Jan 2013 - Diocese of the Rio Grande

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12 New Archbishop says C of E will have women bishops [Anglican Communion News Service] The next archbishop of Canterbury is confident he will consecrate a female bishop. “Its clear that woman are going to be bishops in the Church of England,” said Justin Welby, who will take over from Rowan Williams as the spiritual leader of the Anglican wing of world Christianity at the end of the year. In late November, bishops and clergy in the General Synod, the Church legislature, comfortably backed the change, but lay members were four votes short of a twothirds majority. “It was a pretty grim day for the whole church. There is a lot to be done but I am absolutely confident that at some point I will consecrate a woman bishop,” Welby said during a visit to promote religious reconciliation in Nigeria. It had been widely assumed that the oft-debated and amended measure — backed by both incoming and outgoing archbishops of Canterbury — would pass Nov. 20 during the second day of the church’s Nov. 19-21 group of sessions at Church House in Westminster. The Archbishops’ Council of the Church of England met on November 27-28th, and announced: “In its discussions the Council decided that a process to admit women to the episcopate needed to be restarted at the next meeting of the General Synod in July 2013.” Durham Bishop Welby Named Archbishop of Canterbury [Episcopal News Service] Following months of anticipation and media speculation, Downing Street confirmed Nov. 9 that the Queen has approved the nomination of Diocese of Durham Bishop Justin Welby as the 105th archbishop of Canterbury. As the 105th archbishop in a succession spanning more than 1400 years, Bishop Welby Welby will assume the multi-faceted role as spiritual leader of the Anglican Communion, Primate of All England, and bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. Before his ordination to the priesthood in 1992, Welby studied law and history at Cambridge University and then spent 11 years as an executive in the oil industry. After a decade in parish ministry, he was appointed a canon residentiary, and later sub-dean, of Coventry Cathedral. He served as dean of Liverpool Cathedral from 2007-2011. As bishop of Durham, the fourth-most-senior position in the Church of England to which he was consecrated in October 2011, Welby is automatically granted a seat in the House of Lords. Welby, 56, will succeed the Most Rev. Rowan Williams, who will step down at the end of the year after serving as the 104th archbishop of Canterbury since February 2003. Williams has accepted a new post as master of Magdalene College, Cambridge. Welby’s enthronement as 105th archbishop of Canterbury will be held March 21, 2013, in Canterbury Cathedral. Welby is married to Caroline and they have five children, aged 16-27. IN THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF THE RIO GRANDE By the Rev. Stephen Caldwell Report from Joint Nominating Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop Meeting Members of the Joint Nominating Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop (JNCPB) were elected at General Convention 2012. The Nominating Committee is comprised of a bishop, a priest or deacon, and a layperson from each of the nine provinces Ms. Diane Butler of the Episcopal Church. House of Deputies President Gay Jennings appointed two youth representatives to the 29-member committee, which is charged with presenting no fewer than three nominees to stand for election to the office of Presiding Bishop at General Convention 2015. Members of the JNCPB are: Johnson, Ms. Sally Co-Chair Minnesota, VI; Shaw, The Rt. Rev. M. Thomas Co-Chair Massachusetts, I; Kirk, The Rev. Ruth Secretary Delaware, III; Allen, The Rt. Rev. Lloyd Honduras, IX; Anderson, The Rev. Devon Minnesota, VI; Baxter, The Rt. Rev. Nathan Central Pennsylvania, III; Butler, Ms. Diane Rio Grande, VII; Clifton, The Very Rev. Ellis Michigan, V; Coultas, The Rev. Cn. Amy Real Kentucky, IV; Fleener, Jr, Mr. William Western Michigan, V; Franklin, The Rt. Rev. R. William Western New York, II; Getz, Ms. Pauline San Diego, VIII; Gibbs, The Rt. Rev. Wendell Michigan, V; Glasspool, The Rt. Rev. Mary Los Angeles, VIII; Gray III, The Rt. Rev. Duncan Mississippi, IV; Grisham, The Rev. Lowell Arkansas, VII; Hicks, Ms. Josephine North Carolina, IV; Jackson, The Rev. Dr. David Hawaii, VIII; Konieczny, The Rt. Rev. Edward Oklahoma, VII; Lloyd, The Rev. Canon Mally Ewing Massachusetts, I; Moreno, Mr. Luis Eduardo Colombia, IX; Pollard, Ms. Diane New York, II; Salazar, The Rev. Canon Jose Francisco Venezuela, IX; Skinner, Mr. Joe South Dakota, VI; Smylie, The Rt. Rev. John Wyoming, VI; Spicer, Ms. Kathryn West Missouri, VII; Tavolaro, Mr. Dante Rhode Island, I; Vest Salmon, Ms. Nina Southwestern Virginia, III; and Wilson, The So far in this column we have looked at customs, seasons and particular days, all included in the Prayer Book. January presents us with an important exception to this pattern. A week is set aside each January for prayerful work to be done by all Christians, not just those who look, speak and worship Episcopalian. This special week—which has no special color of its own—is never-the-less visually identifiable on your church calendar. January 1st through the 13th are all white days, while the rest of the month is green. The exceptions are the 18th (Confession of St. Peter) and the 25th (Conversion of St. Paul)—both white days—which stand out on the page in the field of green. The week between them has its own non-Prayer Book designation: THE WEEK OF PRAYER FOR CHRISTIAN UNITY. It is an important time because the Lord God intends for His Church (I’m convinced) to be united as the Three Persons of the Holy Trinity are united. That doesn’t mean that Episcopalians have to give up our preference for Anglicanism in order to look and worship like the Assemblies of God, or that the Baptists have to say Mass like the Roman Catholics. From human perspective, the Three Persons of the Trinity don’t look the same, either. It does mean that when we are not united in mission and ministry, we damage the example and image of the Holy Trinity. When individual churches decide they don’t need each other, or think they have “The Truth” exclusively to themselves, we damage the example and image of the Holy Trinity. The three Persons of the Trinity wouldn’t be a trinity if one of them was voted out, or if Rev. Canon Sandye Newark, II. Setting its work in the context of prayer, Bible study and the Eucharist, the committee elected Sally Johnson and M. Thomas Shaw to be co-chairs and Ruth Kirk as secretary. Cochair Sally Johnson commented, “It is a strong group, broadly representative of the church and fully and passionately engaged in important work for the future of the church.” Tasks tackled during the three-day meeting include reviewing the reports from the 2006 nominating committee, developing a preliminary time line, and gathering in exploratory sub committees: Communications, Profile, and Process. The conversation and work helped members to get to know each other in order to build community moving forward. Co-chair Tom Shaw added, “It is amazing that the Holy Spirit has brought together this uniquely gifted group of people to do this work. Already we are forming strong community that will pray and work together over the next two and a half years for the service of the church. “ Diane Butler, of our diocese, who is currently facilitating the profile sub-committee that will develop educational programs about the nomination and election process as well as design a method to solicit input from the wider church, commented following the meeting, “It is a great honor and pleasure to work with this group of people. While the work is intense, it is also rewarding to be involved with folks who have a deep sense of prayerful purpose in accomplishing the work set before them. The committee is committed to keep the wider church informed of their progress and to this end has established two social media venues that will be utilized in addition to issuing press releases through the Episcopal News Service.” Interested persons may follow the JNCPB on Twitter at: PB27Nominations or #JNCPB, and on Facebook at: www. facebook.com/pb27nominations. A PARTICULAR WEEK OF PARTICULAR PRAYER or “Why Isn’t This In The Prayer Book Calendar?” one of the Persons decided that it was more “God-like” than the other two. There is more. When we pool our resources in mission and ministry, we strengthen the potential for doing more, as well as the potential for being more effective in what we do. Thus we pray together that we may find the humility and desire to work together, that our common mission and ministry in Christ may be accomplished and celebrated together. While the Week of Prayer isn’t a Prayer Book designated time, it contains many prayers for Christian unity in mission and ministry, among them #14, pg 255; #6, pg 395; and #14, pg 818. The Week of Prayer began in 1908 as the Octave of Christian Unity, and focused on prayer for church unity in mission and ministry. The dates of the week were proposed by Father Paul Wattson, cofounder of the Graymoor Franciscan Friars, centered in upstate New York. In 1958, the Faith and Order Commission of the World Council of Churches (a body that includes, among others, most of the world’s Orthodox churches, as well as many Anglican, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Reformed, United and Independent churches) began co-operative preparation of materials for the Week of Prayer. The theme for the 2013 Week of Prayer for Christian Unity is “What does God require of us?” (cf. Micah 6:6-8). Good question, wouldn’t you agree? Now, let us pray together that we understand the answer and receive the strength, resolve and guidance to work together toward more effectively accomplishing the Divine Will on earth. Let all the people reply, “AMEN!”
IN THE 13 EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF THE RIO GRANDE Jubilee Ministry: Change through Love By the Rev. Deacon Barbara Ransom Fry, Diocesan Jubilee Officer “Love God. Love your Neighbor. Deacon Barbara Fry Change the World.” - The Rev Ronald M Owen of Fla. I love it! If you were asked to define your ministry in less than 10 words what would you say and would it get your point across? This one certainly does for me. In November I had the privilege of attending a conference in Americus Georgia for this Diocese . The conference was designed to pass information to Diocesan Jubilee officers “especially new ones” of the importance of celebrating 30 years of Jubilee Work in the National Church and to give information of how the focus of Jubilee is changing. Americus, Georgia, is the home of Habitat for Humanity and President Jimmy Carter. It was my first visit, and certainly the work was impressive. DJO’s (that’s Diocesan Jubilee Officers) from across the country and Central America met, worshiped and discussed the future of where Jubilee is now being directed. The National office on the web site, as well as the Directory, will now be referred to as Domestic Poverty / Jubilee. Having spent five years in another state working with Jubilee, this new title seems to set a more sober tone. Perhaps it speaks to the reality of the people we truly are serving. It also gives credit to the people that know first hand the struggle of so many people today. But in truth we celebrate the people that live and breath the work of Jubilee: “Changing the World so others may live.” But back to the conference: From discussions of what is charity, service, advocacy, and Justice ministry, and how does this transform our work into helping people become whole, there were discussions of Networking and building a communication infrastructure, and how we can provide opportunities to strengthen local work in fighting domestic poverty. A Guest speaker, Bishop Alan Scarfe discussed the Social Justice and public policy commission in Washington, D.C., and the work on two resolutions to be presented in 2018. 1. Wealth disparity and the implications for the church, and 2. Food security and health issues around the issue of seed to the table organically. What did I get out of the conference? My personal favorite that seemed to trigger my own excitement was to find a way to roadmap ministries of this Diocese pinpointing where they are and what they are doing to make a difference in the lives of the people we serve. Pinpointing where the deacons are and the ministries we are involved in. Does it fit the new criteria? Going beyond the measure of just charity work, but helping us to make change in the lives we serve. Justice for all? Like anything new we have the possibility if we want it to happen it will happen. Like anything new it is up to us to want to make a real difference. In a recent Advent sermon by Bishop Lamb, St Andrew’s, Las Cruces, he took the message of Isaiah. That struck home for me. A simple visualization of “making the way straight.” After torrential rains the dirty dusty roads of the desert would often be washed out and rutted making travel next to impossible. The call was for the people to make the road easier to travel to open it up and fill in the potholes… to make it easier for the Messiah to come. To fill in the ruts and washed out areas of our lives and the lives of the people we serve. It must be made straight, transformed or nothing can change. With domestic poverty, Jubilee is about making the road straight … By Joan Brown, joankansas@swcp.com As we enter into the New Year, there is much to reflect upon and prayer for in caring for creation. A recent report from the World Bank states that we could see temperature rises of over 7.2 degrees farenheit by 2060 due to climate change and increasing levels of co2 emissions, much of it from burning fossil fuels. It is ever more important for communities of faith to engage in prayer and action. It is heartening to see witnesses of love and compassion for Earth and brothers and sisters growing in the Episcopal community. We celebrate Monica Whittaker, who is a seminarian at Church Divinity School of the Pacific. She is named a GreenFaith Fellow and will join the 2013 Class GreenFaith Program. The Fellowship program is a comprehensive eduction and training program to prepare lay and ordained leaders from diverse religious traditions for environmental leadership. Whitaker is in her second year of studies in the Master of Divinity degree program at Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, California. Prior to moving to Berkeley, Whitaker was active in various lay ministries for more than two decades in the Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande where she is a Postulant for Holy Orders. While living in New Mexico, Whitaker was involved with New Mexico Interfaith Power and Light (NMIPL) as a volunteer, presenter, worship leader, and legislative advocate. She currently serves as seminarian at St. John’s Episcopal Church–Oakland, a parish which has a strong reputation for environmental stewardship. “I am excited about developing effective leadership skills that empower congregations to be advocates for Creation care. As a religious leader I look forward to collaborating with my faith community on environmental stewardship activities, and exploring faithful responses to climate change.” St. Stephen’s show off CFL exchanges St. Stephen’s parish, Española was busy in Advent learning how to be better stewards through an educational series addressing plastics and energy use. Joan Brown, osf, Executive Director of New Mexico Interfaith Power and Light and Board President Edwina Beard, member of St. Thomas of Canterbury joined them to offer a sermon and presentation on the work of NMIPL. An offering of energy efficient CFL light bulbs was part of the educational presentation. St. Stephen’s is considering membership in NMIPL, and they are already engaged in caring for God’s creation. St. Mark’s on the Mesa, Albuquerque is engaged in on the ground creation care through an evaluation of their energy use and potential energy savings measures. In addition, they will be hosting the NMIPL We Are the Eighth Day International Women’s Day celebration on Sunday, March 3 from 2-4:30. The event highlights women visual and poetic artists who will share their art and reflections on their work, spirituality and earth care. Homemade dessert and discussion with the artists is part of the day. Part of the day will highlight the artwork of girls. Interfaith Power and Light offers an easy way to make a difference by signing up with thousands of other faith communities for the 2013 National Preach-In on Global Warming, February 8-10, 2013. Sermon and educational ideas, as well as an action are available free by going to www.nm-ipl.org and clicking on the preach-in site. The theme this year focuses around our brothers and sisters who are already suffering from climate change in other countries. It would be great to have every Episcopal congregation signed up! Contact info@nm-ipl.org if you have questions. Lenten Resources are available on the NMIPL website, www.nm-ipl.org, including a downloadable and printable Lenten Fast Calendar with suggestions for living out Lent in positive and prayerful ways each day. Santa Fe parishes join other faith communities at First Presbyterian Church for breakfast and advocacy education on Saturday, January 12 from 8-11. Albuquerque parishes join other ordained and lay faith leaders and people for a presentation by Larry Rasmussen on his new book, Earth Honoring Faith: Earth Ethics in a New Key. Tuesday, January 29, 11:30-1:00, First Congregational Church (Lomas and Girard), lunch provided, donations accepted. NMIPL loves to share your good work with the community. Let us know what you are doing. We also have resources, and can offer programs and help for energy assessments and solar installation, no-interest loan fund for energy improvements and more. Contact us at 505- 266-6966 or info@nm-ipl.org. Resources for Lenten Programs and More... NMIPL has copies of Blessed Earth’s Guide Book and DVD’s with 12 sessions on Hope for Creation and Hope for Humanity by Matthew Sleeth. This is suitable adult (or middle or high school). It could be utilized by Christian denominations for Lent or any time of year. NMIPL will have its Annual Lenten Carbon Fast Calendar on the website by mid-December. Lent 4.5 Christian Simplicity by the Passionist Earth & Spirit Center is a Lenten Program for Protestant denominations and Catholic communities. lent@earthandspiritcenter.org, www.lent45.org Resources from Earth Ministry for Lent and other times: http://earthministry.org/resources/publications/simpler-livingcompassionate-life http://earthministry.org/resources/publications/food-faith http://earthministry.org/resources/publications/money-faith List of free Lenten resources from Earth Ministry: http://earthministry.org/resources/creation-devotions/lent
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Jan 2013 - Diocese of the Rio Grande

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