Diocesan Youth Take Part in World Vision's 30 Hour Famine

At Midnight on Friday, March 23 twenty-five young RI Episcopalians began a 30-hour fast to raise awareness and funds to help the hungry of this world.  As of this writing, their efforts have raised almost $7,000 in pledges which will be sent to World Vision to support children in the Horn of Africa. This fantastic endeavor will feed over 230 children for a period of 30 days.

Saturday at noon these youth from St. Luke’s in East Greenwich, St. John’s in Barrington, St. George's in Central Falls, and St. Peter’s-by-the-Sea in Narragansett began arriving at Christ Church in Westerly, the host parish for the event.  Another group of Diocesan youth met in Newport. 

At Christ Church Westerly they spent the day engaging in activities to raise their awareness of the reality of poverty and hunger which affects so many young people. The youths made a large banner proclaiming, “We will overcome hunger.”  Each youth placed a painted handprint on the banner signifying that our hands are the hands God uses to do his work in the world.

At 8:00 p.m. the Rev. Jim Bocchino celebrated Holy Eucharist with Mrs. Caryl Frink providing music for the service.  The Eucharistic table was covered with an altar cloth painted by the youth.  In place of a homily they were asked to reflect on and share how this experience was impacting their lives, and how it might continue to do so.  A movie was watched and all retired to their cots and sleeping bags. 

On Sunday morning they awakened to a breakfast of pancakes, fresh fruit and juice provided by the Christ Church Men’s club. 

Those taking part in the fast were:

From St. George's Central Falls: Jose Santos

From St. John's, Barrington: John Cavanaugh, Liz Pavant, Cassidy Costa, Chris Ray, Casey Turgeon, Abigail Ray, Julia Piper and chaperones Donna Casanova, Greg Piper and Tristan Tavares

From St. Peter’s-by-the-Sea: Lea Nelligan, Kathryn Casey, Megan O’Neill, Matt O’Neil and chaperone Linda O’Neill

From St. Luke’s, East Greenwich: Julia Godwell, Amber Perez, Irena Sparhawk and chaperone Balmore Alvarez ;

From Christ Church, Westerly: Kevin Knowles, Nate Cherenzia, Lexie Galluci, Joe Cherenzia, Maggie Spano, Annalise Roy, Greg Holt, Ashley Kiss, Peter Kelmelis, Grace Dunham, Heather Chipperfield and chaperones Rebecca Cherenzia, Judy Kelmelis, Trené Galluci, and the Rev. Jim Bocchino  

Shirley Andrews, Chris Ogley, Wendy Walsh, Mary Bonville and Emily Knowles from Christ Church served as nurses and activity leaders.

Bishop Wolf on NPR

Yesterday NPR aired a story on RI church closures across denominations. Listen to the podcast to hear Bishop Wolf and other Rhode Island church leaders speak on the issue.

A rising tide of church closures By FLO JONIC (2012-04-03)PROVIDENCE, RI (WRNI) - On a recent Sunday fewer than 50 people attended the 10:30 service at the Cathedral of St. John in Providence. Overhead, the ceiling paint was peeling in multiple places. Two large windows were boarded over. The Cathedral has only 130 regular members and a staggering repair bill. Those two factors more than anything else have prompted its closure, says Episcopal Bishop Geralyn Wolf...

The bells of St. John's Cathedral aren't the first to be silenced in Rhode Island and they won't be the last...

Read or listen to the full NPR Article and Podcast.

Job Opening: Diocesan Administrative Assistant

The Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island is now hiring for the position of Diocesan Administrative Assistant. Our Administrative Assistant of the past 12 years, Gloria Williams, has regrettably announced her retirement. The position is full time with benefits. For more information and the full job description visit our website.

Bishop Search Petition Period Closed

The petition period for nominating candidates to be the 13th Bishop of Rhode Island closed on March 25th, 2012. No additional candidates were nominated to join the slate of five nominees announced March 10. Learn who the final five candidates are here.

Standing Committee honors the life of Edmund C. Bennett

Bishop Search: Petition Process Now Open

The process for nominating candidates by petition to be considered for Bishop of Rhode Island is now open and will continue through 5p.m. (Eastern Daylight Time) Sunday, March 25.

The petition process replaces the former custom of allowing nominations from the floor during the electing convention. The Canons of the Diocese of Rhode Island do not permit nominations from the floor. Opening this process well in advance of the Convention will allow sufficient time to conduct the same kinds of background checks and deep reference checks on petition nominees as were conducted on other applicants. Those checks can identify any legal issues or red flags in a potential nominee’s background.

Complete information about the petition process, including requirements for submitting nominations, is posted on the Petition Process page of www.episcopalrisearch.org.

Video: Bishop Candidates Announced at Convocation 2012

Lora MacFall, chair of the RI Bishop Search and Nomination Committee, announces the 5 preliminary candidates for the 13th Bishop of Rhode Island. The Diocesan Election will take place June 2nd, 2012.

Diocese of RI Announces Preliminary Slate for Bishop

The Search and Nomination Committee has selected five priests to stand for election as the 13^th Bishop of Rhode Island. This preliminary slate consists of:

the Rev. Kurt Dunkle, 50, rector, Grace Episcopal Church, Orange Park, Florida (Diocese of Florida)

the Rev. Cathy George, 55, currently on a writing sabbatical; former priest-in-charge, St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, Dorchester, Massachusetts (Diocese of Massachusetts)

the Very Rev. Nicholas Knisely, 51, dean, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, Phoenix, Arizona (Diocese of Arizona)

the Rev. Ledlie Laughlin, 52, rector, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Diocese of Pennsylvania)

the Rev. Jennifer Pedrick, 45, rector, Church of the Epiphany, Rumford, Rhode Island (Diocese of Rhode Island)

“The committee members spent 2½ days in discernment with these priests, and I am very excited about what each of them would bring to the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island,” said Lora MacFall, chair of the Search and Nomination Committee. “That weekend was the final step in a nine-month process that was centered in prayer, and respectful listening and conversation.”

That process began with the development of the diocesan profile (www.episcopalrisearch.org/profile/), which described the hopes and challenges of the diocese and outlined the strengths and skills the diocese is seeking in its next bishop.

More than 40 individuals responded to the profile by submitting applications that included answers to four essay questions and an autobiography. The committee interviewed 19 of the applicants by Skype (computer-based video technology) and then visited nine, all of whom then were invited to Rhode Island for the discernment weekend. Following that weekend, the committee agreed on this preliminary slate of five.

Beginning at 9 a.m. tomorrow (Sunday, March 11) and continuing through 5 p.m. on March 25, additional nominees may be added by petition. The transition blog/website (www.episcopalrisearch.org) includes complete information about the requirements for nominations by petition (including signatures from four clergy members who are canonically resident in the Diocese of Rhode Island and four lay people who are delegates to the electing convention in each of the six Rhode Island deaneries).

All the nominees will visit the diocese for a walkabout May 11 – 12, featuring an all-day public event on Saturday, May 12, at St. Andrew’s School in Barrington, where they will make remarks and answer questions from lay and clergy attendees.

The 13th Bishop of Rhode Island will be elected at a special diocesan convention on Saturday, June 2, at St. Paul’s Church in Pawtucket. Because the election will occur close in time to the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in July, church canons provide for the required consents to be sought from the bishops and deputies at General Convention. Subject to obtaining that consent, the bishop-elect will be consecrated at a ceremony on Saturday, Nov. 17, at St. George’s School in Middletown.

For more information, visit the transition blog/website (www.episcopalrisearch.org).

Kony 2012 Viral Video & Our Companion Diocese of Ezo

In December of 2008, while visiting our Companion Diocese of Ezo in the South Sudan on the Ugandan border, Bishop Wolf and Tom narrowly missed a masscre by Joseph Kony's army of abducted child soldiers, known as the Lord's Resistance Army(LRA). Such attacks have been a regular part of life for Ezo for decades, and many villagers have fled their homes in fear of the LRA,to live like refugees in the cities where numbers can provide some protection. When Bishop John Zawo visited us in 2010 he showed us shocking pictures of the 20-30,000 refugees that have been living for years in cardboard and tarp tents outside the grass hut "city" of Ezo Town.

Now, an organization called Invisible Children is using social media to raise awareness of Joseph Kony's LRA, and have released a video to introduce the world to the man. Their focus is on the plight of the 30,000 plus children who have been abducted into Joseph Kony's army and raised on a brutal diet of murder, mutilation, and bloodshed. The number of people displaced and lives lost are hard to count, but much higher.

In the last 4 days a shocking 35 million people have watched this 30 minute video. If you haven't seen this important video yet, watch all 30 minutes. It may change the way policy decisions are made in this country, and could mean a world of difference in the lives of our friends in Ezo.

In May of 2011 Bishop Wolf herself met with policy makers in D.C. to campaign for aid to Ezo and the S. Sudan. As their 20 year civil war with the North Sudan came to a close,LRA's sieges have continued. Bishop John Zawo and others even believe that the North Sudan is helping arm and fund the LRA's attacks, even today.

Pray for our brothers and sisters in Ezo, many of whom have lost loved ones, homes, herds and crops to the LRA. Pray as well for the generation Joseph Kony has kidnapped for his army. Watch the video below.



For More info on the LRA and Invisible Children check out these articles:

• 3/8/12 Washington Post article "An Internet star born: LRA leader Kony video gets 32 million views..."
• 3/8/12 Christian Science Monitor: "Kony 2012 campaign goes viral, now who is he?"
• LRA Wikipedia Article
• Invisible Children Website

Bishop Search: Petition Process and the Walkabout

Two items highlight the latest news from the Rhode Island bishop transition process:

• The process for nominating candidates by petition will open March 11.
• The “walkabout” for final nominees will be highlighted by an all-day event May 12 at St. Andrew’s School in Barrington.

Petition Process to Open March 11th

The process for nominating candidates by petition to be considered for bishop will open at 9 a.m. on Sunday, March 11, and continue through 5 p.m. Sunday, March 25 (all times Eastern Standard Time).

The petition process replaces the former custom of allowing nominations from the floor during the electing convention. The Canons of the Diocese of Rhode Island do not permit nominations from the floor. Opening this process well in advance of the convention will allow the Search & Nomination Committee sufficient time to conduct the same kinds of background checks and deep reference checks on petition nominees as were conducted on other applicants. Those checks can identify any legal issues or red flags in a candidate’s background.

All application packets from petition candidates must be sent in to the Search & Nomination Committee both electronically via email and in hard-copy form via postal mail. Application packets must include:

1. Completed Petition Candidate Application Form with attached answers to four essay questions;
2. Signed Petition Signatures Form for each of the six Rhode Island deaneries, with a total of 48 signatures; for each of the six deaneries petition candidates will need signatures from:
• four clergy members who are canonically resident in the Diocese of Rhode Island; and
• four lay people who are delegates to the electing convention
3. Curriculum vitae/resume;
4. Updated Office of Transition Ministry (OTM) Form;
5. Signed Consent and Authorization of a Petition Candidate Form;
6. 500-word maximum autobiographical statement;
7. List of all bishops served under, with contact information;
8. Two recent photographs of the petition candidate: one head-and-shoulders portrait, and one showing the candidate participating in a church-related activity. (Electronic versions of photos must be in .jpg format for the emailed application packet; hard copies of photos are optional for the printed packet); and
9. Completed Petition Candidate Reference Forms and letters of reference from three references, to be sent in separately by the references. More information about the petition process will be posted on the transition blog/website (www.episcopalrisearch.org) when the process opens.

The Walkabout

Details are being confirmed for the “walkabout” of bishop nominees that will take place May 11 and May 12.

On May 11, nominees will meet with Bishop Wolf and then tour at least part of the state, with “shepherds” from the Search & Nomination Committee and Transition Committee as their guides. On that evening, Emmanuel Church in Newport will host a private dinner for the nominees and their spouses, and members of the Search & Nomination, Transition and Oversight Committees.

On Saturday, May 12, all clergy and laypeople (and especially delegates to the electing convention) are invited to participate in an all-day event at St. Andrew’s School in Barrington. More specifics about time and format will be posted on the transition blog/website (www.episcopalrisearch.org) as the event approaches.