Spring 2012
M E S S AG E F R O M O U R PRESIDENT
Historic Canterbury is site for 2012 A N N UA L G E N E R A L M E E T I N G By Norris Battin
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DEAR FRIENDS, As I write, we have just completed our board of directors meetings held at the offices of The Episcopal Church in New York City. We stayed at the Desmond Tutu Center on the historic grounds of General Theological Seminary. The meetings were very productive culminating in a reception for potential members. While there, many of us visited and prayed in the beautiful chapel dedicated to the Good Shepherd. During our meetings we received two requests for funds. Both speak to the core purposes of the Compass Rose Society, and the board and I invite you to support them. First, Canon Kenneth Kearon, Secretary General of the Anglican Communion has asked us to raise $50,000 to complete the funding of the redesign of the Anglican Communion website. When the Compass Rose Society was first launched out of the vision of Archbishop George Carey, enhanced communication throughout the Communion was our primary objective. His question, having returned from visiting the church in the war-torn Sudan was, “How can we tell the story of one Province of the Anglican Communion to the other Provinces?” In response, Anglican World magazine was published funded through the efforts of the Compass Rose Society. Today the Internet and social media are rapidly surpassing print media as the basic methods of mass communication and websites are already critical for organizations to communicate their Continued on page 7
he 2012 Annual General Meeting of the Compass Rose Society will be held October 5 and 6 in Canterbury, Kent, UK. The Reverend Canon Nicholas Wheeler will be our featured speaker. We first met Fr. Nick on our communion visit to Brazil in April 2011 where he was our guide to the City of God, a poor, urban neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro. Fr. Wheeler, a Portuguese speaker, worked as a priest in London before becoming Priest Missioner in the City of God in partnership with USPG Anglicans in World Mission. USPG Anglicans in World Mission is a major Anglican mission agency of the Anglican Communion. It is focused on sustaining relationships between churches and supporting their partners in growing the church’s capacity for mission, particularly through leadership development and health work. It’s in partnership with Anglican Churches in over 50 countries, funding programs in 12 provinces of Africa and Asia, and relating to many others including those in Latin America and the Caribbean. Fr. Wheeler’s mission and outreach experiences in the parish of Christ the King in The City of God will be an inspiring story for us to hear.
Father Nicholas Wheeler.
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AGM Program Highlights The program begins at 2 p.m. Friday, October 5th with the initial business session of the annual meeting. At 5 p.m. members meet with the archbishop for Questions and Answers followed by a reception in Old Palace at 6:30 p.m. and dinner hosted by Archbishop and Mrs. Williams at Canterbury Cathedral Lodge at 7:15 p.m. On Saturday, October 5th the business meeting reconvenes at 9:30 a.m. and concludes at 5 p.m. At 7 p.m. Dean Robert Willis will lead a candlelight service in the Cathedral followed by a tour. The online registration invitation email was sent to members on April 13, 2012. If you have not yet received your email invitation to the AGM, please contact Debbie Crossling Barker, (debbie@compassrosesociety.org / 905.607.1348), provide her with your most current email address and we will ensure you receive your invitation.
Attendees at the 2011 Annual General Meeting pose for a group photo at Lambeth Palace. This year’s photo will be taken in the Campanile Garden at Canterbury Cathedral.
ABOUT CANTERBURY You can find more information about Canterbury Cathedral here: www.canterbury-cathedral.org
Two of Canterbury’s many traditional pubs. The Old Buttermarket is just across from the cathedral gate.
Here’s a bit of background from the “Visit Canterbury” website www.canterbury.co.uk: “Canterbury’s skyline is dominated by the stunning Cathedral, the oldest in England. But the cathedral is only part of the story; the ancient ruins of St. Augustine’s Abbey and St. Martin’s Church form Canterbury’s UNESCO World Heritage Site while other ancient ruins such as the Castle are reminders of the city’s history, heritage and culture. Although Canterbury is a place steeped in tradition it is also a modern and vibrant city. Luxury hotels, fine restaurants serving food from across the globe, nightclubs and welcoming pubs combine to give a complete experience. For those who have a yearning for retail, Canterbury’s array of shop windows beckon with a kaleidoscope of colours, inviting you to sample what’s on offer. Many of the high street names are here as well as a delightful range of independent retailers. The King’s Mile has an atmosphere all of its own while the city’s St. Dunstan’s, West Gate Towers and Northgate areas have a range of specialist and individual outlets.” Norris Battin chairs the Compass Rose Society’s communications committee. Now retired, he was formerly a communications executive in the health care industry in the United States.
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COMPASS ROSE SOCIETY Board of Directors Meet at The Episcopal Church Headquarters and General Theological Seminary in New York City
WELCOME NEW MEMBERS Diocese of Olympia Seattle, WA, United States Dr. Jane Lee Ching Yee Shaukeiwan, Hong Kong
The Compass Rose Society held its spring 2012 board of directors meeting at The Episcopal Church headquarters in New York City during the fourth week of April. We greatly enjoyed the hospitality of Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefforts Schori and the diligent support of her staff. We are also grateful to the Rev. Lang Lowery, President of General Theological Seminary for the use of their facilities during our meeting. We enjoyed the verdant campus, the chapel of the Good Shepherd and the refectory where we held a reception to introduce New York Episcopalians to the Society. General Theological Seminary is the oldest seminary of The Episcopal Church – it was founded in 1817 – and is a leading center of theological education in the Anglican Communion. The seminary was chartered by an act of The Episcopal Church’s General Convention and its name was chosen to reflect its founder’s vision that it be a seminary to serve the whole Church.
Dr. Sheree H. Wen Seattle, WA, United States General Theological Seminary New York, NY, United States Huron University College, Faculty of Theology London, ON, Canada St. Mary’s Bonita Springs, FL, United States
Compass Rose Society Board of Directors: Mr. B. Norris Battin, Newport Beach, CA Mr. Robert Biehl, Houston, TX The Reverend Sarah Buxton-Smith, Buffalo, NY The Very Reverend Samuel G. Candler, Atlanta, GA The Reverend Canon Jan Naylor Cope, Washington, DC The Right Reverend George Councell, Trenton, NJ Mr. Joey Fan, Causeway Bay, Hong Kong The Most Reverend Terence Finlay, Toronto, ON Mr. Robert Foltz, Bonita Springs, FL Ms. Constance Fraser Gray, Winston Salem, NC The Reverend Canon Kenneth Kearon, London, UK The Reverend Rick Lord, Vienna, VA The Right Reverend Victoria Matthews, Christchurch,
General Theological Seminary is located in the Chelsea neighborhood of New York City
New Zealand
Located on the west side of Manhattan, GTS sits in the heart of Chelsea, a largely residential area that is known as a center of the New York art world, with over 200 galleries in the neighborhood. Chelsea Square on which the seminary sits, is at the center of the Chelsea Historic District, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The seminary is frequently noted for the beauty of the gardens on its campus which is characterized by a row of neo-Gothic buildings and tree-shaded lawns uncharacteristic of its urban setting. GTS is also home to the Desmond Tutu Center, a modern, full-service conference facility.
The Reverend Canon John Peterson, Hendersonville, NC
Mr. Marshal McReal, Seattle, WA The Right Reverend Philip Poole, Aurora, ON Ms. Janie Stevens, Houston, TX Ms. Della Wager Wells, Atlanta, GA Ms. Antonia Wong Tuen-Yee, Central, Hong Kong Ms. Beverley Paterson Wood, Aurora, ON
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The Secret of Good Communion Communications? COMMUNITY By Jan Butter
become a leading method of global communication. By making The 1948 Lambeth Conference was such a success that a anyone with access to the Internet able to publish, it challenges twice-yearly publication was established to help “maintain and how we understand communication across our global commustrengthen the bonds of affection between bishops of the Comnity. Church now exists in an age when major news outlets report munion.” When last year I stood in the archive room of Diocwhat’s tweeted and posted on Facebook by the general public; esan House in Hartford, Connecticut, holding a copy of the very when personal blogs rise to become major news outlets; when first Pan Anglican—Review of the Worldwide Episcopal Church political revolutions foment online; when what is said in one magazine I reflected, “my role, my remit, it all started with this.” country is instantly heard in another; when people can and do Then just recently, I discovered that exactly a century before, come to Christ after attending online church services. at the 1848 Lambeth Conference, the bishops wrote, “It appears It is easy to get overwhelmed by the speed and complexity of that the want has been much felt of some centre of communication the digital developments, and to be tempted to breathlessly run among the Churches in England, Ireland, Scotland, America, India, to catch up. The Church must not, however, become dazzled by the colonies, and elsewhere, through which ecclesiastical docthe medium and forget the message. It uments of importance might be mutumust, above all, make use of this latest ally circulated, and in which copies of mechanism for entering into a dialogue them might be retained for reference.” Rebuilding anglicancommunion.org with people about the Good News of They therefore recommended the creso it becomes not only a source for Christ. The Anglican Communion, as a ation of a communications department must-have information, but a place global faith community, must not lose “supported by special contributions” of dialogue, sharing and fellowship sight of the need that drove the bishops based at the Society for Promoting is a major priority for us. The cost of 1848 and 1948 to publish their magChristian Knowledge (SPCK). For reato redesign this key vehicle for the azines: the need to learn from, share sons lost to us, this recommendation Anglican Communion is $104,000 of with and connect with each other, and was downscaled to the production of to celebrate what God is doing through an “encyclical letter” sent to Anglican which $54,000 has already been raised. them for his Kingdom. bishops worldwide. Nevertheless, it is At its April meeting the Compass Rose Thanks to some forward-thinking clear that, as far back as the mid-19th Society Board generously agreed to raise people and generous supporters, the century, such was the desire of the $50,000 towards this project and so we Anglican Communion has had, for Anglican Communion to learn from are asking for your help. Just 50 gifts the past decade, a mechanism to do and share with one another, that its of $1,000 will ensure this vital resource just this: the aforementioned Anglican leaders invested time and resources in for our global family can be built. Communion News Service and www. producing and sending a publication anglicancommunion.org. Sadly, the around the globe. former has been without a full-time More than 160 years later, the news editor for several years now, while the latter is antiquated need to communicate intraprovincially has not changed. In fact, and bloated with hard-to-access information. A group of comin 2000, the Primates’ meeting communiqué stressed, “More munication professionals from around the Communion recently than ever, in an age of rapid and abundant electronic communimet in London and identified improving these as a major priority. cation, our engagement with each other must be of the highest Other challenges to effective Communion communication quality.” In 2007, The Episcopal Church’s then Communication highlighted by the group include the gap between information Director, Canon Robert Williams advised that, “The lack of comtechnology haves and have nots (one attendee had just launched munications infrastructure [across the Anglican Communion] is her church’s iPad® app, the other has to pick up his mail and at the heart of many tensions that could be eased by improved a cellphone signal in a neighboring country.) The group also dialogue.” highlighted that an inadequate understanding of the purpose What has changed are the range of communications channels of church communications combined with an imbalance in the and the audiences. Pan Anglican magazine gained a broader availability of resources, technology and training means that not readership and was published right through to the early ’60s. enough provinces prioritize communications as a life-giving Beyond that, well into the “Noughties”, its successor Anglican ministry of the Church—only a handful issue provincial news World magazine, became the main way Communion members— more than once a month, for example. both clergy and laity—shared news and information. However, The Roman Catholic Church has a massive communicaover the past decade, the Anglican Communion has been tions operation comprising digital, radio and print in a myriad increasingly served by e-news, information from the Anglican of languages with hundreds of staff. The Anglican Communion Communion News Service and www.anglicancommunion.org. does not need such a communications behemoth. What it does Today, it is social media (forms of electronic communication need is a cadre of adequately trained, dedicated communicators through which users create online communities to share inforaround the world—at least one per Province—that can “connect mation, ideas, personal messages, and other content) that has Continued on page 8
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NOTES FROM ASIAPAC Rescue is Mission for Anglican Communion in Japan By Alice Wu
It’s been over a year since the March 11, 2011 9.0 magnitude Tohoku Earthquake, also known as the Great East Japan Earthquake, caused the triple earthquake-tsunami-nuclear meltdown catastrophe. The most expensive natural disaster in the history of the world shocked and rocked the earth. The Japanese National Policy Agency March 12, 2012 report confirmed 15,854 fatalities, 26,992 injured, 3,155 persons still missing, 129,225 buildings destroyed, 254,204 structures half-destroyed, and 691,766 suffered lesser damages. Where there was havoc, Nippon Sei Ko Kai (NSKK, The Anglican Communion in Japan) stood for unity and collaboration. Where there was despair, NSKK stood for resilience and hope. The eleven dioceses of NSKK came together immediately after the catastrophe and began the coordination and execution of relief efforts. And our Anglican brothers and sisters in Japan, despite having their lives disrupted and futures uncertain, immediately sent supplies of food, fuel and clothes, which the Most Rev. Nathaniel Makoto Uematsu, Primate of Nippon Sei Ko Kai, found to be “so exceptional… the volume of relief goods gathered far exceeded expectations.” He described the areas swallowed by over 100-foot waves he visited as “worse than anything you can imagine” and that his team, faced with the lifelessness of entire towns wiped out by the tsunami, only “stood in silence gazing at the wreckage and just prayed.” In the aftermath of one of the greatest catastrophes the world has ever seen, the NSKK stood out, exemplifying the true spirit of faithful followers of Christ. Even in the fear and uncertainty posed by the Fukushima power plant meltdown and its resulting radiation contamination, the Church carried on its mission and its commitment to the Japanese people. By May 2011, the NSKK launched the “Let Us Walk Together” project. It continued to see to it that supplies were sent, even to where government support and relief benefits could not reach. Van loads of relief goods were continuously sent to these neighborhoods. The Church saw that their most important mission is for the “mental care for victims of disaster who first were sent to shelters but have now moved to the newly-built temporary housing facilities.” Caring for those who have been displaced, the Project helped residents of one temporary housing facility to get a path sectioned for the children to use as their playground. This is just one example of where the Church found its work in delivering what the government hadn’t been able to do. “The world moves on without a halt; we are pushed forward all the time. What I fear the most is the ignorance toward the people left behind,” said Bishop John Hiromichi Kato of the Diocese of Tohoku. The NSKK has committed the Church to “to give heart, and to walk together with the people living in difficulties”. They anchor their resilience and hope in
prayers. They do not shy away from despair devastation – instead, they go purposefully and prayerfully into the worst hit areas. Just as Jesus walked with two disciples to Emmaus, the Church is committed to walking with those hardest hit by 3.11. I urge all of you to continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in Japan. Recovery is still quite out of reach for many left behind. Archbishop Uematsu, in a letter to Japanese Anglicans on the first anniversary of 3.11, wrote that “even today a great number of people remain in temporary shelters with fears and uncertainties in their minds.” The impact of nuclear contamination means that many people will continue to be displaced, and rebuilding their lives, will be difficult. The archbishop has already called upon the Japanese government to end the country’s reliance on nuclear power. Nuclear contamination, as a friend in Tokyo told me, has far reaching and long-term impact that include agricultural products and other simple daily needs like water, which Japanese people continue to have to be very careful about. The work of NSKK will continue to be difficult but ever more necessary in Japan’s long road to recovery. And as they have shown us – praying as their source of strength and hope – we, too must continue to pray with them and for them. That is how we can also, “Walk Together” with their extraordinary efforts. To learn more about the amazing tasks already accomplished by the NSKK “Let Us Walk Together” project, please visit: www.youtube.com/watch ?v=Iv0YGIBv6nQ
Alice Wu and her husband Ben Cheung are Compass Rose Society members living in Hong Kong where Alice is a current affairs columnist for the South China Morning Post. She was formerly associate director of the Asia Pacific Media Network at UCLA.
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“VTS WANTS TO SEND ME TO LONDON…” By Ginny Wilder
In June 2011, I received an email asking if I would be interested in representing Virginia Theological Seminary at the Compass Rose Society meeting taking place later in the year in London. I took a moment to re-read the email to make sure I was the intended recipient and that I understood the content clearly. “VTS wants to send me to London to represent the seminary,” I told my friends as we gathered around the table to which they replied, “That is pretty awesome!” All I kept thinking is, “I’m scared.” I have never been outside of the country before unless you count an all-inclusive resort in Cozumel as outside the country. I sought input from my parents, my mentor and my friends and each of them said that I would be a fool to turn down this amazing opportunity. I almost turned it down because of fear. After a couple of days of thinking, praying and listening, I emailed back and said, “Yes. It would be my honor to represent VTS at the Compass Rose Society Meeting.” I almost let fear prevent me from saying “yes” to one of the most amazing experiences I have ever had. You all don’t know me. I don’t know you. However, we share the bond of the holy supper and our baptism into Christ and we are connected, even if we don’t know each other. With plane tickets and itinerary in hand, I flew to London and while I was waiting to have my passport checked a voice behind me in line spoke, “I see you are from VTS (I had a tag on my briefcase). I went to CDSP.” I turned and greeted a fellow seminarian that was in London to visit a recent CDSP graduate. I asked, “You’re not here to visit Erin, are you?” Indeed she was there to visit Erin, a woman I shared a room with at my first Commission on Ministry in my discernment process, a woman from my home. Our Church is small but the needs of the world are great. When we don’t let fear stand in the way of where God is calling us and in the way of the work God is calling us to do, we meet as strangers but we leave as family. When doing the work that God calls us to do, we give back to God our gifts in whatever capacity we are able to give. Through that work we are united. We meet at table. We meet in prayer. When we offer ourselves up in service we are met over and over, time and again and we are given so much more in return. In every conversation and story I heard while at the Compass Rose meeting, I listened to people sharing their experiences of giving of their time and resources. More than that, I heard about people within the Compass Rose Society getting so much more back from the people they served, the relationships that formed and the knowledge that they weren’t just sending money, they were bringing all of who God created them to be in order to meet and be in relationship with the people living in the place God called them to. Even if people were fearful at some point, the call was still bigger than their fear. God’s call is bigger than our fear.
Whether we know it in the beginning or not, the relationships created through the act of giving leaves indelible marks on who we are and we are forever changed. I am grateful to my friends, my mentor and my family for reminding me that even in fear, God does amazing things. Even when we are thrown out of our comfort zone, God is there. Even when we are in a country so far away from home, witnessing devastation, famine or drought, hope still resides in the hearts of those we meet as strangers but leave calling family. Thank you for welcoming me into your family. Thank you for the work that each of you do at home and abroad. Thank you for never letting fear stop you from answering God’s call in your life. I will admit that at one point during the trip over to London fear crept in and kept asking me, “What on earth are you going to be able to contribute to this group? You are a novice, a seminarian, a person who is not in a position to be of much help.” The reality is all those items are true. I am a novice seminarian of very little means but what I can offer and did offer is presence. I got to witness this amazing group of people, hear their stories of call and the process they went through to answer God’s call in their lives. I got to hear these stories and understand that every person is called to love and serve no matter who you are, where you are from or what you do for a living. We are all called. That is a powerful message but what is even more powerful is to sit in a group of people who actively answer that call over and over and over again. I got to offer myself as someone new to the scene of ministry, to glean from those present how ministry takes on many different styles, approaches, and formation but to witness the understanding that our call is still inspired by God. Even though we come from various backgrounds vocationally and geographically, our hearts are still stirred to love God by loving our neighbor. When I returned to Virginia Theological Seminary, I had a chance to speak with the Student Government about my experience with the Compass Rose Society. I wanted to make sure we were creating ways for all people involved at VTS to give back in ways that allowed them to be opened by the Spirit. Members of our Missionary Society took this challenge on by providing a walk-a-thon on campus instead of hosting it in town making it difficult for people to get there without a vehicle. We have also created ways to tap into people’s gifts and talents to raise money for a health clinic in Myanmar by hosting a night of music. We raised money in both events but we also created community, which in itself is invaluable. The communities we impacted were places we had visited, made relationships and were inspired by the hope of the homeless nearby and the grace of the Burmese people in Myanmar. Even in a world where darkness and despair seem to grab most of the headlines, God whispers in our hearts, stirs our souls and we answer by witnessing to the reality that with God and in God, anything is possible. Continued on page 8
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M E S S AG E F R O M O U R P R E S I D E N T
Archbishop Rowan and Jane Williams will be hosting us for a reception and dinner at Old Palace on the grounds of that ancient place of pilgrimage Canterbury Cathedral. As you know after 10 years of dedicated theological, spiritual and humble service to the Communion, the archbishop has accepted a new post beginning in January 2013.
messages. Under the leadership of Jan Butter, Director for Communication of the Anglican Communion, a new website which is interactive, easy to navigate, engaging, accessible, informative and creative is ready to go. The Compass Rose Society has been asked to help make this possible. Please consider directing a gift toward the redesigned website of the Anglican Communion. You can be sure your gift will make a huge difference in helping the Anglican Communion communicate its message. I will be writing you to follow this up. We also received a direct request from the bishop in Jerusalem, Suheil Dawani, last year’s speaker at our annual meeting in London. He is concerned about the educational opportunities available to the young people in his church and has asked the Compass Rose Society to provide scholarships to enable young people to receive a high-quality education to prepare them for their futures. As you know, education is essential to alleviating poverty and creating a better world. And education costs money. For an investment of $1,000, you can provide a one-year scholarship for an elementary student and for $1,500, a scholarship for a high school or university student. I wonder how many scholarships the Compass Rose Society can help the Bishop provide. By now you will have received a letter and a brochure from me inviting you to participate in creating these scholarships. Thank you for considering this request. During the reception in New York, Canon Kearon reflected eloquently on what sort of people members of the Compass Rose Society are. “We know”, he said, “what the members do, but who are they?” He suggested (and I am paraphrasing here) that CRS members are people with a vision for the church beyond the four walls of their parish church. They support the local church but care passionately for the wider church. They are people who recognize and celebrate the diversity of a church which finds itself in 165 countries of the world. They are people who value international relationships within Anglicanism. They are people who seek to support the ministry of the archbishop of Canterbury in and through the Anglican Communion. They are people who value the unity of the church and see that unity is strengthened through bonds of affection created in the course of communication and personal contact. In my experience that is an apt and accurate description of our members. Thank you for what you are doing and for who you are. I do want to acknowledge the extraordinary hospitality and welcome our patron the Archbishop of Canterbury and Mrs. Williams have extended to the Compass Rose Society over the past decade. Few groups have the privilege to sit down for dinner annually with the archbishop in his home. In October,
Compass Rose Society Gifts to Date Total $7.2 Million Since it was established in 1997, The Compass Rose Society has donated $7.2 million to support the work of the Anglican Communion. Three quarters of this has funded the work of the Anglican Consultative Council, and sixty percent of that has supported their communications projects. 15 percent of the donations have supported the Diocese of Jerusalem and the Middle East.
Please join us for a personal farewell on this historic occasion October 5 and 6. Registrations are limited and as you can imagine are filling up quickly. If you have not yet received your emailed invitation, please contact Debbie Crossling Barker at debbie@compassrosesociety.org / 905.607.1348 to ensure we have your current email address on file so you are able to register for this event. Unfortunately, we will not be attaching a Communion visit/ study trip to this year’s AGM; however, plans are underway for one in the spring, 2013. A final word. As you may know, the by-laws of the Compass Rose Society anticipate that members pledge an annual gift of approximately $2,000 - $3,000 to maintain their membership. We are so grateful for the gifts already received this year. Financial gifts are necessary from our entire membership and help to sustain and support the work of the archbishop of Canterbury in and though the Anglican Communion. Annual gifts and new membership subscriptions ensure that our core ministry continues. Annually, the Compass Rose Society seeks to provide $400,000 to the work of the Anglican Consultative Council for communications and church networks that are all so vital for the international work of our church. Know that this comes with my love and affection for what you do and who you are. May the Holy Spirit unleashed at Pentecost move widely in our midst. Yours in Christ, Bishop Philip Poole President, Compass Rose Society
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BECOME A COMPASS ROSE SOCIETY MEMBER
The Secret of Good Communion Communications? COMMUNITY to share content and best practice and tell the Anglican Communion’s story. “The narrative of the Body of Christ is very powerful,” said group member, the Rev. Dr. Joshva Raja “and currently the Anglican Communion is not properly equipped to share that narrative.’’ We need all our churches to recognize communications ministry as valuable and support communicators in their efforts. At a time when communications has become social and global, the way for the Anglican Communion to strengthen its ability to communicate is to capitalize on community; to share communal resources, best practices and technology. Only then can it effectively share its story of God’s Good News effectively with itself and the world.
Join as an individual member or form a parish, diocesan or cathedral chapter of any number of members. Share in the annual meeting - this year at Canterbury, typically dinner at Lambeth Palace with Compline in the archbishop’s chapel - meet fellow Anglicans on communion visits throughout the world or study our Anglican heritage on location. Individual membership includes an invitation for the member (or couple) and up to two guests to attend the Society’s events in London and communion visits or study trips scheduled each year. With a parish membership, the rector and guest and two designated parish members may attend. Four members of a chapter may attend. With a diocesan membership, the bishop, a guest and two designated members may attend. For more information, contact the Right Reverend Philip Poole, president of the Society, at philip.poole@compassrosesociety.org.
Jan Butter has been the Anglican Communion’s Director for Communication since 2010. His passion is to see all members of the Anglican Communion equipped to share, with each other and the world, the story of their part in God’s mission. Before joining the Anglican Communion Office, he was Head of Global Advocacy Communications for one of the world’s largest relief, development and advocacy organizations, World Vision in the UK, Sri Lanka and New York. He started his career as a print journalist.
ONLINE RESOURCES: Join the Compass Rose Society Facebook Group Follow us on Twitter: @tomcranmer To view photos on Flickr, email debbie@compassrosesociety.org o view or post video for viewing by the membership go to T www.youtube.com/group/compassrose
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“VTS Wants to Send Me to London…”
The Compass Rose Society Daily, http://paper.li/tomcranmer
The Compass Rose Society lives that reality every day through the relationships they create within and around the world. It would be really easy to say, “Yeah, I understand that,” but seeing that kind of reality and hope and call in the people present at this gathering really carried the message home for me. It is not just about the money. The success of this society is built on the strength of the relationships that are formed through answering God’s call, overcoming the fear of where that call might take you and seeing just how much our lives are impacted in witnessing the Christ in you meeting the Christ in your neighbor. That is pretty awesome stuff. I am standing on the precipice of a transition from seminarian to priest. I was ordained last December and I just finished the General Ordination Exams. The next big step for me is to find employment and I will be honest and say the whispering of fear and doubt have circled through my mind on many occasions asking the same questions, “What on earth can you contribute? What do you have to bring to the table?” I am figuring out my answers to these questions but what keeps factoring into my thinking is the importance of being open to listening - really listening to what God is asking of us and being willing to say “yes” to God’s call. God will meet us in the middle of our discomfort, of our fear. By participating in the Compass Rose Society’s annual meeting, I got to experience this firsthand and I am forever changed.
OTHER WEB LINKS OF INTEREST: The Archbishop of Canterbury: www.archbishopofcanterbury.org Episcopal Life Online: www.episcopalchurch.org Anglicans Online: http://anglicansonline.org Thinking Anglicans: http://www.thinkinganglicans.org.uk Forward Movement Publications: www.forwardmovement.org MISSION PARTNERS: Diocese of Southern Malawi: www.angoma.org.mw/ Diocese of Jerusalem: www.j-diocese.org Diocese of the Highveld: www.diocesehighveld.org.za/ La Iglesia Anglicana de Mexico: www.iglesiaanglicanademexico.org/ Igreja Episcopal Anglicana do Brasil: http://www.ieab.org.br/ NOTE TO MEMBERS: Please let us know if you would like to receive The Communicator by email only. Send a note to debbie@compassrosesociety.org THE COMPASS ROSE SOCIETY: Supporting the global mission of the Archbishop of Canterbury in and through the Anglican Communion. THE COMPASS ROSE COMMUNICATOR: An bi-annual publication of the Compass Rose Society Norris Battin, Communications Committee Chair; Comments welcome: nbattin@gmail.com
Ginny Wilder recently graduated from Virginia Theological Seminary sponsored from the Diocese of Western North Carolina. Before coming to seminary, she served for 10 years as the training and development manager for Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina. She was ordained a transitional deacon in December 2011 and has taken a call to be the associate rector at Trinity Parish in Wilmington, Delaware.
Scan the QR (quick response) code to go to the CRS website. The links printed in the text here are “live” there.
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