Diocesan Digest
Episcopal News Service. October 20, 2005 [102005-3-A]
* BETHLEHEM: Evangelism ministry for congregations and dioceses gets delegates’ approval
* BETHLEHEM: Organ gets a birthday party
* CALIFORNIA: Bishop nominating process ends
* CONNECTICUT: Parish withdraws from American Anglican Council and the Anglican Communion Network
* PITTSBURGH: Property lawsuit settled
* SOUTHEAST FLORIDA: Hurricane prompts convention cancellation
* SOUTHWEST FLORIDA: Episcopal churches prepare for Wilma
* SOUTHERN VIRGINIA: Conflict can be a gift from God, bishops tell diocese
* WESTERN NEW YORK: Quint Diocesan Day fosters international cooperation
BETHLEHEM: Evangelism ministry for congregations and dioceses gets delegates’ approval
[SOURCE: Diocese of Bethlehem] Delegates to the Diocese of Bethlehem’s annual convention, meeting October 14-15, reaffirmed that the central responsibility of every congregation is “to nurture and equip the followers of Jesus Christ to proclaim in word and deed the Gospel through hospitality and welcome into our parishes and witness to our communities.”
More than 300 clergy, lay delegates and visitors from Episcopal congregations in eastern and northeastern Pennsylvania gathered at the Cathedral Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem to worship, hear Bishop Paul Marshall’s address and a sermon by Bishop Walton Empey from Ireland, set the 2006 agenda for mission, and celebrate their common ministry.
The evangelism resolution “directs the Evangelism Commission in concert with other diocesan committees and local congregations to create innovative gatherings around the Diocese as a way to foster conversation with people outside the church and to bear witness to the Good News” and “pledges diocesan and local support to those communities as they emerge.”
“I have never come away from a convention so convinced that the primacy of our identity as reconciled and reconciling community is our life,” Marshall said after the convention. “Fraternal conversation put potentially challenging issues into a communal perspective. We’ve taken on several important jobs together for the next year rather than attempting to settle them by debate and legislation.”
“What kind of headline might tell the story of our convention to a national readership,” he asked. “‘Once again in Bethlehem they did not fight?’”
The delegates also approved full parish status for St. Brigid’s Church, Nazareth, which has been a mission of the Diocese of Bethlehem for the past ten years. The church held its first service as an organized congregation on September 10, 1995, at the Nazareth National Bank branch in Moorestown. It moved to its current location in August 1998.
Empey, the retired Archbishop of Dublin, preached at the Convention’s “Emerald Eucharist” as well as at St. Brigid’s the following day. It was Empey’s fourth visit to St. Brigid’s. When St. Brigid’s was established, he was the Bishop of the Diocese of Meath and Kildare, Ireland, where the cathedral is named St. Brigid’s. At that time, that diocese and the Diocese of Bethlehem had formed a companion diocese relationship. The name of the new congregation was chosen in recognition of that relationship.
BETHLEHEM: Organ gets a birthday party
[SOURCE: Allentown Morning Call] Fifty years ago, Trinity Episcopal Church of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, installed a three-manual Aeolian-Skinner organ, one of 1,700 or so the Boston company and its predecessor, Skinner Organ Company, built before the firm went out of business in the 1970s.
In those 50 years, this organ has remained in the church with little change, except for the modification of a few ranks of pipes in 1971.
Trinity Church's organ is opus 1240 in the company's list of organs built. It is the product of the work of G. Donald Harrison, president of Aeolian-Skinner from 1940-1956, who, according to Trinity’s organist Lorenz Maycher, was legendary in his ability to build versatile instruments capable of playing music of all periods.
Trinity Church will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its instrument with two concerts and a lecture. On the evening of October 22, at 7:30, sopranos Anneliese von Goerken and Linda Laubach will join the Women of Trinity Choir, and Maycher at the organ, in a program of music by Bach, Fauré, Handel, Langlais, Vierne, Weinberger and Widor. Von Goerken is a professional singer and friend of Maycher's from his New York days, and Laubach is a member of the Trinity choir.
Wedged in between the two Sunday services on October 23 at 9:15 a.m. is a talk by Charles Callahan entitled “History of Trinity Church's Aeolian-Skinner Pipe Organ and the Evolution of the American Classic Organ.” Callahan is the author of The American Classic Organ: a History in Letters, published by the Organ Historical Society in 1990.
That afternoon at 3:00 p.m., the Trinity Choir will be joined by choirs from the Church of the Mediator in Allentown and the Cathedral Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem, along with their respective organists and choirmasters, Callahan, Russell Jackson, Maycher and Clinton Miller.
Part of the celebration is Maycher's release of a CD of music on Trinity's Aeolian-Skinner. The recording, on the Raven label (OAR-710), shows off the instrument's vivid sound. The composers featured range from Bach to Franck.
Trinity Episcopal Church is located at 44 E. Market St. in Bethlehem.
CALIFORNIA: Bishop nominating process ends
[SOURCE: Diocese of California] The Bishop’s Search Committee of the Diocese of California has stopped taking nominations for bishop after receiving names for 10 months.
“Ours is a challenging and progressive diocese and it’s not for everyone," said search committee co-chair Helen Sause.
Nominees were asked to review the diocesan profile and then to answer six essay questions.
“We seem to have an abundance of very strong nominees,” said co-chair Jim McKnight. “We blessed ourselves by having potential nominees self-select out unless they seriously felt called here and were willing to commit the time and thought to answer our questions. We’re not aware of other dioceses requiring the essays as part of the first screening, but we’re really glad we did. The Holy Spirit guided us and the result is a very strong, capable, yet diverse group of nominees in our ‘in-box.’”
By the first of November, the committee will identify 12 nominees to engage in further discernment via telephone interviews; thereafter, a smaller group will be visited on their home turf. Four to six final candidates will be named in February. On May 6, resident clergy and lay representatives elected from every parish and mission in the diocese will vote separately on the candidates until a majority of both groups agree.
CONNECTICUT: Parish withdraws from American Anglican Council and the Anglican Communion Network
[SOURCE: St. John’s Church Bristol] The new vestry of St. John’s Church in Bristol, Connecticut, unanimously voted October 18 to withdraw the parish from membership in the American Anglican Council and the Anglican Communion Network.
It also announced in a news release that St. John’s is no longer affiliated with the group of churches formerly known as the “Connecticut Six.”
The St. John’s vestry said that no other group or individual is authorized to speak on behalf of the parish, enter into contracts in the name of the parish, or otherwise suggest that they represent the interests or wishes of the more than 100 parishioners who have been regularly attending services at St. John’s since July.
“The people of St. John’s are the people who are in the pews every Sunday, not the people who are somewhere else,” said Jim Doucette, a member of the vestry. “We are the ones who are rebuilding this church. It is hard work but it is happening. It is like St. John’s used to be and it is great to see.”
Connecticut Bishop Andrew Smith inhibited the Rev. Mark H. Hansen, the rector of St. John's Church, in July on a number of grounds that Hansen maintains are unsupported.
A group of parishioners, including former vestry members, calling themselves “St. John’s in Exile” have joined clergy and laity from five other Connecticut parishes in a federal lawsuit claiming that Smith and others have violated their civil rights.
The suit stems from a dispute between clergy and laity in the six parishes and Smith over his consent to the election of Gene Robinson as bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire in 2003.
Dave Desmarais, the newly-elected senior warden of St. John’s, said October 18 that the parish remains hopeful that, in time, some of those who have left will return once they see how St. John’s is flourishing. “We have a renewed life as a Parish devoted to the Gospel, rooted in the traditions of the Episcopal Church and in communion with our bishop and these commitments are central to our mission rather than any political agenda,” he said.
“We are tired of politics,” said Art Paulette Jr., the junior warden. “When we come to church we want to hear preaching about the Gospel and we are doing that now for the first time in a long time.”
PITTSBURGH: Property lawsuit settled
[SOURCE: Diocese of Pittsburgh, Calvary Episcopal Church] A state court judge has approved a settlement in a lawsuit challenging a 2003 Diocese of Pittsburgh resolution asserting that congregations own their buildings and that neither the diocese nor the national church could claim them if a parish decides to leave.
Calvary Episcopal Church in East Liberty, Pennsylvania and St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Wilkinsburg filed the suit, arguing that the resolution contradicts both canon and civil law and could mire parishes in lawsuits.
The settlement, announced October 14, states that even if the majority of the Diocese of Pittsburgh’s parishes decide not to remain in the Episcopal Church, any diocesan real estate and endowments would continue held by the remaining diocesan structure.
It also says that any parish that wants to disaffiliate with the diocese must follow a procedure for resolving property disputes that involves notification and mediation.
Any parish that does not want to be a member of the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes, of which Pittsburgh Bishop Robert Duncan is moderator, can withdraw from the group without affecting its membership in the Pittsburgh diocese, according to the terms of the settlement.
In addition, the Diocese of Pittsburgh will received $50,000 of the more than $200,000 that Calvary would normally have paid as its diocesan assessment since the beginning of the lawsuit. That money has been held in escrow. The remaining $150,000 will be returned to Calvary.
“We expect that our suit and this settlement will have, as former Junior Warden Gordon Fisher stated last year, ‘a great impact upon Episcopalians across the country,’” said Calvary’s rector, the Rev. Harold Lewis, in a statement posted on the parish’s website (http://www.calvarypgh.org/litigation.html). “As other dioceses seek to sort out differences arising from property disputes, we anticipate that this settlement may be an example for others. I believe it is not an exaggeration to say that we have participated in making history. We have taken action that we believe appropriate to protect the principles now reflected in the court-approved settlement.”
“Both sides have been working toward a settlement for almost a year now. It is a blessing to see that work bear fruit,” said Duncan in a letter posted on the diocesan website at http://www.pgh.anglican.org/news/local/lawsuitsettled.
SOUTHEAST FLORIDA: Hurricane prompts convention cancellation
[SOURCE: Diocese of Southeast Florida] The Diocese of Southeast Florida announced October 19 that it was canceling its annual convention due to the impending Hurricane Wilma.
The convention, whose theme is “Extreme Makeover: God’s Edition,” had been set for October 21 and 22 at St. Gregory’s, Boca Raton. It was to be hosted by the South Palm Beach Deanery.
The popular ABC television program “Extreme Makeover Home Edition” reflects the diocesan commitment to this mission of transforming lives, said the Ven. Dr. Bryan Hobbs, archdeacon for congregational ministry. The diocese had invited representatives of the program to attend Convention to receive recognition for showing stories of people working together in love and generosity to transform not only the homes but also the lives of their neighbors.
SOUTHWEST FLORIDA: Episcopal churches prepare for Wilma
[SOURCE: Diocese of Southwest Florida] As Hurricane Wilma draws a bead on the Sunshine State, churches in the Diocese of Southwest Florida are taking action as voluntary evacuation notices are being given in some areas.
Meandering across the southern Caribbean, Wilma at one point was called the most intense Atlantic storm ever recorded — a Category 5 behemoth with 175 mph winds. The storm, expected to eventually weaken to at Category 3 storm, is expected to make landfall somewhere on Florida’s west coast by late Sunday.
Uncertainty about conditions has already forced the cancellation of a major Episcopal Church Women’s conference at the diocesan conference center some 90 north of Fort Myers. For now, DaySpring Conference Center near Ellenton plans to remain open through the weekend, according to Executive Director Rosemary Benoit. Decisions about closing the conference center will be made in consultation with county officials and weather experts as the track of the storm becomes clearer.
Other churches that appear to be in the direct path of the storm are securing their property and gathering vestries to review emergency plans. Staff at the southernmost parish in the diocese, St. John’s Episcopal Church on Marco Island, report some parishioners are already evacuating. A voluntary evacuation order has been given on Sanibel Island and staff at St. Michael's and All Angels are working to remove vehicles and other property to the mainland.
Bishop John Lipscomb has directed that all congregations follow the guidelines of the emergency management office of their counties and that no church building within the diocese should be open to the public when sustained winds are 40 mph or above unless that facility is a designated shelter.
More information about storm preparation can be found on the diocese’s on-line news site: http://www.dioceseswfla.org/ezine/Ezine.htm
SOUTHERN VIRGINIA: Conflict can be a gift from God, bishops tell diocese
[SOURCE: Diocese of Southern Virginia] A three-bishop panel has told the Executive Board and the Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia that conflict in the diocese can be seen “as a God-given opportunity to examine, understand and change the patterns of relationships and ways of dealing with conflict” that have been part of the diocese of 50 years.
Bishop Gordon Scruton of the Diocese of Western Massachusetts presented the report in person October 18 on behalf of himself and Bishops Chilton Knudsen of Maine and Charles Jenkins of Louisiana.
The Rt. Rev. David C. Bane, Jr. announced at a Special Council of the Diocese on October 1 that he intends to retire at the 2006 Annual Council, set for February 10-12.
Problems, including questions of management style, in the diocese during the past several years culminated at the 2005 Annual Council in February with the adoption of a resolution that called upon Bane to request that the Presiding Bishop appoint three bishops to come into the diocese to evaluate programs and relationships and recommend steps to move the ministry of the diocese forward.
“Positive changes will require a commitment to developing new patterns of interaction and mutual responsibility for words, actions and relationships with each other,” the three bishops wrote. “While we recognize that such change is difficult, we know that with God’s help, transformation is possible.”
They also said that members of the diocese need to listen with respect to people “who hold very different convictions and pieces of information, letting go of some issues which will never be resolved, and intentionally developing new patterns of relationships which can deal with future differences in honest, respectful and healthy ways, for the sake of Christ.”
The three bishops’ recommendations included:
* a transition team to help Bane and the diocese “in making these last months of his tenure a time of mutual healing, reflection and learning . . .”
* a three-year interim with the search for a new bishop to begin in the third year “to allow for the grace of an interim period to unfold fully.”
* a review of congregational participation in the diocesan budget because the current voluntary system of giving to the budget has seriously reduced the diocese’s ability to do ministry.
* a study of the governance structure because they saw the 40-member Executive Board as being to large to work effectively.
“That reconciliation for the sake of Christ’s mission be a priority for the future.”
WESTERN NEW YORK: Quint Diocesan Day fosters international cooperation
[SOURCE: Diocese of Western New York] Bishop J. Michael Garrison of Western New York and four members of his staff were joined recently by their counterparts from the Diocese of Rochester and the Canadian Dioceses of Huron, Toronto and Niagara at the annual Quint Diocesan Day held this year in Lewiston, New York.
The day’s main focus was the church’s responsibility to respond in times of community crises and natural disasters. Though the agenda had been planned for more than a month, the actual meeting took place just one day after the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church advanced a resolution recommending that dioceses and congregations “take steps to provide instructions to clergy and other leaders concerning what to do and where to go in the event of a natural disaster or terrorist event.”
Diocesan communication officer Laurie Wozniak jump-started the day’s main discussion with a short presentation that graphically depicted crises that occur beyond the doors of the church, like natural disasters, crime, public health emergencies, terrorism, plant closings, and war. Designed to motivate viewers to prepare to act in times of crisis, the final series of slides quoted St. Teresa of Avila’s words: “God has no hands in this world but our hands. God has no feet but our feet. God has no voice but our voice,” and asked if viewers’ and their churches were poised to respond.
With these images and thoughts in mind, small-group discussions then focused on ways dioceses and congregations could poise themselves to respond. All agreed that the church needs to be proactive and plan ahead so that it may respond quickly and effectively when disaster strikes. Suggestions included:
* Establish relationships with community emergency response teams
* Develop emergency communication and operation plans
* Conduct an assessment of physical and human resource assets and plan how they could be utilized during a disaster
* Identify and plan low-tech responses
* Identify and recruit members willing to serve in various ways should disaster strike
* Educate clergy and laity about these plans
* Develop community awareness of your ability and desire to serve
The dioceses agreed to identify a staff member to serve as their disaster response coordinator and to keep their own dioceses and the other coordinators informed of their plans, resources and needs as diocesan disaster response plans are drafted and implemented.
The annual gathering of local American and Canadian dioceses began during the episcopacy of Bishop David Bowman in the 1990s and involved Western New York and the three Canadian dioceses. Rochester joined the group more recently. Quint Diocesan Day is hosted each fall by a different diocese. Next year’s gathering will take place in Toronto.