Inside The Harvest From Bishop Wolfe
Bishop Wolfe describes his recent sabbatical and says he’s ready to get to work outlining the next goals for the diocese. Page 2
National ECW board
Lonnie Isaak from Independence is a new member of the national board of the Episcopal Church Women, representing Province 7. Page 3
ESS-sponsored cafe
Episcopal Social Services has helped start a new downtown eatery that offers meals and the chance for people to learn culinary skills. Page 5
Making churches welcome The head of Forward Movement urged churches to serve really great coffee as one of the steps to truly offer a ministry of hospitality to those who enter church doors. Page 5
Sunday school restarts
After nearly 20 years, St. Mark’s, Blue Rapids, now is offering a Sunday school for the growing number of children who call the parish home. Page 6
Help for Haiti
St. Paul’s, Leavenworth, sponsored a medical mission trip to Haiti, to serve some of the world’s poorest people. Page 7
Clay Center award
St. Paul’s, Clay Center, was recognized by Harvester’s, the area’s largest food bank, for its many efforts to feed the hungry. Page 7
Around the diocese
A groundbreaking in Derby, an April Women’s Summit and more mark news from around the diocese. Page 8
Building hope
Men from St. Michael and All Angels, Mission, use their home repair skills to make the lives of people easier through HopeBuilders. Page 9
Anglican congeniality
Episcopalians who attended a recent major Anglican Communion meeting said it was marked by congeniality and positive respect. Page 10
Help for storm victims
One church in New Jersey was able to feed its neighbors awaiting electricity and provide a safe place to warm up in the aftermath of superstorm Sandy. Page 11
Diocesan Convention celebrates ministries, does business By Melodie Woerman Editor, The Harvest Delegates to the 153rd annual convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas heard calls to embrace the challenges facing the church in the 21st century and, in the words of the convention theme, to “walk by faith.” In his address, Bishop Dean Wolfe noted that the Episcopal Church in the past has stood for causes that weren’t embraced by the culture, including rights for minorities and women and now for gays and lesbians. Those stances weren’t always popular then, and some aren’t now, he said, but “we will need to stop apologizing for what it is we believe we are called by God to do.” Within the diocese, the challenge today is how to provide clergy and lay leaders for churches, especially those facing financial challenges. Through the expansion of the Kansas School for Ministry, Bishop Wolfe said those leaders now are being trained. He noted that surrounding dioceses — Western Kansas, West Missouri and Nebraska — have begun sending their students to KSM for ordination preparation. Without the opportunity to educate people locally, the bishop said, “it is easy to see how many parishes could be closed
Photo by Melodie Woerman
Four bishops gather before the start of the Convention Eucharist at Grace Cathedral, Topeka, Oct. 19: (from left) Bishop Peter Price of the Diocese of Bath and Wells, Church of England; Bishop Joseph Muchai of the Diocese of Nakuru, Church of Kenya; Bishop Gerald Mansholt, Central States Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; and Kansas Bishop Dean Wolfe.
in the next 10 years in this diocese.” The next great challenge is to find ways to bring the gospel to the growing number of Americans who identify themselves as “spiritual but not religious,” he said.
A Jesus society
That topic was one addressed by the
Durham bishop named new archbishop of Canterbury By Matthew Davies Episcopal News Service Following months of anticipation and media speculation, Downing Street confirmed Nov. 9 that the Queen has approved the nomination of Diocese of Durham Bishop Justin Welby as the next archbishop of Canterbury. As the 105th archbishop in a succession spanning more than 1400 years, Welby will assume the multifaceted role as spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, Primate of All England and bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. Church of England bishops are appointed rather than elected, with a 16-member Crown Nominations Commission putting forward two names — a preferred candidate and a second candidate — to Downing Street. The U.K. prime minister then seeks approval from the British monarch, who is the supreme governor of the Church of England. Before his ordination to the priesthood in 1992, Welby studied law and history at Cambridge University and then spent 11 years as an executive in the oil industry.
Bishop Justin Welby of Durham is the new archbishop of Canterbury.
(Please see Canterbury, page 11)
(Please see Comments, page 11)
keynote speaker, Bishop Peter Price of the Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Church of England. In his Saturday morning address, he said that people who identify themselves in that way don’t think the church is about anything. “We talk about, (Please see Convention, page 3)
Conference center gets first look after remodeling By Melodie Woerman Editor, The Harvest
Comments from Bishop Wolfe I had the privilege of meeting Justin Welby at last spring’s House of Bishops meeting. He sat at my table during our meetings, and he impressed me. He’s incredibly bright and as a former oil executive, he has a business sense about him. He’s gifted administratively and is used to thinking strategically. He brings a creative skill set to that office.
Tours of the newly remodeled Bethany Place Conference Center brought a chorus of “oohs” and “aahs” as it was open for the first time on the evening before the start of Diocesan Convention, Oct. 18. Delegates and others who attended a preconvention Evensong and chili supper made their way through the two-story, 2,600-squarefoot stone building that for more than 30 years has provided overnight housing for diocesan groups and has been the home of the Kansas School for Ministry since its inception. The facility now features eight bedrooms that will sleep 22 people, and five full and one half bathrooms, plus a kitchen, dining room and living room/conference room on the first floor and a study on the second floor. One of the bedrooms and bathrooms is designed to accommodate people with mobility disabilities. Modern décor in neutral tones is evident throughout. The structure has a number of upgrades that are less visible, including a new heating and air conditioning system, a tankless water (Please see Center, page 6)
2 • The Harvest • September/October 2012
From the Bishop
The Right Reverend Dean E. Wolfe
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 email) 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: November-December issue: Nov. 15 January-February 2013 issue: Jan. 15, 2013 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 2 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 more than 11,000 members in 46 congregations, 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
Sabbatical refreshment leads to plans for next diocesan goals Dear Friends, What a glorious privilege it is to be back in your midst after a wonderful sabbatical. I must thank you all again for granting me such a gift! A number of people have asked about the sabbatical, and the shortest and most accurate description I can give to you is to tell you that it was absolutely glorious! I traveled to some of the most holy and ancient places in Christendom — Iona in Scotland; Glastonbury, Bath and Wells in England; and Rome and the Umbrian countryside in Italy. I visited the roots of our Anglican tradition and spent time with some of the most wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ you could ever imagine. Gregor Duncan, the Bishop of Glasgow and Galloway, was an amazingly generous host and took great care in introducing us to his surprisingly cosmopolitan hometown. David Chillingworth, the Primus of Scotland, and his wife, Alison, lent us their home outside of Perth while they were on vacation. (Brave souls!) Bruce Cameron, the former Primus of Scotland, and his wife, Elaine, could not have been kinder to us, introducing us to fine Scottish cuisine and Premier League Soccer. And of course, our keynote speaker at this year’s Diocesan Convention, the Lord Bishop of Bath and Wells, Peter Price, and his lovely wife, Dee, greeted us with such extraordinary generosity and warmth that I now suspect we will be friends for the rest of our lives.
Challenges are similar
I shared wonderful conversations with these gifted leaders and their extraordinary spouses and discovered over and over again that the issues and challenges they face in their context look very much like the issues and challenges we face here in Kansas. I was reminded that these exchanges are one of the great benefits of being part of a worldwide Anglican Communion, a feeling I also have when I’m sharing deeply with our mission partners in Kenya and Haiti. I also read great books, viewed historic art, worshipped in grand cathedrals, contemplated the waves of the ocean, prayed in rarified silence and reflected about all that we’ve accomplished here, and all that we have yet to do. I traveled to Fripp Island on the South Carolina coast (Thank you, Tom Wilson and Ruth Weber!) and had illuminating conversations with bishops in more than a dozen dioceses in eight states who are leading innovative change in the church.
Photo by Deacon Bob Hirst
Bishop Dean Wolfe addresses the 153rd annual convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas Oct. 19 in Topeka.
I traveled to some of the most holy and ancient places in Christendom. I visited the roots of our Anglican tradition and spent time with some of the most wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ you could ever imagine.
And after all of this, I must tell you how very good it is to be back home in Kansas and to say how excited I am to continue on this journey with you. It is so wonderful to be having meetings in our newly renovated Bethany Place overnight facility, and I am so grateful to so many who saw that vision and backed it with their time, tithe and talents.
Planning for next goals
We are in the midst of planning our next set of goals in the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas, and I am certain these goals will be as creative, innovative and demanding as our last set of goals. When I arrived in the diocese in 2003, we said we needed to reinvigorate our campus ministries, and we have. We have established an Episcopal presence on 15 different campuses throughout the diocese, renovated our Canterbury House at the University of Kansas, and established campus ministry internships and peer ministry teams at Kansas State University, the University of Kansas and elsewhere. We said we needed to establish a new community of faith in Johnson County, and we have. St. Clare’s, Spring Hill, is a growing, new faith community that we pray will soon become an independent parish.
We said we needed to raise up skilled candidates for Holy Orders, and we have. We now are seeing the contributions being made by new deacons and new priests around the diocese. We said we needed to engage in deeper local, national and international mission, and we have, establishing feeding ministries throughout the diocese and creating models for ministries in Kenya and Haiti that are beginning to be used around the church. We said we needed to re-form and build up the Kansas School for Ministry, and we have, with a new curriculum, bold leadership and record-breaking numbers of students who come not only from our own diocese but also from West Missouri, Western Kansas and Nebraska.
A prayer for Thanksgiving
Now we are ready to face up to the next set of challenges that confront us, and in this season of thanksgiving, we give thanks for all the blessings we have been given and for the new challenges we face. The Thanksgiving found in The Book of Common Prayer on page 836 says it so well that it would be a wonderful prayer to be offered at any Thanksgiving Day table. (Please see Bishop, page 3)
September/October 2012 • The Harvest • 3
Convention: KSM and voting round out delegates’ work (Continued from page 1) and talk more about it than we actually believe, God’s unconditional love for us.” The solution is to participate not in the church but in what he calls the “Jesus Society,” which calls its members to be “part of a transforming society, a transforming agency for the world in which we live,” he said. Quoting the Canadian Mennonite author Rudy Wiebe, Bishop Price said that in Jesus’ society people find a new way to live. “You show wisdom by trusting people; you handle leadership by serving; you handle offenders by forgiving; you handle money by sharing; you handle enemies by loving; you handle violence by suffering.” In a Jesus society, the bishop said, “You repent not by feeling bad, but by thinking differently.”
International flavor
In addition to the presence of the English bishop, convention welcomed two other guests from outside the United States: Bishop Joseph Muchai of the Diocese of Nakuru in Kenya, and Father Antony Ngugi of All Saints’ Church in Maai Mahiu, Kenya. They attended as guests of the Kansas to Kenya (K2K) ministry of the diocese, which works in the region around Maai Mahiu, which is part of Bishop Muchai’s diocese. In addition to observing the convention, the two spent time preaching in churches in Wichita and met with college students interested in an upcoming K2K mission trip. During their twoweek stay in Kansas, they visited a number of cities and campus ministries and logged more than a thousand miles.
KSM graduation
The Kansas School for Ministry held its traditional graduation ceremony during convention,
Convention action Elected:
Bob Skaggs and the Rev. Patrick Funston to threeyear terms and the Rev. Sharon Billman to a oneyear unexpired term on the Council of Trustees Sarah Bousfield, Janine Cox and Philip Davidson, and the Rev. Dawn Frankfurt, Deacon Robert Hirst, the Rev. Laurie Lewis and the Very Rev. Steve Lipscomb to three-year terms on the Disciplinary Board
Affirmed:
The Ven. Charles Pearce to a two-year unexpired convocation term on the Council of Trustees
Accept, O Lord, our thanks and praise for all that you have done for us. We thank you for the splendor of the whole creation, for the beauty of this world, for the wonder of life, and for the mystery of love. We thank you for the blessing of family and friends, and for the loving care which surrounds us on every side. We thank you for setting us at tasks which demand our best efforts, and for leading us to accomplishments which satisfy and delight us. We thank you also for those disappointments and failures that lead us to acknowledge our dependence on you alone. Above all, we thank you for
The proposed mission plan (budget) for 2013 in the amount of $1,606,169
Defeated:
A proposed canonical amendment to offset parish health insurance premiums through apportionment reduction
Right: ELCA Bishop Gerald Mansholt preaches during the convention Eucharist at Grace Cathedral. Photo by Deacon Bob Hirst
recognizing those who had completed their course of study since last fall. Three people graduated in the spring of 2012, and all were ordained deacons in June — Peggy Flynn, Sandy Horton-Smith and Rex Matney. Diplomas were presented by Bishop Dean Wolfe and KSM Coordinator the Rev. Andrew Grosso. Convention also heard presentations on the mission work taking place in Kenya through K2K and in Haiti through the work of Kansas parishes with the Haitian Episcopal Learning Partnership. Diocesan youth and campus ministries, along with the work at Bishop Seabury Academy in Lawrence, also were highlighted.
Bishop: Prayer offers our thanksgivings (Continued from page 1)
Adopted:
Above: Spring 2012 graduates of the Kansas School for Ministry await receipt of their diplomas: (from left) Deacon Rex Matney, Deacon Peggy Flynn and Deacon Sandy Horton-Smith. Photo by Melodie Woerman
your Son, Jesus Christ; for the truth of his Word and the example of his life; for his steadfast obedience, by which he overcame temptation; for his dying through which he overcame death; and for his rising to life again, in which we are raised to the life of your kingdom. Grant us the gift of your Spirit, that we may know Christ and make him known; and through him, at all times and in all places, may give thanks to you in all things. Amen. The blessing of God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, be with each one of you. I can’t wait to see what is coming next! Grace and Peace, +Dean v
Business conducted
Delegates cast ballots for members of the Council of Trustees and the Disciplinary Board (see results in box at right) and turned down a proposed change to the diocesan canons that would have allowed churches purchasing health insurance through the Church Medical Trust to offset a portion of those expenses through apportionment reduction. Convention also adopted the proposed mission plan budget for 2013 of $1,606,169, a reduction of 14.3 percent from 2012 levels.
That reflects a draw on the diocesan endowment that is more than 80 percent below 2012 levels and has a more sustainable level of withdrawal from the $4 million endowment fund. The need for that reduction necessitated the elimination of two diocesan staff positions in May.
Awards presented
Three annual awards were made at the convention banquet Friday evening. (See page 9 for photos.) The award given to a deacon
by Archdeacons Monte Giddings and Charles Pearce went to Deacon Deedee Evans of St. James’, Wichita. The award to a priest made by Canon to the Ordinary the Rev. Craig Loya went to the Rev. Juli Sifers, St. Aidan’s,Olathe. The Bishop’s Chair Award, given by Bishop Wolfe to a lay person, went to Dr. Roy Menninger of Grace Cathedral, Topeka. Earlier in the evening Bishop Wolfe presented certificates to Sifers, who recently completed two terms on the Council of Trustees, and to Deacon Suzi Drury, former archdeacon, who is retiring from active ministry at St. Michael and All Angels in Mission. v
Kansan serves on national ECW board She said that information about that initiative is Lonnie Isaak, a member of Epiphany, Independence, is a new member of the national board for available through the ECW Facebook page, www. the Episcopal Church Women. Isaak was selected facebook.com/ecwnational, as well as on the ECW website, www.ecwnational.org. during the Triennial Meeting in She also noted that the theme July in Indianapolis to be the for the 2015 Triennial Meeting in board representative from ProvSalt Lake City was announced. ince 7, a group of 12 dioceses that It is “Stir up the Spirit: ¡Celeincludes Kansas. Her term runs bremos!” for three years. Isaak said the inclusion of Isaak, a former president of Spanish recognizes that “women the Kansas ECW, is serving on from Spanish-speaking countries the Finance and Communications as well as the USA participate teams for the board. in ECW.” She, along with the others on The Triennial Meeting takes the 15-member national board, place in conjunction with the recently participated in the first meeting since their selections this General Convention of the Epissummer. It took place in October copal Church. in Columbia, Ill. Isaak said that after her first Lonnie Isaak of Epiphany, Isaak said that during that meeting she is “very impressed Independence, is a new member meeting the board announced of the national board of the with the women chosen to serve its partnership with the Anglican Episcopal Church Women. on the board. We are all enthuWomen’s Empowerment and the siastic about the challenges and Episcopal Women’s Caucus to sponsor 16 days of activities we are undertaking for the next three activism Nov. 25 to Dec. 10, to highlight the issue years.” of violence against women. — Melodie Woerman v
4 • The Harvest • September/October 2012
Images of convention Here’s a look at some of what took place at Diocesan Convention, through the lens of two photographers.
Photo by Deacon Bob Hirst
Youth page Katherine Lindgren of St. Matthew’s, Newton, collects ballots from delegates.
Photo by Melodie Woerman
Bishop Peter Price of the Diocese of Bath and Wells in England offers remarks at the convention banquet.
Vergers Kent Wingerson (left) and Ed Adams prepare the sound system before the start of the convention Eucharist at Grace Cathedral, Topeka. Photo by Deacon Bob Hirst
Photos by Deacon Bob Hirst
Bishop Joseph Muchai (above) and Father Antony Ngugi (below) were invited to the diocese by the Kansas to Kenya ministry. Both are from the Diocese of Nakuru, where K2K’s work is centered.
Photo by Melodie Woerman
Clergy wait at the back of the cathedral for the conclusion of the convention Eucharist. Pictured are (from left) Archdeacon Monte Giddings, Lutheran Bishop Gerald Mansholt, Kansas Bishop Dean Wolfe, Bishop Joseph Muchai of Kenya’s Diocese of Nakuru, and Bishop Peter Price of the Diocese of Bath and Wells in the Church of England.
September/October 2012 • The Harvest • 5
ESS partners in café that serves up food and skills By Melodie Woerman Editor, The Harvest Episcopal Social Services of Wichita has begun a partnership with the Kansas Department of Children and Families (formerly SRS) to help provide employment skills to people who otherwise struggle with finding or keeping a job. The result is the Green Leaf Café, located on the seventh floor of the Finney State Office Building in downtown Wichita. The restaurant began operating in September and had its grand opening Oct. 17. The new eatery gives downtown office workers a new choice for lunch, but its main purpose is to help low-income, unemployed people on cash assistance meet the work requirements they need to receive state benefits. It does that by offering training in advanced food preparation and restaurant management in a course that can last up to 12 weeks. It expands on the basic food industry
training offered at ESS-Venture House. ESS executive director Dr. Barb Andres said in an interview with the Wichita Eagle newspaper, “The goal is to get those people some good jobs so they can get off welfare. It’s really a work-to-welfare program.” Diane Bidwell, regional director of the Department of Children and Families, told the Eagle that workers will be trained in a variety of restaurant jobs, including hostess, dishwasher and food preparation. They also will learn elements of customer service, food safety and preparation, and interviewing. The café is open for lunch from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. weekdays and also offers a continental breakfast menu from 8 to 10 a.m. Lunch will feature a salad bar, a daily self-service hot entrée and some made-toorder sandwiches, plus soups and desserts. Officials expect to serve as many as 200 people every day, primarily people who work in the Finney Office Building or other downtown businesses. v
Photo by Deacon Bob Hirst
A trainee preps the salad bar for lunch guests at the new Green Leaf Café in the Finney State Office Building in downtown Wichita. The eatery is a partnership between Episcopal Social Services and the Kansas Department of Children and Families.
Photo by Melodie Woerman
The Rev. Scott Gunn leads a workshop on how to be a welcoming church Oct. 6 at Grace Cathedral, Topeka. It was sponsored by the diocesan Congregational Development Commission.
Forward Movement head explores making churches more welcoming By Melodie Woerman Editor, The Harvest Since the Rev. Scott Gunn no longer is a parish priest — he now heads Forward Movement, publisher of spiritual material for the Episcopal Church — he gets to be an observer in Episcopal churches across the country. And what he has seen sometimes leaves him aghast at the lack of welcome to non-members. He offered his thoughts on how to avoid those pitfalls during a workshop Oct. 6 at Grace Cathedral, Topeka, sponsored by the diocesan Congregational Development Commission. He suggests asking a friend who isn’t a member of your church to attend and grade the level of welcoming activities. He also urged those at the workshop to walk around their church with the eye of someone attending for the first time to see how easy it is to find parking spaces, restrooms, nurseries, coat racks — even the correct door to enter. He also proposed abandoning the term “visitor” and replacing it with “guest,” to promote a greater sense of hospitality toward those who attend for the first time. “You want to treat them like a guest in your home,” Gunn said, “and do everything you can to make them feel welcome. Calling them a visitor makes them a little bit like a tourist, who you don’t really expect to see again.” He also stressed that every church must have an
accurate, easy-to-navigate website, since more than 85 percent of first-time attenders visit a church’s website before they ever visit the church itself. He again suggested asking someone outside the church to test the website to see how easy it is to find answers to basic questions like worship times and church location, as well as developing a sense of what the church is like. He said he has a rule that worship times and photos of members must be on the front page of every church website.
Coffee hour trap
Gunn said one of the greatest hazards to being welcoming is the sense of fellowship current church members feel toward each other. They enjoy each other’s company so much that they tend not to notice how cliquish they can be. That especially is dangerous during coffee hour, when it’s particularly difficult for guests to break through. He asked participants how many of them had ever attended a church and been ignored at coffee hour. Many of the 60 people attending raised their hand. He said the simple act of speaking to an unfamiliar person, making sure they are comfortable and paying attention to what they say makes a difference in whether the person comes back. And, he insists, serve only really great coffee. Anything less just isn’t welcoming. v
Two parishes will honor priest’s 50th anniversary The 50th ordination anniversary of the Rev. Richard McCandless is being celebrated by two parishes where he served as rector. A Eucharist will take place at Trinity, El Dorado, 400 W. Ash, on Saturday, Dec. 8 at 2 p.m. Bishop Dean Wolfe will be the celebrant, and the Rev. Tom Wilson will preach. An open house at St. John’s, Parsons, is set for Saturday, Dec. 15 from 2-4 p.m. at the church, 1801 Corning. All members of the diocese are invited to attend either or both events. McCandless was ordained a priest on Dec. 21, 1962 by Bishop Gordon Smith of Iowa. v
Churches receive grants to aid ministries Two churches have received grants to aid ministries that are hallmarks of each congregation. St. Matthew’s, Newton, recently learned they will receive a $10,000 grant from the Harvey/ Marion County Developmental Disability Organization, to support the parish’s payee program. The funding comes from the counties to aid people with developmental disabilities. The payee program offers money management help to designated people on government assistance who have difficulty handling their funds. Many of those the St. Matthew’s program serve have developmental disabilities.
For the past two years the church has received $8,000 grants from this organization. Grace Cathedral, Topeka, recently was awarded a $2,500 performing arts grant from ARTSConnect Topeka, in support of the parish’s Great Spaces concert series. That is the largest grant awarded from a pool of $20,000 made available by the Topeka Community Foundation. Great Spaces offers a monthly choral or instrumental concert to the community, and it also manages the cathedral’s cloister gallery, where local visual artists display their works. v
6 • The Harvest • September/October 2012
St. Mark’s, Blue Rapids restarts Sunday school By Melodie Woerman Editor, The Harvest The start of a new Sunday school year is a time of excitement in all churches, but St. Mark’s in Blue Rapids had an extra reason to anticipate its arrival — this was the first Sunday school offered in the parish of 60 members in nearly 20 years. Deacon Sandy Horton-Smith, who serves the congregation part-time during her post-ordination internship, said in recent months the parish has seen an increase in the number of families with children. “Some of them have very little experience with church attendance,” she said, “which really calls for an education program to teach them the basics, like the Lord’s Prayer, Bible stories and Episcopal Church traditions.” Parishioner Sally Gray saw the need and got busy, gathering names and contact information of children and parents, and then started recruiting teachers to begin classes for the first time since the mid-1990s.
Started with nine children
When classes started on Sept. 16, nine children from pre-school to late elementary age attended. The Rev. Art Rathbun, the church’s vicar, said 10 children now participate regularly, with six or seven there most weeks. He said that before classes started, he was sure some were thinking the project couldn’t be done, since it had been so long since the parish had children’s classes.
“God calls us to this work,” he said, “and blesses us as we answer the call.” Class meets for half an hour before the start of the Sunday service on all but the first Sunday of the month, when St. Mark’s members worship at nearby St. Paul’s, Marysville. Classes start in the church for instruction and then move into the parish hall for a craft or activity. Horton-Smith said the first goal is to help children become accustomed to attending Sunday school regularly, since that isn’t something many have done. Next will come a youth group for the handful of youngsters in sixth grade through high school. Rathbun said a few of the older children already have participated in diocesan youth events, and he hopes more will do so in the future. Horton-Smith said once a youth group is in place, they’d like to involve youth from other churches in the area, including Manhattan, Junction City, Clay Center and Wamego. Rathbun said the church also hopes to send 10 young people to diocesan summer camp next year. Rathbun said once the Sunday school is established in Blue Rapids, he hopes to launch one in Marysville, which has a membership of 20. “That way we can invite people from the Marysville community to bring their children” to classes, he said. Rathbun said starting a Sunday school had become crucial, having seen some families leave St. Mark’s to go to other churches that offered children’s education.
Submitted photo
Deacon Sandy Horton-Smith (right) uses a photo of Bishop Dean Wolfe in a lesson for the new Sunday school at St. Mark’s, Blue Rapids.
Parents are supportive
Horton-Smith said the parents have been very supportive of the new classes and are willing to serve as teachers. She noted that children come even on the Sundays when clergy aren’t present and the congregation
has Morning Prayer Rathbun said Horton-Smith’s skills in youth ministry helped get the new Sunday school off the ground, and the church also called for advice from diocesan interim Youth Missioner Michael Funston. v
Center: Upgrades were paid by Crossroads pledges (Continued from page 1) heater and enhanced electrical wiring. Fire sprinklers also have been added throughout. Wireless Internet now is available throughout the building, and modern audio-video capabilities have been added to the conference room area, including a largescreen television that serves as a presentation monitor.
Paid for by Crossroads
The upgrades, which came at a cost of more than $400,000, were part of the Crossroads capital campaign designed to enhance the diocese’s ability to recruit and educate lay and clergy leaders in the 21st century. Larry Bingham, chair of the Crossroads effort, noted that contributions already in hand from the campaign paid for the conference center remodeling. “Pledge payments have been good,” he said, allowing the work to be done without taking out construction loans. “That’s a very positive thing. All future Crossroads pledge payments now will go toward the Leadership Center.” The proposed Leadership Center will provide expanded classroom space for KSM as well as modern diocesan offices. The more than $3 million in Crossroads pledges didn’t provide all the money needed to begin that construction, but Bingham said he thinks the quality of the conference center renovations will help spur additional gifts. Bingham noted that a few days
Above: The common area of the Bethany Place Conference Center in Topeka is outfitted as a conference room with audio-video capabilities for Kansas School for Ministry students and others using the building for meetings and retreats. Right: A window-lined study now occupies what previously had been a porch, providing a gathering space in the second floor bedroom area. Photos by Deacon Bob Hirst
after the building’s debut, Bishop Dean Wolfe hosted Bishop Michael Milliken of Western Kansas and Bishop Martin Field of West Missouri for a meeting, where Bishop Scott Barker of Nebraska joined by video conference. All represent dioceses that have begun sending students to
the Kansas School for Ministry. Bingham said he heard that the visiting bishops were very impressed with the building.
Charm still remains
Deacon Peggy Flynn, who
was ordained in June, marveled at the changes made to the building where she had studied for two years as a KSM student in preparation. Gone was a heating system that kept her sleeping room as hot in
the winter as it was in the summer, along with the lack of hot water that meant students had to forego showers. She said, “The remodeled facility is well-lit, the beds comfy and the atmosphere is cozy. The layout uses space much more effectively. The nooks and crannies and special study area on the second floor are exciting improvements.” She added, “But, to my surprise, none of the charm of that old house has been lost. Somehow tradition seems to have been preserved.” The building, which was built in 1875, originally was the barn for the College of the Sisters of Bethany, the Episcopal girls’ school that stood on the grounds from 1870 to 1928. It also served as home to several Kansas bishops from 1918 to 1981 and was converted into a conference center a few years after that. Bingham noted that in addition to use by KSM students, the Bethany Place Conference Center is available for use by parish and diocesan groups, either for daytime meetings or overnight retreats. Flynn said she’s confident that will happen when other groups “learn how welcoming and comfortable” the building is. Those wanting to know more about the space’s availability should contact Michele Moss, the diocesan facilities manager, at mmoss@episcopal-ks.org or (800) 473-3563. v
September/October 2012 • The Harvest • 7
Medical mission to Haiti serves people in need By Alison Black Dr. Frank and Helen Flanner, members of St. Paul’s, Leavenworth, led their 15th medical mission trip to Torbeck, Haiti, Oct. 2-12. The 10-member team included two physicians, four nurses, a dietician and three willing non-medical volunteers. The Leavenworth church has been a partner with St. Hillarie Episcopal Church and School in Petit Riviere through the Haitian Episcopal Learning Partnership (HELP), which for many years has created connections between Kansas City-area Episcopal churches and Haitian churches. The group saw patients in medical clinics in five villages near Torbeck, a town on the southwestern coast that serves as the
group’s base of operations. Clinics were set up in Episcopal churches served by Pere Jean Alphonse Jean Phillipe, the rector of St. Paul’s in Torbeck and the priest at St. Hillarie.
Saw 460 patients
At every clinic site, the group was welcomed with open arms. Team members saw 460 patients, many with common ailments like stomach pain, scabies, anemia and high blood pressure. Intestinal worms are endemic in Haiti, so every clinic patient was given a dose of worm medicine. They also saw a few patients with wounds needing care, one person with a broken wrist and several cases of malaria. The doctors on the team also did six minor surgical procedures. Roads in Haiti are very primitive, making transportation between clinic sites difficult. One of the clinics was in a village two-and-a-half hours away, up the mountain from Torbeck. Getting there involved driving through a river that was running higher than usual because of recent rains. One of the two trucks used to haul team members and medical supplies got stuck, but the efforts of Haitians crossing the river themselves freed the truck and sent the group on their way.
‘A world away’
Virginia Dowell shares photographs with students at St. Hillarie School in Petit Riviere, Haiti.
The needs in Haiti are enormous. Helen Flanner, one of the team leaders, often says, “Haiti is only an hour flight from Miami and yet a world away.” It is one of the poorest countries in the world, and nearly 70 percent of the people have no formal job. Heath care is difficult to come by, since there are only 25 doctors for every 100,000 people. In comparison, there are 2,300 doctors for every 100,000 people here in
Photo by Mel Griggs
Members of St. Paul’s, Clay Center, distribute food to about 650 people, through Harvesters’ mobile food pantry. Harvesters, the area’s largest food bank, recently recognized St. Paul’s for its extensive ministry of feeding people.
St. Paul’s, Clay Center, recognized for food ministry St. Paul’s, Clay Center, on Sept. 18 received the Circle of Hope Award for Network Partnership from the Harvesters food bank for its efforts to feed the hungry. The award noted that the church conducts a “mobile food pantry” that distributes fresh produce and other food to about 650 people every month. St. Paul’s senior warden, Donna Long, said that in the five years they’ve hosted the mobile food pantry, they’ve never cancelled a distribution, including times serving in a January blizzard and 109-degree heat in July. St. Paul’s also partners with Harvesters to distribute BackSnacks of healthy weekend snacks to 70 students who are at risk of food insecurity. The congregation also provides a healthy lunch to hundreds of Clay Center students during the summer through the St. Paul’s Kids Cafe, and it hands out 40 senior commodity boxes each month. Long and parishioner Carolyn Garwood accepted the award on behalf of the parish during a ceremony in Kansas City, where Harvesters is located. The food pantry serves people in need across eastern and north central Kansas. — Melodie Woerman v
Photos by Eric Schwab
Dr. Tom Vinton examines a patient at a clinic set up in the city of L’Hommond, Haiti, as part of a medical mission trip in October sponsored by St. Paul’s, Leavenworth.
the United States. At church on Sunday morning, one of the parishes where a clinic was held asked for help in building a permanent church structure, since they currently meet in a tent. Additionally, Haitians still are reeling from the earthquake that devastating their country in January 2010. Medical missionaries began their trip in the capital of Port-au-Prince, and while there they saw tent cities, the ruins of the National Cathedral and the ruins of the Presidential Palace.
Trip planned for 2014
Even though the Flanners have said that
they are retiring from leading future trips, the Leavenworth parish plans to sponsor another medical mission to Haiti in February 2014. Physicians especially are needed, but other medical personnel, as well as nonmedical help, are needed, too. If you would like to be involved, contact Alison Black at alisonblack@gmail.com. Donations toward the per-person cost of $2,200 also would be welcomed. Alison Black is a member of St. Paul’s, Leavenworth and is a postulant for Holy Orders in the diocese. She was a participant in this medical mission trip. v
8 • The Harvest • September/October 2012
Around the diocese St. John’s, Abilene has added a prayer and praise service with potluck to its schedule. It meets twice a month for “heartfelt songs, quiet reflection and superb food,” according to the parish newsletter.
Save the date! What: Episcopal Women’s Summit 2013 Theme: Women and Girls: Made in the Image of God
Trinity, Atchison is using the “Aprentis” series for its weekly adult forum to encourage spiritual growth in individuals and the parish as a community of faith. The curriculum was developed by James Bryan Smith, a professor of theology at Friends University in Wichita. St. Mark’s, Blue Rapids will be featured in a statewide exhibit that explores “the way we work in Kansas.” Local photographer Tom Parker took pictures of the Rev. Art Rathbun and Deacon Sandy Horton-Smith during church services in August for inclusion in the exhibit. St. Paul’s, Clay Center offered free blood pressure screenings in the parish hall after church Oct. 14. It was available to anyone interested in that important health check. St. Andrew’s, Derby circulated a survey on behalf of the Coffee Hour Committee to better gauge the snack preferences of members and to see who might be willing to help with this ministry of hospitality. St. Martin’s, Edwardsville hosted an overnight “campout” in the church Sept. 22-23. Crafts and games were provided for kids, and after breakfast on Sunday morning participants undertook the church’s periodic highway cleanup. Trinity, El Dorado honored veterans with another in its yearly Veterans’ Day exhibits, this one exploring the Korean War and the role the city of Augusta, Kan., played. The displays are the work of parishioner Virginia Amend. St. Andrew’s, Emporia members recently received awards: Colleen Mitchell is one of 19 finalists for the 2013 Kansas Teacher of the Year; Gary Mason was nominated for a United Way volunteer award for his many
When: Friday and Saturday, April 19 - 20, 2013 Where: St. James’, Wichita Who: All women of the diocese are invited to join us at the Summit. Whether you are a woman in a group (such as ECW, Daughters of the King, altar guild, women’s prayer groups, Bible study, or funeral and wedding guilds) or are not connected to any women’s groups through your church, you are invited. More information will follow.
Photo by Jennifer Brown
Derby church breaks ground The Rev. Tom Wilson (right), rector, and Debbie Oehmke (center), senior warden, at St. Andrew’s, Derby, welcomed Canon to the Ordinary the Rev. Craig Loya (left) for a groundbreaking ceremony Oct. 25. Construction soon will begin on an expansion of the building’s Guild Hall to provide for an enlarged and remodeled kitchen, along with additional space to provide banquet-style seating for 120 people. Oehmke previously had noted that the current cramped kitchen makes it difficult to provide a coffee hour, cutting down on the opportunity for fellowship. v
hours of work with the Red Cross; and June Hubert was named Lyon County volunteer of the year by the North Central Flint Hills Area Agency on Aging.
for the diocese last summer. She is a longtime participant in diocesan youth programs and is a member of the parish.
Epiphany, Independence youth group is collecting used cell phones of any model or vintage for recycling. Proceeds will be used to help pay fees to attend diocesan summer camp in June 2013.
Trinity, Lawrence hosted its annual Ploughman’s Lunch and Trinity Treasure sale Nov. 9-10. The tradition brings in people from around the city for homemade soup, cheese, bread and pie, and to shop the wide array of handmade gift items and baked goods.
Covenant, Junction City said a special thank you to two people who make Sundays run smoothly: Robert Hicks, who opens the church every week, makes coffee and locks up when everyone has gone; and Mark Edwards, who provides the cookies every Sunday for coffee hour snacks.
St. Paul’s, Leavenworth has joined with other churches in the community to provide a free community meal every Saturday. St. Paul’s is responsible for the second Saturday of each month, starting Oct. 13.
St. Margaret’s, Lawrence has hired Rachel Haley as its new part-time youth minister. Haley, a sophomore, is a peer minister at Baker University in Baldwin City and was a youth ministry intern
Manhattan church recycles for a new commons room When four parishioners were asked to redecorate the commons room at St. Paul’s, Manhattan this past spring, they decided they’d see what could be reused and recycled from within the building. Pieces of solid oak furniture were discovered in nearly every nook and cranny, likely dating to the 1940s. After being refinished and reupholstered, they were ready for use. An original church pew also was refinished, giving the room a new look from old things. The effort not only saved money but also helped the congregation “go green” though internal recycling. v
St. Paul’s, Manhattan hosted a “change of time” breakfast Nov. 4 to mark the end of Daylight Saving Time. The meal preceded the main church service. St. Paul’s, Marysville members Heather and Heidi Etelamaki had their art featured in an exhibit at the city’s Lee Dam Center for Fine Art in August. The sisters received bachelor degrees in the arts earlier this year. St. Michael and All Angels,, Mission collected Halloween costumes for children in the SafeHome shelter during October, so the youngsters there (who had been removed from difficult domestic situations) would be ready for trick-or-treating.
St. Matthew’s, Newton had a booth at the annual “Taste of Newton” event Oct. 11. Homemade walking tacos were on the menu, along with bottled water and soft drinks. Proceeds were earmarked for youth scholarships for next summer’s diocesan church camp. St. Aidan’s, Olathe has added to its many hunger relief ministries by providing snacks for students at Mission Trail Middle School. Snacks during the school day help fuel youngsters who have been identified by the school as at risk for food insecurity. Parishioners donated needed items during September. Grace, Ottawa has donated unused men’s clothing from its thrift shop to the local Veteran’s Hospital. St. Thomas, Overland Park again is offering a monthly night out for parents of young children, staffed by youth group members. Games, crafts and snacks keep children busy while parents enjoy some needed adult time. The event also builds bonds between younger and older children in the parish. St. John’s, Parsons is studying “Twelve Apostolic Women” during adult education classes in November and December. St. Peter’s, Pittsburg is using the theme “Vibrant, not Small” to describe the parish during its annual stewardship pledge drive. The theme grew out of discussions in the Southeast Convocation about the nature of ministry in the numerically small congregations in that portion of the diocese. Grace Cathedral, Topeka hosted a “trunk or treat” the Sunday afternoon before Halloween to give young parishioners a safe, fun way to show off their costumes and receive goodies. Members opened their car trunks to pass out treats, with encouragement to decorate them for the season.
St. David’s, Topeka offers an adult education opportunity twice a month after the Wednesday evening service. Called “Brown Bag and Babble,” participants bring supper and engage in conversation. Recently the topic has been the decision by General Convention to authorize trial use of liturgies for blessing same-sex unions. St. Luke’s, Wamego offered a Halloween Café Oct. 31 at the church, with hot dogs, chips and a drink selling for $1.50. Money was designated for community health ministries. A haunted house in the church basement, with a $2 admission, benefited Heifer International. Good Shepherd, Wichita has refurbished its preschool nursery, with new paint and rearranged furniture, as well as a curriculum offering age-appropriate Bible stories and creative activities. Other nursery spaces already have been remodeled to offer a more inviting place for parents to leave children during services. St. Bartholomew’s, Wichita has begun plans for the 50th anniversary of the parish’s founding next year. Sept. 28, 2013, has been designated as the anniversary celebration. St. James’, Wichita welcomed new music director Marlene Hallstrom this fall. She has served as a church musician for several Lutheran congregations and is recognized as an Associate in Ministry in the ELCA. She serves on the national council of the American Guild of Organists and is a piano and organ instructor. St. John’s, Wichita has commissioned its first lay pastoral care ministers through the Community of Hope. Ten people undertook 15 weeks of training in the spiritual and practical foundations of caring ministries. Their ministries mostly will involve calling and visiting people during significant life events. v
September/October 2012 • The Harvest • 9
People
Convention awards recognize gifted ministries Every year three special awards are presented during the Diocesan Convention banquet to honor outstanding ministry by a lay person, a deacon and a priest during the previous year. This year’s recipients are: The Bishop’s Chair Award: Presented by Bishop Dean Wolfe to Dr. Roy Menninger, a member of Grace Cathedral, Topeka, recognizing his work with the Kansas School for Ministry. The award is a rocking chair with the seal of the diocese engraved on the back.
The Archdeacons’ Cross: Presented by Archdeacons Monte Giddings and Charles Pearce to Deacon Deedee Evans of St. James’, Wichita, for her ministry of liturgical mentorship and pastoral care. The award is a silver cross on a chain. The Canon’s Award: Presented by Canon to the Ordinary the Rev. Craig Loya to the Rev. Juli Sifers, rector of St. Aidan’s, Olathe, for her leadership in growing the parish in numbers and outreach during her tenure. The award is an engraved plaque. v
Photos by Melodie Woerman
Archdeacon Monte Giddings (center) reads testimonials in support of Deacon Deedee Evans (right), recipient of the Archdeacons’ Cross, while Archdeacon Charles Pearce (left) looks on.
Dr. Roy Menninger (center) stands with the rocking chair he received from Bishop Dean Wolfe (right) as recipient of the Bishop’s Chair Award. Menninger’s wife, Bev, is at left.
The Rev. Juli Sifers (left) gets a kiss on the cheek from Bishop Dean Wolfe as Canon to the Ordinary Craig Loya applauds. Sifers received the Canon’s Award.
St. Michael’s men use building skills to change lives By Melodie Woerman Editor, The Harvest
The Rev. Betty Glover, rector of Trinity, Arkansas City and Grace, Winfield, has accepted a call to become interim priest at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Rocky Mount, N.C. Her last day serving the Kansas parishes is Nov. 25.
Rich LaBelle said a group of men from St. Michael and All Angels in Mission participate in the HopeBuilders group for two simple reasons — they like working on home projects, and they enjoy even more the chance to help other people. HopeBuilders is dedicated to providing home maintenance and accessibility access for people in the metropolitan Kansas City area who can’t undertake such projects on their own, giving them safety, comfort and dignity. The group was started in 2000.
St. Michael’s sponsored
Clergy news The Rev. Joe Alford has been appointed the priest in charge at St. Martin’s, Edwardsville, beginning Oct. 1. Alford previously served the diocese as chaplain at the University of Kansas from 1989 to 2005.
Submitted photo
LaBelle said while parishioners enjoy Members of St. Michael and All Angels, Mission (from left) John Jepson, Lawson Knote, participating in many projects the orgaNeil Sullivan and Greg Peterson in September helped build a fence for an Olathe family nization undertakes, the men from St. to allow their autistic son to play outside. They are part of the HopeBuilders organization. Michael’s in September had the chance to undertake one that was parish-based. On Sept. 4 and 8, LaBelle said the team anyway while helping to change lives in The social worker at a local elementary school had referred an Olathe family to put up a fence to enclose the yard, com- the process. He said his fellow HopeBuilders find plete with a gate. “It was two very do-able HopeBuilders for help. An autistic son often would run away days of work,” he said. Afterward, he said it very rewarding “when you go to work when playing outside, since the family’s the mother “was almost in tears of joy” on Monday and people are talking about the game they watched, and you get to yard wasn’t fenced. That kept the boy watching her son play outside. “Everyone had a good time doing it,” talk instead about building a ramp for a inside, unable to play with his dog and he said. “And it made a huge difference girl with MS.” sisters. LaBelle said HopeBuilders usually St. Michael’s stepped up to help, not for the family.” LaBelle said involvement in Hope- undertakes two projects a month during only providing 12 willing workers but also underwriting the cost of the materials Builders gives handyman types the warmer weather — April through October through the parish’s Outreach Committee. chance to do something they’d be doing — and one a month the rest of the year. v
The Rev. C Earl Mahan has been named rector of St. John’s, Wichita. He had been serving as priest in charge since July 2011. He becomes the 18th rector of that parish since its founding in 1871. The Rev. David Jenkins, the deacon in charge of the Church of the Covenant in Junction City, recently was promoted to colonel in the Kansas Army National Guard. Jenkins is the State Command Chaplain and oversees chaplains, chaplain assistants and chaplain candidates in both the Kansas Army and Air National Guard. The Rev. Michael Bell, diocesan campus missioner, has been appointed the Coordinator for Campus Ministry for Province 7, a group of 12 dioceses within the Episcopal Church of which the Diocese of Kansas is a member. v
10 • The Harvest • September/October 2012
National and international news Anglican news briefs Episcopal News Service Province 1 launches “Turn off the lights, for God’s sake” campaign: Province 1 of the Episcopal Church has launched an educational campaign encouraging energy reduction at the 675 churches in New England. “Turn off the lights, for God’s sake” supports a growing churchwide stewardship ministry as more and more Episcopalians care for God’s creation by decreasing energy use and choosing renewable energy sources. Province 1 encompasses seven dioceses in New England. L.A. Bishop Bruno returns to office following leukemia treatment: Bishop J. Jon Bruno of the Diocese of Los Angeles returned to work on Oct. 2 for the first time since late April, when he began treatment for leukemia, which now is in full remission. During the spring and summer Bruno underwent four rounds of chemotherapy at the City of Hope Medical Center in Duarte, Calif. He said that he will maintain limited office hours for several weeks as he continues to recover. Second female Anglican bishop elected by Southern Africa: A South African woman has been elected as the second female Anglican bishop in Africa. The Rev. Canon Margaret Vertue, the senior priest in a diocese that includes most of the poorer suburbs of greater Cape Town, was elected bishop of the Diocese of False Bay on Oct. 3. The second of two women elected to the episcopacy in recent months, Vertue was one of the two first woman priests to be ordained in Cape Town by Archbishop Desmond Tutu 20 years ago. She is scheduled to be ordained by Archbishop Thabo Makgoba in early 2013. Structure task force to be appointed about Dec. 1: Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and the Rev. Gay Jennings, president of the House of Deputies, said Oct. 17 that they expect to announce on or about Dec. 1 the names of the members who will make up a special task force to re-imagine the workings of the Episcopal Church in the 21st century. General Convention called in July for a group to research and present to the next meeting of convention in 2015 “a plan for reforming the church’s structures, governance, and administration.” Richard Clarke elected as Church of Ireland primate: The Most Rev. Richard Clarke, bishop of Meath and Kildare, has been elected archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland by the House of Bishops of the Church of Ireland, following the retirement of Archbishop Alan Harper on Sept. 30. Clarke has been bishop of Meath and Kildare since 1996. Solomon Tilewa Johnson elected primate of West Africa: The Anglican Church of the Province of West Africa has elected the Rt. Rev. Solomon Tilewa Johnson as its ninth archbishop and primate. Johnson, who is currently the bishop of Gambia, was elected to be the next primate for the province at a special synod held at Cuttington University, Suacoco, Bong Country, Liberia, between Sept. 25-28. He succeeds the Most Rev. Justice Akrofi, who has been primate since 2003. Peace station seeks to heal postwar Sierra Leone: In November, the new broadcasting station Radio Shalom will be gracing the airwaves in Sierra Leone, thanks to funds raised by the World Association for Christian Communication. Operating from the country’s capital, Freetown, Radio Shalom will be a peace-and-reconciliation station run by the Council of Churches of Sierra Leone. It is expected to be an important voice for healing in Sierra Leone, a West African country still recovering from a decade of devastating civil war in which killed 50,000 people died. Broadcasting is an essential medium of communication in this country since an estimated 80 percent of the population cannot read. New bishops take office: Three bishops recently assumed leadership for their dioceses. Robert C. Wright became bishop of Atlanta on Oct. 13 during a service at the Martin Luther King Jr. International Chapel at Morehouse College. Dorsey W. M. McConnell was ordained bishop of Pittsburgh on Oct. 23 at Calvary Church, and Bishop Rayford High, retired suffragan of Texas, was elected and installed as the provisional bishop of the Diocese of Forth Worth during the diocesan convention Nov. 3. v
Episcopal Church ACC members reflect on ‘congenial’ meeting By Mary Frances Schjonberg Episcopal News Service The 15th meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council that concluded Nov. 7 after 12 days was “remarkable,” according to the four Episcopal Church members. The Episcopal Church was represented at the meeting by the Rev. Gay Jennings of Ohio, Josephine Hicks of North Carolina and Bishop Ian Douglas of Connecticut. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori attended the meeting in her role as a member of the Anglican Communion Standing Committee, which met here before the start of the ACC meeting. Douglas is also a member of the Standing Committee. Hicks, whose term expired at the end of this meeting, is the longest-serving member, although Douglas has been present at four ACC meetings in various capacities.
Earlier meetings ‘tense’
Hicks’ term began with the 2005 meeting in Nottingham, England, when ACC members from the U.S.-based Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada attended as observers after both provinces voluntarily withdrew their participation in keeping with a request from the Anglican Primates — or principal archbishops — to allow space for consideration of sexuality issues. That first meeting, was “exceedingly tense and awkward, although it had its marvelous moments,” Hicks said. The 2009 gathering in Jamaica was “much more relaxed, a much better atmosphere but still a more contentious undertone which sometimes became more prevalent in really difficult issues” such as the Anglican Covenant, the 2004 Windsor Report and moratoria on authorization of samegender blessings, consecrations of bishops living in same-gender relationships and cross-border interventions by bishops. “This meeting has felt very different and even more relaxed, even less contentious, even more of a feeling of congeniality,” Hicks said. “Everyone who was at Jamaica has commented that this meeting has felt more congenial, more positive [with] people clearly committed to the Anglican Communion regardless of positions on the covenant or any other issue.” Douglas agreed with Hicks. “Without question this ACC meeting has been the most conversational, the least politicized,” he said, calling the meeting that was held primarily in Holy Trinity Cathedral in Auckland “a place of profound conversation in a
Photo by Anglican Communion News Service
The Episcopal Church was represented at the recent meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council by (from left) the Rev. Gay Jennings of Ohio, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, Josephine Hicks of North Carolina and Bishop Ian Douglas of Connecticut. They are shown here in their official portrait with Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams (center) outside of St. Mary’s Church in Auckland, New Zealand, where the 12-day meeting took place.
way that I haven’t experienced it in the past. “I found that we have been able to go much deeper in conversations around how our churches are so different one from another and also what holds us together as the communion itself,” he said. “It seems like a lot of the old animosities and divisions — differences are absolutely still there; I don’t want to paper over them — but all of the old tensions, I’m just not experiencing at this meeting.”
Building relationships
The presiding bishop said that compared with the first two Primates Meetings she attended in 2007 and 2009 and the intervening 2008 Lambeth Conference, this second of the ACC meetings she has attended “is probably the Anglican Communion meeting that has the most demonstrated possibility for building ongoing, lasting relationships that I have seen.” She added that the most recent Primates Meeting in January 2011 “moved a long way in this direction, but this ACC meeting is profoundly reconciled in our diversity.” For Jennings, attending her first ACC meeting, it was “a wonderful opportunity to build relationships, to learn more about the various provinces.” “We have had conversation about the fact that the ACC is the only instrument that has representation from bishops, priests and deacons, and laity,” she said. “There has been a call for more laity to be part of ACC and there’s been conversations about how that might be facilitated.” Jennings also remarked on the communion’s efforts for deepening its unity in the midst of its diversity.
Unity in Jesus Christ
“What I’ve been struck by at this meeting is that across the provinces there seems to be some appreciation — not just from North Americans, but throughout the Anglican Communion — that our unity is not based in uniform belief or practice. But, rather, our unity is in Jesus Christ and the things that we consider essential in terms of considering ourselves Anglicans,” she said. “This meeting, at least to this newcomer, seems to be much more interested, as Josephine said, around issues of our common life and how we can pursue God’s mission together and seek peace.” ACC members had “a remarkably creative, deep conversation about a variety of issues we all share,” according to Jefferts Schori. The presiding bishop said, “This meeting has offered us the ability to learn from the differences that characterize the communion,” she said. “Western churches have talked about the challenges around retaining or attracting young people and enabling their leadership in the church and not simply restricting leadership to long-term older members. They’re realities that apply in Papua New Guinea as well as Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia, in the United States, in the more ancient parts of the church.” She added, “The newer parts of the church that are growing so rapidly struggle with basic resource issues, which some of our rural congregations struggle with, so we have things to learn from the variations in our contexts that are all about how to present the gospel in a way that is attractive and healing for the people we are, set to proclaim the good news of Jesus.” v
September/October 2012 • The Harvest • 11
Churches respond in areas hit hard by Sandy By Sharon Sheridan Episcopal News Service
Diocese of Kansas takes special relief collection
“Ship ahoy!,” shouted a costumed boy racing up the stairs while trick-or-treating in the parish hall at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Morristown, N.J. Halloween arrived on All Souls Day, Nov. 2, this year for Morristown youngsters, when the church hosted children for trick-or-treating on its campus after the holiday was postponed in New Jersey due to dangerous conditions caused by Hurricane Sandy.
Food and comfort
The Halloween celebration was a small part of a large outreach effort to storm victims in the area at the Morristown church, one of many churches responding to the need throughout the affected East Coast region. St. Peter’s efforts started when the town asked the church Nov. 1 to serve as an official warming and recharging station. The church put out a sign, and Rector Janet Broderick and Assistant Rector Melissa Hall started spreading the word while delivering coffee and snacks to people waiting in long lines for gasoline. “Then we realized the people who were coming were hungry, and they couldn’t cook [without electricity],” Broderick recounted. So the church served hot dogs for lunch and made a run to a restaurant supply store to buy supplies for a spaghetti dinner. A handful of staff, family members and lay volunteers began the effort; by the evening’s end, more than 100 people had
Photo by Sharon Sheridan
Members of the St. Peter’s Episcopal Church youth group help serve dinner to the community in Morristown, N.J., on Nov. 4. The church served three meals a day for nearly two weeks to those left without heat and electricity by Hurricane Sandy after it stuck the East Coast Oct. 29.
arrived for dinner, and 15 or 20 people were working the kitchen and serving lines. The church began serving three hot meals a day. News 12 broadcast a report after breakfast Nov. 2, and volunteers and donations began pouring in. Some people came for dinner and warming a day or two, then returned to help after their electricity was restored. The hot meals continued for nearly two weeks, as residents awaited the return of electricity to their homes. As much as the food and warmth, the church offered a place for people to recount their stories and escape the depressing isola-
tion of sitting home in the dark, said Broderick, who filled the rectory’s spare beds with elderly parishioners living in homes left unheated by the storm.
New York efforts
Across the river in the Diocese of New York, the Rev. Stephen Harding, diocesan disaster response coordinator, reported that Bishop Andrew Dietsche had asked all Episcopal parishes to conduct a food drive that day, with donations from the Bronx and Manhattan to go to Staten Island and those from the Mid-Hudson to Region II. St. Mark’s Church in the Bow-
ery spent two days organizing volunteers to deliver “ready-toeat and nonperishable food to residents in high-rise buildings along the East River still without power,” Junior Warden Roger Jack Walters said in an e-mail. On the second day, Nov. 3, they also offered burgers, hot dogs, soup, coffee and oatmeal for anyone needing a hot meal.
‘There’s always power’
Several churches in area were without electricity, but while it created hardship and need, it didn’t prevent churches and others from reaching out. Todd Strickland of Boulder,
Bishop Dean Wolfe called on all congregations in the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas to help victims of Sandy by taking a special collection on Sunday, Nov. 4, All Saints Sunday. In a Nov. 1 email to clergy and lay leaders across the diocese, the bishop said, “Episcopal churches and dioceses will be called upon to help their members and neighbors during this difficult time, and they will need financial resources to do that.” All money collected will go to the work of Episcopal Relief and Development. More information on the Kansas effort is on the diocesan website, www.episcopal-ks.org.
Colo., came to the Hanover Marriott in New Jersey for a ski and snowboard conference three days after the hurricane hit the state. The Marriott supplied food for the Nov. 3 dinner at St. Peter’s, Morristown, and Strickland and Cory Needham of Santa Rosa, Calif., inquired about volunteer opportunities and spent the afternoon at the church helping out. Electricity or not, Strickland commented, “There’s always power on here.” v
Canterbury: Welby said he was ‘surprised’ by selection (Continued from page 1) After a decade in parish ministry, he was appointed a canon residentiary, and later sub-dean, of Coventry Cathedral. He served as dean of Liverpool Cathedral from 2007-2011. As bishop of Durham, the fourth-mostsenior position in the Church of England to which he was consecrated in October 2011, Welby is automatically granted a seat in the House of Lords. Welby, 56, will succeed the Most Rev. Rowan Williams, who will step down at the end of the year after serving as the 104th archbishop of Canterbury since February 2003. Williams has accepted a new post as master of Magdalene College, Cambridge. Welby’s enthronement as 105th archbishop of Canterbury will be held March 21, 2013, in Canterbury Cathedral. Welby is married to Caroline, and they have five children, aged 16-27.
Active user of Twitter
“I don’t think anyone could be more surprised than me at the outcome of this process,” said Welby, according to a Lambeth Palace press release. “It has been an experience, reading more about me than I knew myself. To be nominated to Canterbury is at the same time overwhelming and astonishing. It is overwhelming because of those I follow, and the responsibility it has. It is astonish-
ing because it is something I never expected to happen.” During a Nov. 9 press conference at Lambeth Palace, Welby told media that he wanted the church to be a place where people could disagree in love and that he was averse to the language of exclusion. An active user of Twitter, he said that he intended to continue to use social media as a means of communication. Williams said he is “delighted at the appointment” and went on to say, “He has an extraordinary range of skills and is a person of grace, patience, wisdom and humor. He will bring to this office both a rich pastoral experience and a keen sense of international priorities, for Church and world. I wish him — with Caroline and the family — every blessing, and hope that the Church of England and the Anglican Communion will share my pleasure at this appointment and support him with prayer and love.”
Episcopalians respond
Many Episcopalians have welcomed the news, expressing enthusiasm for Welby’s appointment and appreciation for incumbent Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams’ leadership during the past 10 years. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said she was “delighted” to hear the news, adding that Welby “brings knowledge of the immense challenges of the world in which the Anglican Communion seeks to partner in the service of God’s mission to
heal and reconcile.” Welby has experience of churches in several parts of the Anglican Communion, “which should serve him well,” she said. President of the House of Deputies the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings said that Welby “is held in high regard” by Episcopalians who know him well. “As a conflict negotiator, he has demonstrated extraordinary courage and unusual skill in persuading people with far greater differences than those within the Anglican Communion to work together and to reconcile,” she said. “This gives me hope that he is the right person for this challenging moment in the Anglican Communion’s history.”
Met with American bishops
In March 2012, Welby attended the Episcopal Church’s House of Bishops as an international guest. In his remarks at the close of the meeting, he said the indaba conversations the bishops had engaged throughout the meeting facilitated generosity and clarity and that he would leave the meeting with a “‘deeper understanding of different contexts and realities.” After having met Welby and sharing lunch with him during that meeting, Bishop Ed Little of Northern Indiana told ENS the bishop impressed him on several levels. “He’s very perceptive of the challenges facing the Church of England and the Anglican Communion, and has a good grasp of
Comments from Bishop Wolfe, con’t. He also has a great sense of humor. He has experience in Africa and has literally risked his life for the sake of the gospel. He has an experienced world view. He’s also done mediation and reconciliation work, and at this time in the Anglican Communion, those are useful gifts. His selection is good news for the American church. I think he comprehends and appreciates the great diversity and broad spectrum of theological points of view we have in the Episcopal Church. This strikes me as a bold move. He’s a young person and can serve the church for many years. We are grateful for Rowan Williams’ commitment and contribution to the church, and we look forward to working with Archbishop Welby. v
both the issues and the complexity of the struggle,” said Little. “At the same time, he is enormously engaging, with a wonderful sense of humor and real warmth. He’s a deeply committed Christian with deep faith and a ‘sparkle’ in his eye. He will, I believe, be able to reach out to disparate elements both within his own church and throughout the communion.” v
12 • The Harvest • September/October 2012
Reflections on faith and life
Sharing the Good News
Wal-Mart trip shows true wealth By the Rev. Rob Baldwin I texted my wife, “I feel very wealthy right now.” I was in a Wal-Mart at the time, having been asked by the Kansas to Kenya program to host the visiting Bishop Joseph from the Diocese of Nakuru in Kenya and his traveling companion Father Antony. The two visiting clergy had been shown around the diocese for several days and, during this relatively unscheduled time, wished to go shopping to purchase gifts for their friends and family. Specifically, they wanted to go to Wal-Mart.
Surprised by pumpkins
I have taken international visitors from what are sometimes referred to as Third World countries shopping in the United States before, and it sometimes can be a traumatic experience for them. It’s overwhelming at times, even just on sensory perception alone. Bishop Joseph shouted out “pumpkins!” with glee as he saw the mounds of orange globes arrayed out front of the store, and I realized that he may have never
seen one in person before. But it was after we went in that he was truly struck. Most Wal-Marts have two entrances — one in the grocery half and the other in the manufactured goods half – and we entered in the food side. To our right was the produce department. To our left, women’s clothing. “My God,” he said “you can buy anything.” And I realized in that moment that he was right in two ways.
Everything we want
First, we do have the entire world’s markets at our fingertips. Produce from South America. Beef from Australia. Clothing and electronics from Asia. There is very little that cannot be sold to us, if we wish to buy it. In contrast, Joseph and Antony purchased such mundane items as shoes and belts to take back home with them. But the other thing was that, with few exceptions, I could afford to purchase anything in that store. Sure, there probably is a flat-screen TV the size of a pool table that would be out of my price range, but as a person with a comfortable income married
to a person with a comfortable income, I probably could purchase almost anything in the store and not be concerned about the impact it would have on my budget.
Feeling truly wealthy
As someone who spent a portion of his childhood in a trailer park in central Florida and whose parents in lean years relied on food stamps to feed my sister and me, I have not in my adult years ever considered myself poor. But I also rarely have the occasion to feel truly wealthy — not “1 percent in America” wealthy, but probably “1 percent in the world wealthy.” During this time of year the church calls us to examine the blessed qualities of our lives and determine what kinds of sacrifices we make to give back to God. I’m grateful to God for the reminder that it might be a much, much more blessed life than I realize. The Rev. Rob Baldwin is rector of Trinity, Lawrence. This reflection first appeared in the parish’s weekly electronic newsletter. Reprinted by permission. v
Diocesan Calendar November 2012
December 2012
3 Youth Commission meeting and Happening staff day, St. Andrew’s, Emporia
1 Anti-racism training, Bethany Place Conference Center, Topeka
4 Bishop Wolfe at St. John’s, Parsons 7 Gathering of Presbyters, Spiritual Life Center, Wichita (through Nov. 9) 10 Kansas School for Ministry classes, Bethany Place Conference Center and Grace Cathedral, Topeka (through Nov. 11) 11 Bishop Wolfe at St. James’, Wichita
Southeast Convocation meeting, St. John’s, Parsons
16 Happening #87, Good Shepherd, Wichita (through Nov. 18)
2 Bishop Wolfe at Grace, Ottawa 8 Kansas School for Min istry classes, Bethany Place Conference Center and Grace Cathedral, Topeka (through Dec. 9) 9 Bishop Wolfe at Good Shepherd, Wichita 24 Bishop Wolfe at Grace Cathedral, Topeka
Diocesan office closed for Christmas (though Dec. 25)
31 Diocesan office closed for New Year’s (through Jan. 1)
18 Bishop Wolfe at St. John’s, Abilene 22 Diocesan office closed for Thanksgiving (though Nov. 23) 26 Council of Trustees retreat (though Nov. 27)
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