Farewell to Bishop Sisk - Episcopal Diocese of New York

Farewell to Bishop Sisk
THE EPISCOPAL NEW YORKER
THE OFFICIAL NEWS PUBLICATION OF THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF NEW YORK WINTER 2013
IN THIS ISSUE
Sisk Interview
Celebration
Page 4
Page 8
Fund for Care
of Children Page 9
236th
Convention
Page 10
Bishop’s
Crosses Page 11
Gun Violence
Page 13
Tree of Life
Conference
Evangelism
Page 14
Page 16
Photo: Nicholas Richardson
“There Is Nothing Small
in the Service of God.”
—St. Francis de Sale

THE EPISCOPAL
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The Rt. Rev. Mark S. Sisk
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Nicholas Richardson
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Charles Brucaliere
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CONTENTS
Winter 2013 Vol. 88 No. 4 www.episcopalnewyorker.com
4 | An interview with Bishop Sisk
As he approaches retirement, the Rt. Rev. Mark S. Sisk offers some
reflections on his time as XV Bishop of New York.
8 | Photos from the Service of Celebration of Bishop Sisk’s Episcopacy
10 | Diocesan Convention
Call for Bishop Suffragan; 2nd Assistant Bishop approved and named;
Bishop Dietsche announces Internal Indaba
11 | Bishop’s Crosses
The Rev. Bertram Bennett, Jr. and the Rev. Canon Petero Sabune received them at the Convention;
Vice Chancellors Yurke and Vandenberg in January.
13 | Response to Gun Violence
Following the Newtown, CT shootings the Bishops issue a pastoral letter and
promulgate a petition to ban assault weapons.
16 | Evangelism
Part 1 of a 2-part article calling us back to evangelism, by the Rev. Claire Woodley.
20 | Hildegard of Bingen
By Mary Sharratt, author of the recent acclaimed novel, Illuminations.
CONTRIBUTORS TO THIS ISSUE
Mary Sharratt is an author of four critically-acclaimed novels, and most
recently of Illuminations, a Novel of Hildegard von Bingen.
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The Rt. Rev. Mark S. Sisk is the XV Bishop of New York.
The Rev. Claire Woodley is rector of St. Mary’s Church, Mohegan Lake.
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2 THE EPISCOPAL NEW YORKER Winter 2013 www.episcopalnewyorker.com

Perhaps the most remarkable of the many privileges I have enjoyed as the Bishop of New York has been exercising the episcopal
duty of oversight.
I know that people generally think that episcopal oversight pretty much means being the boss: the manager who oversees her
or his employees, or a production process of some sort. Of course this is part, but I would say, effectively speaking, a very small part of
its meaning. Being the boss is not the point. The point is having the perspective—and giving that perspective expression.
Having the perspective that oversight offers and requires means having—or getting—a larger picture, a broader vision of what is,
or should be going on. It is the acquisition and development of that larger vision that I have found most deeply rewarding.
To put it succinctly: These years as your Bishop have allowed me to see things from a vantage point that few have the luxury
of sharing.
One of the things that that broadened perspective has allowed me to see is just how remarkable you all are. The parishes of this
diocese are more diverse than any of you can imagine. And in that diversity you offer yourselves to the service of Almighty God. And
you do so with a quiet elegance you are rarely in a position to recognize in yourselves.
But I have seen you work. I have seen you work day in and day out, year in and year out, in courageous service. You are so close to
your work, and see its challenges so sharply, that it’s easy for you to overlook, or discount, just how much has been accomplished through
you. Lives have been touched. I am here to tell you that in you I see the Hand of God at work. I am humbled by the work you do to
the Glory of God and the betterment of humanity.
One of the principle reasons that it is so easy to overlook the daily accomplishments is precisely that they are daily. The truth is that
our work is almost always a matter of minute steps; steps taken along a pathway that we follow in faith. We never know the exact fruit
of our work. We cannot even be certain of the exact direction of the path, though we do know its end.
My experience of this enlarged perspective is that it has two quite opposite effects on me. On the one hand it creates a sense
of urgency. Being aware of some of the wonderful things that others are doing intensifies a desire to do, or to see done, similar
wonderful things.
The other effect that this perspective gives is almost the opposite; it has a quieting effect. It says, in essence: be not anxious. Be not
anxious because, over time, dedicated lives bear wonderful but often unforeseen fruit.
The perspective that oversight reinforces is the heady reassurance that—whatever may befall us—ultimately all things are in God’s
good hands.
This final message from Bishop Sisk is an adaptation of part of the sermon that he delivered on Saturday, January 5, at the Celebration of his Episcopacy
at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.
El Privilegio de la Perspectiva
Por el Reverendísimo Obispo Mark S. Sisk
THE BISHOP’S MESSAGE
The Privilege of Perspective
By the Rt. Rev. Mark S. Sisk The Rt. Rev. Mark S. Sisk
Quizás el más notable de los privilegios de los que yo he disfrutado como Obispo de Nueva York ha sido el ejercicio de la gestión
administrativa episcopal.
Yo se que generalmente la gente piensa que la gestión episcopal primordialmente significa ser el jefe: el gerente que supervisa
sus empleados, o un cierto proceso de producción. Por supuesto esto forma parte de ello pero yo diría, en la práctica, es una pequeña
parte de su significado. Ser el jefe no es lo importante. Lo importante es tener la perspectiva –y darle sentido a esa perspectiva.
Tener la perspectiva que esa función ofrece y requiere, significa tener –u obtener- una imagen más grande, una visión más amplia
de lo que es, o lo que debería estar pasando. La adquisición y desarrollo de esa extensa visión es lo que yo hallo profundamente satisfactorio.
En pocas palabras: estos años siendo su Obispo, me han permitido ver las cosas desde un punto de vista ventajoso que pocos tiene
el lujo de compartir.
Una de las cosas que esa perspectiva ampliada me ha permitido, es justamente ver cuan extraordinarios son todos ustedes. Las parroquias
de esta diócesis son más diversas de lo que ustedes pueden imaginarse. Y en esa diversidad ustedes se ofrecen al servicio del
Dios Omnipotente. Y lo hacen con tal sutil distinción que no siempre están en condiciones reconocerlo en ustedes mismos.
Pero yo he visto su trabajo. Yo he visto su esforzado servicio día a día, año tras año. Ustedes están tan cercanos a su trabajo y ven
sus retos tan claramente que fácilmente se olvidan o no toman en cuenta, todo lo que se ha logrado a través de ustedes. Vidas han sido
afectadas. Yo estoy aquí para decirles que en ustedes yo veo la Mano de Dios trabajando. Yo siento respeto por el trabajo que ustedes
hacen para la Gloria de Dios y el mejoramiento de la humanidad.
Una de las principales razones que hacen fácil olvidar los logros diarios es precisamente el hecho de que ellos son diarios. La verdad
es que nuestro trabajo es casi siempre un asunto de pequeños pasos; pasos que llevan consigo un camino que seguimos con fe. No
sabemos nunca el fruto real de nuestro trabajo. No podemos ni siquiera estar seguros de la dirección exacta del camino, sin embargo
sabemos su final.
(continuado en la paginacion 18)
THE EPISCOPAL
CHURCH
IN THE ANGLICAN COMMUNION
A global community of 70 million
Anglicans in 64,000 congregations,
in 164 countries.
www.anglicancommunion.org
ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY
The Most Rev. and Rt. Hon. Rowan Williams
Lambeth Palace,
London, England SE1 7JU
www.archbishopofcanterbury.org
IN THE UNITED STATES
A community of 2.4 million members in
113 dioceses in the Americas and abroad.
PRESIDING BISHOP
The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
Episcopal Church Center
815 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10017
1-800-334-7626, 212-716-6000
www.episcopalchurch.org
IN THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE
OF NEW YORK
A community of 199 congregations covering
4,739 square miles with approximately 600
priests and 72 deacons, with worship in
12 languages: Akan, American Sign
Language, Bontoc, Chinese, Creole,
English, French, Igbo, Japanese, Korean,
Malayalam and Spanish.
BISHOP OF NEW YORK
The Rt. Rev. Mark S. Sisk
BISHOP COADJUTOR
The Rt. Rev. Andrew M.L. Dietsche
ASSISTANT BISHOP
The Rt. Rev. Andrew D. Smith
ASSISTING BISHOP
The Rt. Rev. Herbert A. Donovan
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www.episcopalnewyorker.com Winter 2013 THE EPISCOPAL NEW YORKER 3

Farewell to Bishop Sisk
As Bishop Sisk prepares to depart for his upstate farm,
he offers the ENY some final reflections.
ENY: Contributors to the tribute video shown at the Diocesan
Convention in November [http://vimeo.com/
edny/sisktribute] applauded the fact that throughout
your episcopacy you have steered a measured course
and kept the diocese together in a “time of schism.”
Is that how you would most like to be remembered?
The video made a pretty strong case that I’m identified
with having kept the flaps of the big tent wide enough to
help everyone stay, while none felt so threatened that they
felt they had to leave. I’m pleased about that—and it cer-
“One of the principal legacies of this bishop is his calm and steady
unflappable hand on the tiller of our diocesan ship. He came into his
office as diocesan almost coterminous with 9/11, three months later
the Cathedral caught fire, we had extraordinary tumult in the Anglican
Communion over the next decade, and then there was the financial
collapse in 2008, which in many ways changed the course of our
ministry for some time…”
Bishop Dietsche, speaking for the tribute video
(http://vimeo.com/edny/sisktribute)
“I would hope that I might be
remembered for my care for the people and
parishes of this diocese.”
tainly was one of my objectives. It was not so much a matter
of feeling, organizationally, that everyone needed to stay
put: Rather, it was and is my conviction that close to the
heart of the Episcopal Church there is an embracing spirit
that does welcome those who see themselves as being on
the “fringe” of things. So what I felt I was doing was not
inventing something new
but emphasizing and hold-
ing up a core value of our
tradition. This value of inclusiveness
is, of course,
strikingly at odds with
much of the current spirit
of our common life—but I
am convinced that in order
to survive as a civil society,
we need to rediscover the
common ground of respectful
compromise. None
Outside St. Paul’s Chapel on September 12, 2001. Hammering on the door of the Cathedral at his Installation.
“The one good thing I can say about beginning my time as
Diocesan Bishop at this time of crisis is that it has forced us to
recall and reclaim our fundamental purpose and hope as
children of the Risen Lord.” ENY September/October 2001
of us has all the truth. Only the very arrogant would declare
that they do.
But having said all that, I would in fact hope that I might
be remembered for something slightly different—that is,
in particular, for my care for the people and parishes of
this diocese. I have attempted to build a staff, and to develop
programs, that assist congregations in their work of
helping people come closer to God. And that is our purpose:
to move closer to God in love and service.
ENY: How would you describe the current state of
the diocese?
I am quite happy to say that through all the many trials
over this past decade and a half the diocese has remained
a healthy place. That is not to say that we haven’t faced,
or that we don’t still face, real challenges—but I think that
we can, as a community of faith, take pride as we look back
at all we have been through and say: “We survived this time.”
We have been privileged to worship Almighty God, as
well as carry out our ministry and witness during this time.
We can be more confident of our ability to withstand real
adversity for having had that experience. To be sure, these
years have left their scars, but they are scars of honor, earned
“ I am utterly convinced that the core of our lives as Christian people…
is marked by three different, signs, signs that not only identify us as
Christians but actively and fundamentally shape us as Christians. These
three signs are worship, nurture and mission.” ENY Jan/Feb 2002
4 THE EPISCOPAL NEW YORKER Winter 2013 www.episcopalnewyorker.com

in the carrying out of our responsibilities. We now know
that we can not only endure, but that we can flourish at
times of adversity.
One sign of increased strength has been the steadfast
refusal of this diocese to allow itself to be caught up in the
adversarial spirit that has come to play such a large role in
the life of the larger community. We held steady when all
around were inflamed about the building of a Mosque near
Ground Zero. While continuing to stand with our Palestinian
brothers and sisters in their demand for a two-state
solution, we have not allowed that to distance us from our
Jewish brothers and sisters in their demand to live in peace
and security.
“To be sure, these years have left their scars,
but they are scars of honor, earned in the
carrying out of our responsibilities. We now
know that we can not only endure, but that
we can flourish at times of adversity.”
A development that will continue to stand us in good
stead is the growing number of parish links around the
world—and I’m also particularly happy at the greatly increased
number of pilgrimages that members of our congregations
make to distant parts of the Communion. We
have so much to learn, as well as gifts of our own to share.
And of particular satisfaction to me is to see the great increase
in travel by young people to minister in, and be ministered
to by those communities.
ENY: One aspect of a bishop’s life that is only occasionally
visible to the wider public is his or her
interactions with other bishops, both at home and
abroad. How important have your relationships with
other bishops been to you, and how have the people
of the diocese benefited from them?
Those relationships, both inside the Episcopal Church
“…our worship is not to be fixed in amber.
Our worship is a living expression of faith
within an ever-shifting community of faith.”
ENY April/May 2002
“His achievement has been, in this very
diverse diocese, to keep everyone at the
diocesan table and participating…he is
able to communicate to all of us that he
understands and believes that we are
Christians and Episcopalians, whatever our
differences…”
and beyond in the Anglican Communion, have been important
to me for several reasons. The first and most basic
is that by virtue of the vows that I took when I assumed
this office, I committed myself to join in the Councils
of the Church. That, I am convinced, means three things:
Blessing the Fleet.
“It is important to remember that
disagreement is not foreign to
community—it is essential to it.”
ENY July/August 2003
show-up, listen and from time to time, speak. Speaking
has been the least important of these. Listening to colleagues
who wrestle with many of the same challenges
as those that face this diocese, on the other hand, has
helped to broaden my vision—and I think that this has
served the diocese well. Though each diocese is unique
(as is each congregation within it), no diocese or congregation
is sufficient to itself. That basic insight helps
to keep things in perspective. Though we were not immune
to the turmoil that roiled the Communion, we have
“We have a reputation for being a place
that is genuinely open to diversity of points
of view—and I am convinced that that
reputation is well founded.”
With Karen Sisk. At the Diocesan Convention.
Baptizing an inmate at Greenhaven Correction Facility.
“Frankly, one of my greatest fears, because I believe
it is a sure sign of danger, is to find myself surrounded
solely by people who are in full agreement.”
ENY July/August 2003
www.episcopalnewyorker.com Winter 2013 THE EPISCOPAL NEW YORKER 5

Farewell to Bishop Sisk
“…in tumultuous times in the life of the
Episcopal Church, he held 200 parishes
together in conversation”
not been torn apart by it. We have a reputation for being
a place that is genuinely open to diversity of points of
view—and I am convinced that that reputation is well
founded.
It has also helped that I have known some of the Communion’s
leaders for many years. This has built a level of trust
that has allowed me, from time to time, to offer them an unfamiliar
perspective. Three specific instances of this spring to
mind: one when I was invited to address ministers of the Organization
of Islamic States on what it was like to live in a
pluralistic society; another was when I was asked to address
the House of Bishops of a province of the Anglican Communion
on what it was like to live in a diocese that accepted
the ministry of gay and lesbian persons; and a third is the relationship
with the Church in China (the China Christian
Council) that has helped its leaders see that the Episcopal
Church is not the heretical body that has been described to
them by some other Provinces of the Communion.
At Holy Apostles Soup Kitchen.
“ Everything is not relative,
and good and evil, right and
wrong are realities.”
ENY Nov/Dec 2003
Though I cannot be sure of it, I also believe that it
the perception of the Diocese of New York as an open
yet challenging place that led to the invitation from the
Anglican Communion Office for us to participate in the
very successful Continuing Indaba Process which will,
according to Bishop Dietsche, form the basis for a process
within the diocese that he will pursue in the future 1 .
ENY: How have the challenges facing the Bishop of
New York changed over the course of your episcopacy?
What has become increasingly clear is that the wider
world, as represented by the media, is vastly less interested
in what we have to say than they were in years and
decades past.
When I was elected coadjutor, and then when I was
consecrated Bishop of New York, the New York Times
covered both events in some depth. Barely14 years later,
however, the media’s interest is greatly diminished. The
highly competitive 24-hour news cycle has effectively
eliminated “background” stories, and replaced them with
a frenzied focus on the most sensational events and the
most extreme views.
Unfortunately, nuanced positions—ones that reflect
the reality of the complexities that confront us—rarely
resolve themselves nicely into sound
bites. It is in the nature of the Episcopal
Church, and of the measured positions
that we take, that we are not attractive
to the contemporary
media—the only exception being when
there is some kind of scandal, or a conflict
that could throw discrediting light
on the Church. I’m not so much complaining
about this as simply observing—there
were any number of times
1 See Bishop Dietsche’s address to the 236th Diocesan
Convention for more on this – online at
www.dioceseny.org > The Diocese > The Diocesan
Convention > The 236th Diocesan Convention.
With the Archbishop of Canterbury. A few moments after the election of the then Canon Dietsche.
“A Christian might believe that the State ought to
sanction same-sex marriages but withhold judgment
on the advisability of the Church doing so.
That is what I believe.” ENY March 2004
“It is in the nature of the Episcopal
Church, and of the measured positions that
we take, that we are not attractive to the
contemporary media…”
that if I had been prepared to say something outrageous,
I could have gotten lots of coverage. But I don’t believe
it is a good thing that the public stage has been entirely
given over those who are prepared to make stark and, I
am convinced, inevitably divisive statements.
ENY: Some people, both inside and outside the Episcopal
Church, point to its “progressive” stance on matters
of sexuality and social justice as being responsible
for declining church membership. What is your view?
In the first place, I must say that I am glad that the Episcopal
Church does take a progressive stance—after all,
the alternative is a regressive stance, and that has little
to commend it, at least to me. In any case, while I do
not dispute the fact that our membership numbers in this
diocese have been flat at best and not nearly as robust
as I wish, I strongly believe that it is an error to attempt
to pin this on the Episcopal Church’s stance on a number
of “progressive” issues.
As evidence for my position, I’d point to the fact that
a number of other communities of faith—ones that do
not share our so-called “progressive” stances—have suffered
a similar if not greater attrition rate. Meanwhile,
a number of the communities that for some years grew
steadily are also now experiencing a loss of membership—
while immigration has masked what would otherwise be
a net loss of members in some communities, and has been
“he’s a man of moderation, he’s a careful
thinker, he’s fair, and people with various
opinions about controversial subjects all felt
that they could be heard…”
“Every nation has a duty to protect its borders.
However, a Christian must ask and press the
question, “Protect them from what?”
ENY Nov/Dec 2005
6 THE EPISCOPAL NEW YORKER Winter 2013 www.episcopalnewyorker.com

a source of rapid increase in others.
There are, in any case, other much more likely causes
for this loss of membership. A major one, in my opinion,
is the politicizing of religion (and by that I mean
the direct political involvement of religious bodies in mat-
“[The politicizing of] religion [has made
it] a divisive rather than a uniting force in
our society.”
“…anti-intellectualism…may ‘sell’ in
some quarters but in the long run it is a
formula for slow decline…”
ters before the larger society), which has had a two
pronged result—it elicits great energy and intense loyalty
among those who support the positions held, but at
the same time tends to drive away folks who disagree.
This, I believe, has made religion a divisive rather than
a uniting force in our society. Compounding the problem
is the fact that a number of the high profile issues
promulgated in the name of Christianity tend simply to
make Christianity look silly. The opposition to evolution
is a prime example of this—and one could also point
to issues around gender and the rights of women. The
position espoused by a number of religious communities
on these is at best medieval (and that’s probably being
too hard on the Middle Ages).
The anti-intellectualism that underlies these positions
may “sell” in some quarters but in the long run it is a
formula for slow decline. The conclusion that all too many
“He listens to all sides, thinks about what
he’s heard, studies, reads about the issues,
then after contemplation, he makes a decision,
and he puts it in action – firmly, and
always with a sense of humor.”
have reached as a result of it is that no intellectually serious
person could possibly be a Christian. In this matter
I think that the Episcopal Church should be clear
and outspoken in support of learning, and of the place
of critical thinking as an important part of religious faith.
In this, the role of well-educated clergy is fundamental.
ENY: Some observers would say that the Anglican
Communion, at least in its current form, is on the point
of disintegration. Do you agree?
The Anglican Communion is certainly changing, and
changing rapidly. Like many international bodies—think
of the European Union, and that’s just Europe—it is
“…there is an increasing willingness to
live in the tension of [our] disagreements
rather than to break apart.”
clearly under great strain. But it is not disintegrating.
The Communion has member provinces all over the
globe—and, to be sure, there are still parts of it where
I, and persons who hold my views, would not be welcome.
But those places are getting to be fewer and fewer.
It seems that in many, the focus of the disagreement was
to be found in a particular leader, and that as the leaders
change, so does the nature of the disagreement.
That is not to say that there is emerging agreement
around the Communion on the major issues that have
been at the center of the dispute—I think particularly
of the place of women, and the role of gay and lesbian
people in the life of the Church. But I do think that there
is an increasing willingness to live in the tension of those
disagreements rather than to break apart. So I think it
With Archbishop Desmond Tutu. With the Clergy of the Diocese
“He has been a stabilizing bishop at no cost to the passionate love of God and of the Gospel
and of Our Lord – so he isn’t just pouring oil on troubled waters, he is maintaining his commitment
to the mission of the Church, and finding in that mission grounds for our being together.”
would be going much too far to say that the Anglican
Communion is disintegrating—it is changing.
ENY: What will you miss most and least in retirement?
I will miss parish visitations. I will miss working with dedicated
and deeply committed colleagues.
There is not much that I do that I do not enjoy. It would
be less than honest, however, if I did not admit that I will
not miss General Convention, and above all, I will not miss
clergy discipline matters. They are rare but exceedingly complicated.
They are always so sad. People hurt, and sometimes
a once hope-filled vocation ends up in tatters.
ENY: As Bishop Dietsche’s installation as Diocesan
draws near, what parting message do you have for
him and for the people of the diocese?
Keep your eye on the Prize. In order to do that I suppose
the advice I would give is the same that I give to every
priest or deacon that I have ever ordained. Pray. Pray for
the community. Pray for each other. Pray for the people
you are called to serve. Pray for patience, wisdom and good
“Pray. Pray for the community. Pray for
each other. Pray for the people you are
called to serve. Pray for patience, wisdom
and good humor. Be kind.”
humor. Be kind. Be kind to one another. Be kind to one’s
self. Above all, trust in the power and presence of God:
remember that all things are in God’s Hands. Therefore,
we need never fear even when things are fearsome.
Whether we flourish or fail, whether we live or die, we
are and we will always be, in God’s loving embrace.
“We [the House of Bishops] came to realize, with great clarity, that the price for claiming this identity [that of the Episcopal Church], with its
commitment to remain in solidarity with our beloved gay and lesbian members, might be that we would no longer be welcomed by some of
our brothers and sisters in the Anglican Communion. Tragic and sad as that might be, if that were the price demanded of us, that would be a
price that I, among many, would be prepared to pay.” ENY March/April 2006
www.episcopalnewyorker.com Winter 2013 THE EPISCOPAL NEW YORKER 7

Farewell to Bishop Sisk
Celebration
of an Episcopacy
The Diocese gathered at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on the morning of Saturday, January 5
to join in a service of celebration of the episcopacy of Bishop Mark S. Sisk, who will formally retire
as the fifteenth Bishop of New York when Bishop Dietsche is installed as the sixteenth on February
2. Bishop Sisk preached (his sermon is available online by going to www.dioceseny.org > News >
Bishop Sisk’s Farewell Sermon) and celebrated the Eucharist.
All photos by Kara Flannery
Bishops Dietsche and Sisk before the service.
Mrs. Karen Sisk listens to Bishop Sisk’s sermon.
Judy Collins singing from the pulpit.
8 THE EPISCOPAL NEW YORKER Winter 2013 www.episcopalnewyorker.com

The Rev. Dr. Paul Clayton leads in ecumenical guests.
The Sisters of the Community of the Holy Spirit.
The Great Thanksgiving.
Retired bishops: the Right Reverend Catherine S. Roskam, formerly Bishop Suffragan of New York,
and the Most Reverend Frank Griswold, formerly Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.
Major Gift of $100,000 Initiates
Bishop Sisk Children’s Fund
“When Mark was a young priest in Bronxville,” write Irene and Charles Hamm, “we
were taken by his modesty, wonderful bride Karen and his dedication to reach out to
youth in our parish. These feelings stayed with us as we observed his noble career, and
form the basis for establishing this fund. We would hope there exist many people
touched by Mark and Karen who would join us in funding this legacy trust in their honor
and his career. The fund should help children navigate through an ever more difficult
and complex future through education and other support.”
The newly formed “Bishop Sisk Fund for the Care of Children,” to which
the offering at the January 5 service was dedicated, is also the beneficiary
of a generous initial gift of $100,000 made by Christ Church, Bronxville
parishioners Irene and Charles Hamm.
“We’ve been extraordinarily blessed,” said Bishop Sisk, “to receive Irene
and Charles Hamm’s gift, which will not only give the new fund a solid basis on
which to raise additional funds—to, I hope, a level of at least $250,000—but also
by doing so to make a real difference in the lives of children in our diocese.”
ADD YOUR GIFT TO THE FUND
Mr. & Mrs. Hamm’s gift to the new fund was conditional on only three things:
that the fund be named after Bishop Sisk; that it be designated for domestic use
only; and that their gift be used “as an encouragement to raise more.”
Please join the Hamms in making a gift of whatever you can afford to
the fund, either online at http:/episcopalny.org/mschildren or by sending a
check marked “Children’s Fund” to:
Episcopal Diocese of New York
1047 Amsterdam Ave
New York NY 10025
“Work with children has always been of foremost importance to me. The principle
that will guide expenditures from the fund will, therefore, be simple—caring for
dependent children in need.” —Bishop Sisk
Bishops Dietsche and Sisk administer Communion.
www.episcopalnewyorker.com Winter 2013 THE EPISCOPAL NEW YORKER 9

Diocesan Convention
The 236th Diocesan Convention
Delayed for the second year in succession by extreme weather (in 2011 it was
an early heavy fall of snow, this year the devastation of Hurricane/Superstorm
Sandy) the 236th Convention of the diocese, originally slated as a two-day
event to take place November 3 and 4 in Tarrytown (the weekend after Sandy’s
arrival), eventually took place in telescoped form at the Cathedral of St. John
the Divine on Saturday, November 17.
As Bishop Sisk observed in his address, “This is the year that, on March 10, Andrew
Dietsche the next Bishop of New York, was consecrated. This coming February,
the Feast of the Purification, he will be installed and become the 16th Bishop of
New York.”
Bishop Dietsche, in his own address later in the day (available in full at www.dioceseny.org>The
Diocesan Convention>The 236th Diocesan Convention), called on
Episcopalians to give up saying “The Church is dying” and asked for “a diocesanwide
commitment to an Internal Indaba” in which every parish will be invited to join
in Indaba conversations with other churches wholly unlike themselves.
“[We have been] forgetting that growth in the Church whenever it happens is a
movement of the Holy Spirit, and growth when it comes is always a grace and a gift,”
Dietsche told a receptive audience. “…I am convinced that we are doomed to fail at
the start [in all the practical matters of running the Church as an institution] if we
approach those questions in any way except along the path of the mission we have
been given by God.”
Major points:
Call for election of a Bishop Suffragan
Bishop Dietsche asked Bishop Sisk (because he could not, until he becomes
Diocesan Bishop, canonically do so himself) to call for the election of a bishop
suffragan “sometime around the end of 2013.”
Second assistant bishop position created
To be filled “for up to two years” by the Rt. Rev. Chilton Knudsen, retired Bishop
of Maine
The Rev. Deborah Tammearu to succeed the Rev. Canon Thomas Orso as
Canon for Transitional Ministry
A Canon for Pastoral Care to be appointed in due course
Bishop Dietsche announces Internal Indaba
In which dissimilar parishes will be joined in conversation. No parish or individual
obliged to participate, but committees working on budget, finance and assessment
questions to be drawn only from those that do
Tribute video to Bishop Sisk screened and available online
A beautifully-produced video was
shown in which members of the
diocese—both lay and clergy—expressed
their appreciation of
Bishop Sisk’s qualities. The video
will be available online for viewing
until mid May at
http://vimeo.com/edny/sisktribute.
CONVENTION DETAILS ONLINE
Please go to www.dioceseny.org > The Diocese > The Diocesan Convention >
The 236th Diocesan Convention for
Both Bishops’ addresses
Resolutions passed
The Diocesan budget for 2013
The tribute video to Bishop Sisk will be available online at
http://vimeo.com/edny/sisktribute until mid-May.
Sister Faith Margaret, Bishop Drew Smith, Bishop Sisk and Chancellor George Wade applaud
Bishop Dietsche at the conclusion of his address. Photo: Nicholas Richardson
“If the questions which underlie our diocesan life
and conversation are first and primarily about
self-preservation and about whether or not we
will survive, I promise you that we will not. But
when we are driven by a common shared understanding
of our mission and ministry, and a driving
vision of God, we will grow if God wants us to
grow and we won’t if God doesn’t want us to, but
either way we will thrive.” —Bishop Dietsche
Assistant Bishop Named
The Rt. Rev. Chilton Knudsen, retired
Bishop of Maine, will become Assistant
Bishop on April 15. “Bishop
Knudsen and I go way back,” said Bishop
Dietsche as he announced the appointment
in his address. “When I was a seminarian,
she was a recently ordained
graduate of my same seminary, serving a
church in the area. We came to know
each other then, and continued that warm
relationship over the decades which have
followed. We are mutually excited by the
prospect of working together, and I certainly
hope that you will view the prospect
of Bishop Knudsen coming to New York
with the same excitement and anticipation
which she and I do. I know we will
be blessed as a diocese.”
10 THE EPISCOPAL NEW YORKER Winter 2013 www.episcopalnewyorker.com

Bishop’s Crosses
Bishop’s Crosses were awarded at the Convention to the Rev. Bertram Bennett, Jr.
and to the Rev. Canon Petero Sabune. The following are the official citations:
BERTRAM BENNETT, JR.
The Prophet Isaiah tells us to, “Remove the chains of oppression and the yoke of injustice
and let the oppressed go free. Share your food with the hungry and open your homes
to the homeless poor. Give clothes to those who have nothing to wear…”(Isaiah 58.6-
7). In the life and ministry of The Reverend Bertram Bennett, Jr. we see the Church
responding to this scriptural mandate with admirable and impressive dedication. Father
Bennett has deep roots in this Diocese. Having been Baptized at The Church of the
Crucifixion and raised at The Church of St. Edward the Martyr, after Ordination he
served at St. Margaret’s Church in the Bronx, and then as the Curate at The Church
of St. Matthew & St. Timothy in Manhattan, before becoming the Priest-in-Charge
of St. David’s Church in the Bronx, where he has worked tirelessly since 1980. He has
been a leader in the South Bronx Inter-parish Council, particularly as the Chair of the
South Bronx Church’s Housing Task Force. Among his notable achievements are the
creation of a Nehemiah Housing unit, two alternative public high schools and eighty
housing units at a neighboring senior center. In fulfillment of the call to the Priesthood
that he heard when he was only 10 years old, he has been a beacon of pastoral care, community
organizing and relief to those in dire need, and in this he has been an effective
example of proclaiming the Gospel in deed, as well as Word.
Therefore, in recognition and gratitude for his service to his community, his diocese
and the larger Church offered to the glory of God, we, on this 17th day of November
2012, in the fifteenth year of our consecration, do award him
THE BISHOP’S CROSS
The Rt. Rev. Mark S. Sisk
Fifteenth Bishop of New York
PETERO A. N. SABUNE
In the Book of Proverbs (31.8-9) we learn that we are to “Speak up for people who
cannot speak for themselves. Protect the rights of all who are helpless….Protect the rights
of the poor and needy.” God has blessed the Church with the voice and witness of The
Reverend Canon Petero Sabune, who has displayed stunning consistency in his advocacy
of the helpless, the persecuted, the marginalized and the forgotten. His rich ministry
has stretched from parish priesthood to prison chaplaincy, and has included service on
the diocesan, national and international levels. He has toiled diligently in his pastoral
duties, balancing these with praiseworthy leadership in the mission of the New York State
Council of Churches, the Religion Labor Coalition, the Business and Technology Institute
of Haiti, and as a Trustee of Union Theological Seminary. He has spoken for the
powerless to the powerful and been an instrument of peace and compassion. He bears,
in his life, the marks of the Crucifixion but has transformed those he has worked with,
and for, by a life of peace, justice and joy.
Therefore, in recognition and gratitude for his service to his community, his diocese
and the larger Church offered to the glory of God, we, on this 17th day of November
2012, in the fifteenth year of our consecration, do award him
THE BISHOP’S CROSS
Photos: Nicholas Richardson
The Rt. Rev. Mark S. Sisk
Fifteenth Bishop of New York
www.episcopalnewyorker.com Winter 2013 THE EPISCOPAL NEW YORKER 11

Retirement Honors
Bishop’s Crosses for Yurke and Vandenberg
At a farewell dinner held January 4, Bishop Sisk gave the two Vice Chancellors of the diocese, Alice Yurke
and Ray Vandenberg, quite a surprise when he awarded each of them the Bishop’s Cross.
ALICE YURKE, ESQ.
The opportunity to work with a true professional is always a pleasure. It is a special
joy to work with one who offers that expertise in the service of Christ and His Church.
Over the years that Alice Yurke has served as Vice-Chancellor of the Diocese of New
York she has offered invaluable advice on numerous difficult questions that have come
before us for consideration. More than that she has been willing, when appropriate, to
engage directly with congregations who were experiencing challenges within her area of
expertise. For her years of faithful service to the Church, her parish, and to this Diocese,
it is my distinct pleasure to award her, on this the 4th day of January, 2013, in
the Fifteenth year of our consecration,
The Rt. Rev. Mark S. Sisk
Fifteenth Bishop of New York
RAYMOND L.
VANDENBERG, ESQ.
The opportunity to work with a true professional is always a pleasure. It is a special
joy to work with one who offers that expertise in the service of Christ and His Church.
Over the years that Ray Vandenberg has served as Vice-Chancellor of the Diocese of
New York he has offered invaluable advice on numerous difficult questions that have
come before us for consideration. More than that he has been willing, when appropriate,
to engage directly with congregations who were experiencing challenges within his
area of expertise. For his years of faithful service to the Church, his parish, and to this
Diocese, it is my distinct pleasure to award him, on this the 4th day of January, 2013,
in the Fifteenth year of our consecration,
THE BISHOP’S CROSS
Photos: Nicholas Richardson
The Rt. Rev. Mark S. Sisk
Fifteenth Bishop of New York
12 THE EPISCOPAL NEW YORKER Winter 2013 www.episcopalnewyorker.com

Gun Violence
Bishops Respond
to Newtown
Shooting with
Pastoral Letter,
Petition to
President and
Congress
On December 17, in response to the horrific elementary school shootings in
Newtown, CT, Bishops Sisk, Dietsche and Smith sent the pastoral letter
printed in full to teh right of this page to the people of the Diocese of New
York. On December 28, they circulated a petition to the parishes of the diocese
and made available for signing online a petition calling on the President and Congress
of the United States to enact legislation:
1. Banning the sale and ownership of assault weapons by individuals;
2. Banning the sale and possession of large ammunition magazines by individuals;
3. Requiring background checks for all sales of guns, including sales at gun shows
and between private individuals.
The deadline for submission of hard copies of the petition was set at January 15 in order
to evaluate signatures to be submitted in a timely manner. You may still sign the electronic
copy by going to www.episcopalny.org/petition.
To the People
of the Diocese of New York
On Friday our neighboring Diocese of Connecticut was rocked by the
horrific eruption of violence in an elementary school in Newtown,
Connecticut. A number of small children and devoted teachers too large
to comprehend has been killed. Once again, as too often, we weep in
empathy for the pain and loss of others, in whose sorrows we can also see
reflected our own lives and loves and fears, and the common humanity
that binds us to one another in all times, but especially in tragedy.
This Sunday at our altars we were one in prayer for the fallen and for
those who love them. We prayed for the Diocese of Connecticut and
their bishops, clergy and people who minister to the broken and bereaved.
In the diverse and varied words of prayer we offer, we lay our sorrow, as
well as our fears, before the heart of our loving, grieving God. This is
what we do. First of all things, we are people who pray.
Over and over, we watch the horror, the pain and the grief laid upon the
shoulders of people like us in communities like our own, who must then
bear that horror and carry that pain as they pick up their lives and find a
way to go on. As in far too many other places in America, Newtown will
never be the same. The events of Friday will cast a shadow into the future
which will darken much that is yet to come. And for the families of the
lost, especially the young lost children, these losses will temper every happiness
and cloud every joy for a long time. We pray God’s blessing, we ask
God’s grace, we invoke God’s peace for every troubled heart.
But this was the second mass shooting in America in three days. It was
the thirteenth in 2012. We your bishops believe that it is past time for
the United States to commit itself anew to the creation of responsible,
constitutional measures of reasonable and effective gun control. We call
on our elected representatives to engage the debate, resolve the question,
and come to terms finally with the place and power of arms and weapons
in our laws and in our common life. That we may by the grace of God
and the courage of good national leaders live in peace and without fear in
safe towns and cities, in safe schools, in safe movie theaters and shopping
centers.
Our Christian life calls us to weep with those who weep and rejoice with
those who rejoice. Our faith also calls us to be strivers after justice and
peace. We don’t know what justice will look like for those who fell on
Friday in Newtown, some only six years old, but we must consider what
justice demands of us now, before any others of our own brothers and sisters
find themselves next week or next month in another wrong place at
another wrong time.
+ Mark
The Rt. Rev. Mark S. Sisk
Bishop of New York
+ Andrew
The Rt. Rev. Andrew M. L. Dietsche
Bishop Coadjutor
+ Andrew
The Rt. Rev. Andrew D. Smith
Assistant Bishop
www.episcopalnewyorker.com Winter 2013 THE EPISCOPAL NEW YORKER 13

Cathedral
Bishop Sisk: Guardian of the Cathedral Close
This spring, Cathedral community and friends reflect on the ministry of Bishop
Sisk as he prepares to retire to his farm in upstate New York. Bishop Sisk was
instrumental in furthering the reputation of the Cathedral as the “Green Cathedral”,
and has spoken often and eloquently about stewardship of the Earth. American
literature is full of writing about the grandeur and power of the land; and in
prose sometimes lush, sometimes spare, reminded us that mankind is never separate from
the forest, stone, elements and creatures. In the words of Henry David Thoreau inducted
into the Cathedral American Poets Corner in 1988:
This is a delicious evening, when the whole body is one sense, and imbibes
delight through every pore. I go and come with a strange liberty in Nature,
a part of herself. As I walk along the stony shore of the pond in my
shirt-sleeves, though it is cool as well as cloudy and windy, and I see nothing
special to attract me, all the elements are unusually congenial to me. The
bullfrogs trump to usher in the night, and the note of the whip-poor-will is
borne on the rippling wind from over the water. Sympathy with the fluttering
alder and poplar leaves almost takes away my breath; yet, like the lake,
my serenity is rippled but not ruffled. These small waves raised by the evening
wind are as remote from storm as the smooth reflecting surface. Though it
is now dark, the wind still blows and roars in the wood, the waves still dash,
and some creatures lull the rest with their notes. The repose is never complete.
The wildest animals do not repose, but seek their prey now; the fox,
and skunk, and rabbit, now roam the fields and woods without fear. They are
Nature’s watchmen — links which connect the days of animated life.
— Walden Pond (1854)
The Cathedral salutes this steward of the community, of the Close and of the land.
“Tree of Life” Conference on
Israel and Palestine at St.
Michael’s Church, Manhattan
An observant Jewish layman mounted the pulpit at the Nov 11 Sunday morning
Service at St. Michael’s Church on Manhattan’s Upper West Side. Dr. Mark
Braverman, a trained clinical psychologist and specialist in crisis intervention
and trauma recovery, delivered a sermon calling upon American Christians to
hear, and respond to, the cry for justice and peace from Palestinians living under
Israeli occupation in the West Bank and Gaza.
Dr. Braverman, who now devotes himself full-time to the cause for peace in historic
Palestine, is the author of Fatal Embrace: Christians, Jews, and the Search for Peace in the Holy
Land. His sermon and after-church forum represented the concluding presentations at
the third annual New York Interfaith “Tree of Life” Conference on Israel and Palestine,
hosted by St. Michael’s, November 10-11.
St. Michael’s Interim Pastor Elizabeth Maxwell told the approximately 120 participants
in the weekend’s events: “We gather as an interfaith community to learn more about
justice, peace and human rights for those who live in a land our many traditions call ‘holy.’
We consider as well the use of our tax dollars to support of the occupation, and our responsibility
as citizens and people of conscience. I hope this conference marks the beginning
of a deeper engagement with these issues, and with each other.”
The Tree of Life Conference is a program of the Tree of Life Educational Fund, a
not-for-profit organization affiliated with the First Congregational Church, United Church
of Christ, Old Lyme, CT. Conference literature describes its purpose: “… to bear witness
to a story of injustice that is little known and largely untold among Americans. The
Dr. Mark Braverman, left, with the Rev. Elizabeth G. Maxwell, Interim Pastor at St. Michael’s.
Conference [brings] before American audiences voices of Palestinian, as well as Israeli
and American peacemakers, who offer hope in the midst of the pain of dislocation, blockade
and occupation; and [seeks] the support of American people in the non-violent struggle
for justice for the Palestinian community.”
An afternoon of presentations by Palestinian and Israel peacemakers, including academics,
community activists, former members of the Israeli military, was offered on Saturday,
November 10, followed by a reception. The day concluded with a concert of Middle
Eastern music, featuring musicians from the region performing on traditional
instruments.
More information about Tree of Life program, including travel opportunities may be found
at www.tolef.org.
14 THE EPISCOPAL NEW YORKER Winter 2013 www.episcopalnewyorker.com

Come and Welcome
Our New Bishop!
The Diocese of New York Warmly Invites You
to
The Installation
of
The Right Reverend Andrew M.L. Dietsche
as
XVI Bishop of New York
at
The Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine
Saturday, February 2 at 10:30 a.m.
Reception following in Synod Hall
Directions: www.events.episcopalny.org

Evangelism
Evangelism–Not a Dirty Word! Part 1
By the Rev. Claire Woodley
In 2006 I took a sabbatical with a generous grant from the Clergy Renewal Project
of the Lily Foundation. Its focus was to retool my pastoral skill kit from conflict
intervention to re-engaging evangelism, my first love. For several months I
explored what was developing in the field of evangelism in the USA and the UK.
Now, most Episcopalians greet the word evangelism with all the glee of root
canal work. For too many, it’s just somehow not nice and smacks of cornering unwilling
victims and beating them about the head with a Bible. But if that were true the
church would have died out in the first generation. One of the profound discoveries
I made in my study is how life-giving and generative it is to share God’s creative, liberating,
sanity restoring, holy making love. We Episcopalians have some good tools.
But Cursillo, Alpha and Via Media notwithstanding, the numbers in many of our
churches show where the “we don’t DO evangelism” approach has led us—and for many
churches that place is crisis. The good news is that this is precisely where God can
get a word in edgewise. The Chinese pictogram for crisis is “dangerous opportunity.”
Crisis forces change, and evangelism puts the Holy Spirit in charge of the change.
Blessed are you when you get to the end of your rope, for there you will meet God.
Some may feel that evangelism should be more doing than talking, and that talking
somehow diminishes the doing. Not so! It is very good to do outreach and mission,
and it is also good to share the good news with others about how and where we
found the Good News and what has happened to us since then. Where did we meet
the outstretched hand that held the Kingdom of God, and how did we come to stretch
out our own hands to others? What or Who gives us the power to live in abundance,
whether the times are good or bad? These are the vital stories. They are the mysteries
of our age, the secret kept out in the open that millions are literally dying to know.
Knowing where the water is, how can we keep it from those dying of thirst?
And if we believe ourselves to be from the church of nice that doesn’t do evangelism,
that is not nice. We need to figure out, for ourselves, for the life of others, how
to live and share the good news with integrity.
So how do we blend talk and walk? For many churches this current crisis will be
a dangerous opportunity, a risky, unknown, but ultimately life-giving and joyous place.
To explore evangelism in its best form is to focus on telling the story of joy, when one
amazed and delighted Christian shares the good news—good news that meets the
deep needs of the people they love, know well or meet for the first time. It is this love
of God, lovingly shared, that is God living in real time and that gives real help.
In this issue of the ENY and the next I will share some of the insights into evangelism
practices that I observed, picked up and was smilingly handed. Fear not! Episcopalians
are—if not uniquely, then beautifully—equipped to address many of the specific
heart hungers of our time. Read, mark, inwardly digest and, hey… get going!
You need a plan
With a humble heart, ask the first, last and primary question: What does God want
to have happen here? Plans need to come from community discernment, not a lone
ranger, because people will be coming into a community. Set short term goals and
make long range plans. Be prepared for surprise and delight! Research, talk, read, surf.
If God pokes you to read something that’s out of the Episco-box take your grain of
salt and go for it. There’s lots of work being done in evangelism across the denominational
spectrum: Be wise, take what’s good and leave the rest. Don’t write something
or someone off because they come from “that” denomination or no denomination.
There is no one right way, there is only one right essential question: What
does God want to have happen here?
Do your homework
Community mission discernment includes three important areas: What is the history
of your church, what has God blessed before? What are the Founders stories?
If there are patterns of ministry growth, what are the components of the
growth cycles? What are the patterns when growth is diminished or stops? Do a
corporate parish history together. What patterns do you see?
Find out what spiritual gifts and mission passions are already present
If God wants something to happen, the entire universe will conspire together to
see it done. Each of us has a piece of the action, and the “more than us” presence
and power that God brings to communities through the Gifts of the Holy Spirit
16 THE EPISCOPAL NEW YORKER Winter 2013 www.episcopalnewyorker.com

are not there by accident. Who and what God has called to a community at any given
time are clues to what and where the ministry will be. Each of us has an in-built passion
for different kinds of people and issues. We have specific spiritual gifts to accomplish
the work.
Do a community wide needs assessment asking the question “How can we
help? How can St. Swithin’s be a blessing to you?”
Ask local shop keepers, schools, boards, councils, civic groups, not-for-profits, neighbors.
In the best spirit of discernment bring all these facts, stories, scripture insights,
statistics, worship aha’s, longings, passion and compassion together. Ask again the first,
last and most important question of yourselves: “What do these gifts, passions, our
own unique parish story and the community’s need for blessing say about what God
want to have happen here?” Pray over the data. Patterns and direction will start to
emerge like pieces of a mosaic coming together to form a clear picture. Again! Be prepared
to boldly go to places no Episcopalian from your church has gone before. Expect to be delighted.
What is she talking about?
Some of you may be asking yourselves, “Why hasn’t she talked about getting new
families/people to our church? This is all very nice but we have bills to pay!” The
Rev. Sylvia Vasquez calls this approach to church growth “Vampire Evangelism.” It is
a utilitarian view of people where the life of the church is extended only so far as people
are willing to support the institution. It’s using people in Jesus’ name— and people
rightly flee!
Now get ready for the real shocker….
Church membership is not the primary task of evangelism, It is a side-effect
Evangelism is not “getting warm fannies in the pews.” It is bringing love and help
where and how it is needed and showing others where the love and help comes from,
offered with the invitation to “come and see.” People frequently respond to an experience
of real help by wanting to hear/receive/have more, and look to find where that
can happen. Any help should come with an offer to continue on the journey together.
People may or may not respond by coming to church but they will leave blessed and
blessing has an ongoing life of its own. Being a blessing is the important piece. “Seek ye
first the kingdom of God and its righteousness and all these (other) things will be
added unto you,” including financial support, and church membership.
THE BASICS:
It’s all about the Love
Jesus loved people. If we are not about loving people, we are not about Jesus. Love
happens in a variety of ways and means, but any ministry done without love does not
have the Spirit and has no lasting impact for good in a person’s life. Love opens the
door to transformation and discipleship. Jesus opens the door to eternal, unlimited,
expansive life now. Through the vehicle of practicing and experiencing love, in an
ever expanding community, in and with the Holy Spirit, life gets very different. Even
when speaking truth to power, do so in love. The Rev. Harold Barrett, one of my
mentors said to me, “If it is not pastoral. It is not prophetic.”
Address the spiritual conflicts, pay attention to Sin
Church community life is based in the real presence of Christ and on the healing liberation
from the power of sin and death over our lives. Talking about sin is not lay-
ing a guilt trip on others, it’s offering the key to undoing the knots their lives have
gotten into. People are hungry for liberation in an age where license is mistaken for
freedom and lives spin out of control over and over. The good news is that it doesn’t
have to be like that! Sin has seven basic patterns that can be identified, an energy
that is recognizable. Together, a real introduction to the life of transformation, the
growing self-discipline to seek God first, and the opportunity to serve and heal add
up to beautiful, Christ-given, soul medicine. From that comes the freedom to serve
and love anytime, anywhere. This is freedom indeed!
This action-oriented message is what we Christians have, that nobody else has in
quite the same way. Combine it with God’s call to justice, and the way to a life worth
living becomes real. Be clear that sin kills, and that God has a better way; that freedom
is different from license, and life is not meant to be damage control but. It is
much, much more. In Christ, life is deeper, richer, and more substantial than many
folk in our materialist culture have ever experienced.
You need to know The Story.
Some people are squeamish about Jesus and afraid to drop the “J” bomb in polite
company. In sharing the good news we need to know it. We need to be able to ask
others about their story, be able to talk about God’s story in Jesus, and where the intersection
between our story and God’s story changed our lives and offers experience,
strength and hope to others. We can’t be sloppy about Jesus story and what it is that
God has given us in the life, ministry, death, resurrection and ascension of Jesus. Know
the boundaries the Creeds give us, know what is in the Bible. All doctors have to read
medical texts, all lawyers, law books. Any yahoo can call themselves a Christian and
never crack open the Bible. You wouldn’t accept the doctor or lawyer who didn’t know
their stuff, why accept ignorance in Christians? Just sitting in a church once a week
won’t make you a Christian any more than sitting in a garage will make you a car.
That being said, how you learn the Story can happen in a variety of ways. You can
join in many virtual bible studies, book dialogues, Prayer Book services online. You
can find any number of real time study groups on-line. Make sure your church’s study
groups are public knowledge and advertised on the web. If you have a tweeter in the
group, have them tweet the big “aha” from that week’s study. Learn the Story and let
others know the Story is being studied where you are.
When you know The Story, you can see the three fold God patterns: new creation
in your life, liberation from whatever had you bound, and transformation that
brings you closer and closer in God’s Holy Spirit to God’s Holy Spirit changing you
from the inside out. To tell the truth, if we leave out the Holy Spirit, we’re just running
our mouths. Christians need to know The Story in order to recognize God’s
Spirit versus any other spirit. God’s Holy Spirit looks, walks, talks, is interested in and
active, in all the ways Jesus was. The Holy Spirit, the power and presence of God in
real time, is the unmistakable “more than human” power and presence that is the hallmark
of God. It is The News of the Good News. There’s way more going on here
than meets the eye, but the eye can be trained to recognize it by knowing The Story.
Read The Book.
God has ways and ways of getting things done and there will be a variety of paths
to sharing the love. We are a people in process and what seems impossible today, over
time becomes entirely possible and normal, especially when it comes to my brother
Jesus and his Holy Spirit. Next month we’ll look at some trends in evangelism. Come
and see!
Woodley is Rector of St. Mary’s, Mohegan Lake.
www.episcopalnewyorker.com Winter 2013 THE EPISCOPAL NEW YORKER 17

Notices
EL MENSAJE DEL OBISPO (continuo de la paginacion 3)
Mi experiencia de esta extensa perspectiva es que ella tiene en mí dos efectos opuestos.
De una parte ella crea un sentido de urgencia. Estar consciente de algunas de las maravillosas
cosas que están haciendo otros, intensifica un deseo de hacer o de ver realizadas,
cosas maravillosas similares.
El otro efecto que esta perspectiva da es casi lo opuesto; es un efecto tranquilizante.
Básicamente me dice: no estés ansioso. No estés ansioso porque con el tiempo, las vidas
dedicadas dan maravilloso, pero a menudo, inesperado fruto.
La perspectiva que la gestión refuerza es la excitante confianza de que –sin importar
lo que nos ocurra- en última instancia, todas las cosas están en las buenas manos de Dios.
Este mensaje final del Obispo Sisk es una adaptación de una parte del sermón que él predicó en
la Catedral de San Juan el Divino, el sábado, 5 de enero en la Celebración de su Episcopado.
Traducido por Lila Botero
BISHOPS’ VISITATION SCHEDULE
JANUARY 13 (1 EPIPHANY)
Bishop Dietsche:
Divine Love, Montrose
JANUARY 20 (2 EPIPHANY)
Bishop Dietsche:
Saint Esprit, Manhattan
Bishop Smith: Holy Trinity, Inwood
Bishop Sauls: St. Luke’s, Katonah
JANUARY 27 (3 EPIPHANY)
Bishop Dietsche: Trinity St. Paul’s,
New Rochelle
FEBRUARY 3 (4 EPIPHANY)
Bishop Smith: St. Simeon’s, Bronx
Bishop Donovan:
St. Stephen’s, Woodlawn
FEBRUARY 10 (LAST EPIPHANY)
Bishop Dietsche:
Our Savior, Manhattan
FEBRUARY 13 (ASH WEDNESDAY)
Bishop Dietsche:
Trinity Wall Street, Manhattan
Bishop Sauls: St. John’s, Stony Point
FEBRUARY 17 (1 LENT)
Bishop Dietsche:
St. Stephen’s, Staten Island
Bishop Smith:
Christ the King, Stone Ridge
FEBRUARY 24 (2 LENT)
Bishop Dietsche:
St. Anne’s, Washingtonville (a.m.)
Grace Church, Monroe (p.m.)
MARCH 3 (3 LENT)
Bishop Dietsche:
St. Paul & Trinity, Tivoli
Bishop Smith: St. Francis, Montgomery
Bishop Sauls: Holy Trinity, Manhattan
MARCH 10 (4 LENT)
No visitations
MARCH 17 (5 LENT)
Bishop Dietsche: St. John’s, Barrytown
Bishop Smith:
Heavenly Rest, Manhattan
Bishop Donovan:
Incarnation, Manhattan
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CLERGY CHANGES
The Rev. Thomas Pellaton, Supply,
Episcopal Diocese of New York, to
Interim Pastor, St. Mary’s, Manhattanville,
Manhattan, Oct. 1, 2012.
The Rev. William Doubleday, Interim
Dean, Bexley Hall Episcopal
Seminary, Columbus, OH, to Priest
in Charge, St. Mark’s, Mount Kisco,
Nov. 7, 2012.
The Rev. Canon Charles Pridemore,
Supply, Episcopal Diocese of New
York, to Interim Priest in Charge, St.
Luke’s, Eastchester, Nov 28, 2012.
The Rev. Maria Filomena Servellon,
Priest, San Juan Bautista, The Bronx,
NY, to Priest in Charge, Santa Cruz,
Kingston, Dec. 1, 2012.
The Rev. Kristin Kopren, Priest in
Charge, La Iglesia de la Virgen de
Guadalupe, Poughkeepsie, to Priest
in Charge, St. John’s, Tuckahoe, Dec.
7, 2012.
The Rev. Gigi Conner, Leaving, St.
Gregory’s, Woodstock, Dec 25, 2012.
The Rev. Ajung Sojwal, Supply, Episcopal
Diocese of New York, to Interim,
Grace, Millbrook, Jan. 1, 2013.
The Rev. Julia Whitworth, Assistant,
St. James, West Hartford CT to
Cathedral of St. John the Divine,
Minister for Liturgy and Art Jan. 1,
2013.
The Rev. Canon Thomas Orso,
Canon for Deployment, Episcopal
Diocese of New York, to retirement,
Jan. 1, 2013.
The Rev. Deborah Tammearu, Rector,
St. Thomas, Mamaroneck, to
Canon for Transition Ministry, Episcopal
Diocese of New York, Jan. 1,
2013.
The Rev. Pamela Owen Strobel, Interim,
Trinity, Torrington CT, to
Priest in Charge, St. Barnabas, Ardsley,
Jan. 1, 2013.
The Rev. Suzanne Toro, Associate,
Holy Apostles, Manhattan, to Assistant,
Christ and Rector, St. John’s,
Cornwall, Feb. 10, 2013.
The Rev. Canon Thomas Miller,
Canon for Liturgy and Art, Cathedral
of St. John the Divine, to retirement,
Feb. 28, 2013.
18 THE EPISCOPAL NEW YORKER Winter 2013 www.episcopalnewyorker.com

Cathedral Calendar
LATE WINTER/EARLY SPRING 2013
1047 Amsterdam Avenue at 112th Street
New York, NY 10025 (212) 316-7540
For details of ongoing programs, tours and workshops at
the Cathedral please visit www.stjohndivine.org.
TICKETS AND RESERVATIONS
Unless otherwise noted events do not require tickets
or reservations. Tickets for all performances other
than free or”suggested contribution” events may be
purchased directly from the Cathedral’s website,
stjohndivine.org, or by calling (866) 811-4111.
ONGOING PROGRAMS, TOURS,
WORKSHOPS
The Great Organ: Midday Monday
Cathedral organists provide a 30-minute break for
mind, body and spirit at 1:00 p.m. with an entertaining
and informative demonstration of the Cathedral’s
unparalleled Great Organ.
The Great Organ: It’s Sunday
The Great Organ: It’s Sunday invites established and
emerging organists from across the U.S. and around
the world to take their turn at the Great Organ and
present a free 5:15 p.m. concert.
PUBLIC EDUCATION AND VISITOR SERVICES
TOURS AND CHILDREN’S WORKSHOPS
Public Education & Visitor Services offers Cathedral
Highlights, Vertical, and Spotlight Tours. All tours
meet for registration at the Visitor Center inside the
Cathedral entrance, at 112th Street and Amsterdam
Avenue. Highlights Tours: $6 per person, $5
per student/senior. Vertical Tours: $15 per person,
$12 per student/senior. Spotlight Tours: $10
per person, $8 per student/senior.
Highlights Tours
Mondays, 11 am – Noon & 2 – 3 pm,
Tuesdays – Saturdays, 11 am – Noon &
1 pm – 2 pm, Select Sundays 1 pm – 2 pm
No prior reservation necessary. Meet at Visitor
Center.
Vertical Tours
Wednesdays, Noon – 1 pm; Saturdays,
Noon – 1 pm & 2 pm – 3 pm
Space is limited to 20 people 12 years of age and
older, and reservations are recommended. For reservations,
visit the Cathedral website or call 866 811-
4111. Bring a flashlight. Meet at Visitor Center.
Textile Treasures
Fridays, October 19, and November 16,
Noon – 1 pm
$20 per person, $15 per student/senior. Space is
limited to 20 people 12 years of age and older. For
reservations, visit the Cathedral’s website or call
866 811-4111. Meet at Visitor Center.
Medieval Birthday Parties
Saturdays & Sundays, by availability
For children ages 5 & up. Call the Public Education
& Visitor Services Department at 212 932-7347
for more information and reservations.
Nightwatch
The Nightwatch program has been updated and expanded
with three exciting and innovative offerings:
Nightwatch Crossroads, Knightwatch Medieval and
Nightwatch Dusk & Dawn. For more information
visit stjohndivine.org or contact: (212) 316-5819/
nightwatch@stjohndivine.org.
The Holy Land Program
October 2012 – May 2013
The Holy Land Program has as its focus the centrality
of the Holy Land in Judaism, Christianity and
Islam. Four different epochs will be explored: The
Time of the Hebrew Bible; The Time of the New Testament;
the Time of the Crusades and the Golden
Age in Spain; and the Contemporary Scene. Each
of these four epochs will have multiple layers, including
public lectures, courses, music, art, and film.
Please visit stjohndivine.org for more information and
to purchase tickets. Programs are listed chronologically
below.For details, please go to stjohndevine.org/holyland.html
ADULTS AND CHILDREN IN TRUST (A.C.T.)
To learn about the many nurturing year-round progra.m.s
for young people offered by A.C.T., please call (212)
316-7530 or visit www.actprogra.m.s.org.
CATHEDRAL COMMUNITY CARES (CCC)
Please visit www.stjohndivine.org for more information
on CCC programs, which include health screenings at
the Nutrition, Health and Clothing Center, the Clothing
Closet, Sunday Soup Kitchen, SNAP/Food Stamps Program.
and Walking Club
SELECTED PROGRAMS AND SERVICES:
JANUARY
Signs and Symbols: Spotlight on Symbolism
Sunday, January 13, 1 pm
Explore the signs and symbols in the Cathedral and
discover the unique attribu Led by Senior Cathedral
Guide Becca Earley. $10 per person, $8 for
students/seniors. Meet at Visitor Center.
THE HOLY LAND PROGRAM
WINTER SEMESTER COURSES
Medieval Arts Children’s Workshop
Sponsored by the Congregation of St. Saviour
To register please contact: office@saintsaviour.org
or Christian DeRuiter: (212) 316-7483. Adults
$100; $175 for two courses; students or seniors
$75 per course. For details, please go to
stjohndevine.org/holyland.html
INTRODUCTION TO ISLAM
Four Tuesdays (January 15, 22, 29, February 5)
7 pm - 8:30 pm
Instructor: Dr. Hussein Rashid
THE BOOK OF RUTH
Four Tuesdays (January 15, 22, 29, February 5)
7 pm - 8:30 pm
Instructor: Dr. Phyllis Trible
MARRYING AND DIVORCING:
An Introduction to the Talmud
Four Thursdays (January 17, 24, 31, February 7)
7 pm - 8:30 pm
Instructor: Rabbi Leonard A. Schoolman
FOUR GREAT THINKERS:
Buber, Tillich, Heschel, Kirkegaard
Four Thursdays (January 17, 24, 31, February 7)
7 pm - 8:30 pm
Instructor: Rabbi Daniel F. Polish, Ph.D.
THE GREAT ORGAN: GREAT ARTISTS
Kent Tritle
Wednesday, January 16, 7:30 pm
Charles-Marie Widor’s Symphonie VI and Marcel
Dupré’s Magnificat Antiphons.
Nightwatch Crossroads: Multi-Faith
Friday, January 18, 6 pm
Details at stjohndevine.org.
Brilliant Walls of Light:
Spotlight on Cathedral Windows
Saturday, January 19, 1:30 pm – 3 pm
Led by Senior Cathedral Guide John Simko. Meet at
Visitor Center.
THE HOLY LAND PROGRAM
Film: “From Jesus to Christ: The First Christians”
Wednesday, January 23, 7 pm
Nightwatch Crossroads: Christian
Friday, January 25, 6 pm
Details at stjohndevine.org.
Medieval Arts Children’s Workshop
Saturday, January 26, 10 am – 12 pm
Recommended for ages 4 and up. $6 per child, with
accompanying adult. Meet at Visitor Center.
SUNDAY SERVICES
8 a.m. Morning Prayer & Holy Eucharist
9 a.m. Holy Eucharist
11 a.m. Choral Eucharist
4 p.m. Choral Evensong
DAILY SERVICES
Monday–Saturday
8 a.m. Morning Prayer
8:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist (Tuesday & Thursday only)
12:15 p.m. Holy Eucharist
5 p.m. Evening Prayer
Revelation Revealed: Spotlight on the Apocalypse
Saturday, January 26, 2 pm - 3 pm
Led by Senior Cathedral Guide Tom Fedorek. $10 per
person, $8 for students/seniors. Meet at Visitor Center.
THE HOLY LAND PROGRAM
Lecture: On Different Grounds: Jewish and Christian
Understandings of the Land of Israel
Dr. Amy-Jill Levine
Sunday, January 27, 4 pm
The Cathedral in Midtown:
Dr. Steven J. Corwin
Thursday, January 31, 12 pm
FEBRUARY
INSTALLATION OF THE RIGHT REVEREND
ANDREW M. L. DIETSCHE AS BISHOP OF NEW YORK
Saturday, February 2, 10:30 am
THE HOLY LAND PROGRAM
Film: “Muhammad: Legacy of a Prophet”
Wednesday, February 6, 7 pm
GREAT MUSIC IN A GREAT SPACE
The Great Organ: Great Artists—Thierry Escaich
Wednesday, February 6, 7:30 pm
Billion Women Rising
Thursday, February 14
Please see description from January 25. To reserve
tickets, please visit stjohndivine.org.
Nightwatch Crossroads: Christian
Friday, February 15, 6 pm
Tickets: $40, Students (with I.D.): $20, available at
performances, online at www.EarlyMusicNY.org, and
by telephone: (212) 280-0330.
Medieval Arts Children’s Workshop
Saturday, February 16, 10 am – 12 pm
Please see the description for January 26.
Within the Walls: Exploring Hidden Spaces
Saturday, February 16, 1:30 pm – 3 pm
Space is limited to 15 people 12 years of age and
older, and reservations are recommended.
THE HOLY LAND PROGRAM
Lecture: Visions of Jerusalem
Dr. James G. Harper
Tuesday, February 19, 7:30 pm
Film: “Secrets of Jerusalem’s Holiest Sites”
Wednesday, February 20, 7 pm
Nightwatch Crossroads: Multi-Faith
Friday, February 22, 6 pm
Please see description from January 18. To reserve
tickets, please visit stjohndivine.org.
Weaving Stories: A Textile Workshop
Saturday, February 23, 10 am – 12 pm
Recommended for ages 4 and up. $8 per child, with
accompanying adult. Meet at Visitor Center.
Unfinished Symphony: Spotlight on Architecture
Saturday, February 23, 2 pm – 3 pm
$10 per person, $8 for students/seniors. Meet at Visitor
Center.
Signs and Symbols: Spotlight on Symbolism
Sunday, February 24, 1 pm – 2 pm
Led by Senior Cathedral Guide Becca Earley. $10 per
person, $8 for students/seniors. Meet at Visitor Center.
THE HOLY LAND PROGRAM
Lecture: The Golden Age in Spain
Dr. Jerrilyn D. Dodds
Wednesday, February 27, 7:30 pm
The Cathedral in Midtown: Dr. Steven J. Corwin
Thursday, January 31, 12 pm
MARCH
NIGHTWATCH CROSSROADS: CHRISTIAN
Friday, March 1, 6 pm
Please see description from January 25.
THE GREAT ORGAN: IT’S SUNDAY
Bryan Mock, Cincinnati, OH
Sunday, March 3, 5 pm
NIGHTWATCH CROSSROADS: MULTI-FAITH
Friday, March 8, 6 pm
Please see description from January 18.
THE GREAT ORGAN: IT’S SUNDAY
Carol Williams, San Diego, CA
Sunday, March 10, 5 pm
THE HOLY LAND PROGRAM
Film: “Decoding the Past”
Wednesday, March 13, 7:30 pm
THE HOLY LAND PROGRAM
Lecture: Messianism and Millennarianism in
Islamic History
Dr. Hossein Kamaly
Thursday, March 14
NIGHTWATCH CROSSROADS: CHRISTIAN
Friday, March 15, 6 pm
Please see description from January 25.
MEDIEVAL ARTS CHILDREN’S WORKSHOP
Saturday, March 16, 10 am
Please see the description for January 26.
THE GREAT ORGAN: IT’S SUNDAY
Jason A. Wright, Greensboro, NC
Sunday, March 17, 5 pm
GREAT MUSIC IN A GREAT SPACE
Ralph Vaughn Williams, Mass in B Minor & Gabriel
Faure, Requiem
Wednesday, March 20, 7:30 pm
THE HOLY LAND PROGRAM
Lecture: Saladin and the Holy Cities of Islam
Dr. Richard W. Bulliet
Tuesday, February 19, 7:30 pm
KNIGHTWATCH MEDIEVAL
Friday, March 22, 6:30 pm
Please see description from January 11.
Easter Eggs: A Family Eggstravaganza
Saturday, March 23, 10 am
Our popular annual egg workshop is back! Recommended
for ages 4 and up. $8 per child, with accompanying
adult. Reservations are highly recommended
and can be made by calling 212-932-7314.
Dante’s Inferno
Thursday, March 28, 9 pm
HOLY WEEK
PALM SUNDAY
Sunday, March 24
8 am, Holy Eucharist: 9 am, Holy Eucharist with
Hymns and Sermo; 11 am, Palm Procession and
Choral Eucharist; 4 pm, Evensong
HOLY EUCHARIST AND MEDITATION
Monday, April 2
8 am, Morning Prayer; 12:15 pm, Holy Eucharist;
5 pm, Evening Prayer; 7 pm, Holy Eucharist and
Meditation (St. Martin’s Chapel)
HOLY EUCHARIST AND MEDITATION
Tuesday, April 3
8 am, Morning Prayer; 8:30 am, Holy Eucharist;
10:30 am, The Diocese of New York: Holy Eucharist,
Reaffirmation of Ordination Vows and Consecration
of Chrism; 12:15 pm, Holy Eucharist; 5 pm,
Evening Prayer; 7 pm, Holy Eucharist and Meditation
(St. Martin’s Chapel)
HOLY EUCHARIST AND MEDITATION
Wednesday, April 4
Please see Service Schedule for Monday, April 2
MAUNDY THURSDAY
Thursday, March 28
8 am, Morning Prayer; 5 pm, Evening Prayer; 7 pm,
Maundy Thursday Liturgy; 9 pm, The Inferno of Dante
Alighieri: A Reading; 12 am, Vigil in the Baptistry
GOOD FRIDAY
Friday, March 29
8 am Morning Prayer; 12 pm The Good Friday
Liturgy; 2 pm Stations of the Cross; 7 pm Laments
for Good Friday: Choral Meditations
HOLY SATURDAY
Saturday, March 30
7 pm, The Great Vigil of Easter and Choral Eucharist
EASTER SUNDAY
Sunday, March 31
8 am, Holy Eucharist ; 11 am, Festival Eucharist of
Easter; 4 pm, Evensong
www.episcopalnewyorker.com Winter 2013 THE EPISCOPAL NEW YORKER 19

Entering Hildegard’s House of Light
Born in the lush green Rhineland in present day Germany, Hildegard of
Bingen (1098–1179) was a visionary abbess and polymath. She founded
two monastaries, composed an entire corpus of sacred music, and
wrote nine books on subjects as diverse as theology, cosmology, botany,
medicine, linguistics, and human sexuality, a prodigious intellectual
outpouring that was unprecedented for a 12th-century woman. Her prophecies
earned her the title Sybil of the Rhine.
In 2012, over eight centuries after her death,
the Vatican has canonized her and elevated her
to Doctor of the Church, a rare honor reserved
for the most distinguished theologians.
Yet during Hildegard’s own lifetime she
courted controversy for her outspoken critique
of the institutional Church. Though women
were forbidden to preach, she embarked on
four preaching tours in which she delivered
apocalyptic sermons warning her male superiors
that if they did not reform their corrupt
ways, the secular princes would rise against
them and topple them from their seats of
power.
Late in her life, Hildegard and her nuns
were the subject of an interdict (a collective
excommunication) that was lifted only a few
months before her death. Hildegard nearly
died an outcast, her fate hauntingly similar to
that of the contemporary sisters and nuns of
the Leadership Council of Women Religious
as they face the current Vatican crackdown.
Nor did she have an easy childhood. The
youngest of ten children, Hildegard was
offered to the Church at the age of eight. She
reported having luminous visions since earliest
memory, so perhaps her parents didn’t know
what else to do with her.
According to Guibert of Gembloux’s Vita
Sanctae Hildegardis, she was bricked into an
anchorage with her mentor, the fourteen-year-
old Jutta von Sponheim, and possibly one other young girl. Guibert describes
the anchorage in the bleakest terms, using words like “mausoleum” and
“prison,” and writes how these girls died to the world to be buried with Christ.
The anchorage was situated in Disibodenberg, a community of Benedictine
monks. What must it have been like to be among a tiny minority of young girls
surrounded by adult men?
Hildegard spent thirty years interred in her prison with Jutta, whose own Vita
states that she practiced extreme measures of asceticism including semi-starvation
and self-flagellation. Yet miraculously, instead of going mad, Hildegard was
able to educate herself and find solace in her own secret visions of the Living
Light. Instead of embracing Jutta’s masochistic piety, Hildegard formulated her
own spirituality, centered on love rather than suffering.
Still, Hildegard might have been lost to history; but at the age of forty-two,
her life changed forever. A dramatic illness seized her and as she lay in her
sickbed, she received the divine summons to renounce her life of silence and
by Mary Sharratt
Man as Microcosm. From the Lucca MS of Hildegard’s Liber Divinorum
Operum, I.2.
instead speak and write of the visions she had kept secret all her life. Hildegard
then embarked on Scivias, her first book of visionary theology.
In the 12th century, it was a radical thing for a nun to set quill to paper and
write about weighty theological matters. Her abbot panicked and had her examined
for heresy. It could have ended badly for Hildegard, yet after much discussion
and debate, Pope Eugenius endorsed her visions and declared her a
prophet. With this official stamp of approval, Hildegard was able to move her
sisters from Disibodenberg to a site near
Bingen on the Rhine where they built their
new home, Rupertsberg Monastery. This was
an unheard achievement in an era when
monastic houses were founded by bishops and
princes, not by women. Yet miraculously this
“poor weak figure of a woman,” as Hildegard
called herself, triumphed against impossible
odds to become the greatest voice of her age.
I believe that Hildegard’s legacy remains
hugely important for contemporary women.
While writing Illuminations: A Novel of
Hildegard von Bingen, I kept coming up against
the injustice of how women, no matter how
devout they might be, are condemned to stand
at the margins of established religion, even in
the 21st century. Women bishops remain a
subject of controversy in the worldwide
Anglican Communion while the previous
Catholic pope, John Paul II, called a moratorium
even on the discussion of women priests.
Modern women have the choice to wash
their hands of organized religion. But
Hildegard didn’t even get to choose whether
to enter monastic life. The Church of her day
could not have been more patriarchal and
repressive to women. Yet her visions moved
her to create a faith that was immanent and
life-affirming, and that can inspire us today.
Though she was literally walled into a house of
darkness and pain, she burst free and built a
House of Light.
The cornerstone of Hildegard’s spirituality was Viriditas, or greening power,
her revelation of the animating life force manifest in the natural world that
infuses all creation with moisture and vitality. To her, the divine was manifest in
every leaf and blade of grass. Creation revealed the face of the invisible creator.
Hildegard’s re-visioning of religion celebrated women and nature and even perceived
God as feminine, as Mother. Her vision of the universe was an egg inside
the womb of God.
Hildegard shows how visionary women might transform the most maledominated
faith traditions from within.
Mary Sharratt’s Illuminations: A Novel of Hildegard von Bingen is published
by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Visit Mary’s website: www.marysharratt.com. The title
for this essay was inspired by Elizabeth Erickson’s 2008 painting “Hildegard’s House
of Light.”