Winter 2015

Winter 2015 | The Episcopal Diocese of Kansas

5 | Priest retires as Guard State Chaplain 6 | Presiding Bishop Curry begins his ministry 8 | Refugees find a new life in Kansas 12 | Churches host Our Lady of Guadalupe services

From the Bishop | The Right Reverend Dean E. Wolfe

Poke some holes in the world’s darkness Dear friends,

It isn’t just the short winter days that have made our world seem especially dark this year. We have recently lived through episodes of terrorism at home and abroad, and we have witnessed a backlash toward Muslims and refugees from Syria.

We continue to experience episode after episode of gun violence that can make us fearful of large groups or enclosed spaces.

All these events have invited a great deal of political posturing in our nation. Every political leader wants to do something, and no one wants to feel vulnerable or helpless.

Unfortunately, it is easy to take the wrong road in responding to moments of crisis.

We remember the shame we experienced when we did not accept Jewish refugees fleeing Europe and the shame of treating JapaneseAmerican citizens as if they were our enemies during World War II. In those moments we allowed our fears to supersede our highest values.

I pray we will avoid making similar misjudgments now.

What does it mean to be a Christian in times like these? It means clinging to the values of Christ.

It means being an advocate for people who otherwise have no voice.

It means being called to transform violence into peace, and evil into good. It means we are to be as wise as serpent and innocent as doves.

It means that fear can never have the final word with us, for perfect love casts out fear.

It means we are to put flesh onto our prayers and work for justice, peace and the eradication of violence, so far as it is in our power to do so, through the grace of God. After the attacks in Paris, ISIS issued a statement of responsibility, which meant that they were taking credit for these heinous actions. But what does it really mean to take responsibility, to be answerable to God and to one’s fellow human beings, for something, to be truly responsible for one’s conduct?

What would it really mean to take responsibility for the shattered lives of parents and family members who have lost young people of promise to this scourge of violence? And what would it actually mean to take full responsibility for savage and coldblooded conduct that degrades human behavior to its lowest forms?

Perhaps you have heard the old story about a young boy who watched out his window as a lamplighter went about his work of lighting gas lamps along the street.

As each lamp sprung to light, his father asked him, “Do you know what that man is doing?” And the boy replied, “Yes. He’s poking holes in the dark.”

During this season when we celebrate the coming Jesus Christ among us as the Light of the World, I urge you to find ways to poke your own holes in the darkness round about us.

Grace and Peace,

In This Issue

2 4 5 6 8 11 12 14

WINTER 2015 | Vol. 103 | no. 2

Around the diocese

A publication of The Episcopal Diocese of Kansas 835 Polk St., Topeka, KS 66612-1688 (785) 235-9255 (800) 473-3563 www.episcopal-ks.org

Campus Missioner steps down

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

The Most Rev. and Rt. Hon. Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury

Churches are reaching out to their neighbors in a variety of ways, including collecting canned food and serving a community Thanksgiving dinner.

The Rev. Stephanie Jenkins, the diocese’s Campus Missioner, is stepping down at the end of the year to spend more time with her young children.

Priest retires as head of Guard chaplains The Rev. David Jenkins, Covenant, Junction City, retired after 26 years of service to the Kansas Army National Guard, four of them as State Chaplain.

Presiding Bishop Curry is installed

In a Nov. 1 service at Washington National Cathedral, Michael Curry was installed as the Episcopal Church’s 27th Presiding Bishop and Primate.

The Episcopal Church is a community of 2 million members in 109 dioceses in 16 countries in the Americas and abroad.

The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry, Presiding Bishop The Episcopal Diocese of Kansas is a community of more than 10,000 members in 44 congregations, three diocesan institutions and one school in eastern Kansas.

The Rt. Rev. Dean E. Wolfe, Bishop

When Jolie fled unrelenting violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, she never dreamed she and her children would find a new life in Wichita.

The Harvest is published four times a year by the Office of Communications of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas.

Member, Episcopal Communicators and Episcopal News Service

Kansan will be delegate to U.N. body

Publisher The Right Reverend Dean E. Wolfe, Bishop

Providing a safe home for refugees

Jennifer Allen, St. Michael and All Angels, Mission, will be one of the Episcopal Church delegates next March to a U.N. women’s commission.

Our Lady of Guadalupe services

Spanish-speaking congregations in Wichita and Kansas City marked the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe with special services, and festive meals.

Diocesan Convention wrap-up

The 156th Annual Convention of the diocese had a special emphasis on anti-racism training, as well as education for delegates and business sessions.

ON THE COVER: Verger Ed Adams of Grace Cathedral, Topeka, offers some last-minute instructions to acolytes before the start of the Eucharist at the 156th Annual Diocesan Convention on Oct. 23. | Photo by Deacon Bob Hirst

Editor Melodie Woerman For submissions, please contact the editor: mwoerman@episcopal-ks.org Need to change your mailing address?

Harvest Address Changes 835 Polk St., Topeka, KS 66612-1688 receptionist@episcopal-ks.org Upcoming deadlines: Spring 2016 issue: Feb. 15 Summer 2016 issue: May 15 Postmaster: Send address changes to Episcopal Diocese of Kansas 835 Polk St., Topeka, KS 66612-1688

The Harvest | Winter 2015 | 1

Around the Diocese

News and notes from congregations St. John’s, Abilene in December collected gloves, mittens, hats and toys through a local “Toys for Tots” effort.

St. Mark’s, Blue Rapids saw an overflow crowd of 104 people at its service Oct. 18 when four people were baptized and nine were confirmed.

St. Paul’s, Clay Center again worked with Harvesters food bank to bring healthy-eating education to the community, through four “Kids in the Kitchen” classes and a program on cooking with diabetes.

St. Paul’s, Coffeyville helped others in recent months by collecting change for the Miles of Pennies program of Church Periodical Club, child and adult diapers for the Diaper Ministry, and household goods donated from the parish Thrift Shop to families in need.

St. Andrew’s, Derby youth handed out tissues and lots of socks that had been donated by church members to people who participated at the Sandwich Saturday meal at St. John’s in Wichita on Nov. 14.

St. Martin’s, Edwardsville children and youth offered “A Christmas Journey,” a special Christmasthemed Sunday school play written by church member Laurie Fisher.

Production funds came from a Kids Serve Dinner after church on Oct. 25.

Trinity, El Dorado collected 275 jars of peanut butter for its annual Peanut Butter Parade, which with other donated food items, totaled

2 | The Harvest | Winter 2015

1,600 pounds. The local Salvation Army estimated that amount will help 100 families.

St. Andrew’s, Emporia had a game night Oct. 17 with a doublemeaning twist — board and other games topped off an evening of food featuring a variety of wild game, including duck, goose, venison and fish.

St. Mary’s, Galena marked All Saints Day with members of the Sunday School making clay medallions with symbols of saints to be used as ornaments.

Epiphany, Independence asked for donations of homemade cookies for its annual December Craft Fair and Cookie Market. Any left over after the sale would find their way into

A tower of food for those in need Young members of St. Margaret’s, Lawrence, create a towering stack of cans and boxes of food from the church’s annual Pantry Power collection in October.

Donated items were distributed to the Trinity Interfaith Food Pantry and the Lawrence Interdenominational Nutrition Kitchen.

This was the fourth year for St. Margaret’s food drive, and it netted the largest amount donated to date.

PHOTO BY PATRICK MANNING

boxes handed out to shut-ins during a Christmas caroling party.

Covenant, Junction City celebrated the dedication of their recently refurbished stained glass windows Nov. 8. A number of church members contributed to the overall project cost of $54,000, to preserve and restore the historic windows.

St. Paul’s, Kansas City participated in a neighborhood Labor Day Parade and Hispanic Festival by staffing a booth with church information and handing out candy along the parade route.

St. Margaret’s, Lawrence engaged in a variety of cottage meetings during November to look at where the parish has come in the past six years in the areas of ministry, facilities, community and outreach.

Trinity, Lawrence has reduced the number of pages in its Sunday bulletin, without reducing liturgical content, in order to use less paper each week. Bulletins also are posted on the parish website ahead of time for those who want to download it to their mobile device.

St. Paul’s, Leavenworth takes up a special collection designated for outreach on the second Sunday of every month. In November it went to the free community meal the parish serves monthly.

St. Paul’s, Manhattan senior warden David Littrell retired after 27 years of service to young people in the community through three special string orchestras he has organized and led. His final concert with the Gold Orchestra was Nov. 19.

St. Paul’s, Marysville raised more than $500 by selling hundreds of slices of pie during a September

PHOTO BY COLLEEN WILLIAMSON/PARSONS SUN

Parsons church hosts Thanksgiving dinner Residents of Belmont Towers, Labette Community College students and youngsters at the Youth Crisis Center line up to enjoy a generous Thanksgiving meal served at St. John’s, Parsons.

The meal was organized by Verlyn Bolinger Jr. and his mother, Anna Bolinger, and prepared with the assistance of church members. It included four turkeys and two hams, plus a table filled with side dishes and desserts.

The Bolingers took over the meal from Candy Scarborough, who had been in charge for several years. event that tied in with a citywide garage sale and the US 36 Highway Treasure Hunt.

St. Michael’s, Mission youth group did a “Trick or Treat So Others Can Eat” food drive in late October, to help restock the shelves of the food pantry at St. Paul’s, Kansas City.

The parish as a whole was invited to add other needed items.

St. Matthew’s, Newton netted a profit of $718 by selling tacos in a church booth, and along Main Street, during the annual “Taste of Newton” event Oct. 8. Proceeds went to camp scholarships for parish youth.

St. Aidan’s, Olathe said a special

“thank you” to teachers at Briarwood Elementary, the church’s school partner, by sending over dozens of homemade treats (cookies, cake, snack mix, etc.) on Nov. 16.

Grace, Ottawa donated a large American flag (9-feet-by-5-feet in size) to the Ottawa Fire Department to display on the ladder truck the department uses during community appearances.

St. Thomas’, Overland Park again is hosting fall meetings of “Walking the Mourner’s Path” groups to help those who have lost loved ones in the past year. The eight-week groups Continued on page 4

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Around the Diocese Continued from page 3 offer a structured, confidential place to talk about their loved ones and their grief.

St. John’s, Parsons not only offered a Blessing of the Animals for pets brought to the church on Oct. 4, but also gave special blessings for those at the local animal shelter and at a dog park.

Epiphany, Sedan has begun a new ministry centered at the chapel at St. Matthew’s, Cedar Vale, called Matthew’s Table. The weekly service will be an outreach to those who don’t usually attend church and will focus on scripture, healing and reconciliation.

St. Luke’s, Shawnee adult education program, known as CAFÉ (Christian Adult Formation and Education), offered classes this fall on the history of Anglicanism, Islam and Christian fellowship.

Grace Cathedral, Topeka has put on display six stained glass windows depicting saints that had survived the catastrophic 1975 fire that destroyed the church. Windows of Matthew, James, Mark, Philip, Thomas and Peter now hang above the staircase in the new Common Room.

St. David’s, Topeka member Daniel Mangiaracino, 15, has been accepted to the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy, a fine-arts boarding school in northwestern lower Michigan. Daniel has attended camp there the past four years.

St. Luke’s, Wamego members helped with two citywide projects through the Council of Churches: the Thanksgiving dinner (providing desserts) and hosting the annual Christmas Bureau that pairs people in need with those who can help them at Christmas.

St. Bartholomew’s, Wichita asked parishioners to collect items

for “bags of blessings” to help people in need in the new year. Bags contain a variety of small, personal care items.

St. James’, Wichita hosted a “Final Affairs Fair” in September to provide useful information to members about end-of-life matters, including making living wills, organ donation, funeral planning, the grieving process and estate planning.

St. John’s, Wichita won the CROP Walk traveling trophy — a quilt — for 2015 by raising more money than any other group to help fight hunger locally and globally. Until next year’s walk, the parish will have the quilt on display.

St. Stephen’s, Wichita asked members to support the Church Periodical Club by dropping pennies in a jar in the Parish Hall. CPC supplies free books, magazines, videos and computer programs to people who otherwise cannot obtain them.

Campus missioner to step down on Dec. 31 THE REV.

Stephanie Jenkins, the diocese’s campus missioner since September 2013, will be leaving her position at the end of December to spend more time with her young children: Henry, who is three-and-ahalf years old, and Cora, who is 15 months old.

She said she and her family will continue to live in Lawrence, and she will remain canonically resident and active in the diocese.

In making the announcement, Bishop Dean Wolfe said, “Mother Jenkins has done a superb job of maintaining our innovative campus 4 | The Harvest | Winter 2015

ministry program at a high level.

“She has supported not only the students and interns who parThe Rev. ticipate on our Stephanie Jenkins campuses but also the churches that are involved in these ministries.”

Bishop Wolfe said that for the remainder of this school year, the programs and peer ministers at the Canterbury Houses at the University of Kansas and Kansas State Univer-

sity will continue to be overseen by diocesan staff and the two campus interns on those campuses, as well as by members of the Bishop’s Committees at both houses.

Programs and peer ministers on other campuses will receive assistance, as needed, from the diocese’s Campus Ministry Council.

Bishop Wolfe said the diocese has already begun a process to clarify the future direction of the program and the responsibilities of this position.

“We seek to recruit candidates of the highest level to maintain and evolve this program,” he said.

Around the Diocese

Junction City priest retires as Guard chaplain

By Melodie Woerman

THE

REV.

DAVID

Jenkins, priest in charge of the Church of the Covenant in Junction City, retired on Nov. 7 after 26 years of service to the Kansas Army National Guard.

Jenkins, who holds the rank of colonel, spent nearly four years as State Chaplain, a role that placed him in charge of all Kansas National Guard chaplains, including the Guard’s first woman chaplain.

At his retirement he passed the State Chaplain stole to his successor, the Rev. Peter Jaramillo, a Roman Catholic priest from Kansas City.

During the retirement ceremony, Kansas Adjutant General Lee Tafanelli presented Jenkins with the Legion of Merit award, given for exceptionally meritorious conduct.

Tafanelli praised Jenkins’ work in recruiting new people to serve as chaplains in the Guard, saying “You can’t find chaplains on every corner.”

He also noted that Jenkins’ years of service included overseas deployments in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Iraq and Kosovo.

He noted that chaplains in the National Guard “attend to the spiritual needs of soldiers and airmen, counseling and marriage enrichment.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg.”

Jenkins said of his time serving in the Kansas National Guard, “I believe God called me to be an Army chaplain.” But he said he knew it was time to retire “when you begin to look more like Yoda than the Army recruitment poster.”

PHOTO BY MELODIE WOERMAN

The Rev. David Jenkins (right) receives his certificate of retirement from Kansas Adjutant General Lee Tafanelli during a service Nov. 7 marking Jenkins’ retirement from the Kansas Army National Guard.

He said that being a chaplain is about service to troops and their families, and that the corps of chaplains exists as a team that “supports one another, covers one another, learns from one another and helps one another.”

He added, “The strength of our chaplaincy is the strength of the team we build.”

He said his years in the Army would not have been possible without the support of his wife,

MaryAnna, and his two children.

Jenkins was ordained an Episcopal priest in 2013 after 20 years as a pastor in the Disciples of Christ.

Jenkins was the third Episcopal priest in a row to serve as National Guard State Chaplain, following the Rev. Don Davidson, who had served St. David’s, Topeka, and St. Thomas’, Overland Park; and the Rev. Gregg Riley from Grace, Hutchinson, in the Diocese of Western Kansas.

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THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry is installed at Washington National Cathedral

By Mary Frances Schjonberg Episcopal News Service

THE EPISCOPAL Church

made history as it welcomed the Rt. Rev. Michael Curry, its first person of color, as presiding bishop and primate during a service on Nov. 1.

“God has not given up on God’s world,” Presiding Bishop Curry told the congregation and the thousands of people watching the service’s live webcast. “And God is not finished with The Episcopal Church yet. God has work for us to do.”

Bishop Curry had officially become the 27th presiding bishop and The Episcopal Church’s chief pastor and primate at midnight.

During the three-hour service, he was seated in Washington National Cathedral, which has been the presiding bishop’s seat since 1941.

Outgoing Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori then gave him the primatial staff that she had carried for the past nine years and warmly embraced him as the congregation applauded loudly.

Music for the service ranged from Anglican chant to drumming and singing by the Cedarville Band of Piscataway Indians of Maryland, who led the 155 bishops of The Episcopal Church into the service.

The Cedarville Band also played before the Gospel was read in Dakota by the Rev. Brandon Mauai, a deacon from North Dakota and member of the Executive Council. Jamey Graves and Sandra Montes soloed on “Wade

6 | The Harvest | Winter 2015

PHOTO BY MARY FRANCES SCHJONBERG/EPISCOPAL NEWS SERVICE

Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry preaches during the service Nov. 1 at Washington National Cathedral in which he was installed as the Episcopal Church’s 27th presiding bishop and primate. in the Water” after participants had renewed their baptismal covenant and Bishop Curry, Bishop Jefferts Schori and others asperged the congregation. By the time they reached the altar, the congregation was on its feet singing along.

The St. Thomas Gospel Choir from the African Episcopal Church of St. Thomas in Philadelphia had the congregation clapping and swaying.

And when the Cathedral Choir of Men and Girls sang an arrangement of “The Battle Hymn of the Republic” as the offertory anthem, congre-

gation members stood and joined in the final chorus, many of them with tears in their eyes.

Special prayers were said during the service by representatives of the Anglican Communion, and ecumenical and interreligious communities, including the Most Rev. Fred Hiltz, primate of the Anglican Church of Canada; Mohamed Elsanousi, Islamic Society of North America; Rabbi Steve Gutow, Jewish Council for Public Affairs; and the Rev. Elizabeth Miller, president of the Provincial Elders’ Conference of the Moravian Church.

In his sermon the presiding bishop continued his call for the church and its members to join the Jesus Movement, tracing the evidence of the movement through biblical and societal history. “What was true in the first century and true in the 19th century is equally and more profound in this new 21st century,” he said.

“At home and in the church, do unto others as you would have them do to you. That will turn things upside down,” Bishop Curry said. “In the boardrooms of the corporate world, in the classrooms of the academic world, in the factories, on the streets, in the halls of legislatures

and councils of government, in the courts of the land, in the councils of the nations, wherever human beings are, do unto others as you would have them do unto you.”

The new presiding bishop returned again and again in his sermon to evangelism and reconciliation, especially racial reconciliation, calling it “some of the most difficult work possible.”

“But don’t worry,” he said. “We can do it. The Holy Spirit has done this work before in The Episcopal Church. And it can be done again for a new day.”

He called for an evangelism that is “genuine and authentic to us as Epis-

copalians, not a way that imitates or judges anyone else” and that is “about helping others find their way to a relationship with God without our trying to control the outcome.”

Such evangelism, he said, ought to involve both sharing the faith that is in us and listening to and learning from others’ experiences.

Curry said that racial reconciliation is “just the beginning for the hard and holy work of real reconciliation that realizes justice across all the borders and boundaries that divide the human family of God.” Full coverage of Presiding Bishop Curry’s installation is online at http:// tinyurl.com/pe4z3ne.

PHOTO BY DONOVAN MARKS, © WASHINGTON NATIONAL CATHEDRAL

Bishop Dean Wolfe (far left) joins hands with Presiding Bishop Michael Curry as those standing at the altar sing the Lord’s Prayer. Bishop Wolfe is one of two Vice Presidents of the House of Bishops. To the right of Bishop Curry is retired Bishop Barbara Harris, the first woman bishop in the Anglican Communion.

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DIOCESAN MINISTRIES

Wichita refugee ministry offers a new life in Kansas for those fleeing persecution Editor’s note: For issues of security and privacy, only Jolie’s first name is being used.

Jolie speaks to Diocesan Convention about fleeing the violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo and becoming a refugee. She and her children now live in Wichita trough the efforts of Episcopal Migration Ministries–Wichita.

By Melodie Woerman

AS JOLIE HID in the bush outside her village in the Democratic Republic of Congo, knowing the bullets she was hearing were killing people nearby, she could not imagine that a 10-year journey would lead her to a new life in Kansas.

When their first-ever plane ride brought her and her two teenaged children to Wichita in December 2014, Jolie knew she had found a home that offered her family peace and opportunity.

The three of them are among the 223 refugees who, since 2011, have started new lives in Kansas through the efforts of Episcopal Migration Ministries–Wichita (previously the Episcopal Wichita Area Refugee Ministry). The agency now is an official affiliate of the Episcopal Church’s Episcopal Migration Ministries.

Jolie and her family were classified as refugees, not migrants or immigrants, because they fled their home country and cannot return because of the ongoing presence of violence and persecution.

Their effort to find a new, secure home involved both the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, as well as for the U.S. State Department and ultimately EMM and their Wichita office.

8 | The Harvest | Winter 2015

PHOTO BY DEACON BOB HIRST

Years of warfare and running

The trouble started in her home province of North Kivu in 1994, when rebels began attacking the region, Jolie said. “We hid in the bush because it wasn’t secure in our houses.”

It was the start of a decade of nearly constant attacks in eastern DRC, resulting in the rise and fall of militia groups and rebels, and the total collapse of any kind of working government.

These insurgent attacks grew stronger over time, and by 1998 she and other villagers spent two months running. “At night, anything could happen,” she said. “You could hear bullets and knew people were being killed.”

Fighting continued to escalate,

resulting in a nine-country Great African War from 1998 to 2003 that killed more than 5 million people across eastern Africa.

But rebel insurgencies never stopped, and in 2006, village men who served as security reported that their homes were a target. “They said to survive, we better leave and never come back to this place,” she said.

Jolie and her children fled, waiting until night to make their escape to Uganda, about 10 miles away.

After walking for two days they ended up in a refugee camp run by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. While life was hard — you had to till your own oneacre plot of land to help feed yourself — they did have access to some medical care and supplemental food.

After three months she received permission to move to Kampala, the Ugandan capital. A friend she’d made in the camp had gone there to work, “and she said I was hard working and had a sharp mind, and I would do better in the city.”

She spent a month separated from her children, but when they joined her she had begun working in her friend’s homegrown business selling jewelry and used clothing.

It was a struggle, since she didn’t know English — in the DRC they spoke French — and she had only a ninth-grade education. It took months to save enough money to enroll her children in school.

After five years she knew she needed to get a better job, so she enrolled in a six-month course to learn English. When finished she could speak it fairly well and could read an entire book. “The teachers were very happy for me,” she said.

She then enrolled in a course in hotel management, where she became a model employee, first setting up rooms for meetings and eventually worked as a waitress in the restaurant. “I made a lot of money, and we began to eat well at home,” she said, noting that she finally could afford to buy a kilo — 2.2 pounds — of meat each week.

Heading to America

In early 2012 she learned she’d been selected by the UNHCR for resettlement, a process that eventually took nearly three years and involved multiple interviews and rigorous screenings, a process that only a portion of all applicants can pass.

In late 2013 she received a letter from the United States, her first word on where her new home would be. After more interviews, medical exams, immunizations and cultural

Originally printed by the Diocese of Southern Ohio in 1938, this poster raised support for refugees fleeing strife-torn Europe and marked the beginning of the Episcopal Church’s national refugee ministry.

orientations for her and her children, they were approved.

Jolie said that when they called her with their final destination — Wichita — she was surprised, since she had never heard of Kansas. “In my country we knew about Washington, D.C., New York City, California and Florida, but we had never heard of Kansas.”

When her children came home from school, they located their new home on a map, and kissed the area labeled KS. After arriving on Dec. 9, 2014, Jolie quickly found a job at a local hotel, where she is “loved by her boss and coworkers,” according to Marla Schmidt, field office manager of EMM–Wichita.

EMM–WICHITA

BY THE NUMBERS 223 Total number of refugees resettled since the agency opened in 2011 114 From Burma (Myanmar) in Southeast Asia 97 From the Democratic Republic of Congo, in Central Africa 12 From Eritrea, in Eastern Africa

Her son, 16, and daughter, 14, are thriving in a local high school, and they recently moved to a new Continued on page 10

The Harvest | Winter 2015 | 9

Continued from page 9 apartment. The family is in the process of purchasing a home through Habitat for Humanity, and Jolie said she hopes one day to have her own business.”

Jolie said she looks forward to becoming an American citizen. “I do think about this every day,” she said.

“I’m waiting for that day with much pleasure.”

Schmidt said Jolie works to raise up the needs and strengths of refugees, and she is an advocate for their successful integration. “She is a cheerleader for newly arriving refugees gaining early self-sufficiency and independence,” Schmidt said.

Jolie and her children were among 5,000 Congolese refugees who were resettled in the U.S. in 2014. Of those, 420 came through the efforts of Episcopal Migration Ministries.

Schmidt said that she has learned that the Wichita agency will begin to receive more refugees from Africa than from other countries, because of the number who are fleeing for their lives in places like DCR and Eritrea.

Wendy Johnson of Episcopal Migration Ministries says that refugees from those areas are a high priority not only for the Episcopal Church’s agency but also for the federal government. The U.S. expects to bring in 25,000 people from Africa through refugee programs in 2016, she said.

The Episcopal Church has provided services to refugees since the late 1800s and has been a vocal advocate on behalf of refugees since World War II, when Episcopal parishes and dioceses spoke out on behalf of Jewish refugees and others displaced by Nazi aggression.

Resettlement assistance began informally before and after WWII, and 10 | The Harvest | Winter 2015

This chart shows the process refugees from sub-Saharan Africa — like Jolie and her children —go through to be approved for resettlement in the United States. They can be rejected at any step of the process. the church has formally assisted refugees since the passage of the Refugee Act in 1980.

Since 1988, EMM and its network of affiliate partners have aided and welcomed more than 50,000 refugees in partnership with dioceses, churches, community institutions and volunteers.

Bishop urges refugee support

Bishop Dean Wolfe, in a statement issued in response to concerns about the safety of bringing refugees to this country, said, “In this diocese, we are deeply engaged in resettling people given asylum by the United States, and we will continue to be an advocate for those who have no voice.”

In reflecting on the lack of compassion for some refugees fleeing violence during World War II, he said, “In those moments we allowed our worst fears to supersede our highest values. Let us avoid making a similar misjudgment in this moment.”

How to help Episcopal Migration Ministries– Wichita offers these suggestions for how you can be of help to refugees: Reach out in love to welcome refugees in your community Donate gently used household items (furniture, kitchen equipment, bathroom supplies) Donate warm coats and clothing Volunteer to help a refugee practice their English, or assist them in becoming familiar with American customs Learn more through the EMM Toolkit online (http://tinyurl.com/ z4urx2k) Contact EMM–Wichita for more ideas: (316) 977-9276

He added, “May the Lord continue to bless refugees everywhere, and particularly those escaping horrific violence.”

PEOPLE OF THE DIOCESE

Kansan will be delegate to U.N. commission Episcopal Church on the meetings’ themes but also will share their own experiences and those of their reJENNIFER ALLEN, a spective communities. member of St. Michael and All AnAllen said through her mission gels, Mission, has been selected as trips to Africa with the Kansas to one of 20 people to represent the Kenya ministry, she has become inEpiscopal Church as a delegate to the volved with conferences for women United Nations Commission on the there.

Status of Women.

She said, “I am particularly inDelegates will meet in the Comterested in the educational needs of mission’s 60th session March 14-24, women globally to help communi2016, at the United Nations headties empower women to eliminate quarters in New York City. gender-based violence. Mission Representatives will come from work without community education 45 of the U.N.’s 193 member states, Jennifer Allen isn’t; sustainable and can, in fact, some entities of the U.N., and accredited non-governmental organizations. The Episco- damage the community that we are trying to assist.”

The Commission on the Status of Women is the prinpal Church delegation falls in to this latter category.

Allen said, “I am looking forward to the opportu- cipal global intergovernmental body exclusively dedicatnity to work with people from around the church and ed to the promotion of gender equality and the empowthe world to gain broader insights and new initiatives in erment of women. It was created by a U.N. resolution in achieving the important goals” of the Sustainable Devel- 1946.

It is instrumental in promoting women’s rights, docopment Goals, successors to the Millennium Developumenting the reality of women’s lives throughout the ment Goals.

Allen is one of 16 women representing 15 dioceses world, and shaping global standards on gender equality that make up the church’s delegation, along with four and the empowerment of women.

For 2016, the priority theme is women’s empowermembers of the Episcopal Church Center staff. A womment and the link to sustainable development. Delegates an from Oklahoma also was appointed to serve as the Episcopal Church’s representative to the delegation rep- will continue to review the theme of the elimination and prevention of all forms of violence against women and resenting women of the Anglican Communion.

Delegates not only will represent the positions of the girls.

By Melodie Woerman

Clergy news The Rev. David Kent was named vicar of St. Timothy’s, Iola, beginning Nov. 1. He previously served as canon to the ordinary under Bishop William Smalley.

The Rev. Jon Hullinger was named the new priest in charge of Trinity, Atchison, beginning Nov. 1.

He most recently had been assisting at St. James’, Wichita.

The Rev. Kay Dagg has been named locum tenens at St. Andrew’s, Emporia, to serve during their search for a reactor.

The Rev. Chris Arnold, priest in charge at St. Andrew’s, Emporia, since 2013, accepted a call to become rector of Trinity Church in Oshkosh, Wis. His last day at St. Andrew’s was Nov. 22.

The Rev. Frank Holtz, who was vicar of St. John’s, Abilene, from 1996 to 2006, died Dec. 17 after a brief illness during a visit to Houston. He was 75.

Deacon Carolyn Graham, who had served at Trinity, Lawrence, from her ordination in 1993 until she retired in 2008, died Oct. 14 in Fayette, Mo. She was 80.

The Harvest | Winter 2015 | 11

Two congregations have special services for the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe

By Melodie Woerman

ON DEC. 12, THE FEAST DAY

PHOTO BY DICK KLEIN

An icon of the Virgin of Guadalupe is surrounded by flowers at St. Paul’s/San Pablo, Kansas City.

of Our Lady of Guadalupe, two Latino congregations in the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas celebrated special services to honor a vision of the Virgin Mary that holds great importance for people from Mexico and Latin America.

At St. John’s (San Juan) Church in Wichita, the celebration included the Matachines de Santa Margarita dance troupe, which features young people from across Wichita who perform special dances mixing Christianity with the indigenous culture of Mexico.

The dancers performed in the church parking lot for 40 minutes before the service, including time spent

PHOTO BY TOM POTT

The Matachines de Santa Margarita dance troupe offers special dances mixing Christianity with the indigenous culture of Mexico outside St. John’s/San Juan, Wichita, before their service honoring Our Lady of Guadalupe.

12 | The Harvest | Winter 2015

Seven children from St. Paul’s/ San Pablo, Kansas City, prepare for a special First Communion recognition during the Dec. 12 Virgin of Guadalupe service.

PHOTO BY DICK KLEIN

reverencing an icon of the Virgin of Guadalupe to show respect to Mary.

Mike McFerren, who is one of the leaders of the church’s weekly Spanish-language Eucharist, said the celebration drew 45 people, more than double their usual attendance.

“There were many new faces,” he said, noting that some Latino families who are members of other area Episcopal churches also attended.

The Rev. Eli Montes, who has led the Spanish-language service since it started in August, was assisted by the church’s rector, the Rev. Earl Mahan, and musician Brother Guadalupe.

McFerren said this special service, like the weekly Spanish service, developed because the parish “wants to reach out to a group of people not being served by the church.”

New icon in Kansas City

At St. Paul’s (San Pablo) Church in Kansas City, the service drew more than double the usual congregation of 31 at its weekly Spanish-language Eucharist. Besides the reenactment of the story of the appearance of Mary to Juan Diego in the Mexican village of Guadalupe in 1521, the

service also included the baptism of two young girls, as well as a “first communion” ceremony for seven girls and boys.

The Rev. Don Compier, who leads the congregation, said most of those children already have been receiving communion regularly, so this ceremony was more a reflection of a common Latino custom designed to help strengthen the faith of young members.

During the service he blessed the candles, rosaries and book of prayers the children carried, and then offered a special blessing for them, all of whom were dressed in special white dresses or suits. When it came time for communion, the children went first, with their godparents and parents standing with them.

Members of the Latino community also had created a special side altar that featured a new icon of Our Lady of Guadalupe, a replica of the one in Mexico City.

It was blessed during the service, and worshippers then came forward to place flowers near the image, often pausing for a moment of silent prayer, Compier said.

Importance to the culture

Compier said that for most Christians, Christmas and Easter are the high points of the church year.

But Latino Christians add the Feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe on Dec. 12 because of the important place it holds in the culture, especially for those from Mexico, where a Mexican peasant reported seeing the vision of Mary in the guise of a local girl.

McFerren said, “Our Lady of Guadalupe is ingrained in the culture. It is very important to Latino identity.”

McFerren said that adding an icon of Our Lady of Guadalupe to the imagery in a church also sends an important and powerful message to Latinos and others alike.

“We say that ‘all are welcome’ in our church, but people only see a fair-skinned, blonde Jesus. To see an image of Our Lady of Guadalupe — an image with dark hair and eyes, and dark skin — tells people of color, “They do mean it when they say on their sign, ‘All are welcome.’ ”

The Harvest | Winter 2015 | 13

DIOCESAN CONVENTION

Convention highlights anti-racism training

By Melodie Woerman

THE 156TH ANNUAL

Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas included the usual agenda items of elections and workshops but also had a special addition this year — an emphasis on anti-racism training.

The Rev. William Kondrath, a consultant in the field of anti-racism and multiculturalism, offered a fivepart series of workshops that was attended by nearly 100 people.

The workshops, along with the business of convention, took place at the Capitol Plaza Hotel and Conference Center in Topeka as convention met Oct. 22-24.

In a letter to clergy before the convention, Bishop Dean Wolfe reiterated that anti-racism training is required by the Episcopal Church for all lay leaders and clergy, and these workshops would relaunch the diocese’s commitment to offer training for a wide group of leaders.

Bishop Wolfe said by 2018 he wants the mandated training to be taken by all priests and deacons, all members of the diocesan Council of Trustees, all members of the diocesan staff, all Vestry members, all senior and junior wardens, all church employees, and all those in the ordination process.

The training series at convention was organized by the Rev. Don Compier, dean of the Bishop Kemper School for Ministry, and the Rev. Stephanie Jenkins, campus missioner, in conjunction with Kondrath.

Compier said that Kondrath was

14 | The Harvest | Winter 2015

PHOTO BY DEACON BOB HIRST

The Rev. William Kondrath led a five-part anti-racism training for clergy and lay leaders that took place in conjunction with Diocesan Convention. Nearly 100 people took the training, which is mandated for all lay and clergy leaders in Episcopal churches. “one of the best people in the church” to offer this workshop series, noting that the primary purpose was to help participants become aware of many sorts of differences that exist among people and to examine their own experiences in that light.

He said that the workshops focused on understanding, nurturing and valuing differences, as well as the particular role race plays in our society.

One of the sessions that made up the training was the annual Tocher Lecture, designed to bring speakers to the diocese to explore a variety of theological subjects. The lecture took place at St. David’s and was preceded by a dinner to raise funds to help young people attend diocesan summer MegaCamp.

Actions of the convention

During the business session of the convention, the following people were elected: Council of Trustees at-large members, for a three-year term: Stephan Mann, St. Luke’s, Shawnee; and the Rev. Patrick Funston, St. Paul’s, Manhattan.

Disciplinary Board members, for a three-year term: Philip Davidson, St. John’s, Wichita; the Rev. Dawn Frankfurt, St. James’, Wichita; the Very Rev. Steve Lipscomb, Grace Cathedral, Topeka; the Rev. Jerry Rankin, St. John’s, Abilene; Rogene Schille, St. Paul’s, Coffeyville; Bob Skaggs, St. Michael and All Angels, Mission; and the Rev. Shawn Streepy, St. Aidan’s, Olathe.

Canon to the Ordinary the Rev. Torey Lightcap (left) gestures to the Canon’s Award plaque he hands to the Rev. Gerald Eytcheson, Epiphany, Independence and Ascension, Neodesha, for outstanding ministry by a priest.

PHOTOS BY DEACON BOB HIRST

Sue O’Connor, St. Timothy’s,Iola, enjoys the rocking chair given to her by Bishop Dean Wolfe as this year’s recipient of the Bishops’ Chair Award, given at each Convention for outstanding ministry by a lay person.

Members of convention also heard a presentation on the proposed 2016 mission plan (budget) of $1,830,293, an increase of $21,495 over the current year. The proposed mission plan was adopted.

A variety of afternoon workshops were offered, including updates on actions of General Convention; innovative ministries taking place in the diocese; the ordination process; lifelong learning; the evangelism opportunities of baptisms, weddings and funerals; and communication and social media.

Deacon Rita Tracy (center) speaks after she and her husband Deacon Dick Tracy (right), Trinity, Lawrence, received a silver cross on a chain as recipients of this year’s Archdeacons Cross Award, for outstanding ministry by a deacon.

Archdeacon Charles Pearce (left) and Archdeacon Monte Giddings (not pictured) handed out the awards.

Those attending convention also heard reports from a number of ministries within the diocese.

They included Episcopal Community Services of Kansas City, Episcopal Social Services of Wichita, youth ministry, campus ministry, Bishop Seabury Academy in Lawrence, ministry in Haiti and in Kenya, Bishop Kemper School for Ministry, and Episcopal Wichita Area Refugee Ministry (now known as Episcopal Migration Ministry–Wichita).

During the banquet on Friday evening, the annual awards given

for outstanding ministry were presented.

The Archdeacons Cross Award (to a deacon) went to the husbandand-wife team of Deacon Dick and Deacon Rita Tracy of Trinity, Lawrence.

The Canon’s Award (to a priest) was given to the Rev. Gerald Eytcheson, Epiphany, Independence and Ascension, Neodesha.

The Bishop’s Chair Award (to a lay person) was made to Sue O’Connor, St. Timothy’s, Iola. (Photos of award winners are above.)

The Harvest | Winter 2015 | 15

Global Goals seek to build on the MDGs From the United Nations Development Programme

AT THE UNITED

Nations Sustainable Development Summit on Sept. 25, world leaders adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which includes a set of 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and tackle climate change by 2030.

The Sustainable Development Goals, otherwise known as the Global Goals, build on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight anti-poverty targets that the world committed to achieving by 2015.

The MDGs, adopted in 2000, aimed at an array of issues that included slashing poverty, hunger, disease, gender inequality, and access to water and sanitation.

Enormous progress has been 16 | The Harvest | Winter 2015

The Sustainable Development Goals (the Global Goals), build on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), eight anti-poverty targets that the world committed to achieving by 2015. The Global Goals seek to end poverty, fight inequality and injustice, and tackle climate change by 2030. made on the MDGs, showing the value of a unifying agenda underpinned by goals and targets. Despite this success, the indignity of poverty has not been ended for all.

The new SDGs, and the broader sustainability agenda, go much further than the MDGs, addressing the root causes of poverty and the universal need for development that works for all people.

The concept of the SDGs was born at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, Rio+20, in 2012.

The objective was to produce a

set of universally applicable goals that balances the three dimensions of sustainable development: environmental, social and economic.

This new development agenda applies to all countries, promotes peaceful and inclusive societies, creates better jobs and tackles current environmental challenges, particularly climate change.

UNDP Administrator Helen Clark said, “World leaders have an unprecedented opportunity this year to shift the world onto a path of inclusive, sustainable and resilient development.�

SHARING THE GOOD NEWS | The MOST Reverend MICHAEL B. CURRY

A Word to the Church GOD CAME AMONG

us in the person of Jesus of Nazareth to show us the Way. He came to show us the Way to life, the Way to love. He came to show us the Way beyond what often can be the nightmares of our own devisings and into the dream of God’s intending.

That’s why, when Jesus called his first followers he did it with the simple words “Follow me.”

“Follow me,” he said, “and I will make you fish for people.”

Follow me, and love will show you how to become more than you ever dreamed you could be. Follow me, and I will help you change the world from the nightmare it often is into the dream that God intends.

Jesus came and started a movement, and we are the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement.

Near the end of Matthew’s Gospel story of the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead, Mary Magdalene and some of the women go to the tomb to anoint his body. When they get there they find that the tomb is empty, the stone has been rolled away and there is no body there.

Then they see and hear an angel who says to them, “This Jesus of Nazareth whom you seek, he is not here, he has been raised as he said he would be and he has now gone ahead of you to Galilee. There you will see him. It is in Galilee that the Risen Lord will be found and seen for he has gone ahead of us.”

Galilee. Which is a way of talking about the world.

Galilee. In the streets of the city.

Galilee. In our rural communities.

Galilee. In our hospitals.

Galilee. In our office places.

Galilee. Where God’s children live and dwell there.

In Galilee you will meet the living Christ, for He has already gone ahead of you.

A few years ago I was in a coffee shop in Raleigh, North Carolina, just a few blocks away from our Diocesan House there. While in line I started a conversation with a gentleman who turned out to be a Mennonite pastor.

He had been sent to Raleigh to organize a church in the community on the streets without walls.

As we were talking over our coffee, he said something to me that I have not forgotten. He said the Mennonite community asked him to do this because they believed that in this environment in which we live, the church can no longer wait for its congregation to come to it, the church must go where the congregation is.

Now is our time to go. To go into the world to share the good news of God and Jesus Christ.

To go into the world and help to be agents and instruments of God’s reconciliation.

We are the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement.

To go into the world, let the world know that there is a God who loves us, a God who will not let us go, and that that love can set us all free.

This is the Jesus Movement, and we are The Episcopal Church, the Episcopal branch of Jesus’ movement in this world.

God bless you, and keep the faith.

(This is the text of a video released

by Presiding Bishop Curry the day after his installation as presiding bishop and primate.)

PHOTO BY MARY FRANCES SCHJONBERG/EPISCOPAL NEWS SERVICE

The Episcopal Diocese of Kansas 835 S.W. Polk Street Topeka, KS 66612-1688 CHANGE SERVICE REQUESTED