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News
from the House of Bishops meeting in New OrleansBreaking news from the House of Bishops meeting can be found at Episcopal Life Online (ELO) www.dfms.org/ens/ , and links to ELO headlines appear on the diocesan Web site, wsww.edusc.org.
[ENS] The House of Bishops unofficially started its regularly scheduled fall meeting with a September 19 dinner. Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams met with the bishops and other invited guests for the entire day on September 20 and for the morning of September 21. They are to discuss a variety of subjects, including the recently proposed Anglican covenant and the Primates communiqué. The communiqué made certain requests of the bishops and set a September 30 for their response.Eight bishops agree to serve as 'episcopal visitors'
This article is a shortened and slightly
edited version of the September 20 ENS piece by Bob Williams. For more on Bishop Henderson and the House of Bishops meeting, see the
"Diocesan" section
of this newsletter.
[Episcopal News Service] Bishop Henderson is among the eight
bishops who have accepted Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts
Schori's invitation to serve as "episcopal visitors" to dioceses
that have requested this provision.
Bishop Jefferts Schori's invitation to the eight bishops seeks to delegate the first of three primary canonical duties of the Presiding Bishop, that of visiting each of the Episcopal Church's 110 dioceses during each Presiding Bishop's nine-year term. The Presiding Bishop's other two principal canonical roles are to "take order" for ordaining and consecrating bishops, and to oversee certain disciplinary actions as needed.
Bishop Jefferts Schori has conferred with Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams about the invitations, which she extended after a process of consultation with bishops in the Episcopal Church, according to her canon, the Rev. Dr. Charles Robertson said.
"All eight are true bridge-builders who empathize with the concerns and needs of dioceses that are struggling with the issues of the current time," Robertson said, adding that "while all are sympathetic to these concerns, each is clear that the Presiding Bishop's ultimate goal is reconciliation."
The eight are active diocesan bishops Frank Brookhart of Montana, Dorsey Henderson of Upper South Carolina (based in Columbia, S.C.), John Howe of Central Florida (based in Orlando), Gary Lillibridge of West Texas (based in San Antonio), Michael Smith of North Dakota, James Stanton of Dallas, and Geralyn Wolf of Rhode Island, together with retired Connecticut Bishop Clarence Coleridge.
See the "National" section of this newsletter for more news of our bishop and the House of Bishops.
Beloved,
a
document is being circulated among the Bishops of The
Episcopal Church, and by Internet, to broader circles. The full
title is “The Constitutional Crisis, 2007: A Statement to the
House of Bishops, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and Honored
Visitors”. It has been circulated to be considered during the
upcoming meeting of the House of Bishops, and it bears my name.
Although asked several months ago by Bishop Doss, the first
lawyer-bishop to suggest the project, to participate in the
writing of the document, I have not, in fact, contributed to its
research, content or drafting. Consequently, I asked that my
name be removed from the list of contributors, but the paper had
already been sent to the printer for publication and
distribution.
It is being said that I have “repudiated” the document. This,
too, is inaccurate. Indeed, I asked for my name to be removed
because, as stated above, I had not contributed to it and did
not avail myself in a timely fashion to review and critique its
contents—but also, as I indicated to Bishop Doss, because at
best I would be “concurring in part and dissenting in part”. I
think that there are parts of the thesis which the authors set
out which are worth consideration—along with many others which
have been developed as part of the process commended to us in
The Windsor Report.
However, I also believe that the document, and the dialogue
which it will provoke, must necessarily involve consideration of
the following:
1. The specific inclusion of the provisions of The Chicago-Lambeth
Quadrilateral (see pp. 876-877 of the BCP) as well as the Creeds
of the Church, would bring, in my opinion, greater clarity to
the concept and content of such a constitution.
2. Because the catechism reflects the historic and traditional
understanding of the ministry of the various orders, I am
convinced that bishops, who specifically—and unlike the other
orders—have the responsibility “to guard the faith, unity and
discipline of the whole Church” Accordingly, it would seem that
Bishops, in those limited areas, have a responsibility which
does not require the concurrence of the General Convention (as
much as concurrence is to be desired). My view is inconsistent
with the position taken in the paper.
3. A good dose of Richard Hooker would—again, in my humble
opinion—enrich the content of “The Constitutional Crisis” and
the dialogue about it.
4. I also fear that some of the “tone” of some the language
utilized in the paper will tend to be a barrier to objective
consideration of the overall concept.
I commend to your diligent prayers the bishops, The Episcopal
Church and the Anglican Communion as we convene in New Orleans
beginning the evening of September 19.
Faithfully in our Lord,
+Dorsey USC VII
Nominees for diocesan office, proposed Statement of Mission, guest registration online at www.edusc.org
Visit
the diocesan Web Site to review
nominees for diocesan office, the proposed 2008 Statement of Mission, and
proposed resolutions and canon changes. You'll also find links to online guest
registration, convention agenda, and more. Please note that clergy and delegates
are to register by snail mail this year. The form is available for download
from the diocesan Web site.
The Camp Gravatt Staff and Volunteer Reunion is set for April 19, 2008. Please help us locate former Gravatt staffers and volunteers. Send names, mailing addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses and years on staff or served as a volunteer to gravattreunion@gmail.com, and let us know if you'd like to volunteer on the Reunion Committee.
Mark your calendar for the fall ECW District Meetings coming your way! For more information contact ECW president Beck Sullivan, becksullivan1@aol.com.
| October 7 (Sun.) | Northwest District | St. Philip's, Greenville |
| October 13 | Western District | St. Bartholomew's, N. Augusta |
All Saints Episcopal Church has joined the West Metro Habitat
Alliance, a consortium of five churches in the Cayce/West
Columbia area. The churches will host the Habitat for Humanity
Run/Walk on Saturday, October 13. The 10K run and 5K Walk will
start at 8:00 a.m. at Providence Presbyterian Church, just off
Highway 378 in West Columbia The Habitat race is part of the
Columbia Running Club's “Tour de Columbia,” a series of races to
promote running for fun and to assist the community by raising
money for local non-profits. Call Providence Presbyterian at
803.794.6766 to request a run/walk application. Proceeds from
the event will be used to fund construction of Habitat for
Humanity home.
Churches participating in the West Metro Habitat for Humanity Alliance include: All Saints Episcopal Church, Cayce United Methodist Church, Mt. Tabor Lutheran Church, Providence Presbyterian Church, and Trinity United Methodist Church.
Trinity to receive "face-lift"
Trinity Cathedral is sprucing up in anticipation of
its bicentennial celebration in 2012. The stucco facade, heating and air
conditioning systems, spires, louvers, stained glass windows and many other features will receive attention once the $5,000,000
renovation begins. The cathedral's Trinity Foundation is
conducting a quiet capital campaign to raise funds for the
project.
Annual cathedral bazaar, November 3, to feature quilt inspired by
Trinity windows
Be sure to get in on this exciting raffle!
The annual bazaar of Trinity Cathedral will feature a beautiful handmade quilt designed around the stained glass windows of the cathedral. The quilt, designed and made by Trinity parishioners and custom quiltmaker Bonnie Hunter, will be given to the dollar-ticket holder whose number is drawn. The bazaar is being held on Saturday, November 3, from 10 a.m. till 3 p.m., at Trinity, 1100 Sumter Street. All net proceeds of the bazaar go back into the community for mission and outreach.
The quilt is a 91” x 91” queen-sized coverlet. Machine pieced of cotton fabrics with a cotton batting and backing. It is sewn in a rainbow variegated thread. Ms. Hunter has spent hours studying the colors in the cathedral’s stained glass windows and the patterned tile floor surrounding the altar and chancel. With these colors and the feeling of being surrounded by this beauty and sense of peace, she designed the pattern, “Cathedral Stars.” “It has been fun watching small children fill out their tickets after church on Sunday, hopeful that their ticket will be the winning one,” said Hunter. Tickets can also be purchased for a one dollar donation through her website (http://quiltville.com) and blog (http://quiltville.blogspot.com). Donations have come in from all over the globe including Greece and Australia. Net proceeds from the bazaar (including 100% from the quilt) go to outreach. Each year five local agencies receive the majority of the funds. The remaining funds go to standing missions and a small grants fund. This year the five local agency recipients are The Cooperative Ministry, Children’s Garden, St. Lawrence Place, Salvation Army Kids 2 Kamp and Young Life. The bazaar is one of the largest in the southeast and last year, netted over $45,000 which went back into the community for outreach.
For information, call Patsy Green, 803.783.2788
The Rev. Phil Purser and St. Francis, Chapin invite you to join them Sunday, September 23, 2007 from 5-7 p.m. for a concert and a family picnic. Bring your blankets, chairs, kids and pets! Enjoy the music of Kindred Spirit, St. Francis' own worship and praise band. Admission is free, so bring the whole family, relax and enjoy the music, hamburgers and hot dogs, fun, fellowship and hospitality of the St. Francis of Assisi community. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact St. Francis, 735 Old Lexington Hwy, Chapin, SC 29036, 803.345.1550 or via email at stfrchapin@sc.rr.com.
The York Place board of trustees, children and staff invite you to celebrate with us as The Rt. Rev. Dorsey F. Henderson, Jr. and The Rt. Rev. Edward L. Salmon, Jr. join with clergy and friends to dedicate and consecrate the Henry and Eleanora Richardson Treatment and Evaluation Center, Sarah Tatum Smith Dining and Assembly Hall, and Betsy's Park Friday, October 12, 2007 beginning at 9:30 a.m. Please direct questions and RSVPs to Carolynn Smarr, 803.684.4011, ext. 1013, csmarr@yorkplace.org.
The next Continuing Ed Training Day will be October 13, 2007.
Locations: St. Martin's-in-the-Field, Columbia, and Church of the Advent, Spartanburg. The following courses will be offered, but must have at least 6 participants per workshop. Workshops may be cancelled because of low registrations.
• Worship Leader Basic
• Worship Leader Continuing Education
• Eucharistic Visitor Basic
• Eucharistic visitor Continuing Education
• Safe Church Training
• Race Relations, St. Martin's-in-the-Fields ONLY
Please contact
Roslyn Hook
(803.771.7800, ext. 20) with questions or for
registration.
The St. James Center at St. James, Greenville, has announced its 2007-2008 series of programs and retreats, beginning with a women's retreat led by Chelsea Wakefield, November 2 & 3, on the spirituality of Hildegard of Bingen. For a schedule of events, or for more information, please contact St. James, 864.244.6358.The St. James Center provides opportunities for growth and transformation for those on the spiritual journey.
Save the dates—November 2 and 3—for "Who Are We? Anglican Identity in the 21st Century," presented by Holy Trinity, Clemson, and led by the Rev. Tom Davis. The program will explore where we are now, and the main thrusts of Anglicanism over the past several centuries. Preceding the program on Friday will be a "Henry VIII Dinner," God willing. Lectures Friday evening and Saturday morning and afternoon are at Holy Trinity, 864.6545071. More information and registration materials will be available soon.
"From Surviving to Thriving"—A Retreat workshop, October 20
"From Surviving to Thriving: The Journey of Healing for Women
Survivors of Cancer" will be presented on Saturday, October 20, from
9 a.m. till 5 p.m. The keynote speaker is Jacqueline Fincher. The
retreat also features
small groups, healing service with the Rev Harriette Simmons, and
more.
Please
contact the convent for additional information or registration:
706.798.5201, ext 1, or e-mail
augustaconvent@comcast.net.
A weekend for OSH associates and those who may wish to become associates, November 9-11
The weekend, led by Harriet Speer, begins on Friday, November 9, with Vespers at 5 p.m. and concludes following Sunday lunch on November 11. Led by OSH associate Harriet Speer. Associates Weekend is a joyful reunion of friends and a gathering of new friends. Enjoy a relaxing visit with the Sisters and other OSH Associates, learn about our Associates program, and treat yourself to our great friend, Harriet Speer, and her presentation! Harriet Speer is an Augusta, Georgia, native who now resides in Savannah, where she is a librarian at the Savannah College of Art and Design.
$160 program, lodging, meals; $80 commuters. For more information, please contact the convent: 706.798.5201, ext 1, or e-mail augustaconvent@comcast.net.
Tuesday evenings, October 9, 16, 23, 30; Choose ONE class to
attend for four weeks
The Church According to Mark, Dr. Brent Driggers, Associate
Professor of New Testament
Leadership Needs in the Church, President Marcus Miller and
South Carolina Synod Bishop David Donges
The Confident Christian, The Rev. Dr. Gary Harbaugh, Visiting
Professor for Personalities in Congregations
For registration/information:
sandrah@ltss.edu or 803.461.3263
Philip Jenkins and others to address hatred, prejudice, intolerance, and religion
Philip Jenkins, Distinguished Professor of History and Religious
Studies, Pennsylvania State University, will deliver this year's
Joseph Cardinal Bernardin lecture, "God's Continent: Christianity,
Islam, and Europe's Religious Crisis," on October 17 at 7:30 p.m. in
the Law School Auditorium on the USC Columbia campus.
On October 18, from 1:30 to 2:45 p.m. in the Law School Auditorium, there will
be a symposium entitled
"Secularism, Immigration, and Europe's Religious Crisis,"
moderated by
Charles Bierbauer.
Philip Jenkins will be joined by Jocelyne Cesari, Harvard University,
an expert on Islam in Europe,
and by Paula Hyman, who will be the guest speaker for the Solomon-Tenenbaum
Annual Lectureship in Jewish Studies to be delivered at 8 p.m. that
evening in Drayton Hall Auditorium.
Jenkins is a scholar who has written extensively on the
transformations that Christianity is undergoing as its center moves
from Europe and North America to the Southern hemisphere. Hyman is
the Lucy Moses Professor of Modern Jewish History at Yale University
and president of the American Academy of Jewish Research. Her
research interests include topics in modern European and American
Jewish history, with a special emphasis on the history of women and
gender.
Ministry Transitions
New Ministries
The Rev’d Alfredo Gonzalez, Transitional
Deacon – Hispanic Missioner, St. Mary’s, Columbia
The Rev’d Deacon Joseph Smith,
Assistant, St. Matthew’s, Spartanburg
The Rev’d Joseph Whitehurst,
Assistant , St. Thaddeus, Aiken
The Rev’d Mark Abdelnour, Transitional
Deacon
The Rev’d William Wight,
Priest-in-Charge, St. Michael’s and All Angels, Columbia
The Rev’d Marty Conner, Interim Chaplain,
Chapel of the Holy Spirit, Columbia
The Rev’d Mark House, Priest-in-Charge,
Church of the Nativity, Union
The Rev’d Gordon Hamilton,
Priest-in-Charge, St. Mark’s, Chester
The Rev’d Timothy Dombek, Canon to the
Ordinary, The Episcopal Diocese of Arizona
The Rev’d Rich Biega, Holy Trinity, Hot
Springs Village, Arkansas
The Rev’d Dr. Robert Dannals, Rector,St.
Michael and All Angels, Dallas
The Rev’d Kathryn Tiede-Hottinger, moved
to Minnesota
The Rev’d Sean LaBat, resigned from St.
Michael and All Angels, Columbia
The Rev’d David Bridgforth completed his
recent responsibilities at St. Francis, Greenville and is now
available for supply in the Upstate.
Retirements: The Rev’d Preston Huntley (St. John’s,
Winnsboro); The Rev’d William Wight (St. Mark’s, Chester)
Searches underway: St. John’s, Winnsboro; Incarnation, Gaffney; Ascension, Seneca; St. Timothy’s, Columbia; St. Andrew’s, Greenville
Baptist Hospital recently announced that that Dr. Neal Jones has accepted a call to serve as the full-time minister for Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Columbia. As a result, Dr. Jones will no longer be administering the vocational testing for the diocese. Please inform your inquirers that they will now contact Dr. Mark Tidsworth at 803.296.5879 or 803.296.5879 to schedule an appointment for testing.
The 2008 John Hines preaching award contest is here again. All preachers - bishops, priests, deacons, and laypersons - are invited to submit one sermon for Virginia Theological Seminary's John Hines Preaching Award. Sermons should reflect the prophetic voice that characterized the sermons of John Hines, presiding Bishop 1965-1974.
The sermon must have been delivered in the Episcopal Church to a congregation between I Advent 2006 and the last Sunday after Pentecost 2007. The sermon must be received by the John Hines preaching Award Committee by December 15, 2007. The recipient of the John Hines Preaching Award will receive $2000.00.
For further information, about the Hines Award, please write or call The Rev. Pamela Webb, Director o Alumni Affairs, Virginia Theological Seminary, 3737 Seminary Road, Alexandria, VA 22304, 1.800.941.0083. Please feel free to visit the VTS Web site as well, www.vts.edu.
By Amy Sander Montanez, D. Min.
It
seems to me there are many kinds of miracles. Of course we often think about
the miracles of Jesus, the kind where something amazing happens very quickly,
something someone wanted really badly, like a child being brought back to life,
or eyes being able to see again, or a wedding going off without embarrassment.
Many of us pray for these kinds of miracles. Dear God, please take away my
pain. Please God, heal his body from the cancer. Jesus, please let there be a
job opening for me this month so that I can earn enough money to pay the bills.
We are familiar with this kind of prayer and this kind of miracle.
In my line of work, I see another kind of miracle more often. It is the kind of miracle that unfolds slowly, sometimes so slowly we might not realize it is happening. Have you seen the images of a flower unfolding on the Nature Channel, time-enhanced so that you can watch it unfolding over a few seconds, even though it actually took a few days? Kind of like that. It is the kind of miracle that we humans co-create with God, by participating with the Divine Presence and by aligning our wills with God’s will. And then, even though it took weeks or months or years, all of a sudden we see the whole picture, and, by golly, we know it is a miracle.
I got to see one of these miracles unfold recently. A college student came to me for anxiety problems and relationship issues. He was pretty much a mess when I began seeing him, but he was willing, eager even, to get his life on a different path. He shared that his father had stopped drinking about six years earlier and that the whole family was in recovery from that. Dad was in A.A., Mom was going to Al-Anon, and here he was, trying to put the pieces together. It was good work, and each session he worked hard to understand the coping skills he had learned as a child, the ways he was sabotaging himself, and what it would take to put himself on the right track. He left therapy for a while and joined an Al-Anon group himself, and that, he reported, was very helpful. I had also suggested that he get an opinion from a psychiatrist about medication, because his anxiety often got the best of him and he made decisions from an anxious place rather than from a centered one.
When he came back to therapy, many more pieces were in place. We began to talk more about his spiritual journey, about the ways he prayed and the ways he was able to let God in to his life. His family life had improved tremendously. He had graduated and was offered a wonderful job in his field, in a city away from home. He was actually excited and ready to leave and try life on his own for a while. All the destructive relationships were over, and he was happy to be single and exploring his own life, no longer feeling desperate to have someone filling the emotional void. His face glowed as he talked about the peace he now had in his life.
“It’s a miracle,” I said, as I watched his heart swell with gratitude for the life he was living. “It is!” he responded. “I never thought I could feel this way. I never thought my life would feel this rich and this full. I never thought my family would be able to sit around the dinner table and have a normal meal and normal conversation. It is a miracle.”
This miracle took six years. And it took a lot of hard work. Everyone in his family took responsibility for his or her own actions and chose to get well. He, at quite a young age, decided to get the help he needed to live differently. He was fortunate to have a good doctor who could help him with effective medicine. He and his parents began to take their journey with God seriously and to let God into the healing process. Everyone began to listen for a Higher Power more earnestly. This is the kind of miracle we “co-create” with God. We have to do our part, and we have to let God do God’s part. And then it can all work.
I believe in both kinds of miracles. I’ve known both kinds in my own life. But it is the second kind of miracle that I see more frequently, and that keeps me believing in the work I do and in the promises God makes to us.
“I have come that you should have Life, and have it abundantly.”
©Copyright Amy Sander Montanez, 2007