Weekend on Wednesday
Episcopal News Service. May 4, 2005 [050405-1-A]
Coming up Thursday, May 5, 2005...
CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts -- The Rev. Dr. Michael Battle, theologian and vice president of Virginia Theological Seminary, will be the featured lecturer at the 2005 Kellogg Lectures, May 5-6 at the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Battle will present three lectures: "Transforming Cultures" on May 5 from 10:15 a.m. to noon, followed by "Transforming Churches" at 2:00 p.m., and "Transforming the Heavens" on May 6 from 10:15 to 11:15 a.m. All lectures are free and open to the public. Advance tickets are required and may be obtained from Alcurtis Clark at 617.868.3450 x 373 or alum@eds.edu.
Battle is author of "Blessed are the Peacemakers: A Christian Spirituality of Nonviolence" (2004), "The Wisdom of Desmond Tutu" (1999), and "Reconciliation: The Ubuntu Theology of Desmond Tutu" (1997).
Battle was recently named associate dean of academic affairs and vice president of Virginia Theological Seminary. Prior to this appointment, he served as assistant professor of spirituality and black church studies at the Divinity School of Duke University and as rector of St. Ambrose Episcopal Church in Raleigh, North Carolina. Ordained to the priesthood by Archbishop Desmond Tutu in 1993, Battle spent a year as an assistant priest at Christ the Mediator, Mitchell's Plain Township, Cape Town, South Africa.
Additional information on the Kellogg Lectures may be obtained online at http://www.eds.edu. Episcopal Divinity School, 99 Brattle Street, Cambridge, MA 02138. Tel: 617.868.3450. http://www.eds.edu.
NEW YORK -- Roots of the sycamore tree that fell in St. Paul's Chapel churchyard, New York, on September 11, 2001 will be returned to Trinity Church by sculptor Steve Tobin, who is restoring and creating one of his renowned sculptures from the roots, as Trinity Church marks Ascension Day and the anniversary of the church building (1846) at 11 a.m. on Thursday, May 5, at Trinity Church, Wall Street, New York.
On September 11, 2001, debris from the collapsing World Trade Center towers knocked over the giant sycamore, which stood for nearly a century in St. Paul's churchyard, at Broadway and Fulton Street. When the dust settled, the uprooted tree was found lying on a narrow path in the yard. It fell in such a way that none of the historic tombstones around it were disturbed, and none of the wreckage reached the church.
Steve Tobin, known for his monumental bronze Roots sculptures and other large-scale works, is creating a sculpture based on the roots to commemorate and honor the victims of 9/11 and the unwavering spirit of the volunteers and rescue workers who came to St. Paul's during its eight-month Ground Zero relief ministry. The completed sculpture will be dedicated and installed in a permanent location at Trinity Church on September 10, 2005.
Trinity Church, 74 Trinity Place, New York, NY 10006. Tel: 212.602.0800. http://www.trinitywallstreet.org.
Coming up Friday, May 6, 2005...
BRONX, New York -- Bishop Suffragan Catherine Roskam of New York will lead the first Hip Hop baptisms at 6 p.m. on Friday, May 6, at Trinity Episcopal Church of Morrisania in the South Bronx, New York.
Roskam will lead the "Easter + Resurrection II" celebrations with the HipHopEMass.org rappers, band and choir. HipHopEMass.org begins its nearly second year of celebration building a baptismal community of new believers praising and serving God in the rap and rhyme, the dance and art of hip hop culture.
HipHopEMass.org has been recognized in its first year with a "Blessed Are the Peacemakers Award" by the World Council of Churches and with a "Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Leadership Award" by the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
Trinity Episcopal Church of Morrisania, 698 East 166th Street, Bronx, New York 10456. Tel: 718.542.1309.
CLEVELAND, Ohio -- "Out of the Closet," a new indigenous clothing exhibit in the Gallery at Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland, Ohio, opens on Friday, May 6, from 6 - 9 p.m. and remains on display through July 17. The exhibit features the work of Cleveland artist Anne T. Kmieck, whose work has been included in many exhibitions throughout Ohio, and Chicago and Pittsburgh.
Inspired by a trip to Mexico during which she observed indigenous peoples' celebration of their traditions and language through their clothing, Kmieck uses dresses as a metaphor for the female body. Although many of her pieces carry historical themes, all of the dresses Kmieck uses are contemporary.
The Gallery at Trinity is located at Trinity Cathedral, 2230 Euclid Avenue, Cleveland, Ohio 44115. "Out of the Closet" in The Gallery at Trinity is open Friday, May 6- Sunday, July 17 during these hours: Saturdays: 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.; Sundays: 12:30 - 5 p.m.; and Wednesdays 1 - 6 p.m. For more information on "Out of the Closet" or the Gallery at Trinity, please call Music & Performing Arts at Trinity Cathedral at 216.579.9745 or visit http://www.mandpa.org.
SAN DIEGO, California -- St. Paul's Cathedral Center for the Performing and Visual Arts will present "Who Stands Fast?" a theatrical presentation on the life of the German pastor, theologian and author Dietrich Bonhoeffer, at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, May 6, in the Cathedral.
A leader in the Confessing Church that actively opposed the Nazification of Germany, Bonhoeffer was arrested by the Gestapo in May 1943 on charges of "evading military duty." After two years of intense interrogation, he was hanged at the Flossenburg concentration camp on April 9, 1945, less than a month before Germany surrendered to the Allies. "Who Stands Fast?" is an interactive evening, utilizing in-house talent, and the audience to participate in Bonhoeffer's journey of faith through song, scripture, poetry and dramatic text. The evening is based on the critically acclaimed ("Pick" of the London Times) play, Bonhoeffer 1945, written by D. Paul Thomas who directs and narrates this premiere.
Additional information and reservations may be obtained by calling 619.298.7261 x 356.
St. Paul's Cathedral Center for the Performing and Visual Arts, 5th Avenue and Nutmeg Street, San Diego.
Coming up Saturday, May 7, 2005...
DALLAS, Texas -- Frederica Mathewes-Green will be guest speaker at the Eastertide Lecture Series May 7-8 at St. Matthias' Episcopal Church in Dallas, Texas. Mathewes-Green will speak on "Gender: Men, Women, Sex, Feminism," beginning at 9 a.m. on Saturday, May 7, and 9:15 a.m. on Sunday, May 8.
Mathewes-Green is the wife of an Eastern Orthodox priest who writes regularly for Beliefnet and speaks on NPR about religious and cultural issues. All events are free and open to the public. Registration should be made by calling the parish office at 214.358.2585. Information about the parish and directions to the church may be obtained online at http://www.stmatthias-dallas.org.
St. Matthias' Episcopal Church, 3460 Forest Lane, Dallas, Texas 75234. http://www.stmatthias-dallas.org.
Coming up Sunday, May 8, 2005...
BOSTON -- This week's Trinity Forum, "Hope in the Midst of Destruction: Images of Children in the Tsunami Region," will be presented by Kimberlea Tracey, New England regional director for UNICEF, after the 9 a.m. and 11:15 a.m. services on Sunday, May 8, in the Commons of Trinity Church, Boston.
Trinity parishioner Kimberlea Tracey accompanied a documentary film crew to Sri Lanka and Banda Aceh, Indonesia, and explored the impact of the tsunami on the lives of children.
This week's Sunday Afternoon Forum, "Radical Welcome" Series: "Space for Grace," will be held at 4:30 p.m. on May 8, 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.
Please contact Barbara Green, 617.536.0944, or Bill Franklin, 617.536.0944, for more information.
Trinity Church, 206 Clarendon Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02116. Tel: 617.536.0944. http://www.trinityboston.org/default.asp.
SAN FRANCISCO, California -- "Alone in Mecca, Together in Spirit" will be this week's Forum at Grace Cathedral, San Francisco, featuring former Wall Street Journal correspondent Asra Q. Nomani, from 9:30 - 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 8, at Gresham Hall, on the Crypt Level of the Cathedral.
According to Grace Cathedral's website, "in Islamic culture, the law of zina allows for great control of women within state sanctioned interpretations of the sacred texts, including extreme punishment for single mothers. Asra Nomani is a trailblazer in every sense of the word, as she risked her life in 2003 to make the pilgrimage to Mecca with her infant son. In this very special Mother's Day Forum, Nomani shares her new book, Standing Alone in Mecca: An American Woman's Fight for the Soul of Islam, and discusses the worldwide struggle for women's rights in the Muslim community."
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 Street), San Francisco, California 94108. Tel: 415.749.6300. http://www.gracecathedral.org.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- State Day prayers this Sunday will remember Idaho 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, May 15: State Day prayers will remember Wyoming.
The 4 p.m. Evensong will include the installation of the Rev. John L. Peterson as Canon for Global Justice and Reconciliation of Washington National Cathedral. The Rt. Rev. Simon Chiwanga, bishop of Mpwapwa, Tanzania, guest preacher; the Rt. Rev. John Bryson Chane, bishop of Washington, officiant; the Rev. Canon Michael Wyatt, cantor; the Very Rev. Samuel T. Lloyd III, dean of the Cathedral, presenter; Mrs. Deirdre Martin, executive assistant to the secretary general of the Anglican Communion, and the Rt. Rev. Samir Kafity, retired bishop of Jerusalem, readers. Choir of Men and Boys.
ANGLICAN COMMUNION -- Following the Anglican Cycle of Prayer, this Sunday (Easter 7) give thanks for the Diocese of New Jersey (Province II, USA). The Rt. Rev. George E Councell, bishop. The Anglican Cycle of Prayer can be accessed online at: http://www.anglicancommunion.org/acp/main.cfm.