Week on Wednesday
Episcopal News Service. April 13, 2005 [041305-2-A]
Coming up Thursday, April 14, 2005...
CHICAGO -- The Episcopal Community Services in America's sixth national conference will be held April 14-16 in Chicago, Illinois. The theme of the Conference, "Uniting the Church through Service," will feature a series of workshops on critical issues and best practices.
The conference is intended for directors and program managers of social service agencies affiliated with the Episcopal Church and incorporated as non-profit 501(c)3 organizations. Others may wish to contact conference coordinator, the Rev. Phil Rapp, at 703.266.3073 for information.
The conference begins with registration at noon, followed by ECS Site Tours and newcomers reception.
Episcopal Community Services in America, 6529 Clifton Rd., Clifton, VA 20124. Tel: 703.266.3073. http://www.ecsamerica.org.
Coming up Friday, April 15, 2005...
BALTIMORE, Maryland -- Memorial Episcopal Church on Bolton Hill in Baltimore presents Fiddler on the Roof, April 15 and 16 at 7:30 p.m., and Sunday afternoon, April 17, at 2 p.m. The performance is free. Donations will be accepted to support the church's Music Program.
Further information is available at http://www.memorialepiscopal.org or by calling 410.669.0220.
Memorial Episcopal Church, 1407 Bolton Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21217. http://www.memorialepiscopal.org.
PACIFIC PALISADES, California -- The Rev. Dr. Katherine Grieb will lead a seminar on the Gospel of Mark, "Parable Unlimited! Baptismal Discernment! Discipleship Catechumenate!" April 15-16 at St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in Pacific Palisades, California. Sessions begin at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, April 15 and conclude Saturday afternoon, April 16.
Grieb has taught New Testament at Virginia Theological Seminary and Bangor Theological Seminary in Maine. She received a bachelor's in philosophy and religion from Hollins University, J.D. from Columbus School of Law at Catholic University of America, M.Div. from Virginia Seminary and a Ph.D. with distinction in theology at Yale University. Ordained deacon and priest in 1983 in the Diocese of Washington D.C., she serves on the clergy leadership team of St. Stephen and the Incarnation Church (a lay-led inner-city parish in the District of Columbia) and teaches at the Servant Leadership School connected with the Church of the Savior. She also serves on the Theology Committee of the House of Bishops and is presently part of the Church's Windsor Report Response Team. She is on the permanent staff of the Preaching Excellence Program and leads workshops on biblical preaching at the College of Preachers attached to the National Cathedral. Her book on Romans (The Story of Romans: A Narrative Defense of God's Righteousness) was published in 2002 by Westminster John Knox Press and has been reprinted twice.
For information, contact the Parish of St. Matthew, PO Box 37, Pacific Palisades, or telephone 310.454.1358. The church is located at 1031 Bienveneda Avenue, Pacific Palisades.
Coming up Saturday, April 16, 2005...
LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles diocesan Commission on AIDS Ministry and the Program Group on Youth Ministry are co-sponsoring an event from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, April 16 to introduce new AIDS and youth ministry resources for HIV/AIDS education for youth in grades 6-12.
The event will be held at the Cathedral Center of St. Paul in Los Angeles and is open to all youth ministers, religious educators and rectors. Youth and young adult members are especially invited.
Youth Ministry in the Age of AIDS offers information for adults about the risks that adolescents face as well as easy-to-use lessons for opening a dialogue with young people about AIDS and HIV. Free copies will be available to participants.
"We are hoping for 100 percent attendances for this day so if you can not attend, please send a representative from your congregation," says the Rev. Michael Cooper, director of youth ministries for the diocese.
The day will include presentations, talks, games, music and a free lunch. For further information, contact Cooper at 213.482.2040, ext.281.
Cathedral Center of St. Paul, 840 Echo Park Ave, Los Angeles 90026. http://www.ladiocese.org/congregations/cathedral.htm.
NEW YORK CITY - The General Theological Seminary (GTS) and its Students of Color organization will sponsor a vocations day for students of color from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday, April 16, at the Seminary's Manhattan campus.
Presenters at the seminar include the Rev. Eddie Alleyne, priest-in-charge, Holy Apostles Episcopal Church, Brooklyn; the Rev. Steve Foster, curate, St. George's Episcopal Church, Hempstead, New York; the Rev. Preston Hannibal, Canon for Academic Ministries in the Diocese of Washington; and the Rev. Angela Ifill, missioner, Episcopal Church's Office of Black Ministries. The speakers will describe opportunities for ministry within the church and address such questions as what it means to be called, what the seminary experience is like, how the admissions process works, and how the church can better address the need for increased representation from within the ethnic communities it serves. Current GTS students will be on hand to discuss their individual journeys to seminary and their experiences.
The Very Rev. Ward B. Ewing, dean, will be on hand to greet the participants. There will be tours of the Seminary's grounds and a Eucharist will be celebrated in Spanish at midday. All college undergraduates and adult congregants interested in exploring vocations are most welcome to attend. The seminar is provided to participants without cost, including lunch, but reservations are necessary.
Registration can be made at the General Seminary website, http://www.gts.edu. Further information: Antoinette (Toni) Daniels, executive director of Enrollment Management, 212.243.5150 ext. 280.
General Theological Seminary, 175 Ninth Avenue, New York City, NY 10011. http://www.gts.edu.
Coming up Sunday, April 17, 2005...
BOSTON -- This week's Trinity Forum, "The Artists' Vision," will be presented by Kathy Acerbo-Bachman, director of Art & Architecture Programs, Trinity Church, at 10:15 a.m. on Sunday, April 17, in the church. The forum will feature a gallery talk and exploration of the new glass art by Alexander Beleschenko and Raffaela Sirtoli, and its place in the design of the new Trinity Church Undercroft.
This week's Sunday Afternoon Forum, "Radical Welcome" Series: "Encountering the God of Transformation," will be held from 4:30-5:45 p.m. on April 17, in the Commons of Trinity Church, Boston, and presented by Stephanie Spellers, a Candidate for Holy Orders in the Diocese of Massachusetts. In this six-week journey, author and consultant Spellers will introduce the theology of radical welcome and Christian hospitality, and help participants to imagine God's radical dream for our community, anticipate and sit with fear of change, and create and identify the resources we need to move through fear to transformation and welcome. This series is open to all, and is offered particularly with Trinity Connection groups in mind.
Trinity Church, 206 Clarendon Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02116. Tel: 617.536.0944. http://www.trinityboston.org/default.asp.
MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota -- At the invitation of St. Mark's Cathedral, Minneapolis, the Rt. Rev. Riah Abu Al-Assal, Anglican Bishop in Jerusalem, will make an exclusive U.S. visit to the Diocese of Minnesota. On Sunday, April 17 Al-Assal will be the preacher at the 8, 9, and 11 a.m. worship services, and presenter at the Dean's Forum at 10 a.m. and at the 5 p.m. public forum.
On Monday, April 18, at 7 p.m. Al-Assal will offer an Interfaith "Gathering for Peace" with St. Mark's clergy and clergy from other faith traditions participating.
St. Mark's Cathedral, 519 Oak Grove St., Minneapolis, Minnesota 55403. Tel: 612.870.7800. http://www.st-marks-cathedral.org.
NATION -- The Children of Abraham Project, an innovative youth theater program in Detroit, explores relationships among Jews, Christians and Muslims and is being featured in a 30-minute CBS documentary, "Abraham's children: reuniting an old family," set to air beginning April 17 -- check your local affiliate for broadcast information.
The broadcast visits the Children of Abraham Project, an effort by individuals and interfaith organizations in the Detroit Metro area to educate Jews, Christians and Muslims as to their common ancestry, and encourages them to work together for tolerance, peace and civic betterment. The process involves watching a play in which teenage actors, some who helped write the play, act out scenes from the Biblical story. This is interspersed with contemporary accounts of religious and ethnic prejudice based on personal recollections.
The broadcast will include Rick Sperling, founder of Mosaic Youth Theater of Detroit, which helped create and produce the play; the Rev. Dan Krichbaum, executive director of the National Conference for Community and Justice (NCCJ) in Detroit; the Rev. Dan Appleyard, rector of Christ Church Dearborn; Victor Ghalib Begg, vice chair of the Council of Islamic Organizations of Michigan and the founding chair of the Interfaith Partners of NCCJ; and many of the teenage actors, writers and audience members who have made the project successful.
John P. Blessington is the executive producer and director of the special; Ted Holmes is the producer. It is being produced with the cooperation of the National Council of Churches, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, the Jewish Theological Seminary and the Southern Baptist Broadcast Communication Group.
Further information: http://www.nccj-mi.org/children.html.
SAN FRANCISCO, California -- "A Journey towards the Compassionate Life" will be this week's Forum at Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, featuring author, musician and composer Marc Ian Barasch, from 9:30 - 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, April 17, at Gresham Hall, on the Crypt Level of the Cathedral.
"In his latest book, Field Notes on the Compassionate Life: A Search for the Soul of Kindness, Barasch takes a sweeping look at how our actions affect those we come into contact with in world around us. As a society, how much have we lost touch with compassion and empathy? And how can we begin to regain the personal strength and growth that these virtues nurture in us?"
Barasch is former editor-in-chief of New Age Journal and recipient of the National Magazine Award.
For more information about this event please call 415.749.6360 or email Larry Bisagni at larryb@gracecathedral.org. Grace Cathedral, 1100 California St. (at Taylor St.), San Francisco, California 94108. Tel: 415.749.6300. http://www.gracecathedral.org.
TOPEKA, Kansas -- Grace Episcopal Cathedral in Topeka, Kansas, will offer "Tea for Tu-ba" on Sunday, April 17, featuring high tea and a recital of tuba music by Dr. Edward Higgins, low brass instructor and associate director of bands at Washburn University in Topeka.
Higgins will perform G.F. Handel's "Sonata #6" in G Major (originally scored for recorder and continuo), Alec Wilder's "Suite #1" (The Effie Suite), "Sonata for Tuba and Piano" by artistic director and principal conductor of the Sinfonia of London Bruce Broughton, and a newly arranged piece especially for this recital -- "Tea for Two" in a rumba style.
High tea will be served at 5 p.m., with the concert following. The free event is part of Grace Cathedral's Great Spaces music and arts series.
Grace Episcopal Cathedral, 8th Avenue at Polk Street, Topeka, Kansas. Tel: 785.235.3457. http://www.gracecathedraltopeka.org/home.cfm.
WASHINGTON, D.C. - State Day prayers this Sunday will remember South Dakota in liturgies at Washington National Cathedral, Massachusetts and Wisconsin Avenues Northwest (Mount St. Alban), Washington, D.C., 20016; 202.537.6200; http://www.cathedral.org. The Very Rev. Samuel T. Lloyd III will be the preacher at the 11 a.m. service. Next Sunday, April 24: State Day prayers will remember Montana.
ANGLICAN COMMUNION - Following the Anglican Cycle of Prayer, this Sunday (Easter 4) will give thanks for the Diocese of Mumbai in North India; the Rt. Rev. Baiju F Gavit, bishop. The Anglican Cycle of Prayer can be accessed online at: www.anglicancommunion.org/acp/main.cfm.
Coming up Tuesday, April 19, 2005...
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Virginia Theological Seminary's Faith, Work and Vocation Breakfast series will welcome special guest Dr. Richard Jung, headmaster emeritus of the Bullis School, the SEED School in Washington, D.C., from 8 - 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, April 19, at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
Since 1994, Virginia Theological Seminary has offered a series of forums for laypersons living or working in the Washington area, and gathers these persons together with speakers whose insights into Faith, Work, & vocation may help inform people's lives. For more information, contact Eliza Saunders at 703.461.1715 or email esaunders@vts.edu.
National Press Club, 14th & F Streets, NW, 13th Floor, Washington, D.C.