Episcopal Press and News
News Briefs
Episcopal News Service. June 12, 2002 [2002-148-1]
Church of England appoints first senior black bishop
(AP) The Church of England has appointed a Ugandan-born anti-racism campaigner as its first senior black bishop. The Rt. Rev. John Sentamu was appointed as the bishop of Birmingham in central England, succeeding the Rt. Rev. Mark Santer, who retired in May after 15 years in the post. A former assistant bishop of Stepney in east London, he becomes the first black person to head an Anglican diocese in the United Kingdom.
"I am both delighted and overwhelmed to have been chosen as the eighth bishop of Birmingham," he said at a news conference in Birmingham.
Sentamu is a high-profile figure who has often accused the Church of England of being institutionally racist. In 1997 he became an adviser to an inquiry into the bungled police investigation of the 1993 killing of black teen-ager Stephen Lawrence. The inquiry concluded that London police were institutionally racist. In January 2000, the bishop criticized the force after he was stopped and searched by police officers while driving near St. Paul's Cathedral in London.
Sentamu, who left Uganda during dictator Idi Amin's regime in the 1970s, was ordained in 1979 after studying at Cambridge University.
Former rector renounces priesthood in wake of misconduct allegations
(ENS) A retired Episcopal priest in the Diocese of Southwest Florida has renounced his orders and been deposed from the priesthood following allegations of sexual misconduct.
The Rev. Richard Arthur Pollard, former rector of All Saints Episcopal Church in Tarpon Springs, renounced his orders June 8. Pollard was formally deposed, or removed from the Sacred Order of Priests, on June 10 by Bishop John Lipscomb.
Pollard was rector of the 500-member, 110-year-old parish from 1974 until his retirement in 1992. Before serving in Tarpon Springs, he was the associate rector of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Tampa from 1969-1974 and vicar of St. Elizabeth's Episcopal Church in Zephyrhills from 1964-69. He still resides in the Tampa Bay area.
Lipscomb's office had received verbal and written statements from two men, now adults, alleging that Pollard sexually abused them in the 1970s. They were minors at the time the abuse allegedly occurred.
In a June 7 meeting with Lipscomb, Pollard was counseled about his rights under church law and was provided with an advocate. The alleged victims also have been offered counseling of their own choosing. The diocese will not release additional information about the alleged victims.
The diocesan Standing Committee met Saturday, June 8, and decided to refer the matter to the church attorney for investigation, which could have led to a formal ecclesiastical charge, called a presentment. But when Pollard was informed of the Standing Committee's decision, he announced he would renounce his orders.
Diocesan spokesman Jim DeLa said Pollard did not admit to wrongdoing when he renounced his orders.
The bishop and members of the diocesan pastoral response team met with about 60 members of the All Saints congregation on June 10 and have also contacted the other congregations in the diocese and in the Diocese of Western New York, where Pollard had previously served.
"The Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida has made it clear, through existing policy and training requirements, that sexual misconduct on the part of leadership of the Church, both lay and ordained, is never acceptable," declared a statement from the diocese. "The diocese is committed to seek justice and reconciliation for all involved."
In a June 10 letter to diocesan clergy, Lipscomb asked them to "refrain from gossip, speculation, rumor and innuendo" regarding the case. "It is important that our energy be given to prayer for healing for those who brought the allegations and their families, the Pollards and all who are and have been involved in these proceedings," Lipscomb concluded.
DeLa said he does not know of any other allegations against Pollard and that the diocese has not had any other sexual abuse allegations involving minors.
The Diocese of Southwest Florida consists of 79 congregations with 39,000 baptized members.
Bible scholar-interpreter preaches on 'Day 1' radio program
(EMC) The Rev. William L. Dols, a noted Bible scholar and interpreter, will be the Episcopal speaker July 28, Aug. 25 and Sept. 22 on "Day 1," formerly known as "The Protestant Hour," a nationally broadcast radio program also accessible via streaming audio at www.Day1.net.
Excerpts from his sermons also will be included in a television version of "Day 1" on Hallmark Channel's "America at Worship," airing at 10 a.m. (ET/PT) Sundays.
An Episcopal priest for 43 years, Dols has served congregations in Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina and as executive director of The Educational Center in St. Louis, Missouri. He developed a resource for Bible exploration and study called "The Bible Workbench," which he continues to fashion and edit after 12 years, and authored "Just Because It Didn't Happen: Sermons and Prayers as Story." He recently served as minister of education at Myers Park Baptist Church in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Born in Baltimore, Dols is a graduate of Washington and Lee University, Lexington, Virginia, and Virginia Theological Seminary. He is a fellow of the College of Preachers at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. He is now retired and living in Alexandria, Virginia.
"Day 1" has been broadcast as "The Protestant Hour" every week for more than 57 years, winning numerous awards in the process, including the George Foster Peabody Award for broadcast excellence. It is produced cooperatively by the Episcopal Media Center, the United Methodist Church, the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the United Church of Christ.
The executive producer for "Day 1," Peter Wallace, will consult with churches that want to have the program broadcast in their community. For more information, call toll free 888-411-Day1 or check the program's Web site, www.Day1.net.
Center for Seafarers' Rights catches recruiting firm exploiting workers for third time
(SCI) The Center for Seafarers Rights (CSR) of the Seamen's Church Institute of New York and New Jersey is protesting the illegal recruiting practices of AL-Najat Marine Shipping LLC. Reliable sources reported to CSR that the United Arab Emirates company is offering to recruit 30,000 Moroccan nationals for positions aboard cruise ships by contacting various employment agencies in Morocco.
"The church must raise a loud voice when these types of abuses become known. The exploitation of poor people is indefensible. The international community must put pressure on this firm to stop operating in a clearly illegal manner," said Douglas B. Stevenson, director of the Center for Seafarers' Rights. "According to our sources, AL-Najat has attempted this recruitment without notifying the appropriate Moroccan governmental authorities."
Last summer in Kenya, AL-Najat claimed to have 50,000 jobs available to Kenyan citizens for work aboard cruise vessels owned by U.K., Spanish, Portuguese, and Greek companies. The claim was later discredited. Similar reliable sources reported the fraud to CSR that started an international call to end the illegal practices.
The Kenyan government confirmed that cruise ship recruitment schemes bilked more than $500,000 from at least 10,000 Kenyan job seekers under the guise of requiring a medical examination fee. Reports of similar activities occurred in India and Pakistan as well. In each case, fees were collected but the agency did not provide any jobs.
In order to be eligible to work on a cruise vessel, candidates must posses a merchant mariners document issued by the flag authority of the vessel on which the applicant will work. International standards also require some basic training and prohibit the charging of fees for finding employment for seafarers.
"I'm very concerned about AL-Najat's ability to operate with impunity in places where maritime recruiting conventions are not readily available to the general population," said Stevenson. "Their ability to victimize the poor is reprehensible."
Established in 1834, SCI is an ecumenical agency affiliated with the Episcopal Church. Stevenson is a member of Christ Episcopal Church in Short Hills, New Jersey, and a member of the Advisory Council to the Anglican Observer to United Nations. Before joining the Seamen's Church Institute in 1990, he served 20 years as a U.S. Coast Guard officer, retiring as a commander.
To learn more about SCI, visit www.seamenschurch.org .
ECW producing 'Women of the Table' video for Triennial
(ECW) A new video focusing on women's ministries is slated for release at the Episcopal Church Women's (ECW) Triennial Meeting in Minneapolis in July 2003. Currently in pre-production, the video project will be coordinated by Susan Russell, ECW board member-at-large for multi-media, and produced by Katie Sherrod, an independent television producer from Ft. Worth, Texas.
According to Russell, "Women of the Table" is being designed "to tell the Good News of the work being done on behalf of the Gospel by the women of the Episcopal Church as they go out, fed by word and sacrament, to be the church in the world. The table metaphor will focus on the central reality of our life in Christ at the altar while providing a thread to weave the different stories of ministry together into an engaging and cohesive whole," she said. "The project will achieve that goal by offering compelling witness to the diversity of gifts offered by women to the church and to the world including images of both 'traditional' and innovative ministries."
The video will offer a brief history of the ECW's decades-long efforts to "equip the saints for ministry" and include specific stories of women doing ministry in a post-September 11 world. "We want women to speak of the reasons behind their ministries, for what differentiates a ministry from other work is the motivation for the action," Sherrod said. "The stories will illustrate the Body of Christ as incarnated in the lives of women of the church. Because of the limitations of time, the video will feature a few ministries in detail while also capturing the astonishing diversity of ministries done by Episcopal women across the nation through montages of images, layered with music and sound bites."
She added, "Our hope is that this video will not only change the way ministry done by women is talked about in the church, but also frame and enlarge the ways women themselves see the work they do as they go about living out the Gospel in their daily lives."
Organizers are looking for pictures of past and present women's ministries "in action" (i.e. photographs showing interaction with the people those ministries serve). Black-and-white photos as well as color are acceptable, and all photos will be returned. Please label them clearly for content and include a contact name with phone number and address as well as a one-paragraph description about the ministry and pictures. Materials should be sent by July 31, 2002 to: Katie Sherrod, 1870 Ederville Road, Ft. Worth, TX 76103.