a storm in the North Sea, resulting in one of the most ambitious marine helicopter rescue efforts on record.

T

By Sandy Rogers

o be able to describe my experience on the Viking of the night. The waves had strengthened, and the ship was Sky requires me to explain just why we went. rocking. I think it was then that I knew something bad was Many people in the diocese knew my parents, about to happen. At that point, I began to pray. the Rev. Allan and Holly Rogers. My mother’s Saturday morning was a planned sail day; when we family is from Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), went to lunch at the Pool Grill, we finally saw just how rough and although she was able to travel to Denmark as a young the sea had become. The water in the pool on the deck was adult, she was never able to see Norway. It had always been a splashing side to the side, at times hitting the ceiling. After dream of my Dad’s to be able to take my Mom to Norway to lunch, thinking it may be interesting to see what the waves experience walking its roads and seeing its beautiful landscape. were like from the front of the ship, we went to the Explorer’s It wasn’t something they were ever able to accomplish; I Lounge, also on Deck 7. The lounge, in the stern, is where lost my Mom in 2013. Getting the call that my Dad had died those social media videos of furniture sliding around the room last year took me to a deep place of introspection. I questioned were taken. what was important in my life; my goals, my priorities, you While there, the waves got so strong that a set of glasses name it. One good thing that came out of this difficult time slid off the countertop, and crashed on the floor. At this time, was that it gave me the motivation to fulfill the dreams that we thought it prudent to return to our stateroom, away from they had had for themselves, one of which was traveling to Norway to connect with our heritage. Thus, the plan for a cruise on In that moment, all I wanted to do was to be the peace that the Viking Ocean Cruises line, aboard the people around me were desperately wanting to feel. I knew MV Viking Sky, to see Norway. that we were going to be fine: I never felt afraid, or nervous. I The trip began in Bergen on March had come to the place in my heart where, if this truly was to 14, 2019, in what was to be a 12-day be my time, I was going to reunite with my parents in heaven. cruise, to see the towns and cities and If it wasn’t, then I got to continue my life with those I love here, fjords of coastal Norway including Narvik, and would continue to live out my parents’ legacy.

Alta, Tromso, Bodø and Stavanger, before ending up in London. The entire experience of the first week was amazing, walking on land my ancestors walked. It felt sacred; God was so present during that time. I was so thankful to be able to honor my parents with this trip.

On Thursday March 21, before the “adventure” happened, we participated in a bridge tour, and met the first officer and a member of the crew. As they were going over the safety tools and monitors they used, they began discussing the weather around Bodø, which was to be our next planned port. When looking at the weather, they looked concerned, and explained that it would be getting rough soon.

Left, a photo of the bridge during Friday night, March 22, I had tour, just before the storm. Right, early trouble sleeping, and was awake most waves during the storm.

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all of the passengers trying to stand and take videos. When we got to the room, we secured as many of the movable glass objects as we could. The big wave - the one that seemed to be the precursor to the emergency alarm - actually threw me off the bed, and across the room; intense, to say the least.

About a minute after that, the mayday alarm sounded to have all passengers head to their muster rooms. I knew the water was rough, but at that point, I hadn’t thought there was anything dire going on, so I didn’t grab a jacket, and donned a pair of flip flops. Pro tip: don’t wear flip flops when there’s an alarm of any sort, anywhere.

We got to the muster room, which was in the main restaurant, and were given life vests. Because of the waves, one of the windows had been blown out, so we had to move to the atrium. We waded through ankle deep water which was about 30 degrees (remember; I was in flip flops), finally reaching the atrium, and settled in. I remember standing there, watching fellow passengers who were visibly in fear, people who’d been soaked by violent waves, and I felt completely helpless.

In that moment, all I wanted to do was to be the peace that people around me were desperately wanting to feel. I knew that we were going to be fine: I never felt afraid, or nervous. I had come to the place in my heart where, if this truly was to be my time, I was going to reunite with my

Around the Diocese

parents in heaven. If it wasn’t, then I got to continue my life with those I love here, and would continue to live out my parents’ legacy. For me, there was no loss; either outcome was a win. In that moment, I knew my place was to make sure that those around me felt less fear. Whether it was making jokes about my stellar footwear selection, or asking the crew directing us if it was safe to go surfing since the waves were up, I hoped to make those around me chuckle, and remove some of the stress of the situation.

Throughout the rest of the day and into the night, all I felt was the peace that passes all understanding; I’m not sure how else to put it. The crew was taking groups of older folks and injured folks to be evacuated by helicopter, and I watched thinking, “God is here; why would I want to leave the safety of His Presence?”

By 8 a.m. the next morning, helicopter evacuations had become optional. By 5 p.m., we had docked into port at Molde, and were allowed to go back to our rooms. By midnight, we were on a plane to Oslo, and on our multiple flight journey home.

As I think back on that 72-hour span, all I can say is God’s peace is better than any security protocol that a ship can offer. I am so thankful for the crew and how well they took care of us. I am so glad to be able to be on the other side of it and back home; flip flops and all.

ST. ANSELM'S EPISCOPAL CHAPEL CENTER TAMPA – Our University of South Florida chaplain, the Rev. Adrienne Hymes, is now supporting the spiritual needs of the law enforcement officers, as well as serving the needs of the department in formal ceremonies, such as the Law Enforcement Memorial Week Wreath Ceremony.

The Rev. Hymes assists with the pastoral needs of the entire USF community, including students, faculty and administrators. Hymes, who studied and researched the historic role of the Anglican workplace chaplain in the community while she was at Virginia Theological Seminary, lives at USF, and directs the St. Anselm Episcopal Chapel Center. She is pictured here with Chief of Police Chris Daniel, and a select number of officers from the USF Police Department’s Tampa officers, at the "Walk Like MADD" event on March 22, 2019.

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ALL SOULS, FT. MYERS – The Rev. Christian Maxfield blessed the fleet in Ft. Myers on Feb. 26, 2019. Over 75 boats were blessed; he is pictured here with Hank Heise. Yes, water gun comes in handy for the blessing and parade, which was at the Old Bridge.

ST. JOHN, TAMPA – Bishop Dabney Smith visited St. John’s on the Sunday after Easter. On April 28, the parish held confirmations; it was followed up by a picnic.

ST. MARY, BONITA SPRINGS - St. Mary’s Bonita Outreach Commission organized a local outreach program designed to bring Christmas to underprivileged children in the proximity of their parish. Over the years, they have provided parishioner-donated goods such as groceries and home supplies to the same communities in support of Harvest Ministries, a local charitable ministry supported by several local churches. Through the Kindness for Kids Christmas gift program, Harvest Ministries would be able to distribute age-appropriate, high-quality gifts to as many as 120 children in need.

With the projected cost of over

$7,500, one initial challenge of the project was to raise funding to cover costs. A grant for $2,500 was requested and subsequently granted by the Diocese of Southwest Florida, which helped immensely in achieving the financial goal set for the project. Further assistance came with a Christmas tree, erected in the church narthex by ladies of the Episcopal Church Women, bearing cards with gift requests for each child which parishioners could pull and use to purchase gifts.

The project received tremendous support from our diocese and from parishioners who quickly took up all the gift request cards, thanks to the

ST. ALBANS, ST. PETE BEACH - The Rev. Gigi Conner will serve this summer at the Chautauqua Institute as chaplain.

cooperation and creativity of the ECW. Volunteers spent hours organizing and wrapping gifts, loading vehicles and delivering packages to the children and their families. Although all recipients felt blessed to receive the gifts provided, an even greater blessing came to those who contributed time, talent and treasure. As St. Francis so well said, “It is in giving that we receive.”

The program ultimately distributed gifts to over 150 children, all with Christmas messages in Spanish from Pastor Carlos, the director of Harvest Ministries. Through this act of giving, both parishioners and the recipient families were reminded together of the love of Jesus.

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Around the Diocese CONTINUED

HOLY INNOCENTS, VALRICO - After celebrating Maundy Thursday, the youth of Holy Innocents' had a lock in, and then kept watch all night. They then led Stations of the Cross down State Road 60 on Good Friday.

CHURCH OF THE NATIVITY, SARASOTA – Vince Monti, a parishioner at Church of the Nativity, has discovered that the 3M Command Hook product known as Broom Grippers works on the back of our pews. The perennial problem of finding a place for a cane, is easily solved with the devices, which are a piece of plastic with a sticky back. They also work in restrooms as a secure place for walking canes.

No more loud falling noises during the service and no one trips over one that may be placed on the floor.

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ST. DAVID'S, ENGLEWOOD - The Jubilee Center at St. David’s Episcopal Church regularly provides food and assistance to 250 to 300 Englewood-area families, many of whom are lower-income working families and seniors on limited incomes or homeless.

Ruth Hill, 60, joined the Jubilee Center this year as its new administrator and board member. Pat Knox, 82, has transitioned from director of pantry operations at the Jubilee Center and will now be the center’s outreach manager and fundraiser. Knox also will coordinate the church’s Just Neighbors group meetings, and other community activities.

“Of all the people who have volunteered here, [Ruth Hill] has the best qualities,” said Knox. “She’s outgoing and has a ‘servant’s heart.’ She has all the attributes that are needed to work with people across the board.”

Hill has lived in Englewood for five years. A native of Xenia, Ohio, near Dayton, her previous professional experience as a social worker made her a perfect fit to the Jubilee Center, as she’s always gravitated towards working with seniors and children.

Knox was one of the first people Hill met when she moved to Englewood; Hill says she felt strongly that the Jubilee Center would be a good place to start volunteering.

Her duties include overseeing the day-to-day running of the food pantry, the backpack food project for Englewood Elementary School, all while coordinating the volunteers who donate their time and talents to the center’s mission.

One goal? She’d like to attract more volunteers who are physically fit and able to lift cartons of canned foods with relative ease.

“One of the things I will strive for is more networking within this community,” said Hill, who is troubled

when seniors find themselves having to choose between buying their prescriptions and food. “There’s a wealth of organizations and nonprofits here. We need to collaborate more to meet the needs in the community.”

Reprinted from Steve Reilly of the Englewood Sun, Sun Coast Media Group, Jan 18, 2019.

CLEARWATER - On Saturday, March 21, four churches in the Clearwater deanery came together to an event at St. John's, Clearwater, organized by Deacon Sandy Jamieson in collaboration with the Rev. Pam Milhan of St. Anne of Grace, Seminole. Milhan’s grand-daughter, Abigail, felt a desire to assist the over 400,000 children are in foster care in the U. S., with a special intention for the over 15,000 children are in foster care in Pinellas County. Her idea was the creation of Hope Blankets. She and her grandmother give the blankets, along with letters of encouragement, to agencies working with foster children in the county. The 57 blankets made that Saturday bring Abigail's total to 142 blankets made to date. Her goal for the year is 150.

Transitions The Rev. Deacon Raymond W. Perica has joined St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Plant City. He formerly served at St. David’s Episcopal Church and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Lakeland, Florida.

The Rev. Deacon Priscilla G. Gray, who formerly served St. John’s Episcopal Church in St. Cloud, MN has joined Church of the Epiphany in Cape Coral.

The Rev. Lennel V. Anderson, formerly the Rector at St. Francis in the Fields in Somerset, PA and part-time priest at St. Bartholomew's in Scottsdale, PA, is the newly elected Rector at St. George’s Episcopal Church in Bradenton effective June 9th.

CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF ST. PETER, ST. PETERSBURG – The Cathedral Church of St. Peter welcomed the North American Deans Conference, which this year was held in the Diocese of Southwest Florida. The conference, which is for deans of Anglican cathedrals in North America, included talks by the Rev. Canon Dr. Thomas Williams, professor of philosophy at University of South Florida, and the Very Rev. Kurt Dunkle, dean and president of the General Theological Seminary. The visit included a tour of the Salvador Dali Museum, and a talk by its director on the spiritual live of the Spanish surrealist. Pictured here are Dean Stephen Morris of the Cathedral Church of St. Peter, Salvador Dali Museum Director Dr. Frank Hine; Susan Churuti, junior warden of the Cathedral; and Christina Morris, the wife of Dean Morris.

Editor's note: On June 1, Jan Nothum, Executive Assistant to the Bishop, will begin her retirement - a standard occurrence, but for one thing: she is also my mother. She has dedicated countless hours in service to Bishop Smith and the diocese as a whole, and I am abundantly proud of both the seriousness with which she takes her responsibilities and the lasting relationships she's formed working with all of you. To those whom she has called friend: you have been as much a joy to her as she has been to you - thank you for that. -Shannon

For the past fourteen plus years it has been my distinct honor to serve the Diocese of Southwest Florida as the Executive Assistant to the Bishop. I have worked closely with many of you and have come to know you individually. These have been good years which I will remember with great fondness.

It is time for a new adventure for me. For the gift of your friendship, compassion and trust I will be forever grateful. I will not say goodbye as I may pop in from time to time. I will simply close this chapter for now by saying this prayer for you: “The Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, may the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace.” Numbers 6:25-26 Blessings - Jan Nothum

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L O O K I N G

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An undated photo shows a later blessing of the shrimp fleet at Ft. Myers Beach.

From left are the Revs. E. Paul Haynes and John Frank; Church Army Capt. Harold Reece; the Very Rev. Lloyd Cox; the Revs.

Robert Turner and Thomas Lukes; Rt. Rev. William Hargrave; the Revs. Arlo Leinbeck and C.A. Comfort; John Kelley; Rt. Rev. Henry Louttit; the Revs. Harry Gil and Fredrick Wild; Walter Sheppard; the Revs. William Sheraton, John Massey, Robert Browning, Frank Alvarez; Miguel Goni of the Roman Catholic Church of the Ascension and the Rev. John Williams, Presbyterian Church’s Chapel-by-the-Sea.

At the cornerstone laying and dedication, Jan 3, 1954 are, from left, Joel Brown acolyte; Richard Harby; James A. Gregory, senior warden; H. Hindall Davidson, treasurer; Roger Shawcross, junior warden; Bishop Bram; and the Rev. John D. Hull. Missing was England-born Cyril Shawcross, the real estate developer and architect, who had recently died on Nov. 31, 1953.

Shawcross was one of the 24 “Tamiami Trail Blazers” who, with two Native American guides, mapped out the route of the Tamiami Trail from Tampa to Miami.

Shawcross was organist at St. Luke’s, and helped establish the mission at St. Raphael’s. Harby, according to newspaper reports, was the first person to catch a fish from the Ft. Myers Beach fishing pier.

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Cathedral deans from across the U.S., Canada and Europe gathered at the Salvador Dali Museum in May for their annual conference. The yearly gathering was hosted by the Cathedral Church of St. Peter.