Newsmakers in Brief
Episcopal News Service. September 23, 2004 [092304-1-A]
NEWSMAKERS: James B. Lemler, John Thomas Walker, Stanley B. Hubbard Jr., Paul Marshall, Trish Hooper; William Swing; Lee Alison Crawford, Michael R. Barwell, Michael-John Austin
JAMES LEMLER BEGINS WORK AS THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH'S NEW DIRECTOR OF MISSION
The Very Rev. JAMES B. LEMLER, former dean of Seabury-Western Theological Seminary, began work at the Episcopal Church Center earlier this month in his new capacity as director of mission for the Episcopal Church.
Having performed significant public ministry and served as a leader at the diocesan, provincial and national level, Lemler, 51, has helped to shape the mission of the Episcopal Church in chairing roles for the Standing Commission on the Church in Metropolitan Areas and the Standing Commission on Domestic Mission and Evangelism. He is widely called upon as a teacher, writer, conference leader, preacher, and consultant in areas of congregational development, leadership development, education, spirituality, and mission. His experience also includes consultation and leadership in philanthropy and stewardship with various foundations and the Consortium of Endowed Episcopal Parishes, and in education through the National Association of Episcopal Schools and the Council of Episcopal Seminary Deans.
Nationally recognized as a presenter and educator in congregational development, Lemler helped to launch the 20/20 Vision for domestic mission and congregational life in the Episcopal Church, a movement which works towards embracing fully the stated mission of the Church and is a goal that General Convention adopted in July 2000 to contribute to the growth and vitality of the Church and its congregations. "At the heart of [20/20] is a sense of vital and healthy congregations. That then connects to issues of peace and justice, children, youth, young adults, migration ministries et cetera," he said. "All of that builds congregational mission."
Citing learning and leadership as two priorities in his role as director, Lemler described mission as the "lifeblood, purpose and vision" of the church in restoring all people to unity, with God and each other in Christ.
WASHINGTON'S LATE BISHOP WALKER TO BE HONORED SUNDAY AT NATIONAL CATHEDRAL
A special service to celebrate the life and ministry of Bishop JOHN THOMAS WALKER, sixth Episcopal bishop of Washington, who died 15 years ago, will take place at 4 p.m. on Sunday, September 26 at Washington National Cathedral. The service will be followed by a reception, and will also celebrate the publication of his biography. David Beers, Esq., chancellor of the Episcopal Church in the United States, preacher.
John Thomas Walker was Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington from 1977-1989. He left his mark on presidents, world leaders, and countless ordinary people as "an extraordinary spokesman for the radical belief that our broken world can yet be restored."
Pastor, teacher, cathedral builder, civil rights leader, ecumenist, social justice pioneer, urban missionary, relief worker, statesman--John Thomas Walker was all of these, and more. As both the first African-American to be accepted to study at Virginia Theological Seminary and to serve as a Master at St. Paul's School, John used such accomplishments to influence him in his rise to Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, D.C.
Bishop John B. Chane of Washington, D.C., has designated September 26 as Bishop John Thomas Walker Sunday in the Diocese of Washington, and has asked that churches in the diocese include a commemorative collect and litany of thanksgiving for Walker's life in their services that day.
KANUGA NAMES STANLEY B. HUBBARD JR. AS NEW PRESIDENT
STANLEY B. HUBBARD JR. has been named president of Kanuga Conferences, Inc., in Hendersonville, North Carolina, to succeed Albert Gooch who announced his resignation in 2003 and will serve through the end of this year.
"The Board of Directors is very pleased with Stan's acceptance of the call to be our next president," said Matt Henry, Kanuga board chairman. "After four days of interviews, deliberations, and prayers, we selected a great person to be our next president. We are excited about working with him as we move into the next phase of Kanuga's journey as the preeminent conference center in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion."
A native of Charlotte, North Carolina, Hubbard has been an active Episcopalian, serving as a vestry member, chair of various committees, usher and Sunday school teacher in several parishes.
Having pursued a 31-year career as a business executive and management consultant, Hubbard anticipates building on Kanuga's traditions. "I am enormously impressed with all that's been accomplished at Kanuga, the way God has been served here over the past 76 years and the thousands of people who have seen a glimpse of the Kingdom through this wonderful place," he said. "My personal experience with Kanuga over the past 15 years has revealed a wealth of knowledge, skill, and faithfulness shared by the staff and board. That gives me great confidence about Kanuga's future."
PENNSYLVANIA BISHOP PAUL MARSHALL AUTHORS NEW BOOK ON SAMUEL SEABURY
[Note: This title is available from the Episcopal Book/Resource Center, 815 Second Ave., New York, NY 10017; 800.334.7626; http://www.episcopalbookstore.org/]
In the first new book on Bishop Samuel Seabury in more than a decade, "One, Catholic, and Apostolic: Samuel Seabury and the Early Episcopal Church," Bishop PAUL MARSHALL of Bethlehem uses Seabury's persona and thought as central themes to argue that liturgy cannot be understood simply by studying texts, and so he explores the complex personalities, motivations, loyalties and prejudices that went into the formation of the Episcopal church and the creation of its liturgy.
In 1783, Seabury, the first bishop in the Episcopal Church, was chosen by the clergy of Connecticut to seek ordination to the episcopate in England. After a year of negotiation, Seabury found it impossible to obtain Episcopal orders from the Church of England because, as an American citizen, he could not swear allegiance to the crown. He turned to the non-juring bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church and was ordained on November 14, 1784. As part of his negotiation with the Scottish bishops Seabury agreed to incorporate the Communion Service from the Scottish Prayer Book into a new American Prayer Book, thereby establishing a pivotal component in American Anglican Liturgy. When he returned to America, he was recognized as the first Bishop of Connecticut.
($50 cloth, $30 paper - 300 pp, includes CD-ROM appendix.) ISBN: 0-89869-447-7. The CD-ROM Appendix contains extensive correspondence and other historical source material from the Episcopal Church's turbulent post-colonial period.
BAY AREA'S TRISH HOOPER PENS 'A POLITICAL ODYSSEY'
Offering a collection of her original essays, columns and pithy letters to the editor, Episcopalian Trish Hooper has authored "A Political Odyssey" -- a blend of prayerful and progressive political thought -- published this summer by Patsons Press in Sunnyvale, California.
Essay topics range from "Religion and Political Religion" to "Life is Sacred (but not in Kosovo, not in Bosnia)." The author's daughter Helen Hooper McCloskey writes the foreword titled "My Mother, Right or Wrong."
The book concludes with a quotation from Grace Cathedral's dean, Alan Jones: "I am on the lookout for politicians who understand that the word 'God' means the affirmation of a common humanity in which we all, however ineptly, struggle together for a common hope based on peace and justice."
Hooper lives with her husband in Portola Valley, California. She is also the author of "April in Paris," an account of her years in France as wife of the Defense Advisor to the U. S. Ambassador to NATO, and the mother of four young children at the time.
Copies of "A Political Odyssey" and pricing information may be requested through Patsons Press, phone 408.744.0911; http://www.patsons.com/
GRACE CATHEDRAL SUNDAY FORUM TO SALUTE BILL SWING'S 25 YEARS AS BISHOP
The Sunday Forum at San Francisco's Grace Cathedral -- also webcast at http://www.gracecathedral.org/ -- will on September 26 trace highlights of the 25-year tenure of the Rt. Rev. William E. Swing as bishop of the Bay Area Diocese of California. Swing is at present the longest-tenured active diocesan bishop in the national Episcopal Church and its House of Bishops. Swing is well known for accomplishments ranging from the establishment of the United Religions Initiative, to strategic support for HIV/AIDS ministries, to extensive building and development projects around the San Francisco Bay Area.
VERMONT PRIEST INSTALLED AS CANON MISSIONER OF EL SALVADOR
The Rev. LEE ALISON CRAWFORD, rector of St. Mary's Church in Northfield, Vermont, was installed as Canon Missioner for the Diocese of El Salvador August 19 at the Pro-Cathedral of San Juan, San Salvador. In his charge to Crawford, Bishop Martin de Jesus Barahona of El Salvador and Primate of Iglesia Anglicana de la Region Central de America, said that her work as "our missionary to North America" would help people to learn more about the work of the Anglican Church in Central America.
Visiting El Salvador for the second time, Crawford, who is fluent in Spanish, was part of a delegation of Episcopal Communicators who were on a fact-finding and informational mission.
NEW HAMPSHIRE'S MICHAEL BARWELL RECEIVES COMMUNICATOR OF THE YEAR AWARD
MICHAEL R. BARWELL, media coordinator for the Diocese of New Hampshire, was presented with the first annual NY/IABC (New York Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators) Communicator of the Year award September 22 in recognition of his role in planning and executing the communication strategy that supported the election, confirmation and consecration of Bishop Gene Robinson of New Hampshire, the first openly gay priest to be elected bishop in the Episcopal Church.
Barwell explained that the people of the diocese who had known and supported Bishop Robinson throughout the entire process, were always a priority. "We were focused on the people in New Hampshire," he said. "They were the primary audience and for them Gene's sexuality was incidental to his leadership qualities as a bishop."
An excerpt from a letter by Bishop Robinson was read in which he stated, "Given the instantaneous worldwide attention to my election ... it is not overly dramatic to say that Mike Barwell saved me from 'being eaten alive.'"
During the awards ceremony it was noted that "despite an intensely controversial topic, extremely limited resources, and a highly challenging set of circumstances -- including a scenario that threatened his client's life -- Mike retained his composure, counseled his client with skill and sensitivity, and led a media relations effort that resulted in millions of media impressions around the world, earning him the respect of the media, his colleagues and his client in the process."
COMPANIONS OF ST. LUKE WILL CONSECRATE FIRST ABBOT
The Companions of St. Luke (Benedictine) will consecrate its first Abbot, MICHAEL-JOHN AUSTIN on October 26, 2004 at Conception Abbey, Missouri, in the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception. Austin founded the religious community in 1992 and has served as superior for the last 12 years.
The Companions of St. Luke is one of only a few Benedictine communities in the U.S. Uniquely formed under the canons of the Episcopal Church as a "Christian Community" in order to increase its flexibility, the Companions stand as a new expression of Benedictine life in the 21st century. National recognition was formally granted in 2004 by the House of Bishops' Standing Committee on Religious Life.
From the beginning, the Companions have had Episcopal oversight by the following clergy: Bishop(s) John Charles - FODC; William Sheridan; and current Bishop-Visitor Christopher Epting, the Presiding Bishop's deputy for ecumenical and interfaith relations.
Participants in the consecration include: Bishop Alan Scarfe of Iowa, consecrator; the Rev. Wayne Kamm, community chaplain and homilist for the event; and the Rev. Dian Ong, deacon at St. Michael's Episcopal Church in Mount Pleasant, Iowa.