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An edition of episcopal news monthly
Vol. 1 No. 5
THE NEWSPAPER OF THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF NORTH CAROLINA
June 2010
The Disciple To Become a Quarterly Magazine – And More Changes to Come The Right Reverend Michael B. Curry, Bishop of North Carolina We know that, for us as Christians, communication carries theological weight – it’s the essence of who we are and what we are called to do as baptized disciples and followers of The Rt. Rev. the Lord Jesus Christ. Michael B. Curry John’s Gospel describes the One we follow as our Lord as the Word of God who became human. The Word became flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). We are people of the One who is Word. Communication is at the heart of who we are. That understanding lies at the core of something new for the diocese: Beginning this fall, our monthly newspaper, The Disciple, will be transformed into a quarterly
magazine. We’re not doing this for financial reasons, though it will save money. We’re not doing this primarily for environmental reasons, though it will conserve resources and better reflect our stewardship of God’s creation. We’re doing this, above all, to tell our stories to each other and to others beyond us more creatively, thoughtfully and effectively. This change is just one part of a larger communications strategy for us as the Episcopal Church in our portion of North Carolina. Here is a brief overview of the communications, new and current, from the diocese: Please Note – A weekly e-newsletter from the bishop that brings you a brief video message, announcements and news from around the diocese. We send this by email every Wednesday afternoon. You can subscribe now by going to www.episdionc. org and clicking the “Join Our Mailing List” button on the top right side of the page.
use in their bulletins and A new diocesan webnewsletters. site, www.episdionc.org And this is just the begin– By early summer an ning! I’m not ready to tweet, attractive, user-friendly, nor do I really think anyone constantly updated diocwould want to read my tweets. esan website will conBut as James Russell Lowell nect you to the wider wrote in his great 19th Century Episcopal and Anglican world. We’ll soon share hymn, Once to every man and stories of parish events nation, “New occasions teach and special occasions. new duties.” Communication The Disciple: The is the heart of who we are Magazine of the Episas Jesus’ followers – and, copal Diocese of North once in a while, communiCarolina – This quarcating effectively requires Representative sample of what the terly magazine will feanew approaches, be it twitter, magazine may look like. ture color photographs, facebook, LinkedIn, blogthoughtful and reflective articles, interviews ging, and that’s probably just the beginning and more. of what will be available to us in the future. Around the Diocese – We’ll provide conIn a conversation with Sarah Herr, our gregations with a pdf insert once a month communications coordinator, I realized containing information and news they can something about the Continued on page D-7
Welcoming People of All Abilities
Bishop Creates New Committee on Accessibility Sarah Herr Communications Coordinator At a recent church service Bishop Curry watched as a parishioner read scripture from the Bible – an ordinary occurrence during a Sunday service to be sure - but after a brief moment he noticed how the woman’s hands moved deftly across the Bible, realizing then that the woman was blind. Not long before that service Bishop Curry met with Herb Horton, a native of North Carolina who had spent the majority of his career in New York working professionally and personally as an advocate for people with disabilities and for humanity in general. Horton wanted to share some of the resources and positive changes he had helped institute while serving on the Episcopal Diocese of New York’s Committee on Accessibility. “I have been always dedicated to helping people gain accessibility,” says Horton. “In the Diocese of New York we were able to make many positive changes while I served on the committee, which was from 1989 to 2005. Some of the changes were physical, such as building ramps at churches, but others were providing resources, education, and helping to change attitudes that people
“ If there are barriers of attitude, communication, or architecture for ANYONE the foundation of the House of God is weakened for ALL.” – That All May Worship, by Ginny Thornburgh & Ann Rose Davie may have about people with disabilities.” Since their initial meeting, Bishop Curry has created a Committee on Accessibility within the diocese and has appointed the Rev. Meg Buerkel Hunn the commit-
tee chair. “At some point in our lives, most all of us will become disabled – either due to age or injury. In addition, many of us are close to or know a person who is disabled. This issue is important to all people,” said Rev. Buerkel Hunn, who notes that when discussing accessibility and disability people often think of ramps. “Accessibility for the disabled is more than just wheelchair ramps, which are important, but disabilities can mean other things. There are learning, hearing, developmental and sight disabilities.” The committee is in the process of identifying ways it can provide resources, education, and connections within the diocese. In doing so, they have created a short survey (on page 6) that they are asking congregations to fill out and return to them to help identify where the diocese as a whole is on the topic of accessibility for people of all abilities. An electronic version of this survey is also available on the homepage of the diocesan website, www. edpisdionc.org, and was sent out in Please Note, the weekly e-newsletter from the Bishop. “Jesus calls the church to be a House of Prayer for all people, including those people on the margins of society. And often times people living with disabilities are living along those margins. It is our job to welcome them home,” Survey continued on page D-6 says Rev. Buerkel Hunn.