Diocesan Digest
Episcopal News Service. August 11, 2005 [081105-2-A]
* CENTRAL FLORIDA: Howe retracts criticism of Eastern Michigan bishop
* HAWAII: Queen Emma's gifts to church on display
* SOUTHWEST FLORIDA: Missionaries told to leave Haiti as violence escalates
* INDIANAPOLIS: Breakaway Episcopalians unite with Bolivia
* VERMONT: Small Congregations commission visits Vermont
* LOS ANGELES: Canon of diocese to be among presenters at interfaith liturgy conference
CENTRAL FLORIDA: Howe retracts criticism of Eastern Michigan bishop
[Source: Diocese of Central Florida] On August 4, the Rt. Rev. Edwin M. Leidel, responding to a formal determination of the Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Michigan, formally barred the Rev. Gene Geromel of Swartz Creek, from functioning as a priest in the Episcopal Church. The deposition pronounced that Geromel had "abandoned the Communion of this Church."
A group of bishops, including the Rt. Rev. John W. Howe, initially denounced the deposition, but when more facts came to light, Bishop Howe retracted his support of that group's statement.
The following is the text of Bishop Howe's retraction letter.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I am sure you are aware that a group of Bishops, including myself, issued a statement of opposition to the deposition of the Rev. Gene Geromel by the Bishop of Eastern Michigan, +Edwin Leidel. I am writing to retract my support of that statement. Earlier today I sent Bishop Leidel the following email:
Dear +Ed,
One of my clergy has just forwarded the ENS report from Thursday, and asked me pointedly how I could have signed onto a statement of opposition to the deposition of Gene Geromel.
Ed, the information I was given painted a totally different picture from the ENS report, and I deeply regret that I relied on this second- hand information, and did not check with you personally.
It is no excuse, but we have had major family distractions. My mother had a massive stroke on July 23, and subsequently died on July 28; and then my one year old granddaughter has had life-threatening illness this past week - on opposite sides of the continent.
But, again, this is no excuse.
I deeply apologize for drawing a conclusion, and going public with it, before contacting you and verifying the facts. I will try to call you tomorrow, Sunday, when I get back to Orlando, and I intend to talk with the co-signatories of the statement on Monday, and withdraw my name, at least; and attempt to have them do likewise.
Please forgive me for this very serious error.
Warmly in our Lord,
+John
As it turned out, I was able to speak with +Ed late on Saturday evening, and he was wonderfully understanding and forgiving. I have issued a retraction to the press (via The Living Church), and I am writing to you, my Brother and Sister Bishops, to do the same.
It is my opinion that the Abandonment of Communion canon is being misused in some places by some bishops, but I do not believe that is the case in Eastern Michigan, and I deeply regret jumping to the wrong conclusion in this instance.
In this difficult time of swirling misinformation and acrimony I apologize to all of you as well.
Warmly and sincerely yours in our Lord,
The Right Rev. John W. Howe
Episcopal Bishop of Central Florida
HAWAII: Queen Emma's gifts to church on display
[Source: kauaiworld.com] With an array of Hawaiian Kingdom artifacts, 19th-century Anglican Church items and 80 years of rich heritage on display, the All Saints' Episcopal Church 80th Anniversary Historical Tours offer more than just an ordinary trek through local religious history.
"The church and all of the surrounding buildings are definitely overlooked," said David Murray, co-chair of the celebration. "Everyone who passes by always assumes that it's just another church, when the truth is, it's not."
All Saints' Episcopal Church in Kapa'a, the first Anglican church established on Kaua'i, has strong ties to a host of Hawaiian royalty, including Queen Emma, the wife of Kamehameha IV and mother of Prince Albert Kauikeaouli Lei o Papa a Kamehameha, the namesake of Princeville.
http://www.kauaiworld.com/articles/2005/08/09/news/news01.txt
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA: Missionaries told to leave Haiti as violence escalates
[Source: Diocese of Southwest Florida]
Renewed violence has prompted the bishop of the Diocese of Haiti to tell American missionaries in his country to leave and advise groups planning mission trips not to come.
In a June 7 letter to Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, Bishop Jean Zache Duracin painted a bleak picture of conditions in the Caribbean nation. Civil order has collapsed, he wrote. Hospital workers have been murdered, and priests have been robbed and shot. "We are all targets, including our visiting mission groups. No one travels safely in Haiti today," said Duracin.
Government authorities say six to 12 kidnappings occur each day, with ransom demands ranging from $30 to $200,000, according to The New York Times. Human-rights groups say 700 people have been killed in the past eight months - among them seven peacekeepers.
In his letter to Griswold, Duracin asked Episcopalians to petition the U.S. government to help. The Executive Council passed a resolution on June 16 urging the government to "facilitate and support a negotiated peace among the various rival factions" in Haiti.
"I think the U.S. government has traditionally played a big role in the politics of Haiti," Duracin told the Presbyterian News Service.
"... We need peace. Peace to go to work, to live. We exist now in Haiti. But there is no life."
He finds solace in being among his diocese's 79,000 baptized members. "My pastoral visits help me so much," he added. "I meet so many people. There is so much suffering here, but people here are happy.
They have faith. They dance. They pray. It makes me happy to be among them. It gives me hope."
Full story by Jim DeLa, diocesan director of communications, for Southwest Florida.
INDIANAPOLIS: Breakaway Episcopalians unite with Bolivia
[SOURCE: Evansville Courier Press]
Evansville-area Episcopalians who left their parishes and started their own ministry here have aligned themselves with the Anglican Diocese of Bolivia, some 4,000 miles away.
The newly formed All Saints Anglican Church has been formally received into the South American diocese in a move that underscores the growing conflicts within Anglicanism, of which the Episcopal church is the North American presence. On a broader scale, it's the latest standoff between a U.S. body and its worldwide brethren.
"We're leaving, moving on with our business of proclaiming the Gospels and caring for the community," said the Rev. Robert Giffin, the Anglican priest who served the group as a satellite of the Episcopal Diocese of Springfield (Ill.).
For the complete story visit: http://www.courierpress.com/ecp/religion/article/
VERMONT: Small Congregations commission visits Vermont
[SOURCE: ENS]
Members of the Standing Commission on Small Congregations visited three lively small congregations in the Diocese of Vermont during their August 7-10 meeting in Burlington.
Teams of commission members visited St. Andrew's, Colchester; St. Paul's, Vergennes, and St. John's in the Mountains, Stowe, to listen to church leaders describe what has led those churches to vitality.
The visits were part of the commission's work to develop resources to enrich and strengthen small churches, which comprise some 70 per cent of Episcopal Church congregations.
The Rev. Ben Helmer of the Small Church office as well as the staff of the Congregational Development unit have already worked with the commission to produce a document on signs of vitality in small congregations, a strategy for building vitality and a manual of resources that are available on the Small Church office's portion of the Episcopal Church Website.
Commission members also met with the Rev. Rebecca McLain, director of the Church Deployment Office, to discuss the range of options available to small congregations seeking ordained leadership.
LOS ANGELES: Canon of diocese to be among presenters at interfaith liturgy conference
[Source: ENS] The Rev. Canon Mark Kowalewski, diocesan canon for theology, formation and deployment, will be among the presenters at Hebrew Union College September 7-8, for "Prayer after the Tower of Babel."
This interreligious exploration of liturgy and its languages, and how religious ideas are translated into words and music, is sponsored by Hebrew Union College, the Institute for Liturgical Studies of the University of Vienna, the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, the Board of Rabbis of Southern California, the United University Church, and others.
The Conference will include worship in the Episcopal, Roman Catholic and Jewish traditions and will feature a concert of Jewish liturgical music.
To register (deadline is Sept. 1), send a check for $25 ($10 for enrolled students) made out to HUC (Liturgical Conference) to Hebrew Union College, 3077 University Avenue, Los Angeles 90007, attn: Jessica Maxwell.