Diocesan Digest
Episcopal News Service. July 14, 2005 [071405-1-A]
* CONNECTICUT: Bishop inhibits, removes Bristol rector
* EAU CLAIRE (Wisconsin): Bishop installs diocese's first woman priest-in-charge
* SOUTH DAKOTA: Pine Ridge Reservation to welcome L.A. 'Red Shirt Project'
* TEXAS: Retired bishop suffragan William Sterling dies at 78
CONNECTICUT: Bishop inhibits, removes Bristol rector
[Source: Statement from the Diocese of Connecticut, July 13, 2005] "This morning, the Rt. Rev. Andrew D. Smith, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut, inhibited the rector of St. John's Episcopal Church in Bristol, the Rev. Mark H. Hansen, removing him from that office, and appointed the Rev. Susan J. McCone to serve as priest-in-charge of the parish, effective immediately.
"In March, Fr. Hansen announced to his parish that he would be taking sabbatical for an unspecified period of time. Although Episcopal priests in the Diocese of Connecticut formally apply for sabbatical, Fr. Hansen neglected to notify Bishop Smith of his departure as rector of the parish. In recent months, the bishop has become increasingly concerned for St. John's well-being as a full and healthy member parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut.
"'I am concerned for the life and ministry of St. John's,' said Bishop Smith. 'In the past few months Fr. Hansen has made decisions that left the parish without sustained clergy leadership.'
"A letter formally inhibiting the Rev. Mark H. Hansen, St. John's rector, was delivered by Bishop Smith to St. John's Episcopal Church in Bristol. The Bishop was accompanied by the diocesan Canon for Stewardship and Administration, John ("Jack") W. Spaeth III, the Rev. Susan J. McCone, and Mr. Ed Seibert, who will provide administrative assistance. Hansen was not at the church or rectory; the bishop has not been notified of an alternate address.
"In April, the diocesan Standing Committee, a council of advice for the bishop with specific responsibilities for clergy, recommended that Hansen be inhibited for abandoning the communion of the church. 'Inhibition' means that Fr. Hansen may not exercise the privileges of ordained ministry in the Diocese for a period up to six months. If before six months is over, the bishop is satisfied that he has returned to the communion of the church, the inhibition will be lifted (removed). If after six months the bishop does not believe Fr. Hansen has returned to the communion of the church, the bishop may depose him, permanently removing the privileges of ordained ministry in this and all other dioceses of the Episcopal Church.
"Bishop Smith has appointed the Rev. Susan J. McCone as priest-in-charge of the parish, effective immediately. She now has the responsibility for the worship, ministry, mission, and property, under the bishop's direction. Ed Seibert, an administrative and financial consultant, has been asked to assist in parish administration and to review parish records. The bishop will provide pastoral counselors who will be available to meet with and listen to members of the parish who may wish to speak with them.
"A letter is being sent today to the members of St. John's, notifying them of these events and inviting them to a special meeting with Bishop Smith on Sunday evening, July 17. That meeting will be open only to members of St. John's Episcopal Church, Bristol, and closed to the media and non-members of the parish."
[Editor's note: These developments in Connecticut are the latest in a sequence of events that began earlier this year and involve six priests of that diocese.]
EAU CLAIRE: Bishop installs diocese's first woman priest-in-charge
[Source: Diocese of Eau Claire, Wisconsin] History in the making was witnessed by family, friends and clergy from near and far who attended the institution of the priest-in-charge of St. John's, Sparta, the evening of April 14. The Rev. Leigh Farley Waggoner became the first woman priest in charge of a congregation in the Diocese of Eau Claire.
The Fifth Bishop of Eau Claire, the Rt. Rev. Keith Whitmore, officiated at the formal institution and celebrated the Holy Eucharist. The Rev. Martha Berger, rector of St. Anskar's, Hartland, Wisconsin, was preacher.
Waggoner, a graduate of Seabury-Western Theological Seminary in Evanston, Illinois, has been in Sparta for the past year. She was ordained to the priesthood by Whitmore in 2003. Prior to Whitmore's consecration in 1999, women were not ordained to the priesthood in the Diocese of Eau Claire. Since 1999, in addition to Waggoner, the Rev. Joy Rose was ordained and is now serving in Virginia.
[Editor's note: Women were first ordained "irregularly" in the Episcopal Church in 1974, and officially in 1976. Today, women are ordained in 97 of the church's 100 domestic dioceses, and in its 10 overseas dioceses and comparable mission regions. The three dioceses in which women are not currently ordained to the priesthood are Fort Worth (Texas), Quincy (Illinois), and San Joaquin (California).]
SOUTH DAKOTA: Pine Ridge Reservation to welcome L.A. 'Red Shirt Project'
[Source: Diocese of Los Angeles] The Red Shirt Project, a journey for youth sponsored by the Office of Youth Ministry of the Diocese of Los Angeles, is gearing up for its fourth annual trip to the village of Red Shirt on the Pine Ridge Reservation in South Dakota, which is populated by the Native American Lakota tribe. The trek is set for July 29-August 12.
The group's project for this year is to continue building a baseball field, located next to the school that was recently completed in the village of Red Shirt, which is served by the Episcopal congregation of Christ Church. A group from St. George's Church, La Canada, California, began the most recent building project during its own journey to Red Shirt in June.
This year's diocesan group is the largest to date, consisting of some 35 people, including 18 youth and six young adults, led by the Rev. Robert Two Bulls, L.A. diocesan program officer for native American ministries, and Michael Cunningham, the L.A. diocese's missioner for administration and mission congregations.
The Red Shirt Project began about five years ago, when Two Bulls, a member of the Lakota tribe, was assistant priest at St. George's Church, La Canada, and shared stories with parishioners there of the ancient culture of his people and the rugged natural beauty and grinding poverty of Pine Ridge. St. George's began to send parishioners to the reservation to work with the residents---a program that continues today after being widened by participation across the L.A. diocese.
The Red Shirt Project depends on donations from the diocesan community to carry out its ministry. Further information may be obtained from the Cunningham or Two Bulls at 213.482.2040.
TEXAS: Retired bishop suffragan William Sterling dies at 78
[ENS] -- The Rt. Rev. William E. Sterling, retired bishop suffragan of the Diocese of Texas, died June 28 at his Houston home. He was 78, and the cause of death was cancer, according to news reports.
Texas Diocesan Bishop Don Wimberly presided at Requiem Eucharist on July 1 at Christ Church Cathedral in Houston. Celebrant for the Eucharist was current Texas Bishop Suffragan Rayford B. High Jr. Retired Texas diocesan bishops Claude E. Payne and Maurice M. Benitez also participated in the service, which was followed by private burial rites.
Sterling was elected bishop suffragan in 1989. He had previously served for 23 years in ministry at Good Shepherd Church in Friendswood, Texas, first as vicar and then as rector. Upon his retirement as bishop suffragan in 1999, he served as bishop-in-residence at Trinity Church, Houston.
Sterling was born February 7, 1927, in Houston. He served in the U.S. Navy in World War II and in 1949 received a business degree from the University of Houston. He graduated in 1957 from the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas, and was ordained to the diaconate in 1957 and to the priesthood in 1958.
The late bishop's wife of 54 years, Eleanor Hart Sterling, died in 2003. He is survived by his son, William E. Sterling Jr. of Austin, and his daughter, Mary Sterling-Cruz, of Friendswood.