The Harvest, September-October 2013

Inside The Harvest From the Presiding Bishop

Preaching at the dedication of the Bishop Kemper School for Ministry, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said the school’s namesake was an advocate for local education. Page 2

Bishop Kemper School

The creation of the Bishop Kemper School was highlighted in various ways during the visit from the Presiding Bishop on Oct. 5. Page 3

Priest recalls Holy Land trip The Rev. Helen Hoch describes the power of her first visit to the Holy Land earlier this year, with a request for those interested in making a pilgrimage there. Page 4

Combined services

How do you create fellowship and community between two different congregations or between various services within one parish? You bring everyone together for worship and fun. Page 4

Convention awards

Outstanding ministry in the diocese was recognized with three special annual awards during the banquet during Diocesan Convention. Page 7

Blessing of the Animals

Diocesan Convention hears calls to cross frontiers, be with the poor ministry in Kenya and Haiti, and in showing hospitality to people to our communities from other counties — Burmese refugees being settled in Wichita through the Episcopal Wichita Area Refugee Ministry, and Latino worshippers who are welcomed at St. Paul’s, Kansas City.

Undergirding these efforts is education at the new Bishop Kemper School for Ministry, a non-profit corporation owned jointly by four Midwestern dioceses, including the Diocese of Kansas, that provides local education for lay leaders and those seeking ordination as priests and deacons. He also asked for ongoing support for new school facilities at the proposed diocesan Leadership Center.

He said, “Great things aren’t accomplished with small commitment, grudging support, lukewarm enthusiasm. We’ve got to take a risk. We have to leave home.”

By Melodie Woerman Editor, The Harvest

Clergy and lay delegates to the 154th Annual Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas heard a call from Bishop Dean E. Wolfe to take risks to step beyond the “frontiers of faith,” the convention’s theme, to engage the people around us.

Bishop Wolfe made his annual address as part of his sermon at the convention Eucharist.

Keynote speaker Bishop Stacy Sauls followed that with two addresses in which he said the church is entering a time free of the captivity of modern culture and is ripe for mission, but only if the church rememPhoto by Deacon Bob Hirst bers that it is called to be with the poor.

Bishop Stacy Sauls offers one of two Bishop Sauls is the chief operating of- keynote addresses to the 154th Annual ficer of The Episcopal Church.

Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of In his address, Bishop Wolfe said that Kansas. the earliest followers of Jesus had to leave the comforts of home to be obedient to God’s call. That same Giving up power and being with the poor In the first of his two addresses to the convention, Bishop willingness to step beyond “the settled edges of our faith in Sauls said that the church today exists in a time when we can Kansas” can help the church reach out.

He said that early pioneers who brought the gospel to the remember who we truly are and “free ourselves from cultural prairie encountered many hardships, but they did not “encounter domination for the first time in a long, long time.” He said that a more challenging context for ministry than the materialistic, when Christianity became the established religion of the Rosecularistic and individualistic contexts that currently challenge man Empire under Constantine, it “forgot who it was and made a compromise with power.” The church, he said, “forgot about us.”

He called Kansas Episcopalians to take a risk and share their God” and instead concentrated on power, privilege and prestige. faith perspectives “on the frontiers of injustice and inequality.”

(Please see Convention, page 6) He said international frontiers are being crossed with

Camels and spaniels and fish — oh my! Those were just a few of the animals that were blessed during St. Francis Day services in parishes around the diocese. Page 7

Food pantries see big jump in need

Around the diocese

By Melodie Woerman Editor, The Harvest

Participants “Got vergers?” and a Wellington church has a new sign — just a few of the many activities taking place in congregations across the diocese. Page 8

Faithful servant

Deacon Jesse Milan has been ordained to a ministry of servanthood for only seven years, but he has spent his lifetime being a servant to his students and his community. Page 9

UTO grants

Guidelines for grants from the United Thank Offering have been released, to allow those wishing to apply plenty of time to prepare. Page 10

World Council of Churches

Bishop Dean Wolfe led the delegation from The Episcopal Church to the 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches, the largest gathering of Christians in the world, at its meeting in Busan, Republic of Korea. Page 11

Melissa comes often to the Trinity Interfaith Food Pantry, located at Trinity, Lawrence, to help her feed her two children, a high school freshman and a fourth grader.

She works a full-time job at a local school but has trouble making ends meet on what she makes.

Food stamp benefits recently were cut, and she called rent prices in the college town “atrocious.” She can’t use her college degree in psychology, she said, because she can’t find any jobs that pay more than she makes now.

Jennifer also works 40 hours a week, and her husband works in construction. But the seasonal nature of his job means their income is “all over the board,” and she needs help every now and then to feed them and the two foster children for whom they recently became legal guardians.

“There’s not enough income for necessities like food, rent and utilities,” she said.

Utilities recently became a big problem for Zenella Young. When she received a gas bill for more than $300, she had trouble paying it, and her utilities were turned off.

They’re back on now, and while her old house is drafty and expensive, she’s grateful to have it.

But with things “sort of tight,” she recently visited the pantry for the second time this year.

Michael Eugene Mumford (he asked that his full name be used) says food help from Trinity’s pantry has a “big impact” on his life. He works at Taco Bell but he can’t get any help with medical bills, because at age 63 and without dependent children or a disability, he doesn’t (Please see Pantries, page 5)

PB visit

Photo by Melodie Woerman

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori (center) stands with Bishop Kemper School dean the Very Rev. Andrew Grosso (left) and Bishop Dean Wolfe during her visit to the diocese Oct. 5-6.

Presiding Bishop’s visit celebrates start of Bishop Kemper School Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori made her second visit to the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas Oct. 5-6 to mark the creation of the Bishop Kemper School for Ministry and to dedicate some of the school’s facilities.

More information and photos of her visit are on page 3. v

2 • The Harvest • September/October 2013

School’s namesake calls the church to serve those around us 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: Dec. 1 January-February 2014 issue: Feb. 1 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 sermon by Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori at the dedication of the Bishop Kemper School for Ministry Congratulations on this initiative — the Bishop Kemper School is a remarkable thing to celebrate!

You are building on the foundation laid by others years ago. You heard Paul’s reminder: we’re all God’s servants, working together… and you are God’s building. Skilled builders laid the foundation, and later workers are building on it. You’re continuing in the work that Jackson Kemper started here — he would be amazed and deeply grateful to see what has resulted!

Jackson Kemper was born on Christmas Eve of 1789 in Pleasant Valley, N.Y., in the same year The Episcopal Church was formally established.

He attended Columbia College and was ordained priest in 1814.

In 1835, when the General Convention first claimed that all of us are members of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, they also chose Kemper to be the first missionary bishop, to serve “the Northwest.”

His first charge was to serve Indiana and Missouri, and three years later Iowa, Wisconsin and Indian Territory were added, including everything west of Iowa. Later he expanded the work into Minnesota, Kansas and Nebraska, eventually being affectionately known as “bishop of all outdoors.”

He laid the foundations for what are today a dozen dioceses.

Local education for clergy

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.

He found it challenging — nigh on impossible — to get the settled eastern clergy to come west in the Lord’s service. There weren’t many “stars from the east” shining in these parts. So he started Kemper College in St. Louis to train people (men) who were familiar with the challenges of living and traveling on the frontier.

He needed leaders who knew the local context and what the English reformers called the “language understanded of the people.” Financial challenges meant that Kemper College didn’t last, but a foundation was laid for the contextually appropriate formation of church leaders. Kemper later founded Nashotah House, with similar aims, and then Racine College, which later became the DeKoven Foundation. Sometimes the foundation leads to other and unexpected possibilities.

Kemper was also responsible for a significant expansion in the Episcopal Church’s ministry with Native Americans, and it was he who ordained Emmegabowh deacon in 1859. He was the first Native person to be ordained priest in this church.

Kemper laid the foundation for indigenous clergy leadership for all sorts and conditions of communities.

In 1841 Kemper went back to New York to report to the Board of Missions about his work. In his sermon he alluded to the same great parables Paul invokes in his letter to the Corinthians: “Let the leaven spread, the grain of mustard grow — the net be cast into the deepest waters. God will give the increase. It is for us to plant and water.”1

The Episcopal Diocese of Kansas

Go and make disciples

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 Justin Welby 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 109 dioceses in 16 countries in the Americas and abroad.

A community of about 12,000 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

He continued to challenge the whole of the church and its leaders to remember Jesus’ charge to go and make disciples in every context: “The division into Foreign and Domestic is often arbitrary, and Might, without detriment, be abolished; for no one, I presume, would wish to withdraw our heralds of the cross from Africa, suspend our incipient efforts for Texas, or abandon the much injured aborigines to all the degrading vices they have learned from unprincipled men who claim to be civilized. Let us go where duty calls – where Providence points the way … Oh, let us rejoice in the privilege of sending forth in the

Photo by Melodie Woerman

name of the Lord and under the guidance of His Spirit all those who, thoroughly instructed in sacred truths, hear the cry, ‘Come over and help us’ — and cannot resist the deep, the abiding conviction concerning their sphere of duty…”

In the report given at his resignation as bishop of all outdoors, Kemper sounded notes that would be very familiar: lack of funding for these missionary efforts, and the large and growing populations which weren’t being adequately served.

Noting a lively and packed service celebrated in the Oneida language where he confirmed more than a dozen, he asked, “Why shouldn’t there be a hundred similar congregations” serving the native peoples of this land? And then he asked who would go to serve the people of Pike’s Peak district (Colorado) as well as Dakota, New Mexico and Deseret (Utah)?

The foundational work of our first missionary bishop was going out to meet people in vastly differing contexts, impelled by the enduring vision of a community gathered from every family, language, tribe and nation, drawn into Jesus’ fellowship and God’s presence.2

The challenge remains today

The challenge today is the same. How do we send out leaders, lay and ordained, to serve the world around us, a world deeply hungry for good news? The proportion of the population that claims to be SBNR (spiritual but not religious) or None (no religious affiliation) is growing rapidly, among younger generations as well as their elders: one in six adult Americans today, and higher in younger cohorts.

The hunger for meaning, connection and hope is there in abundance — the hunger is there, and the only question is whether there are laborers enough for the harvest. Those who go out into the fields will find their own hungers answered as well.

The young adults outside our doors are deeply committed to transformation of the injustice, pain and poverty they see around them. They don’t always have much patience for moldy institutions — and neither does Jesus, I dare say! The building that is the body of Christ is continually dying and rising to new life in order that it might serve the ever-expanding and changing variety of God’s creation.

The very facilities that house this center of (Please see School, page 3)

September/October 2013 • The Harvest • 3

Celebrating the Bishop Kemper School for Ministry Photo by Melodie Woerman

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori (third from right) dedicates the land on which the new Diocese of Kansas Leadership Center will be located. With her are (from left) Archdeacon Charles Pearce, Archdeacon Monte Giddings, the Very Rev. Andrew Grosso, West Missouri Bishop Martin Field, Kansas Bishop Dean Wolfe and Western Kansas Bishop Michael Milliken.

P

residing Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori made her second visit to the Episcopal Diocese

of Kansas Oct. 5-6 to mark the creation of the Bishop Kemper School for Ministry and to dedicate some of the school’s Photo by Deacon Bob Hirst

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori speaks during a forum on the changing shape of ministry Oct. 5 at Grace Cathedral, Topeka.

facilities.

The school is a unique institution within the Episcopal Church, since it is a non-profit corporation owned jointly by four Midwestern dioceses, including the Diocese of Kansas, that provides local education for lay leaders and those seek-

Photo by Deacon Bob Hirst

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori (right) talks to Mary Upton (left), widow of Archdeacon Jim Upton, after the service that named the conference center at Bethany Place Upton Hall. Bishop Dean Wolfe looks on.

ing ordination as priests and deacons. The presiding bishop met with members of the school’s board of directors and spoke to more than 200 people during a public forum at Grace Cathedral in Topeka.

She also officiated and preached at a service marking the creation of the Bishop Kemper School, which was highlighted by the naming of the diocesan conference center as Archdeacon James E. Upton Hall.

Upton who died in 2007, was a tireless advocate for ministry for education and was instrumental in the development of the Kansas School for Ministry, one of the predecessors of the Bishop Kemper School.

Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori also preached on Sunday morning at Photo by Deacon Bob Hirst

Grace Cathedral.

— Melodie Woerman v

The Presiding Bishop talks with a group of Spanish-speaking members of St. Paul’s, Kansas City, during the reception after the dedication service. Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori speaks Spanish, and some of the service was in Spanish.

School: Task is forming local leaders who can share the good news (Continued from page 2) formation are building on older foundations.

The College of the Sisters of Bethany opened here in 1860 as a school for young frontier women. Together with the heritage of Kemper College, this school will continue to serve new populations on

today’s frontiers. This school is building on the foundations of diocesan schools, and the new chapel will quite literally be raised on the ashes of saints who have walked among us here.

The task of this new Kemper School is to form leaders who can share good news in farm towns and prairie villages, in university halls and beer halls, on soccer

fields and factory floors, in government offices and laundromats.

Like the saint whose name it bears, this community will form and send leaders to all outdoors — out these doors into the distant reaches of this earthly neighborhood, bearing hope and the promise of new life for all who yearn for its possibility. May God bless the going

and the sending, and the building — building up the body of Christ and the body of God’s creation. v _______________________________ 1 Jackson Kemper, “The Duty of the Church with Respect to Missions,” sermon, Oct. 7, 1841, St. Paul’s, Chapel, N.Y. 2 Revelation 7:9

4 • The Harvest • September/October 2013

Kansas priest plans Holy Land return trip By the Rev. Helen Hoch One of the places that long has been on my wish list of places to see was the Holy Land. When I received an email about joining a group of Episcopal Church Women on a pilgrimage in early June, I jumped at the opportunity I worried about what I should do to prepare for this trip physically, emotionally and spiritually. The physical part was pretty straightforward — start walking. The emotional and spiritual aspects were more difficult.

When I shared this with some friends, they responded that I should pray for whatever God wanted me to receive from this trip.

That message came through clearly once I was there, especially at a Eucharist at St. Paul’s in the city of ShefaAmr. In the service bulletin was printed a message from Bishop Dawanu from 2008. It read in part: “All Christians must come here first and foremost as pilgrims … Pilgrims here do not bring decisions with them. They come here to seek prayerfully the decisions God wants them to make. And God will always surprise us. God has not finished with us or with our Church yet.

God the Holy Spirit will lead us into all truth, and we who come here as pilgrims must be open to the Spirit’s leading, open to God’s surprising revelation to us.”

Continual state of wonder

As the days passed by, I was in a continual state of wonder. At the excavation site in Sepphoris, we were walking on ground where very possibly Jesus may have walked. The feeling continued when we visited the spot where Mary was visited by the angel Gabriel. I thought, “What did Mary think when the angel appeared, and when she gave the positive response to what he had to say?”

I had seen this spot in videos, but being there in person took by breath away. From the window in my room I could see the top of the church built over this very spot.

The light at the top reminded me of a lighthouse, calling me to this spot and back to thoughts of Mary.

From there we visited Bethlehem and the Church of the Nativity. Unfortunately, it’s impossible to visit this area without dealing with the political issues surrounding the area known as Palestine. There is about 80 percent unemployment in Bethlehem because of the difficulty of obtaining the permits and passing through the checkpoints to get to available jobs.

A wall in the area also divides families and keeps farmers from their fields. I saw the wall in Berlin before it came down, and this is far too similar, although the wall in Bethlehem is even higher. We heard from news sources that it was dangerous to travel in Palestine, but I felt more fear passing through checkpoints to return to Israel, with their heavily armed guards.

Another place that called me was the Sea of Galilee.

We first saw it from the excavation sites at Capernaum, and then again from the small church at the site where the risen Christ appeared to his disciples and joined them for breakfast.

As I stood on the bank and looked out over the sea, I thought about this area where Jesus spent so much of his time during his ministry. We rode across the sea and visited a museum, where we saw a preserved boat from the first century that probably was much like the ones Jesus and his disciples used. As I looked at it, I could picture Jesus resting his head on the boat’s edge.

By the time we got to Jerusalem to visit the famous sites there, I was beginning to feel overwhelmed.

Did you know that about 40,000 people live within the walls of the Old City, and that most of the stations on the Via Doloroso are also within these walls? Did you know that today only about 2 percent of the people who live there are Christians? Did you know there are settlements where one of the perks of residency is running water every day, while in others, residents have to collect rain water in containers on their roofs because they do not have daily running water?

Kansas pilgrimage in 2016

I’m planning a Holy Land pilgrimage from the Diocese of Kansas to the Holy Land, probably in the summer of 2016. If you think you might want to be part of this, please get in touch with me by email at hhoch. rev@gmail.com.

The Rev. Helen Hoch is vicar of Calvary, Yates Center. v

Combined services bring people together for worship and fun

By Melodie Woerman Editor, The Harvest The Rev. Laurie Lewis had only been on the job two weeks as priest in charge at Trinity, Arkansas City and Grace, Winfield, when she wanted to find a way to bring the two congregations together.

The Rev. Patrick Funston had been rector of St. Paul’s, Manhattan a little longer than that — maybe three months — when he sought a way for greater connection between members who attended the church’s three Sunday services.

For both priests, the answer was to create a special combined service, accompanied by a fun event.

Arkansas City and Winfield

Lewis said her two congregations in Cowley County in the past had gathered for quarterly fellowship events, but one hadn’t happened recently. They usually took place in the evening, and she said many older members weren’t comfortable driving after dark so didn’t attend.

She came up with the idea to have a joint worship service whenever there was a fifth Sunday in a month, or about once each quarter.

But the next one, on Sept. 29, was only two weeks away, and she wondered whether it could be organized that quickly.

She didn’t want to have the service at one of the churches, because then one would be the host and the other the guests. She settled on Wilson’s Park in Arkansas City and drew up invitations and flyers and started to spread the word.

She said, “I feared some might see this as a chance to skip church, especially since there had only been two Sundays in which to announce it.”

But when the day came, those who were there were more than the regular attendance at the two churches combined. Afterward they all enjoyed a

Photo by Archdeacon Charles Pearce

Even the littlest members get in on the kick ball tournament that followed the combined “Family Reunion” service Oct. 27 at St. Paul’s, Manhattan.

potluck lunch. And, she said, “People really loved seeing each other.”

Lewis was thrilled with the turnout. “It was such a high for them as congregations and for me as their new priest. They really showed up for something new.”

The next fifth Sunday is Dec. 29, and it will have a “12 days of Christmas” theme.

Manhattan

For Funston, the challenge wasn’t bringing together separate churches but the communities that form around the parish’s three Sunday services, each of which has its own worship style. “We get siloed in our own way of being,” he said. “I wanted to combat that feeling.”

He planned a combined service on Oct. 27, calling it a family reunion.

People gathered at 10 a.m., and the

service featured contemporary music, which is the style of the 11:30 a.m. liturgy.

Attendance at the three services is usually between 120 and 140, so he was delighted when the joint worship drew 124 people, with people coming from all three services. About 60 people stayed for the World Seriesthemed picnic and kick ball tournament that followed.

Funston said the event was well received. “People loved it and were happy we did it,” he said.

Like Lewis, he plans to have the combined service once a quarter. The next one will be in January on the day of the Annual Meeting and will include two baptisms and four First Communions.

He said, “This allows the whole community to come together to celebrate.” v

UPCOMING EVENTS Congregational Development workshops

Saturday, Dec. 7, Grace Cathedral, Topeka “How will you get the Word out?” Three workshops to help your church communicate better.

Workshop presenters are Dr. Anna L. Sackett, Army Research Institute of Behavioral and Social Sciences at Fort Leavenworth; Melody Alexander, associate creative director for the Marketing Communications group at the University of Kansas; and Valerie McCord, support engineer with ERUCES,Inc. The cost is $10, which includes lunch. The deadline to register is Dec. 4. Contact Michele Moss at mmoss@ episcopal-ks.org or (785) 235-9255 or (800) 473-3563 to sign up.

ADVENTure

Saturday, Dec. 7 through Sunday, Dec. 8, St. Andrew’s Church, Emporia For youth in grades 6-12 An overnight event focusing on the season of Advent and the Episcopal Church calendar The cost is $35 for registrations received by Nov. 25. More information is on the youth website, www.episcopal-ks. org/youth

Miqra

Saturday, Jan. 18 through Monday, Jan. 20, Grace Cathedral and St. David’s, Topeka For youth in junior or senior high Miqra is a weekend retreat that focuses on the Bible and allows teens to discover what’s in it, why they should care and how to read it.

The cost is $55 for registration received by Jan. 6. More information is on the youth website, www.episcopal-ks. org/youth

September/October 2013 • The Harvest • 5

Pantries: Demand may increase as benefits are cut They provide lunch every weekday for up to 270 people, and Wise reports more and more of them are people who work but still need help. They’re also seeing more families with children.

She said, “One father told me last month that although he and his wife work, they don’t make enough to feed their family.

They eat lunch with us so they aren’t taking food from home that their children can eat.”

(Continued from page 1) qualify for Medicaid in Kansas. He wishes pantries stocked more things like razors, which he needs to keep up the neat appearance required for his job, and toilet paper.

But mostly he worries about the homeless, who don’t go to food pantries. “We need a mobile unit to feed them,” he said.

Trinity’s food pantry, which operates in conjunction with St. Margaret’s and local Lutheran, Methodist and Roman Catholic churches, is a lifeline for people in need in Lawrence.

And according to Barry Molineux, who is a long-time pantry volunteer, the need just keeps increasing.

In October they served the largest number ever — 376 households, representing 637 adults and 327 children. Of those households, 60 were there for the first time.

And since the first of the year, not counting November, they’ve provided food to just shy of 3,000 families, representing more than 7,500 people.

About two-thirds of them are adults, mostly non-senior citizens, and a third are children.

Record numbers elsewhere, too

It’s the same story at food pantries in two Episcopal churches in Kansas City and Spring Hill.

The pantry at St. Paul’s, Kansas City, set its own record in October, serving 520 households, 70 of whom were new. Pantry Coordinator Ross Warnell said that in 2012, the pantry usually saw about 40 households twice a week; now it’s typical to see 60. On a Saturday in early November, that number soared to 86.

St. Clare’s in Spring Hill, a town of about 5,600 people south of Kansas City, started a food pantry in July 2012. It was open once a month but expanded this summer to every week. Sonya Hubbard, a member of the church’s Missions Committee, said in March of this year, they served a total of 41 people.

But during summer months those numbers grew rapidly, and by October they provided food to 152 families representing

Areas of higher poverty

Photo by Melodie Woerman

Volunteer Dennis Alford (left) helps gather up sacks of food selected by Barry McIntosh on Nov. 16 at the Trinity Interfaith Food Pantry, housed at Trinity, Lawrence. McIntosh said he relies on the pantry to help him feed his six children and grandchildren. He enjoys the atmosphere at the pantry and said the volunteers are “good, loving, Christian people.”

524 people. Of those households, 24 came for the first time.

She said about half of those they serve are adult, 43 percent are children and 7 percent are senior citizens.

Need is bound to grow

John Hornbeck, executive director of Episcopal Community Services in Kansas City, said the need for food help is bound to grow even more, since food stamps benefits (known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP) were reduced at the first of November.

He said, “In other words, these pantries were already experiencing expanded need and a challenge in adequate resources before the decline in SNAP. The potential for this to increase even further is troubling, indeed.” He said an increase in the number

of new people seeking help appears to be a “continuing trend.”

Wichita meals see increase

Episcopal Social Services in Wichita serves people who are hungry primarily through its hot lunch program, and it, too, has seen a big increase. Jennifer Wise, ESS’s director of development and public relations, said they had served 32,000 meals by the end of July, which matched the number for all of 2012.

The Census Bureau says that 16 percent of Americans live in poverty, but in parts of Kansas, that number is much higher.

In Wyandotte County, home to Kansas City, that rate is 26 percent, and for children, it’s almost 40 percent (according to 2011 figures from the US Department of Agriculture). In Douglas County, where Lawrence is, the rate is 16.6 percent.

In fact, of the 20 counties with poverty rates above 16 percent, 18 of them are in the Diocese of Kansas.

“Living in poverty” means a person makes no more than the federal poverty level, which for 2013 is $11,490 for a single person or $23,550 for a family of four. At the state minimum wage of $7.25 an hour, someone working 40 hours a week for 52 weeks would earn $15,080.

ESS’s Wise says that people who are poor often lack access to food that is both affordable and healthy. And as food prices go up and food stamp benefits go down, she said, that nutritional imbalance will only increase.

ECS’s Hornbeck said solving the food needs of poor Kansans is a complex problem needing long-term solutions, but as Melanie Seybold, a volunteer at Trinity’s food pantry, said recently as she bagged up items for those coming to in, “Everyone deserves to eat.” v

What you can do to help Donate money. Pantries often can purchase more food with the same amount of money than you can.

Donate food. It all adds up, but ask your pantry what they need most.

Donate time. Volunteer at your pantry or kitchen. There are lots of jobs to do. Find out where they need help.

Be a Gardener for Hunger.

Plant rows in your home garden to provide vegetables for a pantry.

Start a church garden to supply food to a pantry or kitchen.

Glean. Join the gleaning teams at Episcopal Community Services to harvest fresh produce directly from fields, which can go to a pantry of your choice.

Shelves at the St. Paul’s, Kansas City, pantry were nearly empty after a recent increase in people seeking help.

Contact:

Photo by Ross Warnell

At the food pantry at St. Paul’s, Kansas City, a volunteer (right) stands ready with boxes of food while other volunteers help a “neighbor” select food for his shopping cart.

Trinity Interfaith Food Pantry, 1011 Vermont St., Lawrence, KS 66044, (785) 843-6166 St. Paul’s Food Pantry, 1300 North 18th St, Kansas City, KS 66102, (913) 321-3535 St. Clare’s Food Pantry, 118 South Main St., Spring Hill, KS 66083, (913) 967-9885 Episcopal Community Services,11 E. 40th, Kansas City, MO 64111, (816) 561-8920 Episcopal Social Services, 1005 East 2nd St. North, Wichita, KS 67214, (316) 269-4160

6 • The Harvest • September/October 2013

Convention: Elections, ministry and awards mark event (Continued from page 1) To become again what it was meant to be, he said the church must empower all the baptized to follow Christ to where he went when he was on earth, “to be among the world, especially the poor, sick, marginalized, imprisoned and oppressed.”

In his second address, Bishop Sauls expanded on his description of Christians as people who are with the poor. He said John 12:8 — “You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me” — often is interpreted as an “excuse to do nothing about the plight of the poor.” It really means the opposite, he said.

Referring to work done by author and social activist Jim Wallis, Bishop Sauls said Jesus was saying something different.

“It went without saying that his followers would always be in proximity to the poor.

He was not saying, ‘You will always have the poor so don’t worry about them.’ He was saying, ‘You will always be in proximity to the poor precisely because you are my disciples.’”

He said, “Maybe Jesus is saying, ‘Start being with the poor. Start being the poor,’ because it is in poor people that we meet Jesus himself.”

Larry Bingham was recognized for his service as a deputy at seven General Conventions. He did not stand for reelection this year.

Election results Photos by Melodie Woerman

During the convention Eucharist at Grace Cathedral, Topeka, Bishop Dean Wolfe (right) offers a blessing to Karin Feltman, a member of St. Margaret’s, Lawrence, who will leave in January to become a full-time missionary in Nepal.

Convention also

Business conducted

Delegates elected members of the Council of Trustees and people who will attend General Convention as deputies and alternates in 2015. (See a list of all election results, right.)

Convention also approved a proposed mission plan (budget) for 2014 of $1,744,447, which represents an increase of 8.61 percent over the current year. Much of that comes from line items to assist the ministries of St. Margaret’s, Lawrence, and St. Paul’s, Kansas City.

Throughout the event, which took place Oct. 25-26 at the Capitol Plaza Hotel and Convention Center in Topeka, those attending also heard reports on a variety of ministries taking place in the diocese — youth, campus ministry, the Bishop Kemper School for Ministry, Kansas to Kenya, the Episcopal Wichita Area Refugee Ministry, Bishop Seabury Academy, and Episcopal Relief and Development.

A missionary blessing

During the Convention Eucharist, Bishop Wolfe offered a special blessing to Karin Feltman, a member of St. Margaret’s, Lawrence, who leaves in January to become a full-time missionary in Nepal.

Feltman has been profiled in The Harvest in the past for her work in Haiti and Kenya, and her efforts to raise funds to serve in Nepal were described earlier this year.

Annual awards

At the convention banquet, annual awards were made recognizing people for

marked the 10th anniversary of Bishop Wolfe’s ordination and consecration as a bishop, with a special video retrospective and the presentation to Bishop and Mrs. Wolfe of an engraved silver serving tray.

His ordination and consecration took place on Nov. 8, 2003.

outstanding ministry in the past year.

The Archdeacons’ Cross award, presented to a deacon, went to Deacon Jesse Milan of St. Martin’s, Edwardsville. It is presented by the two archdeacons of the diocese, Monte Giddings and Charles Pearce. (More information about Milan is on page 9.)

The Canon’s Award, given to a priest, went to the Rev. Susan Sawyer, who recently retired as rector of St. Paul’s, Clay Center.

The Bishop’s Chair award, given to a lay person, went to Gary Chubb, who completed two terms on the Council of Trustees including service as president.

In addition, Larry Bingham, a member of St. Michael and All Angels, Mission, received the Bishop’s Cross Award in thanks for his service as a deputy to seven

Outgoing members of the Council of Trustees received the Bishop’s Cross Award for their years of service. They are (from left), Felix Adams, Southwest Convocation representative; Gary Chubb, Southeast Convocation representative; Joe Mitchell, Northwest Convocation representative; and Dick Coulter, at-large member. Dr. Linda Brown, Northwest Convocation representative, who was unable to attend, also was honored.

General Conventions. Bingham did not seek election this year.

Bishop’s Cross Awards also were given to those completing terms on the Council of Trustees: Joe Mitchell, Northwest Convocation; Gary Chubb, Southeast Convocation; Felix Adams, Southwest Convocation; and Dick Coulter, at-large member. Because of an illness in her family, Dr. Linda Brown, Northeast Convocation member, wasn’t able to attend.

The “Winds of Harmony,” a group that has provided music for various Episcopal churches in the Kansas City area, were recognized for their 30 years of music ministry.

Ten years of the episcopate

The convention took time during the awards banquet to mark the 10th anniversary of Bishop Wolfe’s ordination and consecration as a bishop in the Episcopal Church.

Canon Interim Meghan Froehlich created a retrospective video, featuring photos from the bishop’s activities, which was shown during the convention banquet.

Bishop Wolfe and his wife, Ellen, also were presented with an engraved silver serving tray to mark the occasion, and they enjoyed a special cake.

Bishop Wolfe was ordained and consecrated as bishop coadjutor of the Diocese of Kansas in a service Nov. 8, 2003, in Grace Cathedral in Topeka.

He served for two months under thenBishop William Smalley. Upon Bishop Smalley’s retirement, Bishop Wolfe became diocesan bishop on Jan. 1, 2004. v

Council of Trustees: Lay at-large: Larry Hannan, St. Luke’s, Wamego Clergy at-large: The Rev. Sharon Billman, St. John’s, Parsons Clergy at-large, 1-year unexpired term: The Rev. Laurie Lewis, Trinity, Arkansas City and Grace, Winfield Affirmation of representatives to the Council of Trustees from convocations: Lay, Northeast Convocation: Ray Wheeler, St. Aidan’s, Olathe Lay, Northwest Convocation: Frank Connizzo, St. Paul’s, Manhattan Lay, Southeast Convocation: Sue O’Connor, St. Timothy’s, Iola Lay, Southwest Convocation: Claudia Geer, Grace, Winfield Clergy, Southwest Convocation, 1-year unexpired term: The Rev. Christine Gilson, Trinity, El Dorado Lay General Convention deputies: Bob Skaggs, St. Michael and All Angels, Mission Michael Funston, St. Paul’s, Manhattan Mike Morrow, St. John’s, Wichita Ashley Petty, St. James’, Wichita Clergy General Convention deputies: The Rev. Dixie Junk, St. Paul’s, Kansas City The Rev. Laurie Lewis, Trinity, Arkansas City and Grace, Winfield The Rev. Patrick Funston, St. Paul’s, Manhattan The Rev. Gar Demo, St. Thomas the Apostle, Overland Park Lay General Convention alternates: Sydney Webb, St. David’s, Topeka Teresa Rogers, St. Stephen’s, Wichita JoAnne Chapman, St. Paul’s, Clay Center Jennifer Allen, St. Michael and All Angels, Mission Clergy General Convention alternates: The Rev. Andrew O’Connor, Good Shepherd, Wichita The Rev. Ben Varnum, St. Thomas the Apostle, Overland Park The Rev. Dawn Frankfurt, St. James’, Wichita The Rev. Matthew Cobb, St. Luke’s, Wamego

September/October 2013 • The Harvest • 7

Awards recognize outstanding 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 Gary Chubb, St. John’s, Parsons, who has been president of the Council of Trustees for the past two years and completed his service to the Council at this convention.. 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 Jesse Milan, St. Martin’s, Edwardsville, in recognition of his lifetime of work on behalf of equality, as well as his service to the parish since his ordination in 2006. The award is a silver cross on a chain.

The Canon’s Award: Presented by Canon Interim Meghan Froehlich to the Rev. Susan Sawyer, rector of St. Paul’s, Clay Center, for her 21 years of service to that parish. The award is an engraved plaque. v

Gary Chubb tests out the rocking chair he received as recipient of the

Photo by Melodie Woerman

Bishop’s Chair

Deacon Jesse Milan (left) receives the silver Archdeacons’ Cross from Archdeacon Monte Giddings

Award, given

by Bishop Dean Wolfe. The chair The Rev.

is engraved with

Susan

the seal of the

Sawyer

diocese.

displays the Canon’s

Photo by Melodie Woerman

Award.

Photo by Deacon Bob Hirst

Animals blessed in honor of St. Francis Day Congregations across the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas hosted “Blessing of the Animals” services in early October, in honor of the Oct. 4 feast day of St. Francis of Assisi, a 13th century friar who founded the Franciscans, and whose love of nature has made him a patron saint of animals. Here are a few images from those services.

A fish in a plastic bucket is ready for its blessing at Grace,Ottawa.

Above: A Cavalier King Charles spaniel waits its turn to be blessed by the Rev. Shawn Streepy (left) at St. Aidan’s, Olathe.

Josie, a camel, and Strawberry, an Indu Brazilian cow, are secured by their keeper before the animal blessing sponsored by St. John’s, Parsons. A local petting zoo brings some of its animals for a blessing every year.

Left: A boy holds his yellow kitten as the Rev. Sharon Billman offers her hand of blessing at the service hosted by St. John’s, Parsons.

8 • The Harvest • September/October 2013

Around the diocese St. John’s, Abilene hosted the city’s Community Thanksgiving Service on Sunday, Nov. 24. Afterward, everyone enjoyed a pie fest in the undercroft. The annual event is sponsored by the Abilene Area Ministerial Alliance.

Trinity, Arkansas City offered its annual taco salad supper fundraiser on Oct. 7. For those not able to get to the parish hall to enjoy a meal, take-out orders were provided.

Trinity, Atchison will have new altar linens, thanks to the more than $600 made during the rummage sale in September. Items that weren’t purchased were donated to the Sacred Heart Variety Store and More.

hosted a special parish dinner Oct. 27 to say thank you to Deacon Jesse Milan, who recently retired from active service.

Trinity, El Dorado in November again sponsored its annual food drive, complete with a “peanut butter parade.” Members were asked to provide a variety of food for the local Salvation Army food pantry, with a special emphasis on peanut butter.

St. Andrew’s, Emporia now offers a noon service on the first Tuesday of each month to remember the faithful departed.

St. Mark’s, Blue Rapids is planning for its annual lasagna dinner, with members asked to prepare food or volunteer to work.

Epiphany, Independence is preparing for its annual December craft fair and cookie market, along with the raffle of a quilt handcrafted by member Elsa Hester and quilted by Nell Kobelt. Proceeds will go to support people needing help at Christmas.

Grace, Chanute has begun a new program, “First Sundays at Grace,” that offers brunch from 8:30-9:30 a.m. once a month. The community is invited to attend, and outdoor signs share the message, along with an ad in the local newspaper..

St. Paul’s, Kansas City had a “Fun-day Sunday” Sept. 8, with Liturgy on the Lawn, followed by an afternoon of carnival games, music and food. Proceeds benefited the parish’s youth programs, as well as activities in the community.

St. Paul’s, Clay Center asked members to volunteer some time for a thorough cleaning of the church office Oct. 14, to prepare for the arrival the next day of their new priest in charge, the Rev. Lavonne Seifert.

St. Margaret’s, Lawrence collected food during November to benefit the Trinity Interfaith Food Pantry and the Lawrence Interdenominational Nutritional Kitchen. Members hoped to have enough canned and boxed goods to reach from floor to ceiling in the church.

St. Paul’s, Coffeyville sponsored its seventh annual “Coats for Kids” motorcycle run on Oct. 19, in conjunction with the local American Legion post. Last year’s event included 70 motorcycles and generated 164 coats and more than $800 in donations, with an emphasis on supplying area school children who might need a winter coat.

St. Martin’s, Edwardsville

Trinity, Lawrence hosted its annual Trinity Treasure and Ploughman’s Lunch Nov. 8. The meal and sale of hundreds of handmade items is a decades-old tradition for the downtown Lawrence church.

St. Paul’s, Leavenworth continues to support ministry in Haiti through a sale of Christmas orna-

Submitted photo

Participants at a Nov. 3 workshop at Grace Cathedral, Topeka, gather for a group photo after they spent time exploring the unique ministry of vergers. The event, sponsored by the cathedral and the diocesan Liturgy, Arts and Music Commission, was led by Cathedral Verger Kent Wingerson (far right).

“Got vergers?” workshop explores liturgical ministry A workshop entitled “Got vergers?” drew 11 current and potential vergers to Grace Cathedral, Topeka, on Nov. 3 for an event that was sponsored by the cathedral and the diocesan Liturgy, Arts and Music Commission.

Kent Wingerson, verger at the cathedral, led the sessions.

The event looked at the history of this ministry, the various responsibilities often involved, services in which vergers may have a role and other ministries that vergers coordinate. Participants also discussed processions and service duties, as well as resources for verger training, and verger vestments and hardware.

The Vergers Guild of the Episcopal Church, which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year, also provided materials for all the participants. v

ments from the Apparent Project, a program that teaches artisan skills to people in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The event was organized by parishioner Alison Black.

St. Paul’s, Manhattan offers members who like to sing but can’t commit to regular choir membership the chance to be part of the music ministry through the “Second Sunday Singers.” Once a month, the group sings familiar anthems that require just a few minutes of rehearsal.

St. Paul’s, Marysville received a “Friend of Education Award” given by the Marysville Education Association in recognition of the church’s involvement in providing BackSnacks to students who otherwise might go hungry on the weekends.

St. Michael’s, Mission in November collected items for SAFEHOME, a local shelter for women and children seeking to escape domestic violence, to provide Thanksgiving dinners. Parishioners were asked to provide food items or donate cash or grocery store gift cards to aid the effort.

Submitted photo

New sign welcomes worshippers

St. Jude’s, Wellington, has a new sign in front of its building. The previous one was destroyed in late June by high winds that swept through the area.

Deacon Kitty Shield, who leads the congregation, said they based the design on a sign installed recently at St. Stephen’s, Wichita.

“It turned out so much better than we could have possibly hoped for,” Shield said. v

through the BackSnack program operated by the Harvesters food bank. Parishioners fill backpacks with a weekend of food for children who are deemed “food insecure.”

Grace, Ottawa provided members a list of easy steps to help them feel more comfortable inviting people to join them in church, noting that surveys show most people begin attending church because of a personal invitation.

Nov. 10. The sell-out performance was part of the cathedral’s Great Spaces music and arts series.

St. David’s, Topeka youth hosted a Halloween party for parish youngsters on the Saturday before, complete with face painting, bobbing for apples, a piñata and candy.

St. Luke’s, Wamego hosted the community’s annual Thanksgiving Service on the Sunday before the national holiday.

St. Thomas, Overland Park is taking to the court this fall with an adult volleyball team. The group plays in a “fun” league that offered eight weeks of games during the fall.

Good Shepherd, Wichita men’s group provided a steak feed for fellow parishioners on Oct. 19, featuring delicious steaks for adults and hot dogs for the children.

St. John’s, Parsons member Jennifer Stone is participating in the Episcopal Service Corps, serving with the “Ark Fellows” program in Fayetteville, Ark. Episcopal Service Corps, for young adults age 21-32, is a one-year program for growth, prayer, reflection and discernment through service to the community.

St. James’, Wichita member Chris Robrahan now offers a weekly 30-minute radio program through the new Church Broadcasting Entity, a ministry of several Episcopal Churches in North Carolina and Texas that is based in Houston. Robrahan’s program deals with fitness and wellness.

St. Matthew’s, Newton continues its commitment to outreach by collecting food items for the Salvation Army’s local food bank, as well as school supplies to help outfit students who might otherwise go without.

St. Peter’s, Pittsburg made itself known to Pittsburg State students with a booth at the annual PSU Community Fair. They handed out more than 200 brochures and business cards and nearly 750 pens, each with details about the church.

St. Aidan’s, Olathe supports 275 local school children each week during the school year

Grace Cathedral, Topeka again hosted the world renowned Vienna Boys Choir in a concert

St. John’s, Wichita is discussing topics from the “Insights” series by contemporary write William Barclay during its Wednesday morning and evening study groups. The first study is “Money,” with “Love” and “Joy” to follow.

Grace, Winfield asked members to donate gently used winter coats for distribution through the parish’s Outreach Committee. v

September/October 2013 • The Harvest • 9

People

Deacon lauded for years of service to others

By Melodie Woerman Editor, The Harvest Deacon Jesse Milan has been a deacon, the ordained ministry devoted to servanthood, since 2006, but he spent years before that in service to his community. He recently retired from active ministry at St. Martin’s, Edwardsville.

Throughout his life Milan worked as a teacher in public schools and a professor at the university level, and served in two federal cabinet departments. He also was a lifelong advocate for civil rights.

He received a bachelor’s in physical education and a master’s in education from the University of Kansas, and later he earned an educational specialist degree at Emporia State. In 2001 he was awarded an honorary doctorate in education from Baker University.

Milan’s career in education began in 1954 as a physical education teacher in the Lawrence public schools, where he was the first African American teacher in integrated schools. After he retired, he taught education at Baker University in Baldwin City, where he twice served on the faculty.

He also worked for 17 years for the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Affairs and for the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare.

And long before he was ordained, Milan was actively involved in ministry in the diocese. While a member of the Church of the Ascension in Kansas City, he was a member of the Board of Directors of Turner House, a center to assist children and youth in the community (it since has closed).

He also represented the diocese on the Board of Trustees of the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, one of the official seminaries of the Episcopal Church.

His commitment to improving his community and the life of all citizens is evidenced by the long list of awards he received, some of which include: 1958, Young Man of the Year from the Kansas Junior Chamber of Commerce; 1996, Optimist of the Year, Northeast Kansas City Optimist Club; 1998, Bishop’s Vision Award from Kansas Bishop William Smalley; 2002, Inaugural class in the Alumni Honor Roll, Kansas City Public Schools; 2002, Appointment to the Brown Commission, to mark the 50th anniversary of the Brown v.

Board of Education Supreme Court decision; 2003, Pioneer of Fair Housing Award from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development

Deacon Jesse Milan

He also held statewide office with the Kansas District of Optimists International and the Kansas Conference of Branches of the NAACP. In 2001, he also completed 50 consecutive years of service as a volunteer at the Kansas Relays, continuing his love of athletics that began as a track athlete at Sumner High School.

Testimonials of influence

But perhaps one of Milan’s long-lasting legacies will be in the memories of the people of St. Martin’s, Edwardsville, where he and his wife, Alversa, were members for many years before he served as their deacon.

Bethie Hund Ransburg said, “When I think of St. Martin’s, I cannot think of a memory that doesn’t include Jesse. Over the years St. Martin’s has had times without a priest, but Jesse was always there to have Morning Prayer. He has touched so many lives at St. Martin’s, and I am blessed to be one of them.”

Chris Wood said one would never know of Milan’s many national awards when meeting him.

“Jesse simply wants to make things work, and people to work together,” she said. “He want things to work on the highest level they can, and he wants all people to weave together kindly and wonderfully in the name of God.” Toby Moody said that Milan came to his first grade school play, in which he played a caterpillar.

“Jesse celebrates life; no part is too minor. By finding such joy in his service, Jesse models Christian teaching to those around him in all his actions.” v

Priests celebrate milestone anniversaries Three priests with ties to the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas recently celebrated milestone anniversaries.

The Rev. Canon Sam Criss on Nov. 1 marked the 55th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood.

The Rev. Canon Criss has served Sam Criss as rector of Grace, Winfield, and St. Alban’s, Wichita; as chaplain at Wichita State University; as canon to the The Rev. Canon David Kent (left) and the Rev. David With ordinary; and as interim at St. Andrew’s, Derby, on Sept. 21. and St. James’, Wichita.

Kent served the diocese as canon to the ordinary, The Rev. Canon David Kent joined with the Rev. David With, his seminary classmate, to celebrate the and With was associate rector and rector of St. 50th anniversary of their ordination to the priesthood Michael and All Angels, Mission. v

Submitted photo

Gathered before the start of the Eucharist at the Oct. 5 meeting of the national Episcopal Church Women board are (from left) board member Louise Aloy of Hawaii; Deacon Nancy Crawford, national ECW board president; and the Rev. Christine Gilson, rector of Trinity, El Dorado, who was the celebrant.

National ECW board meets in Wichita The national Episcopal Church Women board met in Wichita on Oct. 5, with 15 women from around the United States and the Dominican Republic attending. Although most of their time was spent on ECW business, the board met with several ECW women from the Diocese of Kansas.

The Rev. Christine Gilson, rector of Trinity, El Dorado, was the celebrant for the Eucharist . Afterward, an informal discussion took place, focusing on what is happening for Episcopal women at both the national and Kansas level The women also enjoyed a program on “The Harvey Girls,” presented by Michaeline Chance-Reay, Ph.D., from Kansas State University. The program was sponsored by the Kansas Humanities Council.

One of the key items discussed by the national board during its business meeting was the United Thank Offering, which has been the center of attention and concern lately. After careful discussion the board prepared an official statement that was sent to all ECW leaders by national ECW board president Nancy Crawford. (Another statement about the United Thank Offering is on page 10.)

Board members also learned about a renovated ECW brochure that now is available, and that a revised “Women to Women” brochure is being developed. Brochures are provided free as a benefit of members. The website, www.ecwnational.org, also is a resource for Episcopal women.

Before each Triennial meeting of the ECW, a “unified gift” is selected, to which women cam make contributions. The board’s Social Justice Committee selected Girls Education & Mentoring Services (GEMS) as the recipient. GEMS is the only organization in New York State specifically designed to serve girls and young women who have experienced commercial sexual exploitation and domestic trafficking. Its goal is to end the commercial exploitation and trafficking of children. v

Clergy news The Rev. Foster Mays is the new rector of Epiphany, Sedan. He began his ministry there on Sept. 23. Mays is a spring graduate of the School of Theology of the University of the South, Sewanee,Tenn.

He is a former naval flight officer and banker.

Condolences go to the Rev. Jan Chubb, vicar of St. Timothy’s, Iola, on the Oct. 28 death of her mother, Trudy Lindemann. Mother Chubb’s father, the Rev. T.E. Lindemann, was a longtime priest in the Diocese of Kansas before his death. v

10 • The Harvest • September/October 2013

National and international news Anglican news briefs Episcopal News Service and Anglican Communion News Service  Sarah Macneil appointed first female diocesan bishop in Australia. Australian church history has been made with the election of the Rev. Sarah Macneil as the first female diocesan bishop of an Anglican diocese. She will serve as the 11th bishop of the Diocese of Grafton. Macneil is a former dean of Adelaide and archdeacon in the Diocese of Canberra-Goulburn. She is presently senior associate priest at Holy Covenant in Jamison, Australian Capital Territory. Her election comes almost 20 years to the day since the first ordination of a woman. Macneil will be consecrated and installed early next year.  Episcopalians, Old Catholics commit to deeper communion. Old Catholics and Episcopalians in Europe have agreed to enter into deeper communion, seeking new ways to collaborate, preparing a common structure and leading the way toward the ultimate goal of becoming one church in Europe. The Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe passed two resolutions during its Oct. 17-20 convention in Rome. One resolution commits the congregations of the convocation to seek to collaborate with their neighboring Old Catholic congregations by developing mutual ministries in worship, program and outreach, and by increasing knowledge and awareness of each other’s traditions. Another supports the bishop-in-charge of the convocation and the archbishop of Utrecht “in their joint efforts to foster and develop our common life in Christ.” The Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht is the Episcopal Church’s longest-standing full communion partner, dating back to the Bonn Agreement of 1931.  Texas congregation skips church to serve in the community. St. Stephen’s, Beaumont, Texas, left the pews on Sunday, Sept. 29, and took over the community, volunteering for nonprofit organizations for their first “Service Sunday.” More than 165 parishioners split up into nine teams, tackling projects that ranged from tending a community garden to visiting the elderly.

St. Stephen’s opened its doors for the regular 8 a.m. Eucharist on Sept. 29, but canceled the 10 a.m. service, encouraging everyone to take part in Service Sunday. Though many non-profit organizations are closed on Sundays, organizers worked with the local organizations to make an exception for St. Stephen’s. The event was organized by Deacon Pat Ritchie.  Christians in Qatar celebrate formal opening of Anglican center. The Christian community in the Islamic Middle Eastern state of Qatar celebrated a pivotal moment Sept. 21 with the official opening of the Anglican Centre, in a complex known locally as Church City in the country’s capital Doha. At the heart of the center is the Church of the Epiphany, which was consecrated one week later on Sept. 28. Managed by the Anglican Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf, the center today is used by about 60 Evangelical, Pentecostal and Protestant congregations. At full capacity it can accommodate up to 15,000 worshipers on Fridays alone, and many more during the weekdays.  Pennsylvania woman named to UN women’s meeting.

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori has named Lucille B. Pilling of Philadelphia as the Episcopal Church’s provincial delegate to the 58th Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women in New York City, March 10-21, 2014.

The primary theme of the session is “Challenges and achievements in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals for women and girls.” Pilling will be one of 20 provincial delegates who will join with those representing the provinces of the Anglican Communion.  New primate elected in Brazil. Bishop Francisco de Assis da Silva of the Diocese of Southwest Brazil was elected on Nov. 16 to serve as the next primate of the Episcopal Anglican Church of Brazil. Assis succeeds Bishop Maurício José Araújo de Andrade of Brasilia, who has served as primate since 2006. Assis was elected as bishop of the Diocese of Southwest Brazil in October 2010. Before that he served for four years as provincial secretary for the province, which includes nine dioceses and one mission district throughout Brazil. The new primate was installed on Nov. 17 at the Anglican Cathedral of the Redeemer in Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro. v

UTO grants in 2014 to focus on ‘the gospel of love’ Guidelines have been released for organizations seeking to apply for grants from the United Thank Offering (UTO).

The purpose of the UTO is to offer a way for all members of the Episcopal Church — men, women and children — to offer thanks for their blessings in the form of small contributions, which together form the funds for grants to support and strengthen the mission and ministry of the church throughout the world The focus for the 2014-2015 United Thank Offering grants is “The gospel of love proclaimed by Jesus Christ.”

For those considering applying for a grant, several items are important to consider: The United Thank Offering will accept: one grant application per diocese within The Episcopal Church; one additional application for a companion diocese grant from a diocese of The Episcopal Church may be submitted. This relationship may be formed with a diocese from The Episcopal Church or The Anglican Communion. The sponsoring diocese will be responsible for the accounting of the grant.

The United Thank Offering will not fund: project site/programs two consecutive years; capital campaigns or debt reductions; deferred maintenance (repairs or upgrades to the physical plant or facility must be tied to the specific ministry or project of the current application); operational budgets (meaning the proposed budget and program is the same as the year before); debts obligated or incurred before the date of the grant award; purchase of consumable items (e.g., food, medicine, paper goods, toiletries, fuel, etc.); scholarships, tuition, camp fees and attendance incentives; emergency response.

In Episcopal dioceses within the United States, the United Thank Offering will not fund: a vehicle with a 12 or 15 passenger chassis (due to stability and insurance matters);

previously funded requests; programs regarded to be diocesan operating budgets.

The form for applying for a 2014 UTO grant will be available Jan. 3; the submission deadline.is Feb. 28.

For more information about these guidelines contact the Rev. Heather Melton, United Thank Offering coordinator, by email at hmelton@ episcopalchurch.org.

Joint statement issued regarding the United Thank Offering

Following the Episcopal Church Executive Council meeting in Chicago in October, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and United Thank Offering President Barbara Schafer issued this joint statement: “The Episcopal Church is deeply grateful for the faithful witness of the United Thank Offering over nearly 125 years, and desires to see the recent challenges healed and resolved. To that end, the United Thank Offering leadership, the DFMS leadership, and the Executive Council are committed to clarifying individual and mutual responsibilities, working relationships, and opportunities for building up the effectiveness of God’s mission, of which the United Thank Offering is an important ministry.

“We are committed to the full flourishing of the ministry of the United Thank Offering, and have already begun to engage the work necessary to ensure that this ministry of thankfulness will bless the world for many years to come.

“The Executive Council has affirmed the United Thank Offering’s Grant Focus and Criteria for 2014, and together we have all begun to engage the work noted above. We ask your prayers of thankfulness for the ministry of the United Thank Offering, for the leadership and ministry of women which has been its foundation, and for the flourishing of this ministry for many years to come.

“We urge thankful Episcopalians to continue filling their Blue Boxes, gathering these offerings and praying for the healing of God’s broken world.”

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop and Primate, The Episcopal Church Barbara Schafer, President, United Thank Offering v

Saint Francis seeks help for kids Saint Francis Community Services, an Episcopal ministry dedicated to the well-being of children and families, offers two ways that congregations and individual parishioners can help some of the young people they serve.

Christmas for Kids

Many children experience Christmas under less-than-ideal circumstances, and for some, Saint Francis exists to help provide some basic needs.

But the agency — which provides care through child and family-based services — wants to go beyond just the basics and help children enjoy some of the merriness of the holiday.

Through their Christmas for Kids programs, gifts enable them to purchase toys, games, bikes, dolls and other items for children

in their programs. Donations of toys or money help a child know that someone cared enough to make their holiday season special.

Fostering in Faith

This program engages congregations in praying for the young people in Saint Francis’ adoption program. Every three months participating parishes receive a photo and brief biography of a child awaiting adoption. Then, people are asked simply to pray for that child.

The Rev. Ed Fellhauer, Saint Francis’ president, said, “As Christians we know the power of prayer, and that one of the most important and caring things we can do for the children in our lives is to pray for them. But we sadly realize that the children we serve often have no one to pray for them

but us.”

The program costs nothing but a desire to intercede in prayer on behalf of a child.

More information about the Christmas for Kids and Fostering in Faith programs, as well as other services the agency provides, is on its website, www.st-francis.org.

Saint Francis Community Services, headquartered in Salina, was founded in 1945 by Father Bob Mize, when opened his first boy’s home in Ellsworth, Kan. Today it provides a range of services in Kansas, including foster care, adoption services, drug and alcohol services, outpatient behavioral health services, and community-based support services.

It serves more than 8,000 children and families in Kansas. v

September/October 2013 • The Harvest • 11

Ecumenical assembly explored justice and peace issues Bishop Dean Wolfe led delegation from The Episcopal Church to South Korea meeting The 10th Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) met in Busan, Republic of Korea, Oct. 30 to Nov. 8, and acting to inspire churches to renew their commitments to justice and peace.

The Assembly, the highest governing body of the WCC which meets every seven years, gathered some 3,000 participants -- including 125 Anglicans – from around the world with the theme, “God of life, lead us to justice and peace.”

The delegation from The Episcopal Church was led by Bishop Dean Wolfe of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas. He was joined by the Rev. Consuela Sanchez, provincial coordinator for the Episcopal Diocese of Honduras; and Jasmine Bostock, from the Episcopal Diocese of Hawaii, chair of the Executive Council Committee on Indigenous Ministry.

Other participants from The Episcopal Church were the Rev. Margaret Rose, ecumenical and interreligious officer; Sarah Eagle Heart, missioner for indigenous ministries; Emma Lee Schauf, Rachel Cosca and Carrie Diaz Littauer, as young adult volunteers in the stewards program; and Carlin Van Schaik, a Young Adult Service Corps volunteer working with the Towards Peace in Korea program based in Seoul.

Momentum developed

WCC general secretary, the Rev. Dr. Olav Fykse Tveit, said, “This assembly has provided a significant momentum for the ecumenical movement.”

WCC body elects historymaking leader

Photo by Matthew Davies/ENS

Members of the Episcopal Church’s official delegation to the WCC Assembly read over a document during one of the plenary sessions. They are (from left) the Rev. Margaret Rose, the Rev. Consuela Sanchez, Bishop Dean Wolfe and Jasmine Bostock.

Bishop Dean Wolfe distributes communion to a worshipper at St. Monica’s Anglican Church in Gangnam, South Korea, where he also preached. He attended the service while in the Republic of Korea for the World Council of Churches Assembly.

Photo by Archbishop Philip Freier, Diocese of Melbourne, Australia

Tveit said that being in the Republic of Korea brought churches closer to the realities of an unresolved conflict.

He said that through the Assembly, churches were able to express solidarity with Korean people South and North, strengthening the WCC’s efforts for peace and reunification on the Korean peninsula.

Tveit stressed the importance of addressing the issues of migrants. “We see refugees trying to

enter Europe for a variety of reasons — climate change as well as political reasons,” he said. “This is a situation that must now be addressed at an international level.”

He also said that ecumenical partners need to be involved in more than just social and political issues.

“The WCC has an important role of being part of the wider ecumenical reflection on the definition and initiatives for mission and evangelism,” he said. “We

carry a legacy of important discussions about mission, but we also represent a richness of traditions and churches’ practices of mission in their daily lives.”

Tveit also identified “just peace” as an important component in the strategic direction for the work of the WCC. The Assembly took action by adopting statements on issues including peace and reunification of the Korean peninsula, politicization of religion and the rights of religious minorities, human rights of stateless people, and working towards just peace.

The delegates expressed concern on Christian presence and witness in the Middle East and the situation in the Democratic Republic of Congo, among other issues raised.

The Assembly elected a 150-person central committee, which will serves as the decisionmaking body of the WCC until the next assembly.

A prayer service giving thanks and sending participants in peace closed the Assembly. Father Michael Lapsley of the Society of the Sacred Mission, who preached the

Architects unveil plans for Haiti cathedral Episcopal News Service The architects of a dramatic new cathedral for Haiti unveiled their design Oct. 15 for the Episcopal Church’s Executive Council.

The new Port-au-Prince cathedral is to be built on the same site as the previous Holy Trinity Cathedral that was destroyed in the 2010 earthquake.

Episcopal Diocese of Haiti Bishop Jean Zaché Duracin said that, once completed, Holy Trinity Cathedral “will be the iconic symbol of the Episcopal Church in Haiti.”

Bishop Duracin reiterated the importance to his diocese of rebuilding the cathedral.

He said the diocese was “faced with the enormity of rebuilding most of its churches, schools and other structures throughout the earthquake-ravaged region” and decided to concentrate its initial efforts on rebuilding Holy Trinity Cathedral “as a prominent landmark of God’s abiding presence with the Haitian people and the church’s commitment to serve them.”

It would seat more than 1,200 people, which is more than double its previous size, and include an entry/narthex with a bell tower incorporating the bells that survived the quake; a round, flexible worship space; and a hospitality and administration area. Worshippers would sit in a circular fashion around and above a central altar platform, with the new altar positioned in the exact location of the altar of the previous cathedral.

One of three proposed chapels would house the three surviving cathedral murals from among the 14 world-famous ones that adorned the walls of the previous cathedral depicting biblical stories and religious scenes in Haitian motifs. The

Kerns Group Architects offered this artists rendering of the exterior of the new Holy Trinity Cathedral to be built in Port-auPrince, Haiti, to members of the Episcopal Church’s Executive Council in October.

ground-breaking paintings, completed in 1950-51, were crafted by some of the best-known Haitian painters of the 20th century.

The new cathedral is designed to U.S. earthquake- and hurricane-resistance standards, and will be capable of generating its own electricity, providing its own purified water and supplying its own telecommunications. The intent is for it to be self-sufficient in the event of a future emergency and to serve as a safe haven to those in need of help. v

At the conclusion of the World Council of Churches 10th Assembly in Busan, Republic of Korea, The body’s 150-member committee made history N o v. 8 b y Dr. Agnes electing Dr. Abuom Agnes Abuom of Nairobi, from the Anglican Church of Kenya, as the moderator of the highest WCC governing body.

Abuom, who was elected unanimously to the position, is the first woman and the first African in the position in the WCC’s 65year history.

The Assembly has also appointed eight presidents to represent the WCC in their respective regions.

Bishop Mark MacDonald, who serves the Anglican Church of Canada as its first National Indigenous Anglican Bishop, is the president for North America.

He previously served as Bishop of Alaska in The Episcopal Church.

— World Council of Churches v

homily at the closing service, said, “I pray that all of us will leave here inspired by God’s Holy Spirit to be Christ’s co-workers in the struggles for justice and peace.”

Compiled from reports by the World Council of Churches and Matthew Davies of Episcopal News Service. v

Diocese sends $68,000 to ERD for storm victims Thanks to generous contributions from members of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas to help victims of major storms in the United States, a check for more than $68,000 was sent to Episcopal Relief and Development earlier this year.

More than $48,000 of that was in response to the tornadoes that ripped through Moore, Okla. in May, with another $20,000 sent after Superstorm Sandy hit the East Coast late last year.

In both cases, Bishop Dean Wolfe asked that special collections be taken in every congregations to help those hit hard by these natural disasters.

Episcopal Relief and Development maintains a Disaster Relief Fund, from which it allocates money to hard-hit areas through the local bishop’s office, which distributes aid as needed. Money from Kansans was earmarked for that fund.

Robert Radtke, president of ERD, expressed his gratitude to Bishop Wolfe for the extraordinary generosity of people in this diocese.

Episcopal Relief and Development is an international relief and development agency and a compassionate response to human suffering on behalf of The Episcopal Church. v

12 • The Harvest • September/October 2013

Reflections on faith and life

Sharing the Good News

Helping the homeless means sometimes looking upstream By the Rev. Rob Baldwin Note: This is an excerpt of an answer to a “brown bag” sermon question posed to the Rev. Rob Baldwin in mid-October.

individually, and you have the comfort of knowing that it is going to a good cause.

Changing the system, upstream

December 2013

January 2014

7 ADVENTure youth event, St. Andrew’s, Emporia (through Dec. 8)

5 Bishop Wolfe at Epiphany, Sedan

Workshop on church communications, sponsored by the Congregational Development Committee, Grace Cathedral

10 Fresh Start, Upton Hall 14 Bishop Kemper School for Ministry classes, Grace Cathedral and Upton Hall (through Dec. 15) 15 Bishop Wolfe at Epiphany, Independence and Ascension, Neodesha 17 Council of Trustees meeting, Upton Hall 24 Diocesan office closed for Christmas break and New Year’s holiday (through Jan. 1)

Celebration of New Ministry for the Rev. Foster Mays 11 Bishop Kemper School for Ministry classes, Grace Cathedral and Upton Hall (through Jan. 12) 14 Fresh Start, Upton Hall 18 Miqra Bible-reading youth event, Grace Cathedral and St. David’s in Topeka (through Jan. 29) 19 Bishop Wolfe at St. Thomas’, Holton 28 Council of Trustees meeting, Upton Hall

For more news and information, as well as calendar listings, visit the diocesan website:

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But here’s something you didn’t mention that I think you should. In addition to individuals in need and organizations that respond to people in need, Q: As a Christian, what is the best way to give we don’t think about organizations that actively to the homeless? Do you give money to the homeseek to change the system. Let me use a parable less knowing he/she will misuse the money on here to explain what I mean (one that was told me things like alcohol, or do you say no to the hometo by a friend). less but only donate to the charities that care for Imagine you are camping by the side of a river. the homeless?

While you are roasting marshmallows one afternoon, you notice a baby floating down the river.

A: This is a great question, and one I think we Obviously, as a moral human being, you would all wrestle with practically every time we walk wade out into the river and rescue it. Then, after down the street. I think first of all, it is a little unyou’ve settled down to your fair to assume that the homeless campfire, you notice another person will inevitably misuse child, and again you rescue it. the money that is given to them.

But at some point we Then it happens again and again I am not so naïve as to believe need to think about and again, and you find yourthat some, but not all, homeself constantly going into the less people will be compelled how we change the river to fetch out these drifting by their addiction to spend the infants. money not on food or clothing way our society has At some point, I think that a shelter, but on something that put these people, person of conscience and intelwe hope they wouldn’t. ligence would say, “You know, Let’s answer this question often suffering from I think I ought to go upstream in parts. First, there is nothing and find out who is a throwing wrong with giving money to addiction or mental all these children into the river, a person in need. You have it, illness or just bad and put a stop to it.” they need it, and it is an immeFood pantries and soup diate way to address their need. fortune, out on the kitchens represent organized How they choose to spend ways in which we rescue our the money is their choice, not street to suffer. metaphorical babies out of the yours, and you shouldn’t feel river. But at some point we need responsible or guilty about that. to think about how we change Let your conscience guide the way our society has put these people, often sufyou in this. Sometimes as human beings we need fering from addiction or mental illness or just bad to respond to someone in need as a fellow human fortune, out on the street to suffer. being.

It degrades all of us to have this situation exist.

Second, you can and should consider, as a way So if you are genuinely concerned about how to of living into your discipleship, giving to an orgabest use your money or time, give to organizations nization that, pooling the donations of many, can making their way upstream. do something for a large number of individuals.

The Rev. Rob Baldwin is rector of Trinity, LawSome provide regular meals, or a place to sleep. rence. This first appeared in the parish’s e-newsletter They can do more with your gift for a greater of Oct. 31. Reprinted by permission. v number of people than your money can do

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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.