Evangelism in 10 (or 20) easy steps!

I commend two blog postings. Ten ways to get someone to stay away from your church, and then ten ways to draw someone to your church. How does your congregation rate?

Teaching kids the Bible

Recently, the Christian Century published an essay by Nancy Ammerman on teaching kids the Bible and why it matters. It's provocative reading, and any parent or anyone who hopes for future generations in church should read Ammerman's essay. An excerpt:

Many mainline kids don't even hear sermons, since they leave for Sunday school after the opening portion of the worship service. And in many New England churches, religious education shuts down for the summer. Even a pretty regular attender in these churches is lucky to get 20 to 30 hours a year of religious exposure. Also, when children are in Sunday school, free-thinking teachers rarely ask them to memorize anything, lest they be accused of indoctrination. It seems likely that these children's reservoir of biblical memory will run dry before they ever have a chance to reach adulthood.

In some churches, this pattern is more a matter of neglect than intent, while in others it reflects a genuine ambivalence about teaching children the Bible. Is all that Bible reading and memorization a good thing? Have those biblical images embedded in our brains made us too accepting of patriarchy, too willing to trust authority, too willing to believe? Perhaps. But I am convinced that it need not be so, that when we commit something to memory, it sinks deep and often resurfaces in surprising ways to meet new situations. Biblical fragments ("knit together in my mother's womb," "her price is far above rubies," "plans for your welfare and not for harm") happily can grow with us, providing both a touchstone to the past and points of connection to new people and new meanings. We stuff our memories with so many things (lyrics to Sesame Street songs, Santa's reindeer), why worry about adding the names of the apostles and the words of Psalm 23 to the mix?

Those biblical words are, in fact, the common language we speak as Christians, part of the tool kit with which we build ourselves and our communities of faith. If nothing else, the Bible's existence means that we do not have to start from scratch in building a community of faith. And its infinitely multivocal and multiform self also means that there is plenty of material to work with as we and our communities change. Thinking again about how scripture works, I have become convinced that having a canon matters, not just because the words are uniquely inspired or holy or true, but because this is the core set of stories that we've all agreed to share and that have shaped us and our forebears in manifold ways. There are always other stories and always many interpretations, but those who have called themselves Christian for all these years have these characters and plots in common.

Spending time building up that core, then, is essential. It can later be deconstructed and reconstructed, added to or set aside, but if we don't start here, we may lose something very important.

How does your congregation do on teaching the Bible to kids? Are kids learning the sacred stories? Does your church do anything to feed kids and their inquisitive minds during the summer? (For that matter, do you offer any learning for adults in the summer?) There's much at stake, so this writer hopes Ammerman's points will be pondered in your hearts.

Hat tip to T19.

Turning chaos into shalom

[Episcopal News Service, Virginia Beach] Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori challenged a gathering of Episcopal Communicators April 25 to engage gifts such as proclamation, witness, storytelling, moviemaking, language, images to help usher in the biblical vision of shalom, of equality and justice for everyone.

"There is something gravely and sinfully wrong with a world where the division between the rich and poor continues to expand, where some still live in palaces and recline on ivory couches while others starve outside their gates," she told about 120 parish, diocesan and national church communicators from around the country.

"In our day, the prophets still speak for a world where the hungry are fed, the ill are healed, where all children are educated and no one is denied the basic necessities of life."

. . . So is incorporating chaos theory -- that very small changes in initial conditions can lead to radically different results -- into mission, she said. "Each and everyone sitting here is capable of changing the world. Somewhere, somehow each one of us has the capacity to tame the chaos around us and turn it toward the peace of shalom. So where are the prophets? Who's going to speak those words? Who's going to do that work?

Full Story

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