Projo on the big wedding

Here's an excerpt from the Projo's piece on the wedding of Bishop Geralyn Wolf and Mr. Thomas Bair.

The bride walked down the aisle without her usual miter and crosier, forsaking both for a cream-colored wedding dress and a garland about her hair.

In a festive ceremony yesterday that started with her walking down the aisle hand in hand with her cousin's 5-year-old son, with five young girls close behind, Episcopal Bishop Geralyn Wolf married Thomas Charles Bair Jr. before a crowd of nearly 400 at her diocese's Cathedral of St. John.

"I think it was the most spirited wedding I ever attended," said former Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold, a long-time friend who had baptized Wolf on her conversion from Judaism to Christianity 36 years ago and preached at her ordinations to deacon, priest and bishop.

Read the whole article (free registration required). Photo by THE PROVIDENCE JOURNAL / Frieda Squire.

Photos from the wedding of Bishop Geralyn Wolf and Mr. Thomas Bair

Here are a few photos from the wedding, as a sample. You can view the whole set here.

The Bishop enters with children

The choir

The happy couple

The happy couple at the High Altar

At the reception at the Art Club, the former Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold and the Bishop's mother (right).

Please note, you are welcome to use these photos for non-commercial purposes, but please credit "Photo by Scott Gunn." View the whole set.

Details for Bishop's wedding

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

CONTACT:
Jessica Gates, Communications Officer
Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island
jessica (at) episcopalri.org

Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island Announces Wedding Details for Bishop

PROVIDENCE, RI, April 21st, 2007- The Right Rev. Geralyn Wolf and Thomas Charles Bair Jr. will be united in holy matrimony on April 21st, 2007 at the Cathedral of St. John, Providence. The service will begin at 11 am.

An open invitation has been issued to the diocese. Public seating will begin at 9:30 am at the Great West doors of St. John’s Cathedral, and will end at 10:30 am and is on a first-come, first-served basis. Overflow seating will be provided at Synod Hall.

No unauthorized photography will be allowed. High resolution photographs will be made available to the press.

For additional information, contact Jessica Gates, Diocesan Communications Officer.

Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island - 275 North Main Street Providence RI
Cathedral of St. John - 271 North Main Street Providence, RI

- END -

In Observance of the Feast Day of Hope Springs Eternal

AKA

OPENING DAY!

For the gift of new beginnings, clean slates and new seasons;
We give you thanks, O Lord.

For the hope that springs eternal with every new at bat;
We give you thanks, O Lord.

For fresh mown grass, seventh inning stretches, hot dogs, peanuts and crackerjacks;
We give you thanks, O Lord.

For the inspiration to work collaboratively, strive for excellence and build relationships in pursuit of common goals;
We give you thanks, O Lord.

For perspective in defeat and for graciousness in victory;
We pray to you, O Lord.

Holy God, you have given us grace at this time with one accord to offer our common thanks for the gift of baseball. Fulfill now, O Lord, our desires and petitions for this new season ahead as maybe best for us; granting us in the regular season success on the field and in the playoffs to come a shot at the World Series. Amen.

Editor of RISEN has baby girl

Jessica and Alan are pleased to annouce the arrival of their daughter Paige. She joined the family at a whopping 10 lbs 2.5 oz on February 26th.

New England reports on recent Executive Council meeting

Earlier in March, the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church met in Oregon. Each province of the church sends representatives to the meeting. For New England, our representatives include Lee Allison Crawford and Dennis Stark. Dennis is a parishioner of St. Martin's, Providence, and a member of Diocesan Council. Lee has written an article on the meeting, with assistance from Dennis.

Here's an excerpt:

Perhaps the most eagerly awaited news was what would be Executive Council’s response to the Communiqué issued by the primates in Dar es Salaam (download pdf). Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori and President of the House of Deputies Bonnie Anderson appointed eight people, representing several viewpoints and provinces of the church, to draft a letter of response to be considered in plenary on the last day of the meeting.

Council members, as a whole, felt it most important not to pass a resolution, which they thought would box the body and church into a corner. Likewise, they believed it was important not to react precipitously but to respond thoughtfully and deliberately. The final draft (full text available here) represents concerns expressed by Council members in an open and transparent conversation. It states:
• We wish clearly to affirm that our position as a church is to welcome all persons, particularly those perceived to be the least among us. We wish to reaffirm to our lesbian and gay members that they remain a welcome and integral part of the Episcopal Church.
• Further, we offer our prayerful affirmation to all who struggle with the issues that concern us: those who are deeply concerned about the future of their Church and its place within the wider Communion, and those who are not reconciled to certain actions of General Convention. We wish to reaffirm that they too remain a welcome and integral part of the Episcopal Church.

The letter also details the next steps of Council in responding to the primates’ requests. A task force to be appointed by the president of the House of Deputies will draft a complete response to the Communiqué, which Executive Council will receive and consider at its June 2007 meeting in Parsippany, NJ. The International Concerns Committee (INC) was charged with considering how to respond to the draft Anglican Communion covenant (download pdf) presented to the primates in Dar es Salaam by a Covenant Design Group.



















In a touching moment [at the final Eucharist], the children of the congregation gave the presiding bishop a necklace of eight glass beads to remind her of the eight MDGs and the blue waters of baptism. After presenting her with the necklace, which she wore for the rest of the liturgy over her chasuble, they blessed her, inviting the congregation also to stretch out their hands in a blessing drawn from the prayer said after baptism.

Read the whole article.

Bishop Wolf on the House of Bishops meeting

This letter to all clergy was sent by email today.

Dear Friends,

On my way to the House of Bishop’s meeting I spent two days in the Philadelphia airport, one of tens of thousands affected by the ice storm that grounded US Airways flights on the East Coast. I was grateful that Bishop Wayne Wright of Delaware was also there, as we waited on various lines for over seven hours to re-book the flight. We finally made it to Dallas, TX, rented a car and drove four hours to Camp Allen.

Our efforts were repaid by the tenor and seriousness of the deliberations at our meeting.

One of the requests from the Primates’ Communiqué was the appointment of a Primatial Vicar and Pastoral Council. The Presiding Bishop stated previous to the meeting in Dar es Salaam, her willingness to do this in charitable response to the needs of those dioceses who could not, for reasons of conscious, accept her oversight. However, the Communiqué called for the selection of the Primatial Vicar to be made by the Windsor Bishops, and to be accountable to a Pastoral Council, and of which two members would be selected by the Archbishop of Canterbury. As a House, we found this to be unacceptable. The Episcopal Church, by virtue of our constitution and canons, elects and selects its leaders. I would wholeheartedly support the Presiding Bishop’s selection of a Primatial Vicar (or whatever title is appropriate), in consultation with those dioceses who have requested same. In addition, I uphold the concept of accountability. For the integrity of our church, I believe that this should occur internally, with the Primatial Vicar serving at the pleasure of the Presiding Bishop. While the vote of the House was not unanimous, responses crossed "party" lines.

Two additional requests from the Primates' Communiqué were not addressed during this session: a moratorium on consents for bishops-elect who live in a same sex partnered relationship; and to refrain from authorizing same-sex liturgies, blessings, etc. The bishops will receive papers for reading this summer in preparation for our September meeting, at which time we will clarify our position.

Presiding Bishop Katharine held a steady hand on the wheel of the House. She spoke with great clarity, and her answers to questions revealed a deep understanding of the issues and challenges we face.

It is clear that different positions held by our bishops are not easily identified by, "right," "left," "liberal," "conservative" labels. Blogs and websites do not reveal subtle overtones, private conversations, and complex reasons why people vote as they do.

Bishops who support the Windsor Report gathered for a brief session, and plan to meet in August. Again, these bishops hold different opinions on the work before us, but all believe that the Windsor Report remains the best document available to move forward as a Communion.

Our gathering included most of the bishops from Mexico, and those mentioned in our official letter. They reminded us of the cultural challenges of the present age, and the breadth of diversity within the Americas. When the question is, "What do you think?" the answer is relatively easy. When the question is "What do we think," the answer is more complex. When the question is, "What do you think others think," it's best not to answer at all!

The final dinner was marked with much laughter and thanksgiving, regardless of which side you buttered your bread. The women bishops gave me another veiled miter, and Bishop Barbara Harris and I walked down the aisle of the dining room arm and arm, with the other women following. Bishop Harris kept waving her hand announcing, "mother-of-the-bride, mother-of-the-bride."

There are many documents that were used at the House of Bishops meeting, all of which are available to you on the internet or by e-mail through Ty. An additional paper regarding church property issues will be available in the next few days.

Just a remember that on Thursday, March 29th, at 11 AM, the ordained members of our diocese will renew their ordination vows, to which all the baptized are invited to attend. If you plan to stay for lunch, please contact the office.

What a glorious witness we can make to the world, in all its strife and hunger, if we find a way to remain together across such profound cultural and theological differences. Please keep our Church and Communion in your prayers, as it is only by the grace of God that we will find the Divine Wisdom to move through the opportunities that Christ has placed before us.

Faithfully,

+Geralyn Wolf
Bishop of Rhode Island

No election for South Carolina

From the Rev. J. Haden McCormick, President of the Standing Committee of the Diocese of South Carolina via titusonenine

titusonenine:

"I received a phone call late this afternoon from the Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori giving notification that she was declaring null and void the election of The Very Rev. Mark Lawrence to be bishop of The Diocese of South Carolina. Although more than a majority of dioceses had voted to consent to Fr. Mark’s election, there were canonical deficiencies in the written responses sent to us. Several dioceses, both on and off American soil, thought that electronic permission was sufficient as had been their past accepted practice. The canons which apply are III.11.4(b), pp. 101-102 in the newly published 2006 Constitutions and Canons that require the prescribed testimonial to the consent be signed by a majority of each standing committee."

Read the rest here

... and do keep Fr. Lawrence and his family in your prayers along with the Diocese of South Carolina as it continues its search for a new bishop.


Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori has declared “null and void” the election of the Very Rev. Mark Lawrence to be the 14th bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina Diocese of SC


The announcement was first made in a letter written by the Rev. J. Haden McCormick, president of the Standing Committee of the Diocese of South Carolina, and posted to the diocesan website late in the afternoon of March 15.

See the full story at ENS

Rhode Islanders in South Africa

There are a number of Rhode Islanders in South Africa now, attending the TEAM conference. This event is bringing Anglicans from around the world together to focus on mission. (A nice change from the usual focus on sex at global gatherings.)

A few of the RI crowd have been submitting entries to the blog of Bishop Marc Andrus (Bishop of California, friend of Bob Brooks, and fellow pilgrim in South Africa). I encourage you to tune into Bishop Marc's blog for the latest from South Africa. He's got photos online too.

God and Evolution at S. Stephen's

Lecture at S. Stephen’s on God and Evolution—at 6:00 pm on Sunday, March 18, Kenneth R. Miller, Professor of Biology at Brown University, will deliver a lecture entitled "God, Darwin, and Design: What America's New Battle over Evolution Means for the Church," at S. Stephen’s Church in Providence. Professor Miller is the author of Finding Darwin’s God: A Scientist’s Search for Common Ground between God and Evolution (Harper Collins, 1999). The lecture will follow Sung Evensong a! t 5:30 pm. S. Stephen’s Church is located at 114 George Street, in the heart of the Brown University campus. For more information, please visit www.sstephens.org. All are welcome and invited to attend.