Diocesan Digest: December 1, 2005
Episcopal News Service. December 1, 2005 [120105-03]
DELAWARE: Advertising initiative helps congregations 'Grow Your Church Now'
FORT WORTH: Realignment under way, bishop tells convention
MISSOURI: Changes for assessments, representation gain approval
MISSOURI: Campus ministry coordinator stepping down to take national post
NEWARK & NEW JERSEY: Federal budget bad news for the poor, bishops say
OKLAHOMA: Windsor response gets convention's OK
PENNSYLVANIA: Convention rejects 2006 budget, mandatory assessments
ROCHESTER: Parish dissolved by convention
SOUTHEAST FLORIDA: Millennium goals get convention's support
UTAH: Repudiate torture, say Episcopalians and others
VERMONT: Oppose torture, bear witness, bishop urges
DELAWARE: Advertising initiative helps congregations 'Grow Your Church Now'
[SOURCE: Diocese of Delaware] It seems that neither rain, wind, dark of night or even a beautiful day would keep parishioners and clergy from gathering recently to learn how to grow their churches now.
The Rev. Roy Tripp, rector of St. Alban's Episcopal Church, and Kay Keenan, communications officer for the Diocese of Delaware, led five sessions across the state, working with more than 150 people representing 25 congregations.
"People came out to learn and share their experiences of growth at their churches," said Tripp.
Timed to coincide with the launching of the first Episcopal television advertising campaign to cover the state of Delaware, the workshops provided practical and achievable plans to energize everyone to be ready to greet visitors as a result of the "Come and Grow" advertising campaign.
Delaware is one of several dioceses involved in the Episcopal Church's nationally-based advertising project.
"We all welcome such increased interest in our church. Our goal is to invite people to join us in the life of the Gospel," Bishop Wayne Wright said of the integrated project.
Keenan said workshop leaders were pleased to provide the Delaware sessions, which were also offered earlier in both the Diocese of Bethlehem and the Brandywine Deanery in the Diocese of Pennsylvania. "It is so exciting to have clergy and laity finding benefit in our workshops," she said.
She went on to say the positive response from clergy is especially exciting. For example, after the workshop the Rev. Anne Bonnyman, rector of Trinity Parish in Wilmington, wrote, "It got me excited all over again about sharing the Episcopal Church and gave me and my parish good, concrete ideas for doing this important work."
Tripp and Keenan recently launched http://www.growyourchurchnow.com/ to share ideas and create custom design workshops, retreats and clergy days.
FORT WORTH: Realignment under way, bishop tells convention
[SOURCE: Diocese of Fort Worth] Bishop Jack Iker told the 23rd convention of the Diocese of Fort Worth, which met November 18-19, that "a realignment of the Anglican Communion is already under way."
"There is no evidence that the Episcopal Church is willing to turn back from the innovations of the 2003 General Convention for the sake of preserving the Communion," Iker said in his convention address . "Some deputies to General Convention are already saying, 'Who needs the Anglican Communion?'"
Iker said he hopes for a decisive vote at the next General Convention but doubts such a vote will happen.
During the address, Iker also described some of the diocese's work in the past year. He recounted how the diocese raised more than $36,000 for a diocesan hurricane relief effort known as the First Month Fund, which assists with providing housing to those who are relocating to the area as a result of the storms. The diocese also contributed more than $42,000 for famine relief in the Diocese of Northern Malawi, Iker said.
The bishop told the convention that because of declines in both attendance and giving in some of the largest congregations, the diocese is facing a $50,000 budget shortfall in 2006.
He also reported a slight increase in membership and a slight decrease in average Sunday attendance. "To say that we did not suffer as much of a decrease as the rest of the Episcopal Church is not much of a consolation," he said.
MISSOURI: Changes for assessments, representation gain approval
[SOURCE: Diocese of Missouri] Delegates to the Diocese of Missouri's recent convention took steps toward addressing challenges faced by the diocese in recent years -- an equitable formula for lay representation, the assessment process, and the canons that tie the two together.
Delegates gave first-round approval to a series of constitutional amendments that change the formula for determining how many delegates each congregation can send to convention and how many of them would have a vote based on how their congregations met their assessments in support of the diocese. They also approved a change in the assessment formula that will take effect in 2006.
Resolution L-166 would give each congregation a minimum of two delegates with an additional one for each 75 in average Sunday attendance with no maximum. The total number of lay delegates would increase from 116 to 142.
Resolution N-166, also a constitutional change requiring approval again next year, would tie each congregation's number of delegates with a vote at convention to the proportion of its assessment the congregation has paid.
Resolution I-166 changes the formula for assessments, giving congregations the discretion to set their assessment rates within a range of 12.5 percent to 15 percent of assessed income and, if they choose not to pay the full amount, they do so knowing the penalty.
The convention also passed resolutions asking media outlets within the diocese's boundaries to give more coverage to global crises and less to celebrities, asking that the Missouri General Assembly consider the needs of the state's children, poor, ill, and homeless in setting the state budget, calling for a moratorium on the death penalty in Missouri, calling for structured hearings by General Convention deputies with members of the Diocese on the issues defined in the Windsor Report, and reaffirming the diocese's commitment to the Millennium Development Goals.
In his address to the convention, Bishop George Wayne Smith reaffirmed his intention to look to the See of Canterbury as the focal point of unity in the Anglican Communion.
"To calibrate the highest possible degree of unity, I have set my eyes on Canterbury," he said. "My eyes are not on Nigeria. And my eyes are not on New Hampshire, either."
MISSOURI: Campus ministry coordinator stepping down to take national post
[SOURCE: Diocese of Missouri] The Rev. Michael Kinman has been appointed the first executive director of Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation. Kinman will step down as coordinator for campus ministry in the Diocese Missouri and as chaplain at Rockwell House, the campus ministry serving Washington University in St. Louis.
The changes will take effect January 1. Kinman will remain in St. Louis and will work out of his home. He has been coordinator of campus ministry since 1999, and is credited with reviving a dormant facet of diocesan life and making it into a widely acclaimed ministry and fertile ground for new clergy in the diocese.
Kinman has been active in global reconciliation since serving as a deputy at the 2003 General Convention and was instrumental in pushing through resolutions in Missouri committing the diocese to setting aside seven-tenths of one percent of its budget for global initiatives, mainly in Sudan.
The organization he will direct is described by Kinman as "working toward the spiritual transformation of the church through engagement in ministries of global social and economic justice."
A search for a new chaplain at Rockwood House is expected to begin after the first of the year. In Kinman's place, Kate Ketcham, who has been serving as an intern, will oversee the ministry at Washington University.
NEWARK & NEW JERSEY: Federal budget bad news for the poor, bishops say
[SOURCE: Diocese of Newark] Bishops John P. Croneberger of Newark and George E. Councell of New Jersey issued a statement December 1 opposing the Fiscal Year 2006 Federal Budget Reconciliation Act, pending before Congress.
The statement reads, in part, "next year's budget . . . is a budget that is not 'good news for the poor.' In fact this budget makes drastic cuts in programs for the most vulnerable in our society. For that reason we call upon the New Jersey Members of Congress to oppose the FY '06 Federal Budget reconciliation bill now being considered by a conference committee . . .
"We pray that that Congress will produce a budget that reflects our nation's commitment to justice and brings hope to those who are without hope - 'good news to the poor.' Then we can truly rejoice."
The statement will be mailed to the New Jersey House and Senate members as well as the media. The full text of the statement has been posted on the diocesan website at http://www.dioceseofnewark.org/am/article_241.shtml.
OKLAHOMA: Windsor response gets convention's OK
[SOURCE: Diocese of Oklahoma] Delegates to the Diocese of Oklahoma's convention November 11-12 approved a response to the Windsor Report, which grew out of a year-long study by Diocesan Council and is to be presented to General Convention.
The response affirmed the desire of Oklahoma Episcopalians to be a part of the Anglican Communion; recognized and affirmed Anglican diversity in culture, scriptural interpretation, and theological perspective; and affirmed "our unity and responsibility in the Body of Christ, and our Anglican Bonds of Affection."
The resolution said that the Episcopal Church has been responsive to "those members of the Communion who have expressed hurt and anger following our 2003 General Convention." It also expressed concern over "the disregard for the recommendations of the Windsor Report by Bishops who are crossing Provincial and Diocesan boundaries and who continue planning for schism in the Anglican Communion."
The convention also expressed its reservations about forming a covenant for the Anglican Communion, as suggested it the Windsor Report. It said that such a covenant "could limit Provincial autonomy and move us toward relationships based on law and not communion."
In an address that drew a standing ovation, Bishop Robert M. Moody noted that the diocese has continued to pay its full apportionment to the Episcopal Church, that its giving to Episcopal Relief and Development has increased, and that pledges increased in 2004 by 4.3%.
PENNSYLVANIA: Convention rejects 2006 budget, mandatory assessments
[SOURCE: Diocese of Pennsylvania] Delegates to the Diocese of Pennsylvania's 222nd convention on November 5 rejected the 2006 program budget and a resolution that would have instituted a mandatory assessment.
The failure of the $4.8 million diocesan program budget, which was rejected by a vote of 205-175, forced the issue of funding daily operations for next year into the lap of the Diocesan Council.
The use of unrestricted net assets in the budget was a major sticking point among the delegates.
Despite several setbacks that some attendees believed were aimed at sending "a message" to Bishop Charles E. Bennison, Jr., the bishop said it was the "best convention" he had presided over in his episcopate.
"In terms of the level of engagement, it was a rich time," Bennison said of the nearly eight-hour long convention, which saw several debates extended by floor vote and was adjourned without completing its business.
Speakers rushed to get in line to speak to the Resolution for Equitable Funding for the Diocese, which would have assessed parishes 2.5 to 11.5 percent of their normal operating income, depending on their revenue. Most of the speakers opposed the resolution.
The Rev. Louis Temme, chair of the Committee on Financial Affairs, introduced the resolution by saying that passing the resolution was one of the solutions to the concern over the use of unrestricted net assets.
David Hammons, a parishioner of Gloria Dei, Philadelphia, echoed the concern of many when he said that the assessment would hinder his parish's ability to do its own work and maintenance. And, he said, "We feel strongly that giving our church should remain a choice, not a mandate."
In his presentation of the 2006 program budget, Kevin Cavanaugh, chair of the Program Budget Committee, acknowledged that members struggled with the question of how to continue to fund burgeoning diocesan programs without using unrestricted net assets - all while dealing with a decrease in parish giving. In fact, only 96 pledges were received during the Eucharist.
The Rev. Bill Wood, rector of St. Christopher's, Gladwyne, and president of the Standing Committee said he opposed the budget for only reason: "to force a discussion about trust."
ROCHESTER: Parish dissolved by convention
[SOURCE: Diocese of Rochester] Delegates of the Episcopal Diocese of Rochester's 74th convention, meeting November 18-19, passed a resolution dissolving the corporation that is All Saints' Protestant Episcopal Church in Irondequoit, New York.
The action came after four years of conversation between the leaders of All Saints' and the leaders of the diocese.
"Our diocese has norms that bring us together and keep us together as a community. This is about relationship." said Bishop Jack McKelvey. "And our canons require that all congregations pay an apportionment in support of the work of the diocese. All Saints' has refused to do this. Convention is the place where we make such decisions, with representatives of all our congregations voting."
All Saints' refusal comes as a response to the decision of the 2003 General Convention of the Episcopal Church to confirm the election of Gene Robinson as bishop for New Hampshire.
The vote came after silent prayer.
In other business, two resolutions coming from the young people of the diocese passed easily and with enthusiasm. One asked that congregations support Project HELP, a ministry in Appalachia. The other encouraged parishes to be more involved with the companion Diocese of Ontario.
The convention went on record as supporting for health care for all people. It also resolved to respond to the recent acts of violence in Rochester, and asked for a task force to work with local government, including the mayor's office, the school district officials, and other public initiatives dealing with the problem, to study and address these issues.
SOUTHEAST FLORIDA: Millennium goals get convention's support
[SOURCE: Diocese of Southeast Florida] The slides on the screens at the opening Eucharist of the 36th Annual Convention of the Diocese of Southeast Florida at St. Gregory's, Boca Raton, said, "Extreme Makeover: God's Edition" and "Oct. 20-21, 2005."
In fact, the date was November 19, and plans to recognize the popular ABC television program "Extreme Makeover Home Edition" for its work of transforming lives had to be jettisoned when the schedule was pared down to a single day, thanks to an "extreme makeover" of a less-welcome kind in the form of Hurricane Wilma, which struck southern Florida on October 24.
Among the resolutions the convention passed was one that moves the dates for future diocesan conventions into November, when hurricanes are less likely.
Becoming the sixty-first diocese working in some way to give 0.07% of its budget for international development, the diocese passed a resolution asking that the diocese "affirm and embrace the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)," that the bishop appoint a diocesan Commission on Global Reconciliation and that the Secretary of Convention, as well as individual Episcopalians, contact elected officials urging them to support the United States government's fulfillment of its commitment to the same 0.7% standard.
The convention also approved a resolution calling for the diocese to commend to the Standing Committee on Liturgy and Music the inclusion of the feast of the Martyrs of the Sudan in the calendar of the Episcopal Church, to include this feast in the diocesan calendar, and to "seek ways to support the rebuilding of the church and society of the Sudan."
The convention approved a 2006 budget that includes a cost of living adjustment of 2% in diocesan staff salaries, rather than the 1% originally proposed.
Delegates also approved a motion calling for any budget surplus at year's end to be directed toward making up the difference between the 15% budgeted for payment of the assessment to the Episcopal Church and the 21% requested.
In his address to convention, Bishop Leo Frade spoke of the diocesan mission ("to make known to all people the transforming power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, including all, excluding none") as a challenge that may seem at times like an insurmountable task.
He warned that one of the obstacles the church faces is division.
"We must stop burning 'heretics' and each other at the stake with the fire of our intolerance. This applies equally to both sides of the argument . . . To be an Anglican is not to seek uniformity, but to promote in our midst what Hooker called 'a harmonious dissimilitude'," Frade said.
UTAH: Repudiate torture, say Episcopalians and others
[SOURCE: Diocese of Utah] A wide-ranging group of Utah religious leaders recently spoke out against the United States using torture on prisoners taken in the war on terror.
More than forty leaders from nearly 30 faith communities in Utah signed a statement urging their members to reject any use of torture by the U.S. government or its agents. The leaders also call upon Utahns to urge their congressional representatives to pass a defense appropriations bill containing "anti-torture provisions."
Utah Bishop Carolyn Tanner Irish and more than 20 other Episcopalians, lay and ordained, signed the statement.
The leaders affirmed the intent of a November 9 statement from the National Council of Churches General Assembly which says in part: "Torture...denies the preciousness of human life and the dignity of every human being by reducing its victims to the status of despised objects, no matter how noble the cause for which it is employed."
The Utah religious leaders represent Christian and non-Christian communities alike acknowledging "that all of our faith traditions can uphold the same intent to 'love our neighbors as ourselves,' a common thread found in nearly every world religion."
VERMONT: Oppose torture, bear witness, bishop urges
[SOURCE: Diocese of Vermont] Writing to the diocese on the Feast of Christ the King, Vermont Bishop Thomas Ely called for Episcopalians to urge the federal government "to renounce any use of torture."
Citing Matthew 25:44 ("Lord, when was it that we saw you in prison and did not take care of you?"), Ely wrote, "As Christians, we cannot be silent about the treatment of prisoners in the custody of U.S. forces around the world. The issues of war and terrorism pose hard moral questions, without simple answers. But on the question of torture, scripture and our tradition are clear."
Ely said that torture "turns its face against the biblical truth that all humans are created in the image of God" and treats its victims are objects to be despised "no matter how noble the cause for which it is employed."
"The practice of torture requires that we turn away from Christ and collaborate with evil in dark places," Ely said.
He urged support of the proposed McCain Amendment to the Defense Appropriations Bill (HR 2863), which would ban "cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment of prisoners in U.S. custody."
Ely suggested that faith communities consider how they might stand against torture and his letter was mailed with copies of the National Council of Churches' recent declaration against the use of torture. He also suggested contacting lawmakers to make their views known.