Diocesan Digest
Episcopal News Service. September 8, 2005 [090905-01]
* SAN FRANCISCO: Bay Area religious leaders unite in Walk for Peace
* ATLANTA: Theologian John Rowan Claypool IV dies at 74
* NEW YORK CITY: United Nations International Day of Peace celebrated
* WORLDWIDE: Summer of prayer & advocacy for the Millennium Development Goals
* LOS ANGELES: Helping Hurricane Katrina evacuees
SAN FRANCISCO -- Bay Area religious leaders will unite in prayer and in a Walk for Peace in the Middle East at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, September 8, at Grace Cathedral, San Francisco. Demonstrating solidarity and mutual affection, the Walk is hosted by Episcopal Bishop William Swing, Muslim Imam Souleman Ghali, and Rabbi Stephen Pearce. A representative of every faith community in the Bay Area has been invited to participate. International action to conclude a just settlement in the Middle East is the goal. Praying Grace Cathedral's labyrinth is the symbol. Christians, Jews and Muslims, representatives of the world's three Abrahamic traditions, are stepping forward with expressions of solidarity with recent peace initiatives for Israelis and Palestinians.
For more information please contact Sean McConnell at 415.218.2431 or seanm@diocal.org.
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ATLANTA: Theologian John Rowan Claypool IV dies at 74
[Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution , 9/4/2005] Well-known and much-beloved theologian John Rowan Claypool IV, age 74, died of complications from treatment for multiple myeloma on Saturday, September 3, 2005 at the Dekalb Medical Center Decatur, Georgia.
The Rev. Dr. Claypool was born in Franklin, Kentucky, and raised in Nashville, Tennessee, receiving his undergraduate degree in philosophy from Baylor University in Waco, Texas. His theological education continued at Southern Baptist Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky and at the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest, in Austin, Texas. He earned a doctorate in theology and received six honorary degrees.
Claypool was ordained to the ministry in 1953 and served as pastor of five Baptist churches in Kentucky, Tennessee, Texas, and Mississippi. Ordained an Episcopal priest in 1986, he served as rector of St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Birmingham, Alabama, for nearly fourteen years. He retired from full-time parish ministry in 2000 and served as Professor of Preaching at McAfee School of Theology, Mercer University in Atlanta, Georgia. During that period, he served part-time as theologian-in-residence at Trinity Episcopal Church in New Orleans, Louisiana, from 2001 to 2003 and has been an associate priest at All Saints Episcopal Church in Atlanta since 2003.
Memorial gifts to honor the life of John Claypool may be sent to McAfee School of Theology, 3001 Mercer University Drive, Atlanta, GA 30341-4115; St. Luke's Episcopal Church, 3736 Montrose Road, Birmingham, AL 35213; or All Saints' Episcopal Church, 635 West Peachtree Street, Atlanta, GA. 30308-1925.
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NEW YORK CITY: United Nations International Day of Peace celebrated
[Source: ENS] The Sacred City Project, United Religions Initiative and The Peace Alliance will join together to observe the International Day of Peace on September 21. The program, Courage to Forgive, will take place from 6-7 p.m. at St. Peter's Catholic Church in Lower Manhattan at the edge of Ground Zero. The event is open to the public and links New York with people around the world who are praying, doing community service projects and holding observances to mark the United Nations International Day of Peace.
The Rev. Lyndon Harris, co-chair with Dr. Frederic Luskin, director of Stanford Forgiveness Project and author of Forgive for Good, invite you to honor the power of forgiveness to heal and renew lives. Marianne Williamson, internationally acclaimed author of A Return to Love and The Gift of Change, lecturer ,and founder of The Peace Alliance, will offer inspiration and "spiritual guidance for a radically new life." This event will launch the Garden of Forgiveness at Ground Zero project with a prayer for peace in all the nations of the world using the World Peace Flag Ceremony.
For more information contact: The Rev. Lyndon F. Harris, Garden of Forgiveness at Ground Zero, 646-458-2444; Dr. Frederic Luskin, Stanford Forgiveness Project, 650-208-7658; Monica Willard, United Religions Initiative, 631-754-1008; or Dot Maver, Executive Director of the Peace Alliance, 802-272-5504
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WORLDWIDE: Prayer & advocacy for the Millennium Development Goals
[Source: ENS] Sojourners, Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation, Bread for the World, The Micah Challenge and other religious denominations, aid agencies, and local religious leaders invite all to participate in a three-day fast and vigil September 14-16 fighting global poverty.
Corresponding with the UN "World Summit," the purpose of this interfaith event is to urge US officials to help achieve the UN Millennium Development Goals by increasing foreign aid by 1%, or $25 billion. Local New York actions will run for three days beginning the morning of Sept. 14th at Dag Hammarskjöld Plaza (47th St. and 2nd Ave.) with a press conference followed by prayer, preaching, and musical performances. National advocacy efforts will take place simultaneously. All are welcome.
For more information and how to get involved, contact Katherine Clark at kmclark2@gmail.com
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LOS ANGELES: Helping Hurricane Katrina evacuees
Evacuees from Louisiana and Mississippi who lost their homes in the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina are expected to arrive in Southern California in coming days, and the city and county of Los Angeles are asking for help.
Disaster relief coordinators from Los Angeles have asked the Diocese of Los Angeles to assist them in finding short term (30 to 60 days) and long-term (up to a year) housing for families and for single, elderly and handicapped persons.
Bishop Diocesan J. Jon Bruno requests that congregations, institutions and individuals who are able to offer such housing contact Canon Lydia Lopez at 213.482.2040, ext. 245, or at lydialopez@ladiocese.org with information about how many people can be accommodated and other details.
Bishop Bruno, along with Suffragan Bishop Chester Talton and Bishops Assistant Bob Anderson and Sergio Carranza, ask that the diocese continue to pray for the hurricane victims, their families, and all who are working to help relieve suffering. Donations to help in relief efforts may be sent to Episcopal Relief and Development (ERD), care of the Treasurer of the Diocese, Cathedral Center of St. Paul, 840 Echo Park Avenue, Los Angeles 90026.
For information about Episcopal Church relief efforts, visit www.episcopalchurch.org/ens or www.episcopalnews.com