RI Clergy giving out Ashes to Go

Clergy distribute 'ashes to go' at train station in Providence Clergy distribute 'ashes to go' at train station in Providence              http://news.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/2012/02/clergy-distribu.htmlhttp://news.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/2012/02/clergy-distribu.htmlhttp://news.providencejournal.com/breaking-news/2012/02/clergy-distribu.htm
The Providence Journal

February 22, 2012 10:32 am

By Richard C. Dujardin

PROVIDENCE, R.I. -- "Ashes to go. I love it."
That was the reaction of an Amtrak policeman when he saw a pair of clergy distribute ashes on the foreheads of passers-by outside Providence's train station early Wednesday.. read the full PROJO Article here

RI Episcopalians' Random Acts of Kindness Inspire ECF Article

Feeding Others – And Ourselves
by Nancy Davidge on February 16, 2012

...The iTunes gift card on my desk prompted a memory: The random acts of kindness inspired by Bishop Wolf of Rhode Island which I read about in the Winter 2012 issue of RISEN Magazine.

"At Diocesan Convention in November Bishop Wolf gave each attendee a Stop and Shop gift card and asked them to match it and give the cards away to someone in need. She exhorted us all to give generously and joyously; to someone we meet along the way, or to ourselves if we really need it. Now, doing random acts of kindness, in person, is far beyond the comfort zone of some. But generous and loving giving at the prompt of the Holy Spirit can be a gift to your own heart as well as the recipient. It can be a powerful experience. We asked for your stories of how you gave your card away and what it felt like."

These stories are a powerful witness. They share the anxiety related to how to decide who to give the card to – and a fear of inadvertently offending as well as consideration of the ‘safe’ option of donating the cards to an organization and letting someone else determine who would get the cards... Read the full article here

Cathedral of St. John to Suspend Services

The Episcopal Cathedral of Saint John in Providence, Rhode Island announces today that due to dwindling financial resources, worship and pastoral services will be suspended after April 22nd, 2012.

The St. John’s building at 271 North Main will retain its status as the Cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island. A Cathedral serves as the seat of the bishop, the central place of pastoral and teaching ministries for all Episcopal churches in that diocese.

“The Cathedral congregation has experienced serious financial difficulty, and a decision was made to suspend services for now,” said The Rt. Rev. David Joslin, Acting Dean of the Cathedral of St. John. “This decision, of course, was not made lightly or quickly. And additionally, it does not permanently close the Cathedral; it only ceases the usual Sunday services and pastoral care,” he said.

The Acting Dean remarked that this financial situation has been evolving for many years, and has now come to the place where it needs to be addressed.

Members of the Cathedral congregation are being welcomed to join Grace Church on Westminster Street in Providence, or any of the 52 Episcopal churches in Rhode Island. There are six other Episcopal churches located in Providence alone.

The Cathedral of Saint John, which was established as King’s Chapel in 1722, has been a continuing center for worship and outreach for 290 years. In 1794, the name of the church was changed to Saint John, and in 1929, the church became the official seat of the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island, receiving its designation as the Cathedral of Saint John.

The last Holy Eucharist for the Cathedral congregation will be held on Sunday April 22nd at 9:30 AM, followed by a time to celebrate St. John’s many years of service to God, to the Providence community, and to the Diocese of Rhode Island.

Bishop Search: Committee Completes Visits to Candidates

The work of the Search & Nomination Committee took another big step forward in the past few weeks as committee members completed visits to nine candidates who are being considered for the next Bishop of Rhode Island.

Two-member teams visited the candidates’ home parishes to observe liturgies and sermons, further interview the candidates, and meet with staff members and lay leaders.

As background checks and other deeper reference-checks for each candidate continue, the teams are filing reports from the visits to bring the full committee up to date with impressions, findings, etc. The next step is to determine whether to bring all nine candidates or some smaller number to Rhode Island in late February to participate with committee members in a discernment weekend.

At this point, the process remains on track for a mid-March announcement of the slate of three to five finalists.

The committee also has begun work on the process that will be used if people want to nominate other candidates by petition. The petition period will take place March 11 – 25 to allow sufficient time for full reference checks of priests, if any, who are nominated by petition.

As announced in late January, the timing and location of some upcoming transition events have changed:

• The walkabout of finalist candidates will occur May 11 – 12 instead of May 18 – 19
• The June 2 electing convention will take place at St. Paul’s in Pawtucket rather than St. Luke’s in East Greenwich
• The celebration of Bishop Wolf’s ministry will be from 5 to 8 p.m. on Sunday, September 23, at St. Luke’s, East Greenwich

Bishop Wolf speaks on panel as the Church of England debate on female bishops begins anew.

Bishop Geralyn Wolf of the diocese of Rhode Island was the fifth female bishop consecrated in the Episcopal Church. As The Church of England General Synod resumed their debate over women bishops, she took time from her sabbatical to speak on a panel sponsored by WATCH (Women and the Church) last week. Read this article by Episcopal News Service for the full story.

Church of England Resumes Women Bishops DebateBy Matthew Davies | February 7, 2012 |

[Episcopal News Service] The key legislation that will enable women to be appointed and consecrated as bishops in the Church of England has returned to General Synod for further debate and final drafting during its Feb. 6-9 group of sessions in London.

During the past 18 months the legislation has been given the nod by 42 of the 44 diocesan synods throughout England, but it now requires a two-thirds majority in each of the three houses of General Synod – bishops, clergy and laity – for it to be adopted...  read the full article here

The Latest e-RISEN: 2/13/12

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eRISEN: 2/13/2012 issue

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Holy Trinity, Tiverton in the Sakonnet Times

By Tom Killin Dalglish As of Thursday, January 26, 2012
The Sakonnet Times

TIVERTON — Three centuries have passed since a lone minister served his scattered flock across the river by horseback, and this year, Holy Trinity Church has reason to celebrate.

The Episcopal church, whose roots are on Aquidneck Island but whose home now overlooks the Sakonnet River at 1956 Main Road, turns 300 years old in 2012...  Click here for the full Sakonnet Times article and photos.

The Latest e-RISEN: 1/27/2012

You can view the latest issue of eRISEN, our biweekly email events calendar, at the link below:

eRISEN: 1/27/2012 issue

Want to subscribe to the eRISEN mailing list? Want to submit your event? Just visit eRISEN on our website.

Mission Task Force Update: Convocation 2012

From Risen Magazine's Winter 2012 Issue

By The Rev. Dcn. Ricky Brightman

Right now I know it’s difficult to think about MARCH but listen up – Convocation 2012 is coming and it will be different this year. There’s one unified topic – "Feeding the Hungry". We will be together for two days with an opportunity to feed our bodies and souls so that we will be better able to move out and feed others! Save the dates of March 9 and 10.

On Friday evening we will gather at St. Luke’s Church for a creative and inspiring worship service to be followed by a fabulous party and a community supper made by people in our parishes and brought together to share with everyone. Don’t leave the kids at home, they are welcome to worship and dine with us, and there will also be child care provided. As at all parties, there will be surprises. Come and enjoy.

On Saturday morning we will gather at the Marriott in Providence for worship, learning and sharing - all in a variety of different ways. Our Convocation leader will be Sara Miles, author of "Take This Bread" and "Jesus Freak: Feeding, Healing, Raising the Dead". In these books, Miles describes her own experience of attending to and serving others at her own church, St. Gregory of Nyssa in San Francisco. While talking about feeding the body(ies), Sara also recounts the many ways she and others have been both host and guest in ministry. She will participate in our worship and learning in several ways.

We have also planned smaller group sessions : Planning and Offering Transcendent Worship; Feeding of the Physical Body; Radical and Intentional Hospitality; The Spiritual Feeding of Children and Youth. Some sessions will be repeated.

We hope you will put these dates on your own calendar now and save the time. Convocation is being planned this year by the Mission Task Force, a small working group that represents a diversity of churches in our diocese. We continue the work we began a year ago as we endeavored to develop a Diocesan-wide Mission Focus of "Feeding the Hungry".

Throughout this past year we have communicated with parishes about what activities they are engaged in and are doing well – soup kitchens and food pantries, as well as some new community gardens.

We know Convocation 2012 will further engage us in our efforts to feed the people we encounter in our daily lives as well as in our parishes. We hope to recognize good old ideas, explore new ones, provide a forum for sharing, and inspire us to move forward as "Episcopalians Feeding the Hungry". Look for further information on the Diocesan website or the talk-force blog, join our email list, or speak personally with a member of the Mission Task Force: Ricky Brightman (St. Luke’s EG), Buck Close (St. George’s), Bill Locke (St. Paul’s, Pawtucket), Jennifer Pedrick (Epiphany), Modesta Pellot (St. George’s), Melody Shobe (Emmanuel, Cumberland), Susan Wright (Ascension, Cranston).

What are YOU hungry for – food and shelter – understanding - companionship and community – knowledge – truth and honesty – relationship with God - a way to recognize and share your own gifts? We look forward to growing in meeting the hunger in ourself and in those whom God is inviting us to feed.

Bishop Search: Timing, Location Change for Some Transition Events

The Search & Nomination Committee and Transition Committee are announcing changes to when and where some of the upcoming transition events will occur.

The Walkabout of finalist candidates for bishop now will occur May 11 – 12 instead of May 18 – 19. The locations are still to be determined.

The June 2 Electing Convention will be held at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Pawtucket instead of St. Luke’s, East Greenwich.

And the Celebration of Bishop Wolf’s Ministry now will take place from 5 to 8 p.m. on Sunday, September 23, at St. Luke’s, East Greenwich.