The Harvest, January-February 2010

Inside The Harvest Interim minis tr y ministr try While parishes may think a quick transition from one rector to another is a good idea, an intentional period between clergy gives a congregation time to know itself better. Page 2

Manhatt an breakfas Manhattan breakfastt Students at Kansas State University for more than five years have helped feed people in need with a Tuesday morning hot breakfast program. Page 4

Episcopal Churc hW omen Church Women Think you know what ECW is all about?

Think again. President Lonnie Isaak describes the work this women’s group undertakes across the diocese. Page 4

Facing F acebook Facebook The social media site Facebook now has 400 million active users worldwide. See how parishes and clergy are using this tool for community building and communications to spread the gospel. Page 5

Around the diocese Ministry is taking place in parishes large and small across the Diocese of Kansas, including an Iola parish that practices liturgical recycling and a grand Epiphany pageant at Grace Cathedral. Page 8

Delegate to UN commission Kansas State student Alexandra Connors is one of only 10 young people selected as Episcopal Young Adult Delegates to the upcoming meeting of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women. Page 9

Welcoming fans Churches in Vancouver, British Columbia have opened their doors to worshippers and visitors as thousands of sports fan visit the Canadian city for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Page 10

Dak ot as hit hard b ys torms Dakot otas by storms Indian reservations in North and South Dakota have been hit hard by winter storms that left thousands without electricity for weeks. A grant from Episcopal Relief and Development is helping. Page 11

No to A CNA ACNA General Synod of the Church of England rebuffed an attempt to recognize a breakaway group. Page 11

Under standing Haiti nders Mary Novaria of Overland Park writes that while many have been moved by the devastation in Haiti, they need to understand that poverty there didn’t start with the earthquake. Page 12

Haiti quak e ttouc ouc hes K ansas par tner quake ouches Kansas partner tnerss Need still is great in Torbeck and Les Cayes, 120 miles from capital

By Melodie Woerman Editor, The Harvest

H

aiti congregations with connections to nine churches in the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas are reporting the death of some members, lack of food among survivors and damage to church buildings following the Jan. 12 earthquake that devastated parts of the Caribbean nation.

The Haitian congregations are near Les Cayes and Torbeck, cities of about 70,000 and 60,000, respectively, about 120 miles southwest of Port-au-Prince, which experienced the brunt of the 7.0 magnitude quake. They are part of the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti (“L’Eglise Episcopale d’Haiti”), the largest diocese within the Episcopal Church.

Kansas and Haitian Episcopal churches are connected through the Haitian Episcopal Learning Partnership, or HELP, a project that started nearly 30 years ago to provide schools in remote areas of the country. Kansas congregations first became involved with HELP about 20 years ago, and the number now has grown to nine partners spread across much of the Diocese of Kansas.

More than 30 repor reportted dead In a Feb. 6 e-mail to supporters in the Kansas City-area, the Rev. Alphonse Phillipe, known as Père Alphonse, detailed what has happened to the six churches he serves near Torbeck.

More than 30 congregation members were killed in the earthquake and dozens more were injured, he said. But even those who escaped with their lives are suffering.

In his e-mail he wrote, “Even if the people of the community are alive they are dead because the life is very hard: no food, no money.” People also have been sleeping outside since the earthquake out of fear of aftershocks, he said, himself included.

At the Church of the Incarnation in LePretre, he said the people not only have no health care but also “no good water and no food.” St. Barthelemy in Dubreueil is in the same situation, he reports.

He noted that some members of St. Paul’s, Torbeck, had counted on money coming in from friends and relatives in Portau-Prince, but that revenue now has stopped.

Please see Haiti, page 6

Photo from St. Sauveur Episcopal Church in Les Cayes

Children from St. Sauveur Episcopal Church in Les Cayes, Haiti, hold bags of rice they received through donations of a Kansas City-area parish following the Jan. 12 earthquake.

ADDITIONAL HAITI COVERAGE IN THIS ISSUE See pages 6-7 of this issue of The Harvest for more news:

Haiti’s Episcopal bishop shelters 25,000 refugees ERD donations help provide food, water and tents A Lawrence nurse describes her trip after the quake

Three-part vision

Miqra 20 10: Bible and baptism for the diocese 201

emerges from study

By Melodie Woerman Editor, The Harvest

By Larry Bingham

M

iqra, the popular Biblethemed weekend for youth of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas, added some important firsts this year.

After 10 years, the program Jan. 1518 featured the first time it was conducted in two locations, the first time it was partnered with another diocese, the first time it was streamed live on the Internet, and the first time a participant was baptized.

Miqra, which is Hebrew for “a public reading of Scripture,” did keep its established format, with youth taking turns reading the entire Bible out loud and attending a series of workshops and presentations about the Bible.

But this year middle school and high school students met in two different locations in Topeka — 40 senior high youth continued at Grace Cathedral, while 35 middle schoolers gathered at St. David’s.

Please see Miqra, page 3

I

Photo by Melodie Woerman

The Rev. Curtis Cowell baptizes Olivia Divish at Grace Cathedral, Topeka, Jan. 17. She was a participant in Miqra, a Biblebased diocesan youth event.

n the spring of 2008, the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas conducted a study to explore the feasibility of a diocesan fundraising campaign.

We asked Resource Services, Inc. (RSI), a Christian stewardship fundraising organization, to conduct the study, and we received input from more than 300 Episcopalians across our diocese.

Here is the vision that emerged from that study: Endow the Kansas School for Ministry so it can expand. KSM then would be able to gather people from parishes large and small to learn ministry skills and return to their churches to participate more effectively in ministry; Build a leadership center to meet the ministry needs of KSM and the diocese; and Support ongoing ministry around the diocese by tithing 10 percent of the Please see Vision, page 3

2 • The Harvest • January/February 2010

Interim ministry: Publisher: The Right Reverend Dean E. Wolfe, Bishop Editor: Melodie Woerman A member of Episcopal News Service and Episcopal Communicators, The Harvest is published six times a year by the Office of Communications of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas: February, April, June, August, October and December.

Stories, letters and photos are welcome. They will be used on a space-available basis and are subject to editing. Send all material (preferably in electronic format or by e-mail) to: Melodie Woerman, editor The Harvest 835 SW Polk St. Topeka, KS 66612-1688 phone: (800) 473-3563 fax: (785) 235-2449 mwoerman@episcopal-ks.org Send address changes to: Receptionist 835 SW Polk St., Topeka, KS 66612-1688 receptionist@episcopal-ks.org Upcoming deadlines: March/April issue: March 15 May/June issue: May 15 Subscription rate: $1.50 annually Third class mailing Permit No. 601, Topeka, Kansas POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Episcopal Diocese of Kansas 835 SW Polk St. Topeka, KS 66612-1688

The Anglican Communion A global community of 70 million Anglicans in 38 member churches/provinces in more than 160 countries.

Archbishop of Canterbury The Most Reverend and Right Honorable Rowan Williams Lambeth Palace, London WE1 7JU, United Kingdom www.anglicancommunion.org Episcopal seat: Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury, England

The Episcopal Church A community of more than 2.1 million members in 110 dioceses in 16 countries in the Americas and abroad.

Presiding Bishop The Most Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori 815 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10017 (800) 334-7626 www.episcopalchurch.org Episcopal seat: Washington National Cathedral, Washington, D.C.

The Episcopal Diocese of Kansas A community of 12,000 members in 45 parishes, two diocesan institutions and one school in eastern Kansas.

Bishop The Right Reverend Dean E. Wolfe 835 SW Polk Street, Topeka, KS 66612-1688 (785) 235-9255 (800) 473-3563 www.episcopal-ks.org Episcopal seat: Grace Episcopal Cathedral, Topeka

The time between rectors can help parishes grow and see more clearly who they are.

By Melodie Woerman Editor, The Harvest

C

anon to the Ordinary the Rev. Craig Loya the answers are discerned, there is a real burst of joy understands the anxiety congregations feel and energy to pursue their common purpose.” when they hear their rector is leaving. In The Rev. John Goddard, who served as interim his role as deployment officer for the Episcopal Dio- at St. Margaret’s, Lawrence, prior to the call of its cese of Kansas, he knows that feeling often tempts new rector last year, noted that “understanding the churches to want to rush into a quick search and true characteristics of the parish takes time,” but what find a new rector as soon as posis learned does have its practical sible. side, too, by helping shape the But Loya said that it’s imporparish profile that is a key element tant to resist that impulse, since of the search process the parish what happens during the period The congregation has will undertake. between rectors is critical to the to seriously ask itself, Hard tasks, but fun, ttoo oo overall health of the parish.

‘Who are we at our To help in that transition, the Goldacker said during the indiocese encourages parishes to terim period parishes also have to core? What are our used trained interims to assist dur“find the courage to let go of whatcore values? How do ever hinders the parish from fuling this time.

But such priests are a far cry its mission.” That can mean we see our giftedness filling from mere placeholders, Loya everything from exploring the and our mission?’ said. “They are appointed to acmost effective worship times to complish specific developmental evaluating staff to eliminating Finding the answers to tasks, to help the parish do the groups that aren’t advancing the these questions isn’t hard work of taking stock of its parish’s goals. identity at this moment,” he said.

Goddard said it’s hard work for always easy or simple, Interims have five areas they a parish to change how it funcbut when the answers tions. “Some current leaders may help a parish address while it is preparing to search for a new recwant to use what they know are discerned, there is still tor: even when it doesn’t work,” he a real burst of joy clarify its history; said. “In transition ministry a par articulate its identity; ish will need to make adjustments and energy. manage changes in leaderto their ways that are not helpful ship; — The Rev. for their future.” reconnect with the wider The interim period is the opGary Goldacker portunity to cultivate new lay church; and commit to a new mission. leadership, Goddard said, not only It’s critical for a parish to unto ensure orderly transitions but derstand itself apart from the to help point the parish more topriest who just left, Loya said. ward its future and less towards “If a priest leaves after being in a parish for 10 its past. years, that parish is not the same as it when that Goldacker said one of his favorite parts of an inpriest arrived,” he said. “The deep reflection and terim period is “learning what a congregation does introspection that are necessary during an interim to have fun.” This not only helps a congregation “find period take time and space.” joy in its continuing life,” it has a practical side, too.

“In my experience, more people have been Claiming its o wn identity brought into the life of the church through fun acown Clergy who are serving, or who have served, as tivities than through most evangelism campaigns,” interims in the diocese in recent months all agreed he said. that developing and claiming a parish’s identity is Companion and coac h key to a healthy transition. coach The Rev. Ron Pogue currently is interim at TrinLoya said the interim is not involved with the fority, Lawrence. He noted that when a priest leaves, mal search process. “They are more like companthe parish becomes a different place. “However she ions, or coaches, to help congregations during the or he departed, the congregational system has transition between rectors,” he said. changed,” he said.

By diocesan policy interims also can’t be consid“An intentional interim helps the congregation ered for the position of rector in the parish they’re recognize and accept the change and consciously serving, he noted. enter into a time of transition and adjustment to new Loya said that the skills needed to be a good incircumstances,” he said. terim aren’t necessarily the same as those for a good The Rev. Gary Goldacker served as interim at rector. “Interims aren’t coming to settle into a parGood Shepherd, Wichita, before that parish called ish as pastor,” he said. “They come in with clearly its new rector late last year. defined goals to help congregations move from one He has served as the interim for 12 congrega- stage of their life to the next. And if these tasks don’t tions in the past 15 years and said parishes reap real happen during the transition period, it can seriously benefits of an identity-discovery process. hinder or even inhibit the first several years of the During a transition, he said, “the congregation new rector’s tenure.” has to seriously ask itself, ‘Who are we at our core?

Loya said that while interim ministry is not alWhat are our core values? How do we see our gift- ways widely understood, congregations come to apedness and our mission?’ Finding the answers to preciate the hard work interims do — helping them these questions isn’t always easy or simple, but when get ready to welcome their new rector. Y

January/February 2010 • The Harvest • 3

Miqra: Entire Bible was read out loud in two locations Continued from page 1 While Kansas’ Miqra was taking place, the Diocese of Chicago hosted its own inaugural version, based at St. James’ Cathedral. That Miqra followed Kansas’ format of readings and workshops, and when Chicagoans decided to provide a live Internet video feed of their readers, Kansas followed suit, using the free site ustream.com.

Viewers were able to watch the readings taking place from either location, aided by a sign on the reading desk tracking which book of the Bible was being read.

Many workshops were offered at Miqra, including how to make an Anglican rosary (top) and walking the labyrinth (below).

Sunda Sundayy baptism For many of those participating in Miqra, the highlight this year was the baptism of Olivia Divish, a junior at Wamego High School, during the Sunday Eucharist at Grace Cathedral.

This marked the second time in a year that a diocesan youth event featured a baptism; the other one took place last June at senior high summer camp.

Divish has been a regular attender at St. Luke’s, Wamego, and at diocesan youth events for the past three years, ever since her friend, Laurina Hannan, first invited her to join her family at church after a sleepover. She joined them weekly after that.

Hannan then encouraged Divish to participate in diocesan youth events with her, including Miqra. “I really liked it,” Divish said, “and I stuck around.”

Hannan said it was after a healing service at summer camp last year that Divish brought up the subject of baptism. “She said, ‘I really like this community. I ought to be baptized,’” Hannan said.

Divish said she made the decision to be baptized so she could “be part of the body of Christ and really practice my faith.”

Hannan’s family helped arrange it with Bishop Dean Wolfe, since it wouldn’t follow the norm of having baptisms in the candidate’s home parish. But the presence at the cathedral of the Rev. Curtis Cowell, St. Luke’s retired rector who was serving when Divish first started attending, made the event very meaningful, she said, since he not only baptized her but also gave her her first communion.

She also said she was thrilled her baptism took place at Miqra, her favorite youth event, so her friends from the youth program could participate. Her parents and brother also were there, and Divish’s sponsors included her friend Laurina Hannan and Hannan’s brother, Luke, as well as their parents.

and responding,” he said. Both Divish and Amanda Jennings, who was baptized at summer camp, were “strongly impacted by the community of the diocesan youth program,” he said, “and through that they experienced God and God’s love. And it changed them so deeply that they wanted to take the next step.”

But those already in the program benefit, too, Senuta said.

Since many of them were baptized as infants, “witnessing these baptisms has a powerful impact on them,” he said. “It gives them the chance to deepen their commitment and renew their faith.

Pr ogram mak es God real Program makes

Two locations a hit

Diocesan Youth Missioner Chad Senuta said having two baptisms at youth events, both of which occurred because of the young person’s involvement in the youth program, shows it is making God real in the lives of teens.

“Young people are hearing the gospel

Senuta said the number of participants in Miqra last year maxed out the space available at Grace Cathedral, necessitating splitting it based on age groups.

He was concerned that there might not be enough youth to keep up the hour-byhour reading of the entire Bible in two

Photos by Melodie Woerman

Tristan Mansfield from St. Luke’s, Wamego (left) listens while Ian Boyd, St. Michael’s, Mission, reads from 1 Corinthians. The two took turns reading during their scheduled time at the junior high Miqra at St. David’s, Topeka.

The Rev. Art Rathbun, vicar of St. Mark’s, Blue Rapids and St. Paul’s, Marysville, leads a questionand-answer time during a discussion for senior high students entitled “What’s in the Bible and why should you read it?”

He said the highlight for him as leader was the same he’d experienced as a participant — the sense of community that forms at Miqra.

“It is amazing that after three days, if that, there is a community that builds so much that the youth don’t want to leave,” he said. “There is always a sense at the end of Miqra that we have accomplished something great, and we have.”

Bishop of hallenge offfer erss cchallenge

places, and he worried that smaller groups wouldn’t have the energy that has characterized Miqra.

His fears were unfounded on both counts, and he said having smaller groups was a distinct advantage.

“We had plenty of readers,” he said, “and each location had a very enthusiastic and positive spirit. Speakers and workshop leaders also were able to tailor their presentations to a more-specific age group. I think it was a great success.”

Steven King headed the middle school Miqra at St. David’s. A Miqra veteran himself, the recent University of Kansas graduate said his concerns were the need for additional adult volunteers to staff two locations, as well as the coordination required between the two sites.

Both proved to be no problem, he said, and members of St. David’s even staffed the kitchen the entire weekend, keeping active young teens well fed with meals and snacks.

Among those who spoke to Miqra participants was Bishop Dean Wolfe, who addressed the senior high gathering on the value of reading the Bible on a regular basis.

“The Bible can help us lead our lives,” he said. “It’s a conversation between the people of God and a loving God.” But to really engage the Bible, the bishop said, requires commitment and desire on the part of readers.

He then challenged his teenaged hearers to do just that, by joining with others who want to better understand the message of scripture.

“Form groups,” he said. “Find two or three friends. Read a book and then talk about it. Listen and respect each other. Meet regularly until you get through one book.”

If they do this, he told his audience, they will be surprised at the results, leading not only to better understanding but to a deeper faith and a call to prayer.

“Imagine of one or two or three of you did this. If 10 of you agreed to do this for the rest of the year, it would be a revolution,” he said. Y

Vision: KSM, center, outreach are named by study participants Continued from page 1 money raised to outreach and mission programs.

RSI reported their results in the fall of 2008, and they concluded that there was strong support across the diocese for the vision articulated by Bishop Dean Wolfe.

On that basis the Council of Trustees felt confident in moving

ahead with a diocesan fundraising campaign.

But immediately after this decision was made the economic recession in the country became a reality.

We concluded that this was not a practical time to begin calling on donors, but we did not want to lose the positive energy that was generated by vision that emerged

from the feasibility study.

After considerable discussion, in March 2009 we decided to delay the fundraising efforts and to take some time to continue strengthening our vision around the Kansas School for Ministry and how this vision will address the need to sustain and grow the Episcopal Church in every community of our diocese.

We believe this time was well spent, and we are energized to move ahead with plans for a fundraising effort.

We have articulated our vision more clearly, we have met and talked with people who will provide leadership in the effort, and we have assessed how we can successfully conduct a fundraising effort in this new economy.

You will hear more about our plans in coming issues of The Harvest. For now, I ask you to pray for the planning and implementation of this vision, and for the efforts to bring this vision to life.

Larry Bingham is chair of the fundraising committee and is a member of St. Michael and All Angels, Mission. Y

4 • The Harvest • January/February 2010

KSU students cook breakfast ffor or people in need

By Melodie Woerman Editor, The Harvest

The kitchen now qualifies for restaurant certification, and Desper has the food safety certification needed to oversee the operation.

Parish members also step in to cook when K-State students are away from town during summer vacation and spring and winter breaks.

St. Paul’s also hosts a second breakfast program each week, on Friday mornings, with the food and staff provided by the local Roman Catholic and Unitarian Universalist congregations.

“That means there are three different churches and four ministries that work together to make this happen,” Miles said.

W

hen times are tough, some people need an extra helping hand. For more than five years, in Manhattan that has meant Tuesday morning breakfasts at the “Happy Kitchen” at St. Paul’s Church, staffed in part by students at the Episcopal campus ministry’s Canterbury House at Kansas State University.

Peer ministers — students who live in the house rent-free in exchange for providing on-campus ministry — are joined every week by a variety of non-Episcopal students and some stalwarts from St. Paul’s, which has provided the space for the kitchen since it opened in September 2004.

This is no soup kitchen, either. Guests sit down, and students stop by to take orders. Cooks prepare a variety of food each week, but it always includes scrambled eggs, home-style fried potatoes, pancakes, biscuits and gravy, and the most popular item, breakfast burritos.

Those are the specialty of John Desper, a member of St. Paul’s who has helped oversee the breakfast since 2006. He’s joined this year by campus intern Cortney Dale.

About 20 people stop by every week for breakfast, and to-go bags are packed for those needing food later, or who want to share the fare with others in need.

St. Paul’s rector, the Rev. Tom Miles, says people of varying circumstances come to eat. “Some are homeless, and some have a place to stay,” he said. “Some live in nearby low-income housing. Some are lowwage workers. Some are single moms with kids, and some are just passing through town and hear this is a place to get a good breakfast.”

Submitted photo

Episcopal peer ministers at K-State are joined by fellow students to help make breakfast for people in need. St. Paul’s in downtown Manhattan provides the site for the Tuesday morning meal. Pictured are (left to right) Shelby Danielson; peer minister Natalie Vanatta, St. Michael and All Angels, Mission; peer minister Clare Seesing, also from St. Michael’s; Jeff Schoeber; Vanessa Liu; peer minister Jordan Friedel, Good Shepherd, Wichita; and diocesan campus intern Cortney Dale.

One guest, Bill, has been eating breakfast at St. Paul’s since the program started.

The Manhattan native said the reason was simple. “The biscuits and gravy,” he said.

“It’s the whole nine yards. A lot of people I know come here.”

James, originally from Louisiana, said, “I can’t cook breakfast so I eat over here.

They have different people, but all of it’s good.”

Sheila, a nurse’s assistant, and Tom, an out-of-work truck driver, are married and stop by frequently. “It’s convenient,” Sheila said. “We only live a block away.”

Community need The Rev. Matthew Cobb, rector of St. Luke’s, Wamego, was the Episcopal chaplain at K-State when he helped start the

kitchen. “There was a need in the community for hot meals,” he said. “We chose to do breakfast because there were no other breakfast programs in town, and because it would be less expensive to offer.”

He modeled this program after the Jubilee Café that was operated by the campus ministry at the University of Kansas (it’s now overseen by a campus student organization).

Cobb said the program never could have succeeded without the help and cooperation of St. Paul’s. In order to prepare food to the public, the basement kitchen had to be upgraded, he said, and parishioners funded that and a later renovation to make the basement disabled-accessible.

“That was a big commitment on the part of the parish,” he said.

‘What Jesus w ants’ wants’ Natalie Vanatta is a second-year peer minister from St. Michael and All Angels in Mission. She enjoys preparing her specialty, world famous (“or maybe Manhattan famous”) fried potatoes, in part because of the gratitude of the people form whom she cooks, she said.

Jordan Friedel is a peer minister from Good Shepherd, Wichita. He handles scrambled eggs, and he said working at the breakfast “really puts me in a spiritual place.” Even the early hours — the kitchen opens to the public at 6:30 a.m. — don’t deter Clare Seesing, another peer minister from St. Michael’s. “It’s a wonderful community to be in so early in the morning.”

Jerry Hutchinson is the owner and manager of Angel 95FM, the local Christian radio station. He stops by every Tuesday to enjoy the food and in turn provides free publicity for the program on his station. “It has been great being a friend to many of the people who come for a warm breakfast,” he said.

“It is what Jesus wants, and we’re glad to be part of it in a small way.” Y

ECW provides a variety of services to women and parishes

By Lonnie Isaak

W

hat is ECW? Although ECW (Episcopal Church Women) was organized as a women’s ministry in most churches long ago, younger women and even priests haven’t heard about ECW. In the “olden” days there was an organized ECW group in almost every parish. They performed outreach, organized social functions, put on funeral dinners and responded to other needs.

When women became active in other kinds of leadership roles in their parishes and diocese, ECW became less prominent. Today some churches no longer have an official ECW group.

However, women continue their ministries and leadership, and although women may serve on the vestry, they remain members of ECW, even if there is no organized ECW group.

Here are a few notable points about ECW in the Diocese of Kansas:

UT O and CPC UTO ECW coordinates two very important ministries in our diocese: the United Thank Offering and the Church Periodical Club.

Two members of the ECW board are dedicated to communicating

EPISCOPAL CHURCH WOMEN with the local UTO and CPC coordinators and assisting them in preparing for the solicitation of monies for these ministries.

During the last triennium the national UTO issued $6.8 million in grants to fund projects throughout the world. This money was gathered from churches everywhere in the Episcopal Church.

Another ministry established and run by women is CPC, which helps provide books and other learning materials to seminarians, children and others worldwide.

Both of these ministries were started by women who saw needs and responded. Today, more than 100 years later, women continue to provide leadership so UTO and CPC can continue to do the work that Christians are called to do.

Educational grants In addition, the ECW of the Diocese of Kansas provides continuing education grants to women in the diocese who want to attend workshops or take advantage of other educational opportunities.

Perhaps you are intrigued by a spiritual retreat that is being offered. An ECW continuing-education grant might make it possible for you to participate! The ECW

budget provides $1,500 each year for these grants.

Interested women need to complete a simple application in order to receive a grant of up to $100. For an application form contact the Rev. Helen Hoch at hhoch.rev@ gmail.com or (620) 625-2358.

Annual Gathering The ECW Annual Gathering also benefits the women in the diocese. It provides a day to experience fellowship and a stimulating speaker.

A variety of subjects have been explored in recent years, including “Praying in Color” and the lives of the Celtic saints.

This year’s Annual Gathering will be Saturday, Oct. 2, at St. John’s, Parsons, and the Rev. Gail Greenwell, rector of St. Michael and All Angels, Mission, will be our speaker.

Detailed information will be sent to every church in the diocese in July, and future articles in The Harvest will also provide information.

ECW is also about sharing information and learning from one another. At the 2009 Annual Gathering we learned about the

BackSnack program, which provides weekend food to needy children in schools across the diocese.

All w omen are member women memberss All Episcopal women are members of ECW by virtue of the fact that they are women and belong to the Episcopal Church.

They are represented at the diocesan level by the ECW board of the Diocese of Kansas, which is composed of members from the four convocations.

Members of the ECW board are elected at the Annual Gathering. In October this year we will be filling the positions of President, Treasurer, SE Convocation chair, Continuing Education chair, United Thank Offering chair, and Publicity chair. Terms of office

begin in January 2011.

Any woman in the Diocese of Kansas may run for one of these positions. If you are interested, don’t hesitate to contact one of the current board members.

So, what is ECW? It is the community of all Episcopal women who minister to one another and to others, both individually and collectively, young and older.

I am so proud of the various ministries that women in the parishes in the Diocese of Kansas support, lead or in which they participate. I know that with faith and commitment we will move forward to be all that we can be.

Lonnie Isaak is ECW president and a member of Epiphany, Sedan. Y

Episcopal Church Women officers, 2010 President: Lonnie Isaak, Epiphany, Sedan Vice President: June Mendenhall, Epiphany, Sedan Secretary: Senta Meister, St. John’s, Parsons Treasurer: Kathy Townley, St. Thomas’, Overland Park NE Convocation chair: Barbara Gregory, St. Paul’s, Leavenworth NW Convocation chair: Lynn Bonney, St. Andrew’s, Emporia SE Convocation chair: Mary Simpson, Epiphany, Sedan SW Convocation chair: Sharon Atherton, Good Shepherd, Wichita Devotional chair: Beth Criss, St. James, Wichita United Thank Offering chair: Mary Ann Lawing, St. Stephen’s, Wichita Church Periodical Club chair: Bev Winston, St. Paul’s, Coffeyville Continuing Education chair: The Rev. Helen Hoch, Calvary, Yates Center

Historian: Daria Condon, St. John’s, Parsons ECW Endowment Fund president: Dee Farris, Epiphany, Sedan

January/February 2010 • The Harvest • 5

facebook or face-to-face?

How social networking can aid parish ministry

By Melodie Woerman Editor, The Harvest

I

f it seems like the entire world now is using Facebook, you’d not be too far wrong. More than 400 million people worldwide are active users of the most popular social networking Internet site, allowing them to connect with people they know and groups they wish to follow.

Other frequently used forms of social networking include Twitter (sending 140-character messages to people who choose to receive them) and blogs (websites that allow readers to post comments).

Churches have begun to ask whether there’s a benefit to having a presence in social networking sites. So far, the answer to that is a resounding “yes.”

Outreac h tto o yyouth outh Outreach The parish in the diocese that’s most active on Facebook is Grace, Ottawa (profile name: Grace Church Ottawa). Parishioner Julia Davis launched that effort last April after learning about Facebook evangelism at a diocesan communications workshop.

With the help and encouragement of the parish’s rector, the Rev. Gail Davis (no relation), she created a parish fan page designed to appeal to young people. Gail Davis said the reason for that was simple. “We are a very small church,” she said, “but just because our demographic is older doesn’t mean we can’t have a ministry to youth.”

After creating the page, Julia Davis sent invitations to become a “fan” of the page to as many youth-oriented Facebook connections in the Ottawa area that she could find. So far the page has more than 400 fans.

She’s the primary administrator of the page and tries to post something new nearly every day.

Lately she has concentrated on incorporating scripture verses in copyright-free photographs and posting those as images on the page. She also posts basic information pieces like “Why are church doors red?” and “What is Shrove Tuesday?”

“Most of the people we reach out to aren’t Episcopalians,” she said, “and from what I read, many have no church background, so we keep to the simple things.”

Gail Davis said now that Grace Church has helped create an online community on Facebook, she hopes to provide opportunities for in-person connections for the parish’s “fans” with youthfriendly events.

That’s a much safer way for non-churched young people to connect with a parish than inviting them to attend worship services, she said.

Using lo ts of ttools ools lots The Rev. Ron Pogue is the interim at Trinity, Lawrence, and a frequent user of social networking. After he arrived in the parish last August he created a Facebook fan page (Trinity Episcopal Church in Lawrence, Kansas), which now boasts nearly 150 fans.

He deliberately posts something to that page every morning.

Sometimes it’s bits of parish news, but more often it’s something about the saint of the day, or a phrase from Morning Prayer that jumped out at him during his morning devotions. Since he’s already at his computer — he prays Morning Prayer with an online podcast read by a priest from Maryland — it’s easy to post items while they are fresh in his mind.

He hopes those messages “might encourage someone to look a little deeper” at their own faith, he said.

Pogue is a big fan of electronic communications in general. He publishes sermons and reflections on his personal blog (www.epiphanies.com) and sends a weekly parish electronic newsletter filled with links to things on the Facebook page and to other websites.

The e-newsletter has the greatest level of participation, he said, with nearly 70 percent of the congregation receiving it.

He said he’d like to generate more participation, discussion and comments on the Facebook page, since it’s the perfect medium for building community.

Subbing ffor or a w ebsit e websit ebsite Pogue is so sold on Facebook, in fact, that he thinks for some churches it can provide almost everything they’d need from a traditional website.

“It can offer information about location and service times,” he said, “as well as photo galleries and links. Plus, it’s interactive, through comments and the discussion feature.” And it’s free.

Gail Davis said Grace, Ottawa, is using its Facebook page more and more, including posting many things that used to be website standards. “The website now has a lot less stuff,” she said, “and it’s mostly geared to adults who might be looking online for information.”

The fact that many young

Photo by Jeffrey Stephens

Julia Davis (left) created a Facebook page for Grace, Ottawa, that has attracted more than 400 “fans,” many of them youth in the community. She had the support of the Rev. Gail Davis (right), Grace’s rector.

Connect with the diocese as a Facebook fan The Episcopal Diocese of Kansas now is on Facebook, and you can participate in this new online community by becoming a fan.

If you’re a Facebook user, go to www.facebook.com/ EpiscopalDioceseofKansas and click on the “Become a Fan” button near the top. That will add posts from the diocese to your Facebook page.

In its first week, the page has generated more than 450 fans.

Periodic posts will include links to news stories and information of general interest. Sometimes questions will be posed that are designed to start a conversation between users.

Where will this new communications tool will take us?

Join in, and let’s find out together.

www.facebook.com/ EpiscopalDioceseofKansas

Schenck agreed. “As a sacramental faith, there are some things that must be done in person,” he said. “I can’t e-mail someone communion or tell them to double-click for salvation.” But things like Facebook and blogs “supplement the heart of church life, which is gathering in realtime community to worship God.” They caution that social media messages are public, so people (and especially clergy) have to be careful what they write and share.

Schenck said boundary issues for clergy need to be respected, too, so he never asks a parishioner to be his Facebook friend. “I don’t want to put a parishioner in the position of having to say no to their priest,” he said. Likewise he always agrees to every friend request from parishioners.

Jesus on FFacebook? acebook? people are turning more to Facebook than to websites helps makes it an effective tool for evangelism, too, she said.

Connecting with member memberss Two tech-savvy priests known widely in the Episcopal Church are the Rev. Scott Gunn of Lincoln, R.I., and the Rev. Tim Schenck of Hingham, Mass. Both are sold on Facebook as a highly effective tool for parish ministry.

“I have a glimpse into people’s lives that I wouldn’t otherwise have,” Gunn said, when he reads notes on parishioner’s Facebook pages about concerns they’d not previously shared with him.

And with people’s busy lives, he said, “perhaps this is the equivalent of sitting in the town square, chatting with whoever passes by about their daily lives.”

Schenck said Facebook is a “flexible and user-friendly” way to easily connect with parishioners and uses it to start lively discussions. “I love the fact that it’s interactive,” he said. “Let’s face it, Sunday sermons are generally one-sided conversations.”

Both priests also have widely

read personal blogs that they see as a key way to share their faith beyond their parish.

Schenck said of his blog, Clergy Family Confidential (http:/ /frtim.wordpress.com/), “It allows me to extend the pulpit, as it were, by reaching out to a much broader audience than I can reach on Sunday mornings.”

Gunn said parishioners frequently repost things from his blog, Seven Whole Days, (www.sevenwholedays.org), to invite someone to church or get friends thinking about God. After someone told him his blog was better than printed tracts, he reflected, “In a way, it functions much like tracts of the 19th century.”

While both champion electronic ministry, they’re quick to point out a few cautions. Gunn said online interactions should never replace in-person relationships. “Rather, social media can amplify existing community relationships and share the Good News that is happening in a congregation,” he said. “We must never kid ourselves that Facebook is a substitute for a pastoral visit.”

Gunn said it’s logical for churches to use modern methods to reach people. “Paul used cutting-edge technology (letters) in his day, and Jesus used the latest techniques (parables) to reach people. We need to keep pace with our culture, too, if we hope to reach people with our message of the Good News.”

Schenck said social media is all about connectivity, “and that’s the core of our faith. Jesus called disciples into community after all.

And there’s no reason to think he wouldn’t Facebook or Twitter if he came into the world 2,000 years later.”

Trinity’s Pogue said these new methods are a natural for the Episcopal Church. “We’re a multimedia church,” he said. “We include beauty, appeal to the eye, color, drama, movement, taste, sound and smell. This is just another range of media to use to carry out our mission.”

And Pogue answers a rhetorical question he sometimes hears.

“What if social media is a fad?” he said. “We’d still be stupid not to use it. Our job is to deliver the message entrusted to us.” Y

6 • The Harvest • January/February 2010

Haiti: Food, money are in short supply for some of Kans AREA HAITI PARTNER CHURCHES

Continued from page 1 Additionally, Père Alphonse wrote that 40 families from Portau-Prince have evacuated to the area, adding strain to what the churches can provide there.

In the Les Cayes area, the Rev. Colbert Estil (Père Colbert) reported in a Feb. 3 e-mail that the people of St. Croix in Ravine a L’Anse need food, and he has none to give them. The problem has been made more acute by an influx of refugees who have come to the region to live with family members.

This also has swelled the number of people with whom he ministers, noting that in church “the benches are full and many people stand up for the time of the services.”

In early February Père Colbert helped distribute bags of rice in Mersan, purchased with money sent by the people of the Church of the Redeemer in Kansas City, Mo., their HELP partner.

No report from Père Colbert had been received about deaths or injuries in the four Les Cayes-area churches he serves.

School, houses damaged While the Les Cayes/Torbeck area didn’t see the same level of devastation as Port-au-Prince, church-related buildings there were damaged.

The most serious damage appears to have occurred at the St. Sauveur’s rectory in Les Cayes, which, while still standing, cannot be inhabited by Père Colbert and his family. It can be repaired rather than torn down and rebuilt, he was told by a construction company.

In Torbeck, Père Alphonse said his rectory sustained about $4,500 worth of roof damage, and some classrooms at St. Paul’s School there need repairs.

He is trying to obtain tents for makeshift classrooms, since the

Photo from St. Sauveur Episcopal Church in Les Cayes

Members of the Daughters of the King at St. Sauveur’s Church in Les Cayes, Haiti, distribute rice to church members after the earthquake.

school was scheduled to reopen Feb. 8.

Père Alphonse also reports that electricity isn’t on full time in Torbeck, so he relying on batteries to run his computer so he can stay informed of developing conditions.

Kansan among the dead One of those missing and presumed dead is Dr. Frank Vaughters, a Johnson County pediatrician who was in Haiti to provide medical care in a clinic he established.

He reportedly was in a meeting at the Hotel Montana when the quake hit. The Montana was reduced to rubble, and some bodies already have been recovered from that site.

Vaughters formerly attended

St. Michael and All Angels in Mission, where his 11-year-old daughter currently is a member.

Vaughters for nearly 20 years has been involved in aid efforts in Haiti through HELP. In 1989 he also helped establish a medical clinic at Turner House, a former diocesan-run ministry. While Turner House has closed, the clinic remains as a separate entity, serving the needs of the urban poor in Kansas City.

Offering nets $68,000+ Within days of the earthquake, Bishop Dean Wolfe issued a call for all parishes in the Diocese of Kansas to take a special offering the following Sunday, to aid Haiti through Episcopal Relief and Development, the official Episcopal Church agency that assists follow-

MISSIONS OF TORBECK

MISSIONS OF LES CAYES

St. Paul’s, Torbeck

St. Michael’s, Mission St. Andre, Macabee Church of the Covenant, Junction City St. Paul’s, Manhattan St. Luke’s, Wamego St. Matthew’s, Newton Grace, Carthage, Mo. St. Hilaire, Petit Riviere St. Paul’s, Leavenworth All Saints, Nevada, Mo. St. Barthelemy, Dubrueil St. David’s, Topeka Grace Cathedral, Topeka Incarnation, LePretre St. Thomas, Overland Park

St. Thomas, Mersan Church of the Redeemer, Kansas City, Mo. St. Augustine’s, Maniche St. Andrew’s, Kansas City, Mo. St. Croix, Ravine a L’Anse St. Paul’s, Kansas City, Mo.

ing disasters.

By press time, 37 of the diocese’s 45 parishes had sent checks to the diocesan office, totaling more than $68,000.

Bishop Wolfe also officiated at a special service on Jan. 17 at St. Michael and All Angels in Mission, which has had a HELP partnership with St. Paul’s, Torbeck, for many years.

A Requiem Eucharist was celebrated for all those killed in the earthquake, and an offering that day also was dedicated for Haiti relief through ERD.

ERD,” Terry said.

Those might include giving up something important and donating the money saved, collecting loose change among students, fasting for a day and donating money that would have been spent, or doing odd jobs for local parish members with “wages” given to the cause.

The effort will conclude on Feb. 28 with a series of events in Emporia. Students from across the diocese will gather at St. Andrew’s for worship and lunch, discussion of the results of their Hearts for Haiti efforts, and a walk through town on behalf of the people of Haiti.

Walkers also will accept pledges toward their efforts.

For students unable to make it to Emporia for the diocesan walk, Canterbury House groupings will coordinate local walks to take place at the same time, Terry said.

She said the goal is to get as many students involved as possible, regardless of the amount

Colleges help, too The campus ministry program across the diocese is lending its hand to raise money for and awareness of the needs in Haiti.

Campus Missioner the Rev. Susan Terry said Episcopal college students on many campuses are planning events during February in a monthlong “Hearts for Haiti” effort.

“Students are asked to think of creative ways of earning money to donate for Haitian relief through

Some churches near Les Cayes have partners who aren’t Episcopal churches in the Kansas City-metro area. They are St. Saveur’s, Les Cayes (St. John’s, Hartford, Conn.), St. Esprit, Cavaillon (St. Mary’s, Columbia, S.C.) and St. Jean Baptiste, Savanette (Christ Church Anglican, Overland Park).

Continued on page 7

Lawrence nurse helped treat earthquake victims Karin Feltman, a member of St. Margaret’s, Lawrence, tends to shoulder and hip wounds of a young Haitian woman. Feltman spent a week in Haiti after the Jan. 12 earthquake offering medical help.

Submitted photo

By Melodie Woerman Editor, The Harvest

K

arin Feltman of St. Margaret’s, Lawrence, had been on eight medical mission trips around the world when she left in late January for a week in Haiti. But even she was astonished by the level of destruction and need she saw following the Jan. 12 earthquake.

She met a man who had been rescued from the rubble after three days, but his body had suffocated his three children underneath him. A 14-year-old girl had lost all the fingers on her hand, leaving only a thumb.

The smell of death hung heavy in the air, she said, even though most of the bodies visible in the immediate aftermath of the quake had been collected for burial.

“Everyone knew someone who was killed,” she said. “And everything is just concrete. How will they ever get rid of it?”

Feltman, who had spent 13 years as an emergency room nurse before becoming Lawrence Memorial Hospital’s patient advocate, flew to Haiti just two weeks after

the earthquake with One Heart Ministry International, a Kansas City-based Christian aid organization.

While there her team spent four days treating injuries and one day distributing food.

She and her fellow nurses set up a clinic in a tent city in Carrefour, one of Port-auPrince’s poorest neighborhoods. There they saw patients suffering from serious injuries but also from more common maladies like headaches and sore muscles from sleeping on the ground.

“And some people were so freaked out

that they just wanted someone to touch them and tell them they are OK,” she said.

Her team treated 2,500 patients in three days.

The next day they moved to a different tent city, expecting to see fewer patients.

But a bullhorn announcement of their arrival brought people streaming in from the nearby hills.

They saw the last patient just as their medical supplies ran out.

Another day of distributing food had the same “just enough” quality to it, Feltman said. “We just kept saying ‘loaves

and fishes, loaves and fishes,’” referring to Jesus’ miracle of multiplying food to feed a multitude. “We knew God could meet their needs.”

In four hours they helped feed 3,200 people. At each of the clinics her team also set up a spiritual care station, where nonmedical personnel prayed for those who requested it. They also just listened.

“The people all said they were so grateful to God for being spared,” she said. “No one saw him in the disaster; they all saw God in the grace afterward.”

Now back home, Feltman worries about all the Haitians living outside. While their encampments are called “tent” cities, she said many people are living under “a sheet and two sticks.” And the rainy season will start soon, she said.

Even though great needs remain, she noted that her six-member team was able to help 5,000 people in five days.

“Imagine if everyone went down and touched 5,000 more. Together we can make a dent,” she said.

“God asks us to do what we can.”

Christine Metz of the Lawrence JournalWorld contributed to this story. Y

January/February 2010 • The Harvest • 7 Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori (right) tours the ruins of Cathédrale Sainte Trinité in Port-au-Prince with Haiti’s bishop, Jean Zaché Duracin, on Feb. 8. The cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti was reduced to rubble in the Jan. 12 earthquake that struck the Caribbean nation.

sas’ partner churches Continued from page 6 of money raised.

Losses are catastrophic The Rev. Lauren Stanley is a missionary of the Episcopal Church assigned to Haiti. She was in the United States when the earthquake hit, and she since has been asked by Haitian Bishop Jean Zaché Duracin to remain in the U.S. to coordinate relief efforts.

She said in a telephone interview that the earthquake truly has devastated Haiti. She noted that a third of the nation’s population lived in Port-au-Prince and were directly affected by the disaster.

“That’s the equivalent of more than 100 million Americans, proportionately,” she said.

To date more than 112,000 of those killed have been buried, she said, most of them without being identified.

She said it’s difficult for Americans to understand the scope of the disaster, not only physically but in terms of its impact. “The earthquake took out the entire central part of the country,” she said, “the federal, state and local government. There is no standing army, and the nation has only 9,000 police officers.”

She echoed Bishop Duracin’s request that those wanting to

help Haiti refrain from making mission trips at this time, since the infrastructure isn’t there to accommodate such trips. Instead, people should continue to give money to ERD, which is working directly with Bishop Duracin and the Haitian diocese to get aid as quickly as possible into the hands of those in need.

She said donors can rest assured that their money will be well spent. “When you give to ERD, 93 cents of every dollar ends up in the hands of the people on the streets,” she said. “The other 7 cents we spend to get it to them.”

When told of the response by Kansas Episcopalians to Bishop Wolfe’s appeal for money, Stanley relayed Bishop Duracin’s thanks.

“Bishop Duracin is very grateful for your love, your prayers and your support,” she said. “He thanks all of you on behalf of the people of Haiti. Without you, we could not rebuild. The light of the gospel is shining through you, and we are deeply grateful.”

When told that the Diocese of Kansas last year had celebrated its 150th anniversary, Stanley said that the Diocese of Haiti will be celebrating its own 150th birthday next year. “That means we came into being together,” she said.

“Together we will walk forward into the light of Christ.” Y

Photo by Lauren Stanley

Haitian Episcopalians struggle but look to the ‘The church is the people,’ bishop says

By Mary Frances Schjonberg Episcopal News Service

T

here may not be a single Episcopal church standing in Port-au-Prince today, but that lack of walls and roofs does not mean that the church in the Haitian capital is dead.

“As the largest diocese of the Episcopal Church until now, we are physically destroyed but the church is there because the church is the people,” Episcopal Diocese of Haiti Bishop Jean Zaché Duracin told Episcopal News Service Feb. 4. “Even though we have lost our buildings, the people continue to gather. The communities are there.”

Bishop Duracin spoke to ENS in both English and French as he described life in Haiti and the work of the diocese in caring for survivors of the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that hit just outside of Port-au-Prince in the late afternoon of Jan. 12.

The quake left an estimate 200,000 dead and made homeless hundreds of thousands of people.

About a third of Haiti’s approximately 9 million people lived in Port-au-Prince before the quake.

Caring for survivors

ENS photo

Sister Marie Margaret, one of three Sisters of St. Margaret nuns made homeless by the earthquake, now lives in an Episcopal Diocese of Haiti survivors’ camp in Port-au-Prince. Episcopal Relief and Development is providing food and supplies to diocesan-run camps.

How ERD is helping

E

piscopal Relief and Development already is at work in Haiti following the Jan. 12 earthquake. The agency is aiding the 25,000 survivors who are living in about 20 makeshift refugee camps being operated by the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti.

Among its efforts to date; ERD has: Supplied more than five tons of food to diocesan camps.

Provided tents for those living in diocesan camps.

Delivered food by helicopter to 15,000 refugees living in six diocesan camps not accessible by vehicle.

Constructed permanent latrines and clean water sites in eight camps.

Trained workers to install and maintain 20 emergency water purification systems.

Provided 25 medicine boxes to diocesan community health workers, each with enough supplies to help 1,000 people in diocesan camps.

Purchased three trucks in the Episcopal Diocese of the Dominican Republic to transport supplies into Haiti, and bought fuel for the trips.

More information is available at www.er-d.org/HaitiCrisis . Y

The Episcopal Church of Haiti, known locally as L’Eglise Episcopale d’Haiti, is caring for about 25,000 Haitians in roughly 20 makeshift camps.

Since the quake, many people have left the capital for the countryside.

While the exodus could eventually improve the country’s economy and its ability to sustain itself, the out-migration is reportedly straining the meager resources of rural communities.

Bishop Duracin said almost all Episcopal Church buildings —schools as well as churches and the Sisters of St. Margaret Convent — in Portau-Prince “are gone,” but “every Sunday there are services, even at the cathedral … everything has been lost but … our communities are alive.”

For instance, the bishop said, a group gathers behind the ruins of Cathédrale Sainte Trinité (Holy Trinity Cathedral) “to continue to pray and to receive communion.”

“In spite of everything that happened to Haiti — that happened in Port-au-Prince — the church is alive and strong.”

“They look at the future and they see hope, and they are optimistic about the future,” Bishop Duracin said. “They invite all their brothers and sisters in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion to help them physically to rebuild the church.”

Don’t come; give However, Bishop Duracin warned that the diocese is not now prepared to welcome people. He said he understands that many people would like to come to Haiti and help in that work, but “there is no way for the church to receive any visitors

right now.”

Everyone, including himself, sleeps outside, the bishop said. Even at the few hotels that are still standing, guests must sleep outside for fear of aftershocks.

Thus, he said, the best way for Episcopalians to aid the diocese right now is to contribute to Episcopal Relief and Development.

“We are grateful to ERD. They are really helping,” Bishop Duracin said. “They have come here.

They have started working with us in this emergency, but now we have to think about the future.”

Many people, including Bishop Duracin, are living in tents or makeshift shelters.

The bishop said he splits his days between the survivors’ camp on a rocky field at College Ste. Pierre, a diocesan school destroyed by the quake, and a room at the diocesan offices.

The building that housed the diocesan offices is the only Episcopal Church building in Port-auPrince that survives relatively intact, according to Bishop Duracin.

At night, he said, he sleeps in a tent in the yard of a house that before the quake was being built for the Duracin family in Petionville, a suburb of Port-au-Prince.

When the quake hit, the house collapsed, trapping and injuring his wife, Marie-Edithe. She initially was treated at a hospital in Haiti and later was airlifted to the USNS Comfort hospital ship.

On Feb. 9 she and son James were transported to Tampa General Hospital in Tampa.

‘You’ve had your Good Friday’ Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori paid a poignant visit to Port-au-Prince Feb. 8 to survey the devastation with Bishop Duracin.

After climbing over the ruins of the diocese’s cathedral the presiding bishop turned to him and said “You should skip Lent this year; you have already had your Good Friday.”

Pointing to some of the cathedral’s 13 bells that were visible among the ruins and that appeared to be salvageable, Bishop Jefferts Schori said “they will ring again” and that the cathedral “will rise again.”

While at the cathedral, Bishops Jefferts Schori and Duracin said prayers with those who were at what the Haitian bishop is calling the diocese’s “open-air cathedral,” which consists of some plastic sheeting stretched over a frame of two-by-fours that shelters some rescued pews.

Some of the older women members of the cathedral were combing the ruins for pieces of the building’s world-famous murals depicting biblical stories in Haitian motifs, now destroyed.

The Rev. Mary Frances Schjonberg is national correspondent for the Episcopal News Service and editor of Episcopal News Monthly. Y

8 • The Harvest • January/February 2010

Around the diocese St. John’s, Abilene said a special “thank you” in the midst of winter storms to parishioners Rich Geist for plowing the parking lot, and to Jerry Batchelder, Paul Dennis and Richard Cowan for shoveling walks and steps.

Trinity, Arkansas City hosted a pre-Christmas cookie exchange for members. Children and youth participated by decorating candy canes as treats for the children in the parish’s Montessori Day School.

Trinity, Atchison welcomed new office manager DeeAnna Halling in December. She formerly worked for the local school district.

St. Mark’s, Blue Rapids women hosted a Christmas tea for women from other churches in the community Dec. 5. A variety of cookies and holiday treats were featured.

St. Paul’s, Clay Center rector the Rev. Susan Sawyer has organized a mutual support group for people caring for a family member or friend. She also asked the parish to consider volunteering as respite caregivers so people can attend the support group meetings.

St. John’s, Parsons observed its usual Epiphany celebrations with a Eucharist, children’s program, Epiphany cake and the crowning of parishioners as Epiphany King and Queen.

their families.

St. Martin’s, Edwardsville will be purchasing new Prayer Books to replace a number that are worn out, with memorial funds assisting.

St. Peter’s, Pittsburg changes its worship schedule on the first Sunday of every month. There is only one service instead of the usual two, and it’s followed by an all-parish brunch.

Trinity, El Dorado welcomed former rector and former bishop of Western Kansas James Adams, who celebrated and preached at the parish Dec. 20. Bishop Adams now is the vicar of Shepherd of the Hills Episcopal Church in Lecanto, Fla. St. Andrew’s, Emporia celebrated the Epiphany with a festive Eucharist, followed by a covered dish supper, topped off with a traditional Epiphany Kings Cake.

St. Thomas, Holton continued its commitment to outreach by collecting nonperishable food items during January for the local food pantry and disposable diapers for the crisis pregnancy center.

Epiphany, Independence was able to assist four families in need at Christmas, with gifts provided by parish members and proceeds from the annual craft fair and cookie market.

St. Paul’s, Coffeyville ECW hosted its annual Christmas dinner Dec. 17, complete with turkey and dressing, followed by the children’s Christmas pageant.

Friends were invited.

St. Clare’s, Johnson County started a Bile study Jan. 8 exploring the gospel of Mark. Students and the Rev. Phillip Hubbard meet twice a month at a local coffee shop

St. Andrew’s, Derby is forming a new group to offer support for service members who are deployed overseas and their families. Some parish members who are in the armed forces are scheduled to be deployed in coming months, and this will be a way to stay connected to them and assist

Covenant, Junction City made sure parishioners were aware that unless the church building was without heat or electricity, services would go on as scheduled throughout the winter, regardless of weather. Members were asked to use good judgment about traveling to church.

Submitted photo

Liturgical recycling Joyce Roath (right) displays a funeral pall she made for St. Timothy’s, Iola, She is pictured with the parish’s vicar, the Rev. Janet Chubb.

Roath took trim from an old pall and appliques from other liturgical hangings and applied them to new white silk brocade to create the pall used to cover caskets at funerals. Roath also made a matching cremains urn cover. Y

St. Paul’s, Kansas City asked members to help provide “Christmas dinner in a sack” for local families in need. A list of easy-topurchase grocery items was handed out so people could buy an item or two at a time, adding up to the makings of a full Christmas dinner.

St. Margaret’s, Lawrence collected yarn from knitters’ unfinished projects during January.

Crafters at Trinity Lutheran had volunteered to turn unused yarn into hats, scarves and gloves for local school children who needed them.

Trinity, Lawrence observed Children’s Sunday Jan. 24, with music by the choristers, and young people reading lessons and assisting as ushers and greeters. The service included an instructed Eucharist.

St. Paul’s, Leavenworth now posts audio recordings of the

weekly sermons on its website, www.stpaulslvn.org.

St. Paul’s, Manhattan made Christmas brighter for 22 people when members of the ECW packed tins of Christmas cookies for delivery by parish pastoral visitors. The cookies were made by volunteer bakers.

St. Paul’s, Marysville was scheduled to provide worship and a pizza party Feb. 28 for residents of Cambridge Place assisted living center. The church does this four times a year, complete with a Eucharist and sermon.

St. Michael’s, Mission tried to chase the winter blues with a tropical evening Feb. 13. “Changes in Latitude” featured a Jimmy Buffett-themed evening of dinner, dancing and fun, presented by Men in Ministry as a benefit for the parish youth program and mission trip.

St. Matthew’s, Newton revived an ancient Epiphany tradition of chalking the doors of the church, using the initials of the three Wise Men (Caspar, Melchior and Balthazar) and the date of the new year. The writing is to be placed on the lintel of the front door, and members were encouraged to do the same at their homes.

St. Aidan’s, Olathe member Don Seifert was recognized upon his retirement after 35 years of service as an official of the city of Olathe, including a term as mayor.

Grace, Ottawa is accepting donations for the purchase of new Prayer Books and hymnals.

Photo by Diane Harrington

We three kings, and then some Children, youth and adults at Grace Cathedral, Topeka, dressed in elaborate costumes Jan. 3 as part of an Epiphany pageant. Three children who were dressed as kings were carried in procession on litters on the shoulders of adult members of the congregation. Y

St. Thomas, Overland Park offered a 1950s-themed “At the Hop” breakfast and white elephant gift exchange Feb. 6. The fun event, advertised as a midwinter pick-me-up, also asked parishioners to bring nonperishable food for the pantry at St. Paul’s, Kansas City.

Epiphany, Sedan offered a new liturgy Jan. 31 designed to appeal to youth. The service will take place at 10:30 a.m. in months where there is a fifth Sunday (there are four in 2010). The inaugural speaker was diocesan Youth Missioner Chad Senuta.

Grace Cathedral, Topeka welcomed six new members of the parish chapter of the Daughters of the King in December. The order for Episcopal women stresses prayer and service on behalf of the church.

St. David’s, Topeka youth assisted local social service agency Doorstep in organizing items that had been donated as Christmas gifts for people in need.

St. Luke’s, Wamego now is offering a healing service followed by the Holy Eucharist every Wednesday at 12:45 p.m.

Good Shepherd, Wichita has started a group for stay-at-home moms. The first meeting took place Jan. 13 with a play date.

St. James’, Wichita has scheduled cottage parties to involve as many members of the parish as possible in the search process for a new rector. The parties will be for groups of 12 people, and to make them more fun, each will have a theme, such as “All-American BBQ,” “An Evening in Italy” or “Christmas Dinner in April.”

St. John’s, Wichita helped provide Christmas cheer for 14 young people living at the Wichita Children’s Home. Parish involvement with the home and its children won’t stop, though. Parishioners were asked to find ways to interact with children there, such helping students with their reading or teaching someone to cook.

St. Stephen’s, Wichita offers meeting space to self-help groups every day of the week. AA meets there daily, Al Anon meets three times a week, and Debtors Anonymous and Overeaters Anonymous meet weekly.

Grace, Winfield partnered with the Winfield Police Department’s outreach to children by providing gifts for youngsters (and siblings) who were paired with police officers for a time of shopping, lunch and mentoring in mid-December. Y

January/February 2010 • The Harvest • 9

People K-S tat er pic ked as delegat e tto o UN commission mee ting -Stat tater pick delegate meeting

By Melodie Woerman Editor, The Harvest

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Alexandra Connors, an Episcopalian studying at Kansas State University, will be one of 10 young people serving as Episcopal Young Adult Delegates to the 54th meeting of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.

lexandra Connors, an active Episcopalian studying at Kansas State University, has been selected by the Episcopal Church as one of 10 young adult delegates to next month’s meeting of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York.

Connors, a junior majoring in architecture, is a member of Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral in Kansas City, Mo., and is a regular participant in the activities of the K-State Canterbury House.

This is only the second year that the Episcopal Church has sent official young adult delegates to the meeting.

This meeting of the Commission will be the 54th time the body has convened. The main goal of this year’s gathering is a 15year review of the Beijing Platform for Action dealing with women’s rights and gender equality around the world.

Connors said she applied for the position at the urging of the Rev. Craig Loya, the diocese’s canon to the ordinary, who previously had been K-State’s campus missioner. Delegates were selected from applicants across the country and include eight women and two men. At 20, Connors is the second-youngest delegate.

Connors said the delegates have been gathering via conference call to prepare for their time in New York, which includes the first week of the Commission’s 14-day session.

Young Episcopal delegates will arrive in New York Feb. 26, and Connors returns to Kansas on March 6.

She said that in addition to the 45 official commission delegates, there are many outside groups that participate, including representatives from non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and lots of ecumenical, religious and young adult groups like the one the Episcopal Church is sending.

“It’s a very large gathering,” she said.

“Someone compared it to General Convention, with all that is going on.”

Connors knows the hectic nature of such a gathering first-hand. She attended General Convention in 2006 as a member of the Official Youth Presence, 18 young people from across the Episcopal Church who are given seat and voice in the House of Deputies during General Convention.

Int erest in Latin America Interest While at the United Nations, she plans to sit in on a variety of committee meetings, as well as sessions offered by NGOs. After graduation Connors, who is fluent in Spanish, hopes to work in South

Workshop speakers will address reconciliation, going green and congregational development

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hree major educational opportunities are being presented in the diocese in the next two months. Each is open to anyone in the diocese who is interested in learning more.

These items also are included in the diocesan calendar on page 12 of this issue, and on the diocesan website, www.episcopalks.org.

Leading a Spirit of R econciliation Reconciliation in the Congregation Sponsored by St. Michael and All Angels Church Saturday, March 13, 1:30-4:30 p.m.

St. Michael’s, 6630 Nall Ave., Mission The event is free.

Leading the workshop will be the Rev. Michael Battle, an Episcopal priest and well-known writer, speaker and retreat leader whose ministry covers the globe and focuses on Christian nonviolence, human spirituality and African Church studies. He has studied with, and is a friend of, Archbishop Desmond Tutu.

The focus of the workshop will be on leading congregations to continue in the biblical mandate to be reconciled with God and neighbor. In a culture that when faced with conflict too quickly digresses into defensive posturing, name calling, divorce, legal battles and violence, the church needs to be a place to learn loving practices, even toward enemies.

The deadline to register is March 10. Send the number of people attending and their names to the Rev. Lisa Senuta at lisa@stmaa.com or by calling (913) 236-8600.

Ge tting Y our P arish Green TTeam eam Going Getting Your Parish Sponsored by the Trinity Environmental Stewardship Team (TEST), Trinity, Lawrence Saturday, April 10, 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Trinity, 1011 Vermont St., Lawrence Requested donation of $10 per person; lunch is included.

Leading the workshop will be members of TEST, who have years of experience as a parish-based environmental team. They’ll explore the issues surrounding starting and maintaining an environmental stewardship program in a parish, with an emphasis on these topics:

what the issues are; what parishioners can do; what resources are readily available to support these efforts; and how to not only get a Green Team started but how to keep it going.

The deadline to register is March 20. A registration form is available on the diocesan website (www.episcopal-ks.org), or send the name, address, phone number, e-mail address and parish of those attending to Nancy Hanson at ninxks@sunflower.com.

Appreciativ e Inquir or V estries Appreciative Inquiryy ffor Vestries and Chur Churcch Leader Leaderss Sponsored by the Congregational Development Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas Saturday, April 24, 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

St. David’s, 3916 SW 17th St., Topeka $35 per person, with a maximum of $160 per parish; lunch is included Leading the workshop will be the Rev. Rob Voyle, an Episcopal priest, psychologist and executive coach. He is the Director of the Clergy Leadership Institute and is an international leader in the use of appreciative inquiry based-processes in church settings.

CDC chair the Very Rev. Steve Lipscomb said, “Appreciative Inquiry is a positive, resourceful, life-giving way of working and being in the world.”

He said this workshop is designed for vestry members and church leaders of: churches wanting to discover their purpose and grow their sense of mission; churches in transition and those seeking new rectors; churches that need to embrace the future rather than run from the past; and churches that want to grow in the love and joy of being children of God. The deadline to register is April 17. To sign up, make checks payable to “Episcopal Diocese of Kansas” and marked “CDC conference” on the memo line. Send checks, with the names and parishes of those attending, to Michele Moss, Episcopal Diocese of Kansas, 835 SW Polk St., Topeka, KS 66612. Y

America with indigenous communities, so she especially wants to seek out representatives from Latin America. “There are quite a range of committee meetings dealing with women who haven’t had the opportunity to speak for themselves in Latin America,” she said.

International involvement is nothing new for Connors, who last year went to Kenya with a group of Diocese of Kansas college students.

She also long has been involved in outreach efforts in the church as a participant in MissionPalooza, the summer urban ministry program for youth from the dioceses of Kansas and West Missouri.

Connors is having to raise enough money to cover her airfare to and from New York, as well as meals and ground transportation while there. Budget cuts made by last summer’s General Convention eliminated the Office of Women’s Ministries and erased part of the funding for delegation expenses.

She’s confident letters sent out to friends around the church will cover her costs.

While at the meeting Connors and her fellow delegates will be chronicling their activities on a daily blog through Episcopal Commons (www.episcopalcommons. org), a website for young adults in the Episcopal Church. Y

Clergy news The Rev. R. James Mitchell now is serving as interim at Trinity, El Dorado, beginning in early January. He most recently served as assistant at St. Stephen’s, Wichita and before that as priest-in-charge at St. Alban’s, Wichita, which since has merged with St. Stephen’s.

The Rev. Robert Harris has accepted a full-time position as staff chaplain at Truman Medical Center in Kansas City, Mo., where he will be ministering to the needs of patients, families and staff.

Bishop Wolfe has accepted Letters Dimissory from the Diocese of South Carolina for the Rev. Bill Breedlove, assistant rector of St. Michael and All Angels, Mission, now making him canonically resident in the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas. Bishop Wolfe ordained Breedlove to the priesthood at St. Michael’s on Dec. 8.

Letters Dimissory for Deacon Allen Ohlstein have been sent to the Diocese of Arkansas. Ohlstein now serves as Minister for Outreach, Pastoral Care and Communications at Trinity Cathedral in Little Rock, Ark. Joe Ware, husband of Deacon Jane Ware of Trinity, El Dorado, died Saturday, Dec. 26 at a hospital in Wichita,.

He was 80.

Marsha Adinolfi, wife of the Very Rev. Jerry Adinolfi, rector of St. Paul’s, Coffeyville, and dean of the Southeast Convocation, died Friday, Jan. 8, at her home in Coffeyville. She was 66. Y

10 • The Harvest • January/February 2010

National and international news Anglican news briefs Episcopal News Service ERD launches NetsforLife fund — Episcopal Relief and Development hosted a luncheon Jan. 26 in New York City in honor of Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams and to launch the NetsforLife Inspiration Fund to continue the agency’s ongoing fight against malaria. Diocese of Colorado Bishop Robert O’Neill, chair of the agency’s board of directors, spoke about the importance of the life-saving work of Episcopal Relief and Development, from responding to the recent crisis in Haiti to the ongoing mission of promoting health and fighting disease through NetsforLife. “Long after the television crews have left and the cameras have stopped rolling, I am grateful to say that Episcopal Relief and Development will still be on the ground in Haiti, still be on the ground working with our partners, still be engaged in the same mission, not only in Haiti, but globally,” said O’Neill.

Former archivist laid to rest — Nelle Bellamy, 87, archivist for the Episcopal Church for more than 30 years, died Dec. 23 in Knoxville, Tenn., and was buried on Dec. 30 after a memorial service at St. John’s Episcopal Church, Johnson City. From 19591992, Bellamy was Episcopal Church and developed an archival program for the church and traveled extensively collecting materials for the archives.

New Cuban bishop consecrated — The Rev. Griselda Delgado Del Carpio was consecrated as bishop coadjutor of the Episcopal Church of Cuba in Holy Trinity Cathedral in Havana Feb. 7. Five months ago Cuba failed for the second time to elect a bishop coadjutor, so the choice of a coadjutor fell to the Metropolitan Council of Cuba. Delgado, who was formerly rector of Santa Maria Virgen in Itabo, Cuba, will work with Bishop Miguel Tamayo of the Anglican Church of Uruguay as he completes his work as Cuba’s interim bishop. Delgado will become diocesan bishop upon Tamayo’s retirement this fall. Her installation is scheduled for Nov. 28. The Cuban church includes about 40 congregations and some 10,000 Episcopalians.

Longest-serving bishop dies — Archbishop Jabez Bryce, bishop of the Diocese of Polynesia, died peacefully Feb. 11 at Suva Private Hospital in Fiji. He was 75. Bryce had led the Diocese of Polynesia for almost 35 years and was, at time of his death, the longest-serving bishop in the worldwide Anglican Communion. In 2006, he also was chosen as one of the three leaders of the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, the far-flung province that includes Anglicans in New Zealand, and in Fiji, Tonga, Samoa and American Samoa.

Virginia launches “trucks for Haiti” effort — The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia, responding to a request from Episcopal Relief and Development, is attempting to supply 10 small pickup trucks to the agency for its post-earthquake relief efforts in the Diocese of Haiti. More than $85,000 has already been received toward the $175,000 goal, a diocesan news release said. ERD contacted the Diocese of Virginia to ask for a repeat performance of a truck campaign it staged in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, this time for Haiti.

English postpone debate on women bishops until July – A committee charged with revising a draft measure that would pave the way for women to be consecrated as bishops in the Church of England needs more time to consider the legislation. In February 2009, General Synod, the main governing body of the Church of England, decided to send the draft measure to the revision committee so it could rework the legislation. Although no official timeframe was set for the committee to complete its work, the revised legislation was expected to be presented to synod’s February sessions. The committee, which received 114 submissions from synod members relating to the measure, had “not completed its detailed scrutiny” of the legislation, a member said.

Episcopal News Monthly debuts — The first issue of Episcopal News Monthly was published in early February, offering the latest compilation of news from Episcopal News Service. More than 109,000 households received the first issue of ENM, which replaces the award-winning, 20-year-long running Episcopal Life.

ENM focuses on in-depth reporting and analysis of local, regional, national and international news, compiled from Episcopal News Service online postings. Editor of the newspaper is the Rev. Mary Frances Schjonberg. Y

Photo courtesy Vancouver 2010 Olympics

Canadian Olympians triathlete Simon Whitfield (left) and speedskater Catriona Le May Doan light the torch from the community cauldron at the legislature buildings in Victoria. The pair were part of a torch relay across Canada leading to the opening of the Olympics Feb. 12 in Vancouver.

Chur oll out w elcome mat Churcches rroll welcome during Wint er Olympics Winter

By Marites N. Sison Anglican Journal

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owntown Vancouver’s Christ Church Cathedral, the mother church of the Anglican Diocese of New Westminster, will open its doors 12 hours a day from Feb. 11-27 to welcome visitors and offer them a place of “sanctuary, peace and prayer” during the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Besides regular worship schedules, there will be daily “Chants for Peace,” at 5:30 p.m., which the cathedral describes as “an intimate candlelight service of music and quiet reflection” featuring the acclaimed Cathedral Choir.

Clergy and volunteers will be on hand to greet visitors to the cathedral from 8:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Other local churches and faith groups also are laying out their welcome mats during the Feb. 1228 Winter Games.

Multi-faith centers will be set up at the Olympic Village in Whis-

tler, British Columbia, and in Vancouver, and will include representatives of Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Judaism and Hinduism.

The centers are meant for both visitors and athletes, who may want to lean on their faith during the competitions.

Archbishop Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada, has asked Anglicans to embrace the “Olympic Spirit,” noting that the New Testament writers have used images associated with the ancient Olympic Games to encourage followers of Jesus to be “steadfast in their faith.”

In his February column for the Anglican Journal, he wrote, “In the spirit of the Olympics, let us run the race that is set before us, let us cheer one another on, and let us give thanks for ‘that great cloud of witnesses by whom we are surrounded’ (Hebrews 12:1).”

Pope Benedict XVI has sent his blessings and good wishes to participating athletes, volunteers

and organizers. “May sport always be a valued building block of peace and friendship between peoples and nations,” he said in a message sent to Roman Catholic Archbishop J. Michael Miller of Vancouver.

Aside from offering hospitality to all, some Christian denominations, including Anglican and Roman Catholic, are planning activities to draw attention to the issue of human trafficking.

At their last meeting, the Anglican-Roman Catholic Bishops’ Dialogue released a joint statement saying that while they recognize the Olympic Games as “a celebration of human development through sport,” it is also a time when sex workers are in high demand.

They said the “buying and selling of human beings subverts the very essence of the Olympic spirit.”

Marites N. Sison is staff writer for the Anglican Journal, the newspaper of the Anglican Church of Canada. Y

New Orleans cathedralite wins Grammy Episcopal News Service

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rvin Mayfield and the New Orleans Jazz Orchestra received a Grammy for Best Large Jazz Ensemble Album for their debut album, “Book One,” at the 52nd Annual Grammy Awards Jan. 31.

Award-winning trumpeter Mayfield, 31, is founder and artistic director of the 15-piece New Orleans Jazz Orchestra and artist-in-residence at the city’s Christ Church Cathedral. He composed and arranged the music included in “Book One” for All the Saints, a 2008 concert commissioned and hosted by the Episcopal cathedral.

According to David duPlantier, dean of the cathedral, the concert was intended to communicate hope and celebration for the city’s wounded citi-

zenry. Mayfield’s music explores post-Hurricane Katrina stagnation, the financial crisis and falling in love again.

The cathedral hosted four annual “All the Saints” concerts from 2005 to 2008; the nine tracks on the Grammy-winning album released in June 2009 were original to the 2008 concert, he added.

“This particular year he wrote several things that were unique; reflecting on the financial crisis … the price of gas, falling in love again with the city — it was his sense that we’d come out of the horror and were beginning to see the city again,” duPlantier said.

DuPlantier described Mayfield’s work as “exquisite,” and said that the music community’s recognition of “Book One” honors the church’s and the cathedral’s long tradition of supporting the arts. Y

January/February 2010 • The Harvest • 11

Dak ota reser om wint er st orms Dako reservvations are reeling fr from winter storms Episcopal News Service

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ishop John Tarrant of the Diocese of South Dakota said Feb. 10 that a grant from Episcopal Relief and Development will be used “to help families, to buy food, to purchase propane gas for heating, and to repair pipes that were frozen and burst” during blizzards a few weeks ago.

Winter storms had downed an estimated 3,000 utility poles, leaving many residents without power or water on the Cheyenne River Sioux Indian Reservation in South Dakota and the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, which spans both North and South Dakota.

“Many people, when their power went out, lost everything in their refrigerators and freezers. And when they lost power their pipes froze, so now they have to try and make repairs,” said Tarrant. “People are going to be paying for that storm. It’s not like when the storms are over, their problems are over.”

On Jan. 31, the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe declared a state of emergency and requested federal disaster relief funds, food, medical supplies and generators. Tribal authorities issued a press release, saying

that an estimated 1,500 homes had been without power for weeks.

The South Dakota National Guard, the state Department of Public Safety and the Army Corps of Engineers supplied some emergency generators, but tribal authorities requested additional units. The only reservation grocery store had lost all perishables.

Dialysis patients are also being evacuated three hours away, to Rapid City, according to the release.

Storm ormyy season no nott o ovver But the stormy season isn’t over yet, said the Rev. John Floberg, who serves several congregations at the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, a Lakota and Dakota reservation that stretches into both North and South Dakota.

Floberg said during a Feb. 10 telephone interview that he had been in touch with the local power cooperative to offer assistance after hearing that a few homes were still without power.

“People are anxious … they’re worried about getting through February. And then there’s March. And then there’s spring flooding,” he said. Adding to the anxiety are forecasts of additional storms, and the

high cost of propane, at about $1.90 per gallon.

“Most people have 500 gallon propane tanks in their yards. It costs (more than) $700 now to fill a 500-gallon propane tank,” he said. “I’ve never known the church to be wealthy enough to provide that kind of assistance. I wish it were different.

To get a whole community ready for an emergency, to get enough back-up generators and water supply … I just don’t know how you go about that.”

One single parent’s situation is typical of many residents, who “stock up with a lot of meat going into the winter. Then, during the winter months, they can take care of their heating bills,” said Floberg.

But, with the power outages, he lost “his refrigerator and freezer items. He doesn’t have the finances to take care of both heating and replace the food that was lost. So we’re helping out with some of that.”

Episcopal Relief and Development had granted Floberg permission to apply some leftover funds from last year’s spring floods to this year’s disaster relief, he said.

“And if we need to apply for this as a separate event, then we’ll do that,” added Floberg, who serves St. Luke’s Church in Fort Yates, St. James Church in Cannon

Ball and Church of the Cross in Selfridge, in the Diocese of North Dakota.

At least half of the population of the Standing Rock Reservation is under 18 years of age. Average life expectancy for men is 47 years; for women, 58. Per capita income is about $7,731 a year.

About 10 percent of the population is Episcopalian, Floberg said.

Bishop Tarrant of South Dakota said the tough times might get tougher still, especially if there are more storms. Because of the huge number of downed utility poles, many repairs “were only temporary fixes … we don’t know what will happen to them when another storm comes through,” he said.

Tarrant agreed that sometimes “what appears to be a minimal disaster because you don’t have a population density often does get overlooked. I must admit I felt funny calling Episcopal Relief and Development when I did. The woman I talked to had just gotten back from Haiti.”

But, he added, the churchwide relief agency had extended emergency funds to the diocese. “We want to make sure we can help as many people as we can. And, just like in Haiti, these problems won’t be taken care of in a matter of months.” Y

Archbishop of Canterbury, Presiding Bishop meet with U.N. officials

Church of England says ‘no’ to full communion with ACNA

By Matthew Davies Episcopal News Service

Episcopal News Service

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lobal crises in Haiti and Sudan were among pressing issues addressed at the United Nations headquarters Jan. 26 as Secretary General Ban Ki-moon welcomed Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams for a 45-minute meeting.

The church leaders were joined by the Anglican Observer at the U.N., Hellen Wangusa, and U.K. Representative to the U.N., Sir Mark Lyall Grant.

Williams offered his “profound condolences” for the loss of so many U.N. staff in the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that devastated Haiti Jan. 12, according to a press release from Lambeth Palace, the archbishop’s London residence. He also conveyed his “deep appreciation and admiration” for the work of the U.N. in some of the poorest parts of the world.

Jefferts Schori told ENS that she welcomed the opportunity to highlight the Episcopal Church’s presence in Haiti, “for more than 150 years providing education and health care,” and underscore “that we would be there for centuries to come.”

The Episcopal Diocese of Haiti is numerically the largest diocese in the Episcopal Church.

Peace in Sudan discussed Another critical issue addressed by the leaders was Sudan’s faltering peace process and their concerns that immediate action must be taken to ensure that the country doesn’t plunge back into civil war.

“I spoke about what we had learned from Rwanda and Liberia and how we and the U.N. might challenge the world to prevent another massive round of violence in Sudan,” Jefferts Schori told ENS. Williams told Ban that the Episcopal Church of Sudan “is completely committed to peace and development and will work with all agencies, governmental and non-governmental, committed to the same goals. Its infrastructure is at the service of the community, the government and international agencies.”

Sudan’s 20-year civil war, which claimed more than 2 million lives and displaced about 7 million people, came to an end in January 2005 when the Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed by the two warring parties — the Government of Sudan in the north and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement in the south.

Photo by Lambeth Palace

Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams (left) meets with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon Jan. 26 in New York. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori also participated in the meetings with UN officials.

Other key issues addressed in the meeting with Ban included the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, the vulnerability of children in armed conflict and trafficking, the church’s role in the education and health sectors in some of the poorest countries in Africa, and the church’s role in sustaining and building grass roots capacity, especially in the most fragile and war-torn communities.

Earlier on Jan. 26, Williams held consultations with U.N. ambassadors and senior staff from a range of U.N. agencies.

Radhika Coomaraswamy, U.N. special representative for children and armed conflict, was among those who welcomed Williams. They discussed how the rehabilitation of children who had become caught up in conflict “was a key role for churches, so too was protecting children from the vortex of abuse and violence including trafficking and abduction,” the Lambeth Palace release said.

Williams addressed the issue of safeguarding children from the effects of the global economic crisis during an afternoon keynote address and a panel discussion Jan. 26 at the Desmond Tutu Center on the campus of the General Theological Seminary in New York City.

Matthew Davies is editor and international correspondent of the Episcopal News Service. Y

he Church of England has said it recognizes and affirms the desire of the Anglican Church in North America to remain in the Anglican family, but it is not yet ready to be in full communion with the breakaway entity.

ACNA is made up of individuals and groups that have left the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada, as well as those that have never been members of those two provinces.

It includes entities such as the Reformed Episcopal Church, formed in 1873, and the Anglican Mission in the Americas, founded by Rwandan Archbishop Emmanuel Kolini and Moses Tay, the now-retired primate of the province of South East Asia, in 2000.

An amended resolution passed Feb. 10 by General Synod, the Church of England’s main governing body, said that ACNA’s desire required further exploration by the “relevant authorities” in the Anglican Communion.

Bishop Michael Hill of the Diocese of Bristol, who proposed the amendment, told ENS that the debate had been charitable. “While it leaned towards issues of human sexuality, the real issue is about the process of reception with groups like ACNA,” said Hill, a member of the Anglican Consultative Council, the communion’s main policy-making body.

The passing of the motion hasn’t resolved all the issues, he added. “It leaves the doors open but makes it clear that the church

has to deal with these matters with due process and not in an ad hoc way.”

Hill’s amendment — which received 309 votes for, 69 against and 17 abstentions — also invites the archbishops of Canterbury and York to report further to synod in 2011.

The original motion submitted by Lorna Ashworth of Chichester had called on synod to “express the desire that the Church of England be in communion with the Anglican Church in North America.”

Several further amendments were proposed, and all but one failed.

American Anglican Council President David Anderson told ENS that he was pleased with the outcome, even though he and other ACNA members had hoped for Ashworth’s motion to be carried. The AAC is a founding member of ACNA. Anderson, a former Episcopal priest, said he looked forward to furthering the conversation.

The Rev. Colin Coward, director of Changing Attitude, a U.K.-based advocacy group on behalf of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender persons, said that Hill’s amendment “kicks ACNA’s desire for recognition into the long grass. But it did commit to something that is generous in recognizing their desires, but understanding that more needs to be done.”

Several ACNA members, including Anderson and the Rev. Philip Ashey, chief operating officer of the AAC, attended General Synod as observers and lobbied its members at the invitation of the bishops of Exeter, Blackburn and Winchester. Y

12 • The Harvest • January/February 2010

Reflections on faith and life

Sharing the Good News Haiti’s po ty and hunger povver erty are no thing ne w nothing new

By Mary Novaria

Extreme poverty and neglect by the rest of the world are part of this Caribbean nation’s legacy, along with rampant disease, filthy drinking water and corruption.

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People’s spirit remains

Photo by David Peironnet

Haitian children exhibit joy in the midst of extreme poverty.

The dusty, gray landscape is brightened by colorful laundry hanging on lines connecting one neighbor to another. You can look down from the house above and see a woman sweeping her dirt patio; across the street children are playing on the roof.

One of the blessings to come from this epic tragedy is that the world — the U.S. in particular — now sees the desperation of this poorest country in our hemisphere, a mere 600 miles off the coast of Florida.

The extraordinary need in Haiti pre-dates this earthquake.

For those of us who’ve been there, there is some understanding of the logistical difficulties of relief efforts.

Toussaint Louverture International Airport does not compare in any way with airports in the United States.

Roads in Haiti are notoriously bad and bridges are often flooded out from the last hurricane. Police are ineffective and the government is always in a shambles. In Port-au-Prince, disorder is always the order of the day.

Another part of Haiti’s legacy, however, is the indomitable spirit of her people.

The centuries of economic, social and political oppression miraculously have not pummeled the hope and faith right out of these beautiful people.

Haiti’s children still beam at you with their beautiful Pepsodent smiles, and even among the desperate ruins there is joy.

Another TV report days after the quake showed men, women and children, hands clasped together, dancing in the midst of the rubble that remains of Portau-Prince.

Reminiscent of the Whos down in Whoville after the Grinch “stole” Christmas, these resilient, faithful souls were singing songs of praise, thanking God that they were alive, and revealing to the world one of the prevailing truths of living in Haiti: Even the heartbroken can be hopeful.

Mary Novaria is the outreach chair at St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Overland Park, where she is a member.

She has made one trip to Haiti on a medical mission trip with HELP, the Haitian Episcopal Learning Partnership. Y

March 2010

April 2010

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Bishop Wolfe at Covenant, Junction City

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Bishop Wolfe at St. Paul’s, Clay Center

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Fresh Start, Bethany Place Conference Center, Topeka

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Easter Vigil, Bishop Wolfe at Grace Cathedral, Topeka

12 Kansas School for Ministry class, Bethany Place Conference Center, Topeka, (through March 13)

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Easter Day, Bishop Wolfe at Grace Cathedral, Topeka

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Kansas School for Ministry class, Bethany Place Conference Center, Topeka, (through April 10)

13 Workshop: “Leading a Spirit of Reconciliation in the Congregation,” St. Michael’s, Mission 14 Bishop Wolfe at Epiphany, Sedan 16 Council of Trustees meeting, Grace Cathedral, Topeka 19 Bishop Wolfe at House of Bishops meeting, Camp Allen, Texas (through March 24) 28 Palm Sunday, Bishop Wolfe at Grace Cathedral, Topeka 30 Chrism Mass, Grace Cathedral, Topeka

10 Workshop: “Getting Your Parish Green Team Going,” Trinity, Lawrence 17 Bishop Wolfe at St. Mary’s, Galena Cursillo Grand Ultreya, St. David’s, Topeka 18 Bishop Wolfe at St. Peter’s, Pittsburg Southeast Convocation board meeting, St. John’s, Parsons 20 Council of Trustees meeting, Grace Cathedral, Topeka 24 Workshop: “Appreciative Inquiry for Vestries and Church Leaders,” St. David’s, Topeka 26 Bishop Wolfe at Trinity, Lawrence 30 Deacons’ Retreat, Spiritual Life Center, Wichita (through May 2)

For the latest news of the diocese, full calendar listings and more, visit the diocesan website, www.episcopal-ks.org.

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The Episcopal Diocese of Kansas 835 S.W. Polk Street Topeka, KS 66612

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couple of days after the earthquake, a news crew hurried down the street in Port-au-Prince. The photographer hustled to keep up as the reporter gestured wildly during the live “on-scener” for CNN. As the reporter emotionally described the trash piling up in the streets, women trying to bathe modestly in public and other deplorable conditions, I thought, “This is his first time in Haiti!”

Sadly, and unbeknownst to those who are seeing the Haitian slums for the very first time, these conditions are absolutely not exclusive to post-earthquake Haiti.

In many neighborhoods, the streets are always filled with trash. It is quite common to see folks bathing in culverts on the side of the road and in rivers on the edge of town, to see children in t-shirts and no pants begging for food or money.

In much of Port-au-Prince, tiny houses are built into the hills, one on top of another, with cinder blocks and corrugated tin roofs. They have window openings but no windows, dirt floors where people sleep, no plumbing or electricity. Where there is electricity, it is unreliable, often going off and on at inconvenient times.

Even before the earthquake, many of these homes were crumbling. In the morning you will see a parade of people gathered at a neighborhood well to draw water used for cooking and washing up.

Diocesan Calendar

The mission of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas is to gather, equip and send disciples of Jesus Christ to witness to God’s reconciling love.