News and Information
Archives Index
Index by Most Recent Event 2004-2003
For
2002-2000 archive click here
America
Celebrates the Greatest Generation, May 2004
Washington
National Cathedral, Evening Commemorative Sequences,
The Rt. Rev. George E. Packard, Bishop Suffragen
for Chaplaincies for the Episcopal Church, will preach at
four worship services, Monday through Thursday evening.
For press release For
text and audio of these services
Washington
National Cathedral, Exhibit: Faith & Courage:
U. S. Chaplains’ Service in World War II
Faith
& Courage pays tribute to a special group of veterans
whose story is rarely told: that of the dedicated service
of US military chaplains in World War II.
For press
release
Archbishop
of Canterbury's address at a Service of Remembrance for Iraq,
St Paul's Cathedral, London,
October 2003
“Whatever the different judgements about
the decision to go to war, we have to recognise the moral
seriousness of this, and the dedication of those who carry
out the decision. But as we look out at a still uncertain
and dangerous landscape, as we recall the soldiers and civilians
killed since the direct military campaign ended, as we think
of the United Nations personnel and the relief workers who
have died, we have to acknowledge that moral vision is harder
to convert into reality than we should like....”
Read
More
Letter
from the Presiding Bishop for the Primates of the Anglican
Communion, July 2003
“I
write you on the eve of the General Convention of the Episcopal
Church in Minneapolis, Minnesota, to let you know some of
what is on my mind and heart during these days of prayer and
preparation...”
Read
More
Memorial
Service for Shaun Dale, St. John’s Church, Frostburg,
Maryland,
June 2003
“Given
those traits, it’s not surprising that Shaun decided
to go into the medical field when he joined the Navy. He became
a corpsman and later a surgical technician. His parents say
he was born with medical genes. ...There have been many nurses
and doctors in the family... But Shaun was also born with
compassionate genes. And so, he was not just a surgical technician.
He was a healer......”
Read
More
Letter
to the House of Bishops from the Presiding Bishop, June 2003
“General
Convention is almost here and its theme, Engage God's Mission,
draws upon energies and commitment evident around our church.
We will be building on work in which we as a House of Bishops
have been engaged for some time, particularly since our fall
meeting in 2001 in Burlington, Vermont immediately following
the events of September 11. Over these last three years, we
have explored mission as our participation in God's work of
reconciling all things to himself in Christ. I have every
expectation that our forthcoming Convention will take us deeper
into that work as we draw upon the grace of Christ and the
wisdom of the Spirit......”
Read
More
Chaplain
Bishop Disturbed by 'Bizarre,' War-Themed Easter Baskets,
April 2003
“New
York: An Episcopal church bishop has condemned the appearance
in stores of Easter baskets containing snipers, machine guns
and toy ammunition instead of chocolate bunnies......”
Read More
Episcopal Chaplains Bring Compassion
to War, April 2003
“I
think that when the nation goes to war, the Episcopal Church
is called to go to compassion," Packard explained in
an phone interview from his home, where he was catching up
on phone calls to chaplains deployed overseas and their families
stateside. "When the Episcopal Church goes to war, we
don't gird up with weaponry. We gird up with even more of
the things our Lord has taught us. We have to be very resourceful
in how we apply these things......”
Read
More
Religion
& Ethics Newsweekly Interviews ECUSA Chaplain Jay
Magness and other Navy Chaplains, March 2003
Correspondent
Kim Lawton takes an in-depth look at multiple duties for military
chaplains during this time of war, and why Magness and other
chaplains say spiritual peril is one of the many dangers facing
the soldiers in Iraq.
To
Read or View the video of the full story
Read
the entire interview with Capt. Jay Magness, Chaplain for
the U.S. Atlantic Fleet.
The Presiding Bishop Blesses Episcopal
Church Service Crosses, March 2003
The
Presiding Bishop, in the Chapel of Christ the Lord at the
Episcopal Church Center in New York City, recently blessed
Episcopal Church Service Crosses. These crosses, which may
be worn while in uniform, are a distinct mark of an Episcopalian
in the Armed Services. They are being sent to soldiers serving
in the war zone.
Read
More
Pastoral
Letter to Episcopal Church Chaplains in the Military from
the Presiding Bishop, March 2003
“I
am writing to let you know that I am deeply mindful of all
of you and of your families, and I hold you daily in my prayers......
”
Read
More
Pastoral
letter to British Armed Forces Chaplains from the Archbishop
of Canterbury, Spring 2003
Lambeth
Palace has released the text of a pastoral letter sent by
the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, to UK military
chaplains serving in the Gulf as part of the current operations.
In his letter, written before the start of the military campaign,
Dr Williams said that they and those serving with them would
be in his thoughts and prayers and he paid tribute to their
difficult role.
Read More
ELCA
Presiding Bishop’s Statement on War with Iraq, March
2003
“In
the midst of the anguish of today’s events, and aware
of the continuing unfolding and unknown consequences of war,
we in the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America share with
all Christians the call to be peacemakers...... ”
Read
More
In
The Shadow Of War, A Pastoral Letter from the House of Bishops
of the Episcopal Church, March 2003
“
We,
your bishops, write to you in perilous times. We do not know
what the next days will bring. War and the threat of war make
many afraid for the welfare of all that they love, and all
those whom they hold dear. Such fear gnaws at the edges of
consciousness and can shake the foundations upon which we
have built our lives and our communities......”
Read More
‘Lethality
of modern warfare horrifying,’ bishop for Armed Services
reminds, February 2003
“.....'“One
talks about these things, but when you see how much we have
committed, how many lives are committed to these war efforts,
it takes the worry and makes it echo.' Much of his present
worry, Packard said, is the pastoral care not only of active
duty military personnel and their families, but also reservists,
guard and their loved ones now contending with recent or soon
deployment. Children in these families are of particular concern,
Packard said.”
Read More
Report
on Baghdad trip, The Rt. Rev. Pierre W. Whalon, February 2003
“
I received an invitation on 20 January from the Patriarchate
of Babylon (Chaldean Church, uniat Catholics) to come to Iraq,
pray with them and meet and talk with the leaders of the major
Christian groups. Also included in the invitation were the
presidents of the French Catholic conference of bishops, the
Orthodox bishops, and the French Protestant Federation. I
was initially reluctant, but the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal
Church, the Secretary-General of the Anglican Communion, and
staff of the Archbishop of Canterbury all strongly urged me
to accept......”
Read
More
Armed
Forces bishop profiled on PBS show, February 2003
A PBS profile of the Rt. Rev. George Packard, the Episcopal
Church's bishop suffragan for the armed forces, is now available
both as a transcript and streaming video from the website
of Religion & Ethics NewsWeekly. The profile, which ran
on PBS stations on February 14, highlights Packard's experiences
as a highly decorated second lieutenant in the US Army during
the Vietnam conflict.
Religion
& Ethics Newsweekly Profile of Bishop Packard
To
read Phil Jones' complete interview with Bishop Packard
Statement
by Bishop Packard on name change for office, January 2003
“After
a full year has passed since September 11, 2001, we are still
taking stock of things. As this Christmas season approaches
- one that might usher in a Guard/Reserves call-up - I would
describe the general atmosphere of this episcopacy as "attentive
and very active." That comes as no surprise, I'm sure, since
all the domains - military, health, criminal justice, and
public safety - have had some part to play in the alerts and
operational intensities of these days......”
Read More
Ex-Soldier,
Now a Bishop, Deals With Blood on His Hands
December 20, 2002
By CHRIS HEDGES
RYE, N.Y., Dec. 15 - Bishop George E. Packard has a burden.
He carries it with him. There are times in his sleep when
it overpowers him and wakes him in agitation. There are days
when stress mounts. And in the ticking of the clock, the
race toward oblivion
that is the fate of all human beings, he seeks atonement in
everything he does as a husband, a father and an Episcopal
priest.
Read More
The Presiding Bishop's Christmas
message for December 2002
November 19, 2002
Jesus' birth is God's declaration that embodiment is the way
of divine dealing with our disordered and darkened world.
Through this divine act of incarnation, Jesus became an actor
in the particular time and place in which he was born. And,
his personhood became a sign to us about the meaning of our
own personhood in our own day and time.
Our forebears in the faith saw this clearly. Against the background
of the sacking of Rome, Augustine the Bishop of Hippo challenged
his flock "you are the body of Christ; that is to say in you
and through you the method and work of the incarnation must
go forward. You are to be taken, you are to be consecrated,
broken and distributed that you may become the means of grace
and vehicles of the eternal charity."
By his choice of verbs it is clear that Augustine had in mind
not only that we are made one in Christ through our baptism,
but also each time we take the bread of life and the cup of
salvation in the eucharist. By so doing we, along with the
bread and wine, are caught up into Jesus' act of taking, blessing,
breaking and giving.
Another ancestor in the faith, Maximus the Confessor, reinforces
our identification with Christ when he declares "I diminish
and cripple [Christ] by not growing in spirit with him, since
I am 'the body of Christ and one of its members.'"(1 Cor 12:27)
As we once again celebrate the mystery of God's embodiment
in the birth of Jesus, in a fractured and fearful world, rather
than being a diminishment of Christ, may we be made part of
the going forward of Christ's incarnation by becoming more
fully vehicles of God's "eternal charity" which is realized
among us as mercy and truth, righteousness and peace.
A blessed Christmas to you all.
Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold III
November 20, 2002
2002-265
Meeting the troops: Bishop Packard visits
armed forces in
Asia and Kuwait
by Jerry Hames (Episcopal Life)
Bishop George Packard, who returned from a tour of U.S. armed
forces troops in Asia and Kuwait last month, said he was impressed
by how well-trained, how alert and especially how young the
men and women were who are serving their country overseas.
The bishop for the armed services spent three weeks touring
Guam, Japan, Korea and Kuwait as part of his responsibility
to maintain contact with Episcopal chaplains, support their
work and conduct confirmations.
Packard, who was an infantry officer in Vietnam, said he found
the situation in Korea as tense as that in Kuwait, after an
incident in which one soldier was killed and two other injured
in a skirmish on a nearby island.
"The visit to the men and women of the Eighth Army [in Korea]
had more gravity than at other times," he said. "Everyone said
that recent revelations about nuclear capability to the north
was not new, but just confirmed their suspicions."
In Kuwait, U.S. Army Chaplain Maj. Robert Neske emphasized the
precarious nature of that country's geography, a land carved
from a British protectorate for its petroleum-producing capabilities.
"Everything is about an hour's drive away," said Packard. "Saudi
Arabia to the south, Iran to the northeast, the Gulf to the
east and, of course, Iraq to the west."
Neske, who joined the Army chaplaincy in 1986, is at Camp Doha,
whose troop strength ebbs and flows as troops pass through,
augmenting those assigned there. Eight thousand were there when
he visited, Packard said. He described the camp, 45 minutes
from Kuwait City, as a collection of warehouses created as a
support facility after the Gulf War. When Neske arrived in June
2002, it was a routine hardship tour for the chaplain. Now,
that has changed.
"Bob's responsibilities are enormous, particularly the potential
amidst an unfolding drama with Iraq," explained Packard, who
said that for every man and woman on active duty, four are from
reserve units or the National Guard.
"There is very great need for a chaplain here," said Packard.
"There are many active opportunities for ministry."
"These are kids who have never been in combat before," he added.
"There's a factor of boredom, a lot of time just to think, to
worry about home and to become depressed. Their presence here
has drawn them from all congregations across our country."
In Kuwait, in keeping with the tradition of Muslims, Packard
officiated Thursday through Friday at major chapel services
that included a 30th-anniversary celebration of Neske's diaconal
vows.
He also was driven to Arijan, a support-base-in-the-making closer
to the front, to greet troops, including those from a National
Guard's engineers' unit from Paris, Tennessee, that is responsible
for heavy combat, perimeter security and mine-clearing.
Packard praised the chaplains' work. "My favorite image was
of our chaplain in Kuwait stopping, taking a young soldier into
the shade of a vehicle and listening intently," he said.
·
Jerry Hames is editor of Episcopal Life
Christmas Card Project
 |
Last year, hundreds of children in Episcopal Sunday Schools
and Day Schools responded to a request to make Christmas cards
for the men and women of our armed services who were serving
on active duty. The cards were distributed by Episcopal military
chaplains, who reported back to us that the military personnel
were overwhelmed by this outpouring of love from the children
of the Episcopal Church.
The Rt. Rev. George Packard (Bishop for the Armed Services,
Healthcare and Prison Ministries) has asked that we again
request cards from our children for those serving their country
in near and far-off places. Please send the cards from your
church in one packet and be sure that the name and address
of the church are on the outside of the envelope or box. They
should be mailed to:
Christmas Card Project
Office of the Bishop for the Armed Services, Healthcare and
Prison Ministries
The Episcopal Church Center
815 Second Avenue
New York, NY 10017
Please send cards as soon as possible for overseas distribution
and for ships at sea, and no later than December 8, 2002 for
domestic distribution.
The Christmas Card Project is spearheaded by Bishop Packard's
Office and Episcopal Relief and Development, with help from
other offices at the Episcopal Church Center.
The following is an excerpt from a
homily delivered by Bishop Packard at the West Coast Conference
in Santa Barbara, 14-18 October 2002
"It is our work (restoration and reconciliation) which
brings us back bit by bit to the way God wants it to be.
A litanist recently prayed for our chaplains as “those who
carry the grace of the gospel to those in need.” I am struck
by the ‘portability’ of that calling and how it emphasizes
flexibility and mobility. Chaplains have a unique work in
God’s project of restoration in that way.
Portability infers leaving the security of supports and
travelling. Isolation and maybe loneliness are companions
in this work. So just as we are called to restore others
we are asked to restore ourselves. Unfortunately that always
seems to be the ‘second best’ exercise for those oriented
to help others. Recently a chaplain explained to me that
his choice of duty assignment was based on spurning anything
that seemed to have a personal preference (including family
and vocational development) to it. I disagreed.
Discernment for time with oneself or doing God’s work should
always acknowledge God thinking of you as whole. When you
contemplate ‘sacrifice’ it should not mean ‘subtraction.’
The evil one is forever re-portraying our over-production
as noble sacrifice and then we eventually lose balance and
our way. The ever-present task is to be open—as Mark
McIntosh says—to the new self pressing upon us and
wanting to come into being. It is not that we are being
selfish, McIntosh continues, it is that we are centered
only on the self that we know, not on the Christness yet
to be." +gep
IT'S OFFICIAL
Here's the official announcement released by Her Majesty
Queen Elizabeth II.
The Queen has nominated Dr Rowan Williams to be the 104th
Archbishop of Canterbury. He will succeed Dr George Carey
who is retiring at the end of October after eleven and a half
years as Archbishop.
Dr Williams, aged 52, is currently Archbishop of Wales and
Bishop of Monmouth. He is expected to be enthroned as Archbishop
of Canterbury in the early part of 2003.
He said today: "An enormous trust has been placed in my hands,
and I can only approach it with a degree of awe as well as
gratitude that I have been thought worthy of it. Archbishop
Carey has set a very high standard in his selfless work for
unity and understanding within the Anglican Communion; I shall
have a fine example to follow as I learn how to approach this
task.
"I hope with all my heart that I can serve to nurture confidence
and conviction in our Church, and to help Christian faith
to capture the imagination of our people and our culture.
"My wife and I have been supported by the generous prayers
and good wishes of so many people, and we want to express
our thanks for such support: this is not a job to be undertaken
in solitary splendour! I have much to learn, and hope that
I shall discover how God is leading the Anglican Church, and
how I can best co-operate with that leading."
Dr Carey, who is currently in the United States, issued the
following statement: "I greet the news that the Archbishop
of Wales, Dr Rowan Williams, has accepted Her Majesty's offer
of the post of Archbishop of Canterbury with joy.
"Rowan will bring to this demanding office great abilities
as a theologian and as an experienced Primate of the Anglican
Communion. He and his wife, Jane, can count on my support
and that of my wife, Eileen, as well as our prayers and good
wishes in the days ahead."
The Archbishop of York, Dr David Hope, said: "I look forward
to working with Rowan Williams as Archbishop of Canterbury
and assure him and his family of my prayers at this time.
"The relationship between the two archbishops of Canterbury
and York has traditionally been important. I hope that together
we may develop a creative and collaborative partnership in
the service of the whole church and for the fulfilment of
the ministry and mission entrusted to us all."
 |
|
|
|
 |
| David
and Sherry Somerville |
|
|
|
Dave
Stricker tells Bob Neske an old joke.
Gay Stricker patiently looks on. |
 |
| Lathrop
Utley, now our sole priest
at Fort Jackson |
 |
|
|
|
 |
| Hosts
Linda and Lou Scales |
|
|
|
Ev
and Norma Green |
 |
|
|
|
 |
| Bill
and (recently ordained!) Susan Wright |
|
|
|
Phil
Rapp and Allen Brown converse |
Presiding
Bishop's letter to the bishops
on military strikes October 8, 2001
For the House of Bishops
Dear
brothers and sisters:
I write to you in this sober moment when military action has
just begun in an effort to put a stop to terrorist activities.
This morning I sent a letter to Secretary Powell, as a word
of encouragement and to assure him of my prayers and concern
for him, and also to let him know of the commitment of our
bishops to waging reconciliation. I sent him a copy of our
statement from our September meeting Burlington, Vermont:
On Waging Reconciliation. I enclose a copy with this letter
as some bishops not with us in Vermont may not have seen it.
I encourage diocesan bishops who have not done so to pass
the statement along to clergy and congregations.
As
I shared with the House while we were in Burlington, I have
asked the Rt. Rev. Arthur Walmsley, retired Bishop of Connecticut,
to coordinate the activities flowing out from our statement.
Arthur has graciously agreed to give us time through the March
meeting of the House of Bishops to serve as Coordinator of
the House of Bishops Reconciliation Initiative. At the March
meeting we will look at what has already been accomplished
and consider future strategies, which are being developed
over these next months.
Listening
to the reports yesterday, and the various news analyses, I
thought again of our discussions at our September meeting
on how we inhabit multiple realities, and must make room for
the inevitable ambiguities of complex situations. In particular,
I thought that at this moment there are those who are very
clear that the military strikes are the appropriate course.
And, on the other hand there are those who believe that such
military actions only fan the flames of terrorism and expose
innocent people to harm. My hope is that those who believe
the strikes are the proper course will not see those who disagree
as unpatriotic, and that those who think military action is
unwise will not see those of the other view as war-mongering
or simply seeking revenge. We as one nation need to be mindful
not to dismiss or caricature one another's point of view at
this difficult and anxious time. I hope that we as bishops
can wage reconciliation in this moment: helping to make plain
that the various perspectives individuals hold on what we
should or should not do as a nation come out of a deep place
of desiring what is best for the country and the world. Let
us pray for peace in the world, and for ourselves - that we
may be instruments of that peace.
Yours in Christ,
Frank T. Griswold
Presiding Bishop and Primate
On
waging reconciliation
We, your bishops, have come together in the shadow of the
shattering events of September 11. We in the United States
now join that company of nations in which ideology disguised
as true religion wreaks havoc and sudden death. Through this
suffering, we have come into a new solidarity with those in
other parts of the world for whom the evil forces of terrorism
are a continuing fear and reality.
We grieve with those who have lost companions and loved ones,
and pray for those who have so tragically died. We pray for
the President of the United States, his advisors, and for
the members of Congress that they may be given wisdom and
prudence for their deliberations and measured patience in
their actions. We pray for our military chaplains, and for
those serving in the Armed Forces along with their families
in these anxious and uncertain days. We also pray "for our
enemies, and those who wish us harm; and for all whom we have
injured or offended." (BCP, page 391)
At the same time we give thanks for the rescue workers and
volunteers, and all those persons whose courageous efforts
demonstrated a generosity and selflessness that bears witness
to the spirit of our nation at its best. We give thanks too
for all those who are reaching out to our Muslim brothers
and sisters and others who are rendered vulnerable in this
time of fear and recrimination.
We come together also in the shadow of the cross: that unequivocal
sign that suffering and death are never the end but the way
along which we pass into a future in which all things will
be healed and reconciled. Through Christ "God was pleased
to reconcile to himself all things whether on earth or in
heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross." (Col.
1:20) This radical act of peace-making is nothing less than
the right ordering of all things according to God's passionate
desire for justness, for the full flourishing of humankind
and all creation.
This peace has already been achieved in Christ, but it has
yet to be realized in our relationships with one another and
the world around us. As members of a global community and
the worldwide Anglican Communion, we are called to bear one
another's burdens across the divides of culture, religion,
and differing views of the world. The affluence of nations
such as our own stands in stark contrast to other parts of
the world wracked by the crushing poverty which causes the
death of 6,000 children in the course of a morning.
We are called to self-examination and repentance: the willingness
to change direction, to open our hearts and give room to God's
compassion as it seeks to bind up, to heal, and to make all
things new and whole. God's project, in which we participate
by virtue of our baptism, is the ongoing work of reordering
and transforming the patterns of our common life so they may
reveal God's justness - not as an abstraction but in bread
for the hungry and clothing for the naked. The mission of
the Church is to participate in God's work in the world. We
claim that mission.
"I have set before you life and death...choose life so that
you and your descendants may live," declares Moses to the
children to Israel. We choose life and immediately set ourselves
to the task of developing clear steps that we will take personally
and as a community of faith, to give substance to our resolve
and embodiment to our hope. We do so not alone but trusting
in your own faithfulness and your desire to be instruments
of peace.
Let us therefore wage reconciliation. Let us offer our gifts
for the carrying out of God's ongoing work of reconciliation,
healing and making all things new. To this we pledge ourselves
and call our church.
We go forth sober in the knowledge of the magnitude of the
task to which we have all been called, yet confident and grounded
in hope. "And hope does not disappoint us, because God's love
has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that
has been given to us." (Romans 5:5)
"May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace in believing
through the power of the Holy Spirit." (Romans 15:13)
House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church
September 26, 2001
A
sermon preached by the Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold, Presiding
Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church, at St. Paul's
Cathedral, Burlington, Vermont
The Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost
Readings from the Revised Common Lectionary
Jeremiah 8:18-9:1 1
Timothy 2:1-7 Luke 16:1-13
My joy is gone, grief is upon me, my heart is sick…
When we find ourselves personally and corporately in "thin
places" as Evelyn Underhill calls them, it is often the words
of scripture, charged as they are with the joys and sorrows,
the burdens and yearnings of our forebears in faith that give
voice to that which is deep within us and name emotions of
which we may hardly be aware.
"My joy is gone, grief is upon me, my heart is sick." Jeremiah's
words are words of lamentation. "I weep day and night for
the slain of my poor people." Lamentation is a mode of biblical
speech which is all too familiar in many parts of our world
where "violence, battle and murder" are daily realities. Our
brothers and sisters from the Sudan are witnesses to this
terrible truth. And now lamentation has become real among
us.
By virtue of the events of September 11, we now in the U.S.
join that company of nations in which ideology disguised as
true religion wreaks havoc and sudden death. The invincible
is shown to be vulnerable and in that moment the door is opened
which, if we choose to pass through it, will lead us beyond
death and destruction into a new solidarity with those for
whom the evil and satanic forces of terrorism are a continuing
fear and reality.
Lamentation, however, is not an end in itself, but rather
it opens the way to the question "why?" which leads in turn
to self-scrutiny and self-examination. What might we learn
from what we have suffered and are suffering - about ourselves,
and about ourselves in relationship to others? How has our
consciousness been altered by what has come down so suddenly
and violently upon us? What invitation emerges from that terrible
fire-filled day to engage us not simply as Americans but as
persons of faith?
In the gospel reading we have just heard Jesus declares that
no slave can serve two masters and therefore we cannot serve
God and wealth. What Jesus is pointing to when he speaks about
service is what we might call the ground of our personal allegiance,
the desire of our heart at its most radical depth: the fundamental
orientation of my life.
If our life is ordered to God, we find ourselves caught up
in God's mercy and compassion. God's "fierce bonding love,"
a mercy and compassion and love which stretches and expands
us: cracks open our hearts of stone and transforms them into
hearts of flesh - hearts capable of embracing others in the
strength of God's all embracing compassion.
Many centuries ago, St. Isaac of Syria, one of the great wisdom
figures of the Eastern Church, raised the question: what is
a merciful and compassionate heart? He answered the question
in this way.
It is a heart which burns with love for the whole of creation:
for humankind, for the birds, for the beasts, for the demons,
for every creature. When persons with a heart such as this
think of the creatures or look at them, their eyes are filled
with tears. An overwhelming compassion makes their heart grow
small and weak, and they cannot endure to hear or see any
suffering, even the smallest pain, inflicted upon any creature.
Therefore they never cease to pray with tears even for the
irrational animals, for the enemies of truth and for those
who do them evil asking that those for whom they pray may
be guarded and receive God's mercy. And for the reptiles also
they pray with a great compassion, which rises up endlessly
in their hearts until they shine again and are glorious like
God.
This all embracing compassion which can include beasts and
demons, enemies and reptiles, is beyond our effort and imagination;
it is a gift. It is the consequence of Christ being formed
in us, our being conformed to Christ, which is what our baptism
into Christ and our weekly sharing of the eucharist is all
about.
To serve God, therefore, is not about a frantic execution
of self-chosen tasks that we hope will please the Almighty,
but about the mind and heart of Christ being worked in us
by the Spirit so that our compassion, our just-ness are revelatory
of the One who, from the cross, draws the world: all people
and all things to himself - in his loving embrace.
A life ordered to wealth yields a very different fruit. Whereas
compassion turns us outward in relationship to the world around
us, wealth on its own disconnects us and turns us in on ourselves
in self-serving defensiveness. And here wealth is not simply
money but it includes such things as status, ethnicity, color,
education, culture, nationality, religion and more.
Wealth is both personal and corporate. We speak for example
of our nation's wealth and from it follows what we call "our
national interests" which are to be defended at all costs.
In the light of the traumatic events of these past days which
have claimed and touched so many lives - the lives not only
of our own citizens but those of other nations as well - are
we not in a sprit of lamentation invited to ask questions
about ourselves and, as a nation, engage in the solemn task
of self-examination?
Unquestionably, the attack on September 11 was an evil and
deranged act fuelled by a satanic zeal in which God the Compassionate
One is transmuted into a God of suicide, murder and destruction.
That being clearly said, is there not, as we seek to build
a coalition of nations to join us in a war on terrorism, an
invitation to examine our national interests in relationship
to the global community of which we are a part?
In what ways do our own interests and their uncritical pursuit
affect other nations and the welfare of their people? How
are we as a nation "under God," as we call ourselves, being
invited to reorder our life according to God's compassion
for "humankind and for every creature"?
We, who so easily quit the global table when the conditions
are not to our liking or do not serve our economic interests,
are called to yield our wealth in service to God's all-embracing
compassion, which is the heart of God's just-ness and God's
desire for the world. Just as our efforts to disarm terrorism
will require discipline and sacrifice, so too will the reordering
of our national interests to serve the global family of which
we are now a part in a new and vulnerable way.
The way of compassion transfigures and heals not simply those
to whom it is directed, but those who practice it. Those who
allow God's compassion to well up in their hearts "shine and
are glorious like God," or as Isaiah says of those who inhabit
compassion: "Your light shall break forth like the dawn; and
your healing shall spring up quickly."
God's project, and therefore the Church's mission, is one
of reconciliation: "to restore all people to unity with God
and each other in Christ." And God's compassion, God's mercy,
God's loving kindness, God's fierce bonding love is the active
principle that effects reconciliation: the gathering up of
all things into a unity in which difference is both honored
and reconciled in the fullness of God's ever creative imagination.
May each of us who have been baptized into Christ be given
a compassionate heart in the service of reconciliation, and
may we as a nation seek our healing not through revenge and
retaliation, but by "sharing our bread with the hungry" across
the world. Only in that way can our light truly break forth
like the dawn, and our healing spring up quickly. Amen.
September
11 attacks
'We are called to another way':
Presiding Bishop Griswold on the September 11 attacks
The events of this morning in New York City and Washington,
D.C. make me keenly aware that violence knows no boundaries
and that security is an illusion. To witness the collapse
of the World Trade Center was to confront not only our vulnerability
as a nation in spite of our power, but also the personal vulnerability
of each of us to events and circumstances that overtake us.
My heart goes out to those who have been killed or injured,
and to their stunned and grieving families and friends.
Our President has vowed to hunt down and punish those who
are responsible for these depraved and wicked acts. Many are
speaking of revenge. Never has it been clearer to me than
in this moment that people of faith, in virtue of the Gospel
and the mission of the Church, are called to be about peace
and the transformation of the human heart, beginning with
our own. I am not immune to emotions of rage and revenge,
but I know that acting on them only perpetuates the very violence
I pray will be dissipated and overcome.
Last week I was in Dublin where I found myself convicted by
the photograph of a young girl in Northern Ireland being taken
to school amid taunts and expressions of hatred because she
was Roman Catholic. I know the situation in Northern Ireland
is complex, and that religion is a convenient way of ordering
hatred and justifying violence, but the tears running down
the little girl's terrified face spoke to me of all the violence
we commit in word and deed against one another - sometimes
in the name of our God whose passionate desire is for the
wellbeing and flourishing of all.
Expressions of concern and prayer have poured into my office
from many parts of the world, in some instances from people
who themselves are deeply wounded by continuing violence and
bloodshed. I pray that the events of today will invite us
to see ourselves as a great nation not in terms of our power
and wealth but measured by our ability to be in solidarity
with others where violence has made its home and become a
way of life.
Yes, those responsible must be found and punished for their
evil and disregard for human life, but through the heart of
this violence we are called to another way. May our response
be to engage with all our hearts and minds and strength in
God's project of transforming the world into a garden, a place
of peace where swords can become plowshares and spears are
changed into pruning hooks.
The Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church
September 11, 2001
Homily by The Rt. Rev. George E.
Packard Bishop for the Armed Services, Healthcare and Prison
Ministries
Easter VII, 27
May 2001
National Cathedral
I Samuel 12:19-20, John 17:20-26
As
a boy I recall Memorial Day when the whole town turned out
as we marched to the high school where the plaque honoring
the war dead was located. It was hot, we'd practiced with
the flags, and a lot of people gave short speeches. There'd
be a clergyman there, too, who looked uncomfortable and out
of place. I also remember an older woman, Lily, who brought
a flower that she placed in front of the memorial after the
ceremony. We used to call her, "Lily with her lily." After
one long-winded series of speeches she said, "My, I never
had to wait that long!" And, as she bent down to place the
flower, "I'll never forget you."
As
I grew older and listened more intently to what the clergy
had to say (and even listened to what I had to say), it became
less informative and just plain irritating. The prayer usually
addressed the sacrifices of those who had served-probably
the only accurate thing in the prayer-but before long there
were phrases like, "this great land", and, "enabling our country
to remain free." It sounded like an Amway promotion and not
a memorial ceremony. I think it's because many ministers seem
to adapt on this special day, abandoning their unique societal
role by awkwardly participating in this exercise of civic
religion.
In
our country there has always been a healthy suspicion of government.
Think of this as an odd, yet noble, principal: that there
be an allowance for dissent and a freedom to harass the same
government, which grants protection. When it came to clergy
the founders intended that this alienation would be part of
the culture. This Republic allowed for religion "to be around"
but not close, advising, semi-official, but separate. In short,
to act as appointed outsiders, strangers, in the society.
The
prophet Samuel models this attitude in the Old Testament lesson.
The prophets are unique to our tradition and they distinguish
it by their presence. They rise from nowhere with urgency
and they tell us not to miss our real destiny with God through
a sincere worship.
The
selection we have heard this morning is a quick glimpse of
an ongoing argument Samuel had with the Israelites about whether
they should have a king. "Distraction and demagoguery can
only result from such a political commitment", Samuel would
say. Finally he relents and anoints Saul as king. And then
things get complicated.
A
touching exchange is summarized in verses 20-22 where Samuel
assures an anxious people that they still do have God's love,
and further, in verse 23, he assures them of his prayers despite
the fact they are in a worrisome state with this new earthly
ruler. Samuel remains on the outside and the accommodations
are awkward.
Likewise,
religion is a stranger in the life of America bringing about
this unsettled nature of things: chaplains wearing uniforms
as officers in the military, court orders about the pledge
of allegiance and prayer in public schools, Congress never
beginning a daily session without the chaplain offering prayer.
God is on our coinage yet we spurn religious influence in
our political system.
But
what else is Samuel saying?
He had an extraordinary resistance to kingship. For Samuel
the idea was an anathema to the very idea of God; the two
thoughts could not exist in the same moment. Was this merely
the primitive religion giving way to the requirements of a
civilized society; after all, neighboring states had rulers?
There's a deeper issue. It is whether God will forget them
as this choice is made. For the Israelites this was a profound
thought. They had been through challenging days when they
nearly forgot God, and that is what the rumble of thunderstorms
echo in their collective lives (see preceding verse 18). Our
intemperance in God's presence is always shown up by the enormity
of God's view.
(I
thought this was dramatically portrayed right here in this
sanctuary in the TV show, "West Wing." In this episode, Martin
Sheen as the President railed against God and still the enormous,
expansive beauty of a cathedral of God remained. Anger before
the Almighty and to wrestle with God's importance is a given,
yet that we can be impertinent enough to express it-and God
remains God-is re-experienced by each generation.)
So, to forget God was a daring thought, for it meant to forget
the very sense of themselves, entering a wasteland of meaninglessness.
In that context Samuel's gentle assurances that God is here
and he, Samuel, will pray for them too, has an endearing sense
to it.
The
Gospel lesson guarantees this continuing embrace by God in
another way. It is the prayer of Our Lord at his final meal
and into the Ascension itself, addressing the Church as it
is now and as it will be. It is the response everyone wants
to hear at parting; an affirmation that no one will separated.
We are to seek, find, and serve Christ.
Memorial Day prayers should search diligently for the words
said in the lives of those who have died. It is the dead of
our country who have gone to war and have much to say, helping
us to reach the hidden, shut off core, the germ of our national
self. That discovery will lead us to call it back into being;
an innocent self of bright optimism and hope in the future,
of not having the answers to questions, yet seeking to find
them.
George
Orwell observed at another time that we, in a democracy, should
make our peace with the fact that rough men stand ready in
the night to do violence to those who would do us harm. Gazing
on the young people of our Armed Services today no one doubts
their grit but they seem far from such a characterization.
They are the cocky, self-assured, awkward, uncertain, precious
commodities that stand proudly in the shoes of the young patriots
before them. Indeed, that is what this Memory Day also embraces:
young lives now committed to service with discipline, and
character.
I do a lot of travelling; in addition to field deployments,
I visit the post/base exchange where I meet young people,
particularly at the fast food courts. There are often families,
but mostly they are men and women in their 20's; with stories
of serving along the DMZ in Korea, shipping out in the Mediterranean,
or warming themselves around a stove in Kosovo.
This
generation is born in the Information Age, can't remember
JFK, and Vietnam was not their war. They know Desert Storm
as a high tech romp. They are good with computer games and
expect their training to be at least on a par with the visuals
and graphics that are available in the culture. The most dominant
factor in their lives? MTV. They are the "Armed Forces", not
a collection of dated hardware on parade, and that has been
true in all wars.
Ironically America hides from that of kind innocence when
Memorial Day occurs. Usually it is hidden with patriotic posturing.
When
I first visited the Vietnam Memorial it was near dusk. As
you know the Memorial begins alongside the path that follows
the granite sculpture as it grows from ankle height to well
over twelve feet. As you walk, only a few names accompany
you at first but as you proceed, the wall size increases and
so do the number of dead men and women. The count grows and
grows.
(Sometimes statistics are cited indiscriminately these days:
stacking numbers up once in awhile would probably do us good.
As the Bishop of Prisons, I talk with many people in the criminal
justice field. I was fascinated as one official cited as "understandable"
that 1-2% of all those on death row might be "mistakenly"
executed.)
I
have friend on that wall, Tony, Panel G, line 45. A strange
place to seek bygone, youthful days. As the light receded,
it got darker; it was hard to search for his name so I had
to fumble around with my fingertips.
On Memorial Day we kill off parts of our national self by
thrusting it into the dark. Disengaged from feeling we flounder
around until phrases like the "great nation", and, "make this
country free" are recited, or, some validation-as was done
recently by our Secretary of Defense-that more expenditure
on military hardware is warranted.
Why does this happen? I hold veterans responsible of which
I am one. I've been known to tell some war stories in my day,
and when I do, I still "soldier" those memories. Philip Caputo
in "Rumors of War" wrote, "I could protest as loudly as the
most convinced activist, but I could not deny the grip the
war had on me, nor the fact that it had been an experience
as fascinating as it was repulsive, as exhilarating as it
was sad, as tender as it was cruel."
Curiously
war itself continues to disfigure the Memory Day. Torn between
fascination and repulsion, exhilaration and sadness, tenderness
and cruelty most veterans find haven at one pole or the other.
I can tell you of the conversion of this veteran. It was in
standing before the window in the Chapel at Camp LeJeune and
reading of the Fourth Marine Division's losses and then being
on the cliffs of Saipan and Guam, seeing where the bodies
fell in sacrifice. It was standing at the Baptismal Font in
the Memorial Chapel, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas where nearly
every available foot of wall space has a tablet of memory,
and in particular, reading of how entire families were wiped
out in conflict. These were the simple exercises of recalling
the persons who served in the intensity of their moments.
You
can feel the deep sorrow over these deaths and you can feel
the determination, now, to search, find and hold onto their
memories, without distraction. I think of Lily with her lily.
This lays upon us the resolute thoughts of how honored we
are to have received their ultimate service. +gep
The Cab Ride
Recently Bishop Packard attended the annual
Awards Lunch for VA Chaplains, where our own Chaplain Bill
Mahedy received the Chaplain of the Year award in the full-time
category. The luncheon speaker was Dr. Thomas L. Garthwaite, Under Secretary
for Health. The following
is an excerpt from his speech.
Twenty years ago, I drove a cab for a living. It was a cowboy’s life, a life for someone
who wanted no boss. What
I didn’t realize was that it was also a ministry.
Because I drove the night shift, my cab became a moving
confessional. Passengers
climbed in, sat behind me in total anonymity, and told me
about their lives. I encountered people whose lives amazed me,
ennobled me, made me laugh and weep.
But none touched me more than a woman I picked up late
one August night.
I was responding to a call from a small brick
four-plex in a quiet part of town.
I assumed I was being sent to pick up some partiers,
or someone who had just had a fight with a lover, or a worker
heading to an early shift at some factory for the industrial
part of town.
When I arrived at 2:30 a.m., the building
was dark except for a single light in a ground floor window.
Under these circumstances, many drivers would just
honk once or twice, wait a minute, then drive away.
But I had seen too many impoverished people who depended
on taxis as their only means of transportation.
Unless a situation smelled of danger, I always went
to the door. This
passenger might be someone who needs my assistance, I reasoned
to myself. So I walked
to the door and knocked.
“Just a minute,” answered a frail, elderly voice.
I could hear something being dragged across the floor.
After a long pause, the door opened.
A small woman in her 80s stood before me. She was wearing a print dress and a pillbox hat with a veil pinned
on it, like somebody out of a 1940s movie. By her side was a small nylon suitcase. The apartment looked as if no one had lived in it for years. All the furniture was covered with sheets.
There were no clocks on the walls, no knickknacks or
utensils on the counters.
In the corner was a cardboard box filled with photos
and glassware
“Would you carry my bag out to the car?”
she said. I took the suitcase to the car, then returned
to assist the woman. She
took my arm and we talked slowly toward the curb.
She kept thanking me for my kindness.
“It’s nothing,” I told her.
“I just try to treat my passengers the way I would
want my mother treated.”
“Oh, you’re such a good boy,” she said.
When we got in the cab, she gave me an address,
then asked, “Could
you drive through downtown?”
“It’s not the shortest way,” I answered quickly.
“Oh, I don’t mind,” she said. “I’m in no hurry. I’m on
my way to a hospice.” I
looked in the rearview mirror.
Her eyes were glistening.
“I don’t have any family left,” she continued.
“The doctor says I don’t have very long.”
I quietly reached over and shut off the meter.
“What route would you like me to take?” I asked.
For the next two hours, we drove through
the city. She showed me the building where she had once
worked as an elevator operator.
We drove through the neighborhood where she and her
husband had lived when they were newlyweds.
She had me pull up in front of a furniture warehouse
that had once been a ballroom where she had gone dancing as
a girl. Sometimes
she’d ask me to slow in front of a particular building or
corner and would sit staring into the darkness, saying nothing.
As the first hint of sun was creasing the
horizon, she suddenly said, “I’m tired.
Let’s go now.” We drove in silence to the address she had
given me. It was a
low building, like a small convalescent home, with a driveway
that passed under a portico. Two orderlies came out to the cab as soon as
we pulled up. They
were solicitous and intent, watching her every move.
They must have been expecting her.
I opened the trunk and took the small suitcase to the
door. The woman was already seated in a wheelchair.
“How much do I owe you?” she asked, reaching
into her purse.
“Nothing.” I said.
“You have to make a living,” she answered.
“There are other passengers,” I responded. Almost without thinking, I bent and gave her
a hug. She held onto
me tightly.
“You gave an old woman a little moment of
joy,” she said. “Thank
you.” I squeezed her hand, then walked into the dim
morning light. Behind
me, a door shut. It
was the sound of the closing of a life.
I didn’t pick up any more passengers that shift.
I drove aimlessly, lost in thought.
For the rest of that day, I could hardly talk.
What if that woman had gotten an angry driver, or one
who was impatient to end his shift? What if I had refused to take the run, or had
honked once, and then driven away?
On a quick review, I don’t think that I have done anything
more important in my life.
We’re conditioned to think that our lives revolve around
great moments. But great moments often catch us unaware, beautifully wrapped in
what others may consider a small one.
People may not remember exactly what you
did, or what you said, but they will always remember how you
made them feel.
Executive Council Resolution
on Capital Punishment
Trinity Sunday, 10 June 2001
RESOLVED,
that the Executive Council commit ourselves, and call upon
all members of the Church, to strengthen efforts to abolish
the death penalty, and at the same time find the sensitive
capacity to stand with the friends and families of murder
victims as they struggle to redeem this tragedy in their lives,
and it is further
RESOLVED, that just as we commit ourselves to work vigorously
in this effort as we go back to our communities, we call upon
the Episcopal Church to pursue and work vigorously for an
immediate moratorium and the subsequent abolition of the death
penalty in all states and the federal system.
Explanation
We, the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church, meeting
in Salt Lake City, Utah, June 2001, when the whole nation
is intensely focused on the execution of Timothy McVeigh,
and on the issue of capital punishment, call for a nationwide
moratorium on the death penalty.
The Episcopal Church in the United States of America has long
opposed capital punishment, and at the most recent General
Convention (2000) reaffirmed the Church's opposition to the
death penalty. In our baptismal covenant, we respect the dignity
of every human being, and commit ourselves to strive for justice
and peace among all people. The Church will continue to decry
the revenge of state-sanctioned homicides. We abhor the racism
and economic injustices evident in our criminal justice system.
