Quote of the Day
UPCOMING: Pentecost 11, 36! Banners, 124th CONVENTION
August 25: Slavery’s 400 Years
This Sunday is Pentecost 11, Proper 16, Year C.
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Presiding Bishop Michael Curry invites Episcopal churches to join a nationwide bell-ringing this Sunday at 3 p.m. to remember and honor those Africans first brought to Virginia as enslaved people 400 years ago this August. The bell-ringing is part of a Healing Day at Fort Monroe National Monument commemorating the landing of the first slave ship at that site in 1619. “I’m inviting us as The Episcopal Church to join in this commemoration as part of our continued work of racial healing and reconciliation. At 3 p.m. we can join together with people of other Christian faiths and people of all faiths to remember those who came as enslaved, who came to a country that one day would proclaim liberty. And so we remember them and pray for a new future for us all,” said Curry.
Read related stories by clicking HERE, HERE and HERE.
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The lector this Sunday is Hope and the altar guild is Darlene. See the vestment colors, the altar colors, the Bible readings and the liturgical calendar by clicking HERE and selecting the date. Note that a date’s color is the vestment and altar color for the day.
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IMAGE: The Golden Hind, shown, is a sister ship to the White Lion, a 160-ton English privateer ship that landed at what was then known as Point Comfort in 1619. On board were more than 20 captives seized from the Kingdom of Ndongo in Angola and transported across the Atlantic. Read more HERE.
Upcoming: New Lawn Banners
Advent was fortunate to receive a mini-grant for 25 new banners for the front yard. Everyone is invited to find great, clever and inspiring quotes or sayings (often called aphorisms) to adorn the banners. Please send all suggestions to Paul or Dan at hpwant@gmail.com or cliffordd@aol.com. After some price checking we have found two sources that can provide banners at a cheaper price than was submitted for the original mini-grant application, and the diocesan mini-grant committee has approved our request to buy up to 36 banners for the price of 25! The first order of 13 banners has been placed. We receive cheap shipping on a bulk order.
Nov. 1 & 2, 2019: Diocesan Convention
The 124th Diocesan Convention is set for Nov. 1 and 2, 2019, at Emmanuel Episcopal Church, 2410 Lexington Road, Winchester. The convention begins at 1 p.m. on Nov. 1, with business sessions from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m., and is followed by a catered dinner with guest speaker Scott Gunn of Forward Movement. On Nov. 2 the schedule runs from 8:30 a.m. to about 3:30 p.m., with lunch provided. It is predicted, and hoped by most, that Mark Van Koevering, our bishop provisional, will be voted in as our permanent diocesan bishop. The total cost for convention is $50 per person, which includes the meals.
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At this convention our delegates for the Episcopal Church’s General Convention in 2021 in Baltimore will be chosen. If you wish to be considered (and voted on) as a GC delegate, you must apply by Sept. 30.
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The shift from spring conventions to fall conventions is driven in part by the need to approve diocesan budgets before the upcoming year begins.
IN THE NEWS: Honoring the PasT
While on the Hunt for Historic Crozier, Bishop Receives Tips, Photos, Gift
Pennsylvania Bishop Daniel Gutiérrez, after his consecration in 2016, embarked on a modest quest for relics from the diocese’s distant past and soon caught wind of one of the church’s lesser-known local legends, the mystery of the missing crozier. Read the full story by clicking HERE.
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PHOTO: Samuel Yellin, a European immigrant who arrived in Philadelphia in 1906, created Gothic Revival ironwork found in a wide range of prominent settings, from Washington National Cathedral to the banks of New York’s Wall Street. Photos have been found of the crozier, above, but not the crozier itself.
Scribes Tried to Blot Her Out, But Now a Scholar Seeks the Real Mary Magdalene
Elizabeth Schrader, a doctoral student at Duke University, has her own way of honoring the woman who witnessed Jesus’ death and resurrection. Schrader’s academic work, like that of others, attempts to liberate Magdalene from the patriarchal overlays of ancient Christian scribes who recorded the New Testament’s four Gospels. Read the full story by clicking HERE.
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PHOTO: Elizabeth Schrader is a Duke University doctoral student in religion. Megan Mendenhall/Duke University via Religion News Service
Archbishop of Canterbury to Visit the Site of Indian Civilian Massacre
Pilgrimage, prayer and pastoral concern will form the key elements of the Archbishop of Canterbury’s visit to the United Churches of North and South India this September. Among many other visits, Archbishop Justin will be the first Archbishop to visit the site of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre (also known as the Amritsar massacre). He will join in commemorations for the tragedy, when thousands of unarmed Indians of many different faiths were shot by British troops in 1819. Read the full story by clicking HERE.
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PHOTO: The Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place on April 13, 1919, when troops of the British Indian Army under the command of Acting Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer fired rifles into a crowd of unarmed Indian civilians who had gathered in Jallianwala Bagh, Amritsar, Punjab. —Wikipedia.
In the News: GETTING POlitical
Presiding Bishop Curry Tells Young Episcopalians: Vote!
A Union of Black Episcopalians youth worship service became a call to action on July 24 when Presiding Bishop Michael Curry took the pulpit at All Saints Church in Pasadena, Calif. Curry urged the UBE leaders, youth, several hundred local worshippers and visiting conference-goers to consider, “between now and next year, leading a massive voter registration and education drive and a get-out-the-vote campaign. It is a Christian obligation to vote, and more than that, it is the church’s responsibility to help get souls to the polls.” Read the full story by clicking HERE.
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PHOTO: Youth and young adults perform “Love Theory” by Kirk Franklin during the offertory at the Youth Praise and Worship Eucharist, held on July 24, 2019, at All Saints Church, Pasadena, during the annual meeting and conference of the Union of Black Episcopalians. Janet Kawamoto/Diocese of Los Angeles.
Cathedral Clergy Call Trump’s Words ‘Violent,’ ‘Dehumanizing,’ ‘Dangerous’
In light of the escalation of President Donald Trump’s racially focused attacks, the clergy of the National Cathedral released a statement on July 30 that denounced Trump’s “violent, dehumanizing words.” The statement, which has spread rapidly around social media and news outlets, contains some of the strongest, most direct language used so far by American religious leaders in reference to Trump. Read the full story HERE.
Episcopal Church Invests in Gun Manufacturers for Direct Advocacy
The Episcopal Church has invested in gun manufacturers as part of a policy approved in 2018 by General Convention that was intended to give the church a seat at the table in gun safety discussions with the companies. The church’s Executive Council oversees such advocacy through its Committee on Corporate Social Responsibility, led by Western Massachusetts Bishop Douglas Fisher. As a shareholder, the church has the ability to propose shareholder resolutions with the three publicly traded companies: Sturm Ruger (70 shares); American Outdoor Brands, which owns Smith & Wesson (300 shares); and Olin Corporation, owner of Winchester Ammunition (160 shares).
Shareholder resolutions sometimes gain momentum over time with company leaders, Fisher told Episcopal News Service, so “even if you don’t get up to 50% [of the vote], leadership takes notice.” Read the full story by clicking HERE.
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PHOTO: Guns for sale are seen inside of a Dick’s Sporting Goods store in Stroudsburg, Penn., in February 2018. Reuters
In the News: Successes & Failures in Advocacy
Watershed Vote as Anglican Church of Canada Supports an Indigenous Church
The General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada has voted overwhelmingly to approve steps to enable a self-determining indigenous church within the Church. Following the approval of changes in canon law, the National Indigenous Anglican Bishop, Mark MacDonald, was given the title and status of Archbishop. Read the full story HERE.
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PHOTO: Archbishop Fred Hiltz anoints the Anglican Church of Canada’s National Indigenous Bishop, Mark MacDonald, as he is raised to the status of Archbishop. Anglican Church of Canada.
Episcopal Leaders in Hawaii Pledge Support Against Telescope Project
The bishop of the Diocese of Hawaii and Native Hawaiian clergy have spoken out in support of a demonstration that is blocking a proposed telescope project on the top of the state’s highest mountain, a site considered sacred in Hawaiian culture. Read the full story by clicking HERE.
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PHOTO: The Mauna Kea Observatories are seen from above the peak on Hawaii’s Big Island. Photo: NOAA
AOC Network’s Ending Offers Tough Lessons on Education, Equity, Poverty
Successful church-school partnerships start with listening and they grow through personal relationships, or so members of The Episcopal Church’s “All Our Children” network had hoped. But their local ministries weren’t enough to sustain a national network of dioceses and congregations championing education equity. After seven years, All Our Children is disbanding. In a July 10 email to supporters, network director Lallie Lloyd cited long-term financial uncertainty, limited church-wide support and challenges related to “our previously unexamined internalized white supremacy.” Read the full story HERE.
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PHOTO: St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Boston worked with suburban churches to create a library at Blackstone Elementary School in 2011. St. Stephen’s has for years developed relationships with the school’s students, parents and teachers through its after-school program. Photo: St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church.
What does “Episcopal” mean?
The Episcopal Church is “Protestant, yet Catholic.” Episcopal means “of bishops.” The Episcopal Church traces its bishops (its ministers and clergy) and its origins back to the Apostles (the early followers of Jesus) via holy orders, which are a direct line of succession back to the time of Jesus.
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