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Bishop’s Notebook
24 May 2006
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On his
first morning in DC Bishop Packard had breakfast
with the ELCA endorser, The Rev. Darrell Morton |
| |
 |
left
to right, Chaplain
Michael Pollitt (2006 VA Excellency in Chaplainy
Award honoree), Bishop Packard, Chaplain Mike
Carr (2005 VA Excellency in Chapaincy Award honoree) |
This past week in the field—as
they most always do—gave me the full breadth of
our Episcopal family. It's a shame you're not traveling
with me. The first stop was in Washington, DC and the
honor to witness Chaplain Mike Pollitt receiving the
VA's Excellence in Chaplaincy Award. Mike Carr, last
year's recipient and Mike Pollitt's mentor, was also
present. The proceedings were televised throughout the
VA network. I know this because in a later email exchange
with Chaplain Tom Rardin he said, "I saw you on
TV!" Tom's colleague, Lydia Santibanez, received
recognition in the Part-time Staff Chaplain category.
In addition to sharing meals with
Chaplain Mike Pipkin one evening and Chaplain Jeri and
Ruth Hinson on another I celebrated the Wednesday Eucharist
at the Pentagon and lunched with that community after
the service.
On Thursday I traveled to Pensacola
for a visit with one of the newest members of our family
Chaplain Hays and Melody Perdue and their four children.
Before making that appearance I joined a conference
call with our diocesan chaplains for the continuing
work on the Chaplaincy Training Project. This initiative
intends to start seminary based education for chaplains
not in a CPE network. That afternoon the Perdue family
and I struck out for the local crab house.
|
|
left
to right, Nathan, Melody, Hayes, Anna and
John Perdue |
For a first assignment, Hays has a very full plate.
In addition to his usual base support duties he is also
responsible for a 4000 Marine training contingent.
My last stop was Cocoa Beach, Florida
and the retirement of Chaplain Norm Desrosiers. (During
this stop I was delighted to interview the Rev. Reinel
Castro.) On Sunday morning I preached at Norm’s
new parish, Holy Apostles, Satellite Beach. They are
as delighted to have him as we are sad to lose him.
+gep
|
|
 |
Newly
retired Chaplain Norm Desrosiers and his wife,
Barbara, who will be celebrating their 36th wedding
anniversary at the end of this month |
|
Here, a
quick photo of the CH Norm Desroisers’ retirement
cake. What a beauty! Baked by his daughter Kimberly |
The Bishop’s Notebook
15 May 2006
(Bishop George Packard is traveling
and asked his Director of Federal Chaplaincies and Executive
Officer, the Rev. Gerald J. Blackburn, to write this
week’s Notebook entry.)
The ministry of chaplains has been
reported by secular and religious news media a great
deal in the past several months. I even bumped into
the topic at church this past Sunday. I attended the
11:00 AM Holy Eucharist at the Cathedral Church of Saint
John the Divine (Episcopal) here in New York City in
order to hear the guest Lutheran preacher, the Rev.
Dr. Martin Marty, famed church historian and Professor
Emeritus of the University of Chicago. Following the
service I joined the line of worshippers who were thanking
Dr. Marty for his very helpful sermon based on Philip’s
encounter with the Ethiopian eunuch (Acts 8: 26-40).
I mentioned to him that I worked with chaplains of the
Episcopal Church. He surprised me with his response,
saying his next weekly electronic newsletter, Sightings,
which would be released the following day, was about
chaplains. So with much anticipation I looked for it
and now want to share it with you. Please note at the
end of the article permission is granted to republish
in full any edition of the Sightings newsletter provided
full attribution is given to the author and to the Martin
Marty Center at the University of Chicago Divinity School.
I hereby do just that and invite you to read the brief
(one page) yet poignant article below. —Gerry
Blackburn
Sightings 5/15/06
Chaplains in the War Zone
— Martin E. Marty
During the next few years, as the
war drags on in Iraq, there will be plenty of time to
think through religious and ethical issues that do not
follow quite the same track as that of the original
just/unjust war debates. (Notice that few of the controversies
deal with the war in Afghanistan, which must be perceived
quite differently than that in Iraq, despite some superficial
parallels and resemblances.) One zone in which reporting
and controversy can become and remain creative has to
do with military chaplaincy. I find myself treating
the subject a second time within a year -- a signal
of how creative and how troubling I consider it to be.
The occasion is a fine (to me, Pulitzer-nomination-level)
story by Kristin Henderson, identified as a Navy chaplain's
wife, and author of While They're at War, a book about
military families left behind. "In the Hands of
God" appeared in the Washington Post (April 30)
and in the Washington Post National Weekly (May 8-14),
whose editors must like it, since they gave an unprecedented
five pages to her account. She seems to be making an
effort not to take sides, not to judge, but simply to
report close-up on life at Forward Base Diamondback
in northern Iraq. She takes us inside military vehicles
on patrol or in convoys, imparting a sense of the tension
and danger within one. And there, with the troops, is
a chaplain. He is there to show that he is ready to
die with the men; he must identify with them if he is
to have credibility.
We do not linger long with such stories,
as other issues come up. For one, there is the chaplain
shortage, which does not mean that the missions are
not covered, but that disproportionate numbers of chaplains
come from non-Catholic, non-mainstream Protestant sources.
A Lutheran chaplain named Grimenstein explains: "It's
their theological doctrine -- very pro-nation, pro-government,
pro-country. You don't find that in a lot of Protestant
denominations." One might have wished he'd said
that another way: The Protestants can be very pro-country
without buying into all its ventures in any particular
decade. Chalk up that issue of imbalance among denominations
as something for debate. The non-mainstream evangelicals
and Baptists seem more aggressive, evangelizing along
the way.
Next comes the bigger issue of how
to deal with pluralism. Here Henderson provides case
studies worth the attention of citizens at large. All
chaplains are conditioned and compelled to deal with
pluralist situations and effects. She reports at length
on a new Southern Baptist chaplain who follows regulations
and provides services, or is ready to, for everyone
-- all the way over to the Wiccans. Then comes a more
problematic assignment: The people at this FOB are supposed
to help rebuild a partially destroyed mosque. Another
Lutheran chaplain named Morehouse reminds a Southern
Baptist who has conscience pangs that he is sworn to
follow orders. Here comes the classic chaplain's dilemma:
His Baptist rules are against his helping a religion
like Islam. Pangs like that touch consciences in the
chaplaincy every day. They may be writ-large versions
of what goes on in emergent civil life.
But while we ponder that, the story
moves on to the horrors of caring for the dying, and
the urgent role of chaplains. Such is life in the war
zone.
References:
Kristin
Henderson's story
Martin
E. Marty's biography, current projects, upcoming events,
publications, and contact information
----------
The Religion and Culture Web Forum
for May features "How Biblical Is the Christian
Right?" by Margaret M. Mitchell. To
read this article
----------
Sightings comes from the Martin
Marty Center at the University of Chicago Divinity
School.
Submissions policy
Sightings welcomes submissions of
500 to 750 words in length that seek to illuminate and
interpret the forces of faith in a pluralist society.
Previous
columns give a good indication of the topical range
and tone for acceptable essays. The editor also encourages
new approaches to issues related to religion and public
life.
Attribution
Columns may be quoted or republished
in full, with attribution to the author of the column,
Sightings, and the Martin Marty Center at the University
of Chicago Divinity School.
Contact information
Please send all inquiries, comments,
and submissions to Jeremy Biles, managing editor of
Sightings, at sightings-admin@listhost.uchicago.edu.
Subscribe, unsubscribe, or manage
your subscription at the Sightings subscription
page.
Bishop's Notebook
7 May 2006
Atlanta, George
As we went around the room introducing
ourselves at the breakfast sponsored by this episcopacy
at the Association of Pastoral Counselors (APC) Conference
in Atlanta it occurred to me again how truly extraordinary
our chaplains are. A goodly geographical distribution
was in the room to include Navy Chaplain Tony Bezy from
Camp Lejeune. Mostly these were healthcare colleagues
from a variety of settings: hospice, oncology, retirement
and senior care, pediatric, cardiac, orthopedic, general
healthcare, private practice, and many others.
The night before attendees heard Deputy
Surgeon General Dr. Kenneth P. Moritsugu, speak on "Our
Rising Presence: The Many Facets of Chaplaincy."
His talk offered insights on the variety of roles from
public relations representative and litigation diffuser
(note the institutional reference point here) to community
advocate and liaison with the spiritual and religious
community. But Dr. Moritsugu captivated the audience
as he shared his personal need for sensitive pastoral
care during the sudden loss of his wife and then later,
his daughter. Chaplain Rod Pierce continued that theme
of certainty by faith in his homily during the Eucharist
before the breakfast in which he used the metaphor of
hiking with his family on a local state park trail system.
"We can be assured by the path that has been blazed
before us." He said. And we can be assured by the
level of professionalism that visits us by our bedside.
A special note of gratitude goes to the new Association
of Episcopal Healthcare (AEHC) President Jean Scribner
who was the celebrant and hostess for the occasion.
Her deft presence gathered everyone up into this moment
of hospitality...even me. +gep
Bishop's Notebook
2 May 2006
Looking toward General Convention
Besides the resolution commending the sacrifice of the
Dorchester chaplains to the Church as a seasonal day,
taking a coherent stand on next steps in relation to
the Anglican Communion, and electing our next Presiding
Bishop, our office has a special sensitivity to certain
subjects. You've heard of the Final Four in basketball,
well, in our work that might be a helpful way to keep
track of how we note what's important in the confusing
variety of resolutions before the General Convention
in June. (There is reason to wonder if four categories
are adequate, e.g., our maritime chaplains are regularly
confronted by a hostile detainment policy for visiting
mariners with serious curtailment of their rights and
privileges.)
1. First and foremost is the Iraq
War. Our interest is less on the commitment to the conflict—it
has always been our belief that while there are boots
on the ground we save that for later—but rather,
in jus bello, how the war is prosecuted is our capital
interest. In that regard, Abu Ghraib (and now Guantanamo)
and excessive force employed in firefights remains a
concern of ours. As well we continue to be alarmed at
the toll this conflict is having on families and especially
Reserve and Guard personnel. The character of the fighting
and the high anxiety related to an IED atmosphere results
in a worrisome PTSD aftermath. We have already been
on record about the nobility of the new survivors of
the physical trauma of these days: the extraordinary
amputee.
2. The current prison system is a
concern. The racial profile of most confinement facilities
in the United States is predominantly persons of color
and capital punishment remains an option by the federal
government and 38 states. A recidivism rate of nearly
30 % and soaring inmate populations indicts whether
our correctional system corrects anything. The use of
lethal injection is controversial as of this writing
because of the pain and suffering it can cause with
uncertain administrations adding to the debate whether
a civilized country can ever morally find a way to murder
those who murder.
3. My own experience with prostate
surgery went to a new place when I got the bill. The
bottom line was commensurate with the price of a new,
full sized car yet was picked up entirely by my medical
insurance. But what if it hadn’t been? Indeed,
the man in the bed next to me had advanced metastasis
of his disease only because he was poor and had not
received the earlier intervention that I had. Now, he
lay next to me, his Medicaid finally kicking in, but
with dim prospects. Our office is concerned about the
health care environment and particularly the added stress—often
times brought to emergency rooms where catastrophic
diseases finally become a matter of record—among
those who have no health care in this country. The social
program aspects of the industry are not foreign to the
substance of healthcare chaplaincy.
4. The Presiding Bishop has
asked this office to be in charge of Micronesia which,
for the Episcopal Church, primarily means the islands
of Guam and Saipan in the Marianna Island chain of the
western Pacific. We have four congregations there as
well as St. John's School a top rated school for the
entire region serving nearly 600 students, K through
12. Why would this tropical paradise be listed as a
concern? Neglect. In the six years I have served as
the bishop-in-charge no representation of the Faithful
in Micronesia has ever been invited to General Convention.
No raise—or cost of living increase—for
clergy and other employees has been approved. Finally,
this year the Executive Council took some leadership
by sending an analyst to make an evaluation. +gep
Bishop's Notebook
"Friday in Easter Week", 2006
It seems unusual to refer to
Friday in the context of Easter. Most times—even
as we cue up for weekends—there is a sense that
this was the day of the week which was Our Lord's last.
The
Daily Office even has a special prayer for the day
reminding us that walking the way of the cross is really
walking the way of life itself. In other words, Easter
redeems even Good Friday time. We just don't look at
it the same way again.
 |
CH Daniel Karanja
reads the gospel as an historic moment for a priest
from Kenya in Reykjavik Cathedral |
My family and I are still getting the kinks out after a delightful visit with Chaplain Daniel Karanja in Iceland. Clara is busy writing a report for school on the experience. And she has a lot to recall. Easter Sunday dawned with the schizophrenic weather Iceland is known for: horizontal rain, followed by horizontal snow, followed by sunshine. Nevertheless, we raised our voices in Easter hymns and re-affirmed our Baptismal vows courtesy of Brent Gibbons' Confirmation. The base at Kevlavik is quickly closing and everyone is hastily preparing for the next assignment so Easter had a bittersweet quality to it. Some tours were shortened and others still had no follow on assignment. "It's aggravating." One young mother said to me during the festive coffee hour which followed the main service. "I know it will be all right and other people have it a lot worse but I wish we could have been more prepared," she continued.
|
Bishop Packard, the Gibbons family and
Chaplain Karanja |
Changing, converting, one kind of time for another is what the Christian journey is all about.
"Getting the kinks out" after a long trip in the field for me means getting back on my bike for rides to the station. To do that I have to pedal down a long and busy avenue. On my first night of returning home I passed a group gathered on the sidewalk. They were in front of a modest row house and TV news trucks were on the opposite side of the street. An impromptu shrine was being assembled by the curb in memory of ten year old Jarrid Amico who—just that day—had died suddenly after being hit by a car. I had remembered seeing the little guy earlier that morning. Ironically he had been the only one in his bike group with a helmet on. If ever there was a situation which cried out for Easter's redemption of time this was it. Change it and make it better. I thought of our emergency responder chaplains and their immediate and insistent aid. This scene which that morning was sunny with promise had scattered glass, police cordoned tape, and outlines of what had happened on the pavement.
The next morning, same route, but I stopped and visited with Jarrid's father who paced back and forth in front of the growing testimony to his son of teddy bears, flowers, sweatshirts, notes of every kind, candles, someone's favorite toy truck, and a whole collection of small items a young boy would like. I wondered what one of our chaplains would do; on the ride back that evening I tucked this prayer under a stuffed dog. It's in the collection written by the Standing Liturgical Commission and will be presented to the General Convention in June.
"God our deliverer, gather our horror and pity for the death of your child Jarrid into the compass of your wisdom and strength, that through the night we may seek and do what is right, and when the morning comes trust ourselves to your cleansing justice and new life; through Christ our Savior. Amen. +gep
Bishop's Notebook
Easter Even, 2006,
Keflavik, Iceland
My family and I are having an experience with light and dark here this far north and near the Arctic Circle; it´s still light at 10 P.M. and equally so by 5 A.M!
Yet during the hushed dispatch of business on the Good Friday side of the Resurrection—perhaps at 5 A.M.—the women enroute to the tomb were in darkness. The semi-darkness of predawn hours and that ontological darkness we all share in humanity of aimlessness and no promise of hope.
Tomorrow in addition to our confirmation and Easter Eucharist on base I will preach at the Lutheran Cathedral in Reykjavik. Poet of Iceland and hymnatist Hallgrimur Petursson gives voice in his "Hymns of the Passion," to our ache for the appearance of Christ Resurrected.
"Sometimes I fear there waits for me
Unknown some accusation,
For I well deserved to be
Consigned to God´s damnation.
But soon comes joy and sweet relief,
Like billows down from heaven.
Of sinners, I, the very chief,
Am by Thy grace forgiven.
The fear that kept me in suspense,
In doleful desolation,
Is turned to joyful confidence
Through Thy divine salavation." -Rev. Hallgrimur Petursson, 1659
Thinking of you all at this Easter time with prayers for your good health and safety. +gep
Bishop's Notebook
Palm Sunday, 2006
What makes for a successful chaplains' conference? We are tabulating all the activities from this prior week and the gathering held at the Roslyn Center outside of Richmond, Virginia to form just such a lasting memory moment because we had a winner! At the top of the list was our speaker, Frank Wade, who challenged us to live into the scripture for this coming week. Frank's intelligence, warmth, and wit made each session something to look forward to. And then there was the fellowship which we carried through the wonderful meals, the happy hours, and even on to an excursion to the nearby Petersburg battlefield. Bob Eldridge had done some research on the chaplains involved in that Civil War siege and the experience was fascinating. The trip concluded with a festive meal at The Smokey Pig restaurant. You can imagine us in a place with that much barbecue! In short: good speaker, good people, good learnings and most of all good fellowship made for a wonderful time.
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Military, Bureau of Prisons, and Veterans Affairs attendees at the
East Coast Federal Chaplains Conference
April 3-7, 2006, Roslyn
Diocese of Virginia Retreat Center
|
My family and I are leaving for Iceland on Holy Monday night. Right now we are thinking how we can help with the worship offerings that Daniel Karanja (CH, USAF) and the Faithful are contemplating. Please connect with our Daily Office link and note what I said about sharing your experiences. Episcopalians and Lutherans sometimes have to produce novel presentations during these days. Often we are not many in number and—as I said on the Daily Office link—we have to find do-able slots alongside the general Protestant list of services. Whatever and however you arrange your days may they be blessed with the reflection we all seek on the way to the Easter dawn. +gep
Bishop's Notebook
27 March 2006
I write to you about the recent
House of Bishops spring meeting held at the Kanuga Conference
Center in Hendersonville, NC, 17-23 March. The tone
of the gathering was hopeful with its accent on interaction
with the seven nominees (Jenkins-Louisiana; Duque-Colombia;
Parsley-Alabama; Alexander-Atlanta; Gulick-Kentucky;
Schori-Nevada; and Sauls-Lexington). Each candidate
was well prepared to address the predominant questions
of the day on mission, administration, and the elephant
in the room—our continuing relationship with the
Anglican Communion. On that issue there seemed to be
a general agreement with the Special Commission charged
with a suggestion to General Convention—-with
varying degrees of advocacy—that any additional
consecrations of a gay person might bring grave status
to our future relationship with the Communion. For that
matter some members of the Commission were present yet
were very careful to avoid printed handouts of any kind
not only for the sensitivity of their work but also
because of a courtesy to the House of Deputies who had
yet to get an update on the legislation they were framing.
The candidates for Presiding Bishop also seemed to concur with the Commission in their proposed recommendation to the General Convention that no rite for the blessing of same sex union be authorized for the Prayer Book. Appended to this Notebook article are noteworthy statements. Please take care to read the one on immigration. It is a worrisome development for those seeking to provide refuge and sustenance, and, when we are true to Jesus’ instruction to care for the stranger in our midst.
For me, it was a good time to stretch my legs after surgery and get back out on the road. I also passed around a resolution that I plan to sponsor for celebrating The Four Chaplains noted for their ultimate sacrifice at the sinking of USAT Dorchester in the Church calendar. We have hopes of it being included in “Lesser Feasts and Fasts.” Bishops Duncan (of the Gulf Coast), Epting (Ecumenical), and Keyser (retired, chaplaincies and currently of Georgia) are joining me in this effort. I am especially grateful to the Rev. Linda Lowry for originating and championing this idea. Linda is a retired Air Force chaplain. +gep
A Word to the Church, House of Bishops Meeting at Kanuga
March 2006
In this Lenten season we greet you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We write to you from the Kanuga Conference Center in Hendersonville, North Carolina, where we are gathered for our spring meeting. In Lent God calls us to examine our hearts and renew our companionship with the One who offered himself for the salvation of the world. We are very conscious of the larger context in which we gather and deliberate: in a country where the disparity between rich and poor persists, where we struggle to rebuild lives and communities along the Gulf Coast, a country whose daughters and sons are serving at war overseas. Increasingly we are aware that we represent not a single national church, but one richly comprising congregations in fifteen countries. We wish to share with you something of our journey with Christ during these days of our meeting together.
The unity, mission, and faithfulness of the Church are matters very much in our prayers. We strongly affirm our desire for the Episcopal Church to remain a constituent member of the Anglican Communion, and we recognize that the gift of communion requires generosity and restraint on the part of all. We were blessed by the presence and presentation of our guest from the Church of England, the Right Reverend Michael Langrish, Bishop of Exeter, who encouraged and challenged us in respect to our relationship with the larger Anglican Communion. On behalf of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Ms. Sue Parks, the Manager of the Lambeth Conference, briefed us on the plans for the Lambeth Conference 2008.
We believe that the most effective way to foster communion is to be present for each other, as often as possible, so that we may learn from each other, be corrected by each other, and discern the mind of Christ together. In this regard we were encouraged by the report of the Special Commission on the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. We welcomed the Commission's overview of the report that it is preparing in order to assist the General Convention in addressing the critical issues and concerns raised in the Windsor Report, in the Primates' Communiqué, and by the Anglican Consultative Council. The report, which will be completed and issued early in April, affirms our commitment to the Anglican Communion, and will include a number of resolutions to be proposed for consideration by the General Convention. We commend to the prayerful reflection and legislative process of the General Convention this report of the Special Commission as a way forward in faithfulness to our Lord, to the Episcopal Church, and to the Anglican Communion.
A significant experience of our meeting was the opportunity to have a conversation with the seven current nominees for Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church. All the nominees listened carefully and responded with their own insights and perspectives. Our evening together gave testimony to God's blessing upon the life of the Church, and proved helpful as we begin to prepare for the election of the next Presiding Bishop. We are deeply appreciative of the generosity of these our colleagues in offering themselves for this discernment process.
We also benefited enormously from a day spent considering the nature and purposes of biblical interpretation in hearing God's living Word. Our guests for this day, eminent Anglican biblical theologians originally from Kenya, India, and Hong Kong, and the United States, provided us with a profound glimpse of the contexts in which the Word of God comes to life throughout the world.
As part of our continuing commitment to work against the sin of racism, and much informed by what we have learned about ourselves in the wake of last year's hurricanes, we developed a new Pastoral Letter to be read in all congregations. We also wrestled with the grave difficulties regarding immigration and the injustices facing those who come to the United States. Additionally we considered important studies relating to the opportunities and challenges of evangelism and church growth today. As we prepare for General Convention, we commit ourselves to continued prayer and labor for justice for all of God's people, for the unity of the Church, for the faithfulness of the Church, for the mission of God.
At the heart of our meeting was a retreat led by our Presiding Bishop, the Most Reverend Frank T. Griswold, III. Our time together in prayer was deeply enriched by his profound gifts as a spiritual guide and teacher. This occasion manifested his depth of conviction and generosity of heart, which have so characterized his years as Presiding Bishop and meant so much to so many of us.
As a result of our time together we are better prepared to join at General Convention our sisters and brothers of the House of Deputies, whose presiding officer, the Very Reverend George L. Werner, also addressed us. Together we will journey with hearts confident in God, eager to seek the Holy Spirit's guidance in serving Christ's mission of drawing all things to God.
"For you shall go out in joy, and be led back in peace" (Isaiah 55:12).
_________________________________________________________________________________________
The Sin of Racism: A Call to Covenant
A Pastoral Letter from the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church March 2006
We, the bishops of the Episcopal Church, acknowledged the painful reality of the consequences of racism in the 1994 pastoral letter "the Sin of Racism." In that letter, we stated "the essence of racism is prejudice coupled with power. It is rooted in the sin of pride and exclusivity which assumes 'that I and my kind are superior to others and therefore deserve special privileges.'" We issue this new pastoral on the pervasive sin that continues to plague our common life in the church and in our culture. We acknowledge our participation in this sin and we lament its corrosive effects on our lives. We repent of this sin, and ask God's grace and forgiveness.
When Jesus entered the synagogue in his first public act of ministry (Luke 4), he read from the prophet Isaiah. The vision proclaimed is known as the desire of God, the peaceable kingdom, a society of justice and shalom, or the city set on a hill. It is an icon of what God intends for all creation – that human beings live in justice and peace with one another, that the poor are fed and housed and clothed, the ill are healed, prisoners set free, and that the whole created order is restored to right relationship. That vision is our goal and vocation as Christians.
The fundamental truth undergirding this vision is that all are made in the image of God. It is in our diversity that we discover the fullness of that image. If we judge one class or race or gender better than another, we violate that desire and intent of God. And when our social and cultural systems exacerbate or codify such judgments, we do violence to that which God has made. Racism is a radical affront to the good gift of God, both in the creation described in Genesis, and in the reality of the Incarnation. Jesus came among us to bring an end to that which divides us, as Paul so clearly identifies in Galatians 3:28, "in Christ there is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female."
Whenever individual or community behaviors work against God's vision, we have promised to respond in ways that will serve to heal: "Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being? I will with God's help (BCP p 305)." God has created us with skins of many colors, God has created us in thousands of tribes and languages, and none is adjudged more godly than another. It is our behavior that gives evidence of godliness, not the color of our skin.
The world has witnessed the evil of institutionalized racism and classism in the United States in the aftermath of the hurricanes of 2005. The poor and persons of color were often served last -- or not at all -- while wealthy and privileged residents had greater resources to escape the immediate danger of the hurricanes and begin the process of rebuilding. We are all shamed by the sin of racism in the reality of inequity in housing, employment, educational and healthcare opportunities, and the disaster response.
This House of Bishops, meeting in Hendersonville, North Carolina on 21 March 2006, which is the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, commit ourselves as bishops to discern and confess our own prejudice and complicity in the pervasive sin of racism, to confront it, and make amends for it in intentional ways every time we gather as a House. We ask the Holy Spirit to empower the House to fully live into this covenant, and we invite the members of this Church to covenant with us, in the following actions personally, corporately, and globally. With God's help, we will:
renew our commitment to the 1994 pastoral letter, "The Sin of Racism"; take responsibility to expose, dismantle and heal those situations of injustice based on racism; seek forgiveness for our lack of charity and consciousness in recognizing those situations which degrade the image of God in our neighbors; make amends for our undeserved position and benefit as a result of unjust situations both now and in the past; empower all members of God's human family, that they may live into the fullness of what God intends; encourage the larger church to continue and expand its work of education, spiritual formation, and anti-racism training, that all might discover the riches of God's diverse creation, especially in those who differ from us; advocate for the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals by the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society, our respective dioceses, the parishes which comprise them, and our governments, as well as our own households, that God's desire may become increasingly evident for all of humanity; recruit and empower people of all races and ethnic origins as leaders in our church, and as members of all boards, agencies, commissions, and committees; dedicate equitable resources for all races and national origins in the funding of theological education for all ministries, lay and ordained; advocate for continued response to the sinful legacy of slavery; expose situations of environmental racism and classism which poison and threaten the poorest among us, and seek justice for those communities; and advocate for compassionate care of the stranger in our midst, and demand just immigration policies.
Having entered into covenant with each other to root out the sin of racism in very specific personal and corporate ways, we, the bishops of the Episcopal Church, invite all members of our Church to join us in this mission of justice, reconciliation, and unity. This is an expression of our commitment to the fundamental covenant each of us entered into at the moment of our baptism.
May God give us the will to do this reconciling work, and the power and grace to accomplish it.
We ask that this pastoral letter be read in all churches as soon as possible.
__________________________________________________________________________________________
Care for undocumented immigrants affirmed; Bishops oppose legislation that would make humanitarian acts unlawful
The House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church on March 22 adopted a resolution "opposing legislation making humanitarian acts unlawful" regarding care and aid extended to "undocumented immigrants."
The full text of the resolution -- proposed by Bishops of Dioceses on the Mexican Border and moved by Bishop Kirk Smith of Arizona -- follows.
Opposing legislation making humanitarian acts unlawful
RESOLVED, that the House of Bishops, meeting at Kanuga, March 17-22, 2006, reaffirming the action of Executive Council, meeting in Philadelphia, March 6-9, 2006, declares its strong opposition to any legislation that would make it unlawful for faith-based or humanitarian organizations to act to relieve the suffering of undocumented immigrants in response to the Gospel mandate to serve the least among us and our Baptismal covenant to seek and serve Christ in all persons;
AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the House of Bishops calls upon the people of the Episcopal Church to act on their Baptismal covenant without regard to such unjust legislation.
EXPLANATION: The Episcopal Church has a long tradition of advocating for the just and humane treatment of immigrants and refugees. In the current immigration debate, there is concern that attempts to change the U.S. immigration system could infringe upon the rights and obligations of religious and humanitarian organizations to extend support and assistance to those who come to them for help. The Gospel mandate to serve the least among us and the Baptismal covenant of the Church to seek and serve Christ in all persons are imperatives that call us to resist legislation that would make unlawful deeds of compassion done in the name of our faith. The Episcopal Church, therefore, identifies with expressions of other faith-based bodied who have expressed opposition to proposed legislation that would inhibit the ability of churches, their members and agencies to relieve the suffering of those whom they are called to serve.
Bishop's Notebook
10 March 2006
I am glad to pass on a brief devotional service that Brook created for her Education for Ministry group (EFM).
The metaphor of the desert might be gilding a lily for those assigned to Iraq and Afghanistan but appropriating it as an interior landscape never is... particularly in Lent. A more spiritually centered park ranger than me once advised while in the Joshua Tree National Park, "The observant traveler will pause, kneel down, and press his cheek to the ground. Only from there—after you account for your own breathing—will you really be ready to enter into the abundant living world around you." That's more or less what he said and I always thought it was unknowingly profound.
So, early the next morning with faced turned and pressed to the earth, I observed the stirring high desert community on all its levels: ground squirrels and rabbits rustling, the poking presence of a fox, any number of busy insects, low nesting sparrows and small birds in the bushes, and higher up, birds coursing to and fro among the towering saguaro cactus. It was a humbling and awkward posture and the instruction to "account for your own breathing" had a contemplative quality. I think of it even now. We have to center ourselves in whatever desert we are in knowing deeply what we are and who’s we intend to be. +gep
| Devotional Service by Brook Packard |
Invocation
Almighty God, who is able to make all things new and to restore life anew every morning, help me never to be conformed to the world but to be transformed by the constant renewing of my mind through the Spirit of Christ. Amen.
The Call of the Desert
Behold, I am doing a new thing…for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise.
Isaiah 43:18a. 20b-21
Music Reflection: The Shifting Sands of Time
Listen here to the musical reflection
Shifting Sands of Time
by
The Wayfaring Strangers
(You must have Windows Media Player )
Shifting Sands of Time
There's a ship out on the desert
Dull (?) and dry as bone
Wind blows through her rigging
And sets the ragged sheets to moan
On the deck there is a captain
Spyglass top his eye
He believes that God Almighty
Will not leave him high and dry
On the shifting sands of time
On the shifting sands of time
God stretches out his hand
makes an ocean from dry land
sails us home across the sand
across the shifting sands of time
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Litany: For the Darkness of Waiting
For the darkness of waiting
of not knowing what is to come
of staying ready and quiet and attentive
we praise you, O God:
for the darkness and the light are both alike to you.
For the darkness of staying silent
for the terror of having nothing to say
and for the greater terror of needing to say nothing,
we praise you O God:
for the darkness and the light are both alike to you.
For the darkness of loving
in which it is safe to surrender
to let go of our self-protection
and to stop holding back our desire,
we praise you, O God:
for the darkness and the light are both alike to you.
For the darkness of choosing
when you give us the moment
to speak, and act, and change,
and we cannot know what we have set in motion,
but we still have to take the risk,
we praise you O God:
for the darkness and the light are both alike to you.
For the darkness of hoping
in a world which longs for you,
for the wrestling and the laboring of all creation
for wholeness and justice and freedom,
we praise you O God:
for the darkness and the light are both alike to you.
Closing Collect:
Spirit of Integrity,
you drive us into the desert
to search out our truth
Give us clarity to know what is right
and courage to reject what is strategic;
that we may abandon the false innocence
of failing to choose at all
But may follow the purposes of Jesus Christ, Amen.
The desert is the threshold to the meeting ground of God and man. It is the scene of the exodus. You do not settle there, you pass through. One then ventures on to these tracks because on is driven by the Spirit towards the Promised Land. But it is only promised to those who are able to chew sand for forty years without doubting their invitation to the feast at the end. — Alessandro Pronzato
The desert is a place where the soul encounters God, but it is also the place of extreme desolation – a place of testing, where the soul is flung upon its own resources and therefore upon God. The desert, in this sense, can be anywhere.
— Elizabeth Hamilton
What makes the desert beautiful is that somewhere it hides a well.
— Antoine de Saint-Exupery
They cannot scare me with their empty spaces between stars – on stars where no human race is. I have it in me so much nearer home to scare myself with my own desert places. — Robert Frost
The desert is both fascinating and terrifying. It is the great, lonely void, and human beings dread being brought face to face with themselves. — A Monk
When you ain’t got nothin’, you’ve got nothin’ to lose. — Bob Dylan
I have come into the desert to pray, to learn to pray. Prayer is the sum of our relationship with God. We are what we pray. — Carlo Caretto
In the desert, God has marked out no other routes, no other paths than prayer. — A Monk
All Desires Known, Janet Morley
A Guide to Prayer for All God's People, Rueben P. Job and Norman Shawcuck
The Desert: An Anthology for Lent, John Moses
Bishop's Notebook
03 March 2006
As a sacramental church what we perceive, subtly, and inwardly is conveyed to us in a straightforward “here it is" manner. There's no getting around it. The body and blood of Christ is offered even if we could have used a few more moments to catch a holier place within ourselves before going forward to receive Communion. And that is the way it should be since God chose to give us Jesus Christ in time…things move right along.
The whole drama of the Passion hangs on this very point: once things have started there are dear moments in which to treat them. It is what adds such pain to Peter's denial of Jesus in the hours leading up to the Crucifixion. And so, we heard these words as ashes were put on our foreheads last Wednesday, "You are from dust and to dust you will return." In other words, you and I have spare moments to do the things we need to do for the Gospel's sake before leaving this world. To emphasize the point the season of Lent is spread out before us. Things are moving right along.
Having just completed successful prostate surgery two weeks ago and seen the frailty of life at one of the nation's leading hospitals I can't help marvel at the indomitable human condition in spite of living with only finite possibilities. The message is "yes, life may have been dust before you occurred and will no doubt be so again, but while you're here what an occasion for great things!" Chaplaincy is a calling in which there does not have to be an interminable wait for those great opportunities to happen. There is always a situation or person in need and at hand. The Lenten question is what we will do next. Time moves along. +gep
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