Diolog: House Of Bishops, Pet Blessings, Janie Stevens and more.

 

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House of Bishops Leaving Taiwan With 'Hearts And Minds Expanded' Members of the House of Bishops are leaving their meeting here with an expanded view of ministry of the Episcopal and Anglican churches in Asia."This meeting has offered abundant opportunities to expand our vision of what is possible as we engage God's mission," Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said.

Presiding Bishop Announces She Will Not Stand For Reelection The Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori has announced that she will not seek reelection. "I believe I can best serve this Church by opening the door for other bishops to more freely discern their own vocation to this ministry," said Jefferts Schori. The full announcement can be found here.  St. James', Austin, Hosts 2014 Racial Reconciliation Gala On Friday St. James' invites the community to attend the 2014 Gala on September 26, 2014 at the UT Alumni Center to celebrate and recommit to the work of racial reconciliation in Austin. Featured speaker Dr. Gregory Vincent is Vice President for Diversity and Community Engagement at the University of Texas. Purchase tickets here. UBE Past, Present, Future At St. James', Houston, September 27 All are invited to a celebration of the Union of Black Episcopalians on Saturday, September 27 at St. James', Houston, featuring UBE National President, Annette Buchanan. The service begins at 11 a.m., followed by a panel discussion, "An Intergenerational Perspective on the Church's Mission For People of Color," at 1 p.m. Click here to learn more.  Register Now for ECW Annual Retreat, October 17-19 The 113th Annual Retreat for Women in the Episcopal Diocese of Texas will be held at Camp Allen, October 17-19. This fall event has been expanded to Friday through Sunday, with options to attend for one, two or all three days. More information, including registration, is available here.  World's Largest Climate Action March: Episcopalians Protest For Change On Sunday, Sept. 21, more than 310,000 people of all faiths and none joined the People's Climate March, the largest demonstration for climate action in history, while a series of religious events included a multifaith evening service at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York. Read more here. Episcopal Communicators Membership If you have communications responsibilities for your church, school or Episcopal institution, consider joining the national Episcopal Communicators, a professional organization that offers a robust network for sharing information and improving your communications skills. No one person can keep up with technology these days, but Episcopal Communicators has members who are experts in many different facets of reaching our audiences. Where the public knows "there's an app for that," Episcopal Communicators know "there's a member for that" question.  Besides this online network of cutting edge information and ideas, the group has an annual conference for continuing education. Each year, this is held in a different part of the country to take advantage of local talent for workshops and to allow access to those who may not be able to travel to every conference. The 2015 conference will be held at a retreat center in Maryland in April. Annual dues provide access to the online membership group, resources, eligibility to enter the annual Polly Bond Awards competition and a discount on the annual conference fee.  Dues are $80 but for a limited time, regular membership, open to anyone with communications responsibilities in the Episcopal Church at any level are $40. Join here and enter the discount code "membership." Carol E. Barnwell, diocesan communication director, is a past president of the organization and LaShane Eaglin, diocesan web master, currently serves on the board. If you have questions, please contact either Carol or LaShane.  Changes In The Church? Watch This Webcast October 2 The Task Force to Reimagine the Episcopal Church (TREC) will host a church-wide meeting on October 2 at 6:30 p.m. CST to receive responses to proposed recommendations to be brought forward to the 78th General Convention next summer. The meeting, webcast from Washington National Cathedral, will be available live at the Houston Diocesan Center, 1225 Texas St., Downtown Houston.   Seminary of the Southwest, 501 E 32nd St, Austin, TX 78705, will also host a viewing location beginning at 6:30 p.m. in Room 210. A discussion led by faculty will follow. Please contact Micah Jackson for more information.    Questions can be emailed to organizers during the event at  or via Twitter @ReimagineTEC. Please contact Kevin Thompson if you would like to attend this event at the Houston Diocesan Center. For more information on the webcast, visit the TREC website at http://reimaginetec.org/  St. Vincent's House Director To Be Installed The Rt. Rev. Jeff W. Fisher will install the Rev. Freda Marie Brown as the new Executive Director of St. Vincent's House at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday, September 27 at St. Vincent's House, 2817 Post Office St, Galveston, TX 77550. This will also be a celebration of the 60th anniversary of St. Vincent's House. Clergy are to wear white stoles. Open Enrollment Begins October 6 For those clergy and lay employees receiving benefits from the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, open enrollment will begin October 6. Click here for 2015 rate information and the Open Enrollment timeline and meeting schedule.  Reminder Regarding The Denominational Health Plan Parity Resolution Please review the important changes effective January 1, 2015. Click here for more information.  More Upcoming Events October 4 - St. Francis Day October 4-5 - Diocesan Adult Choral Festival, Christ Church Cathedral, Houston October 5-6 - Little Church Club Meeting, Camp Allen Click here for a full calendar. Need a Job? To see job opportunities, visit our employment page. UPDATES & CHANGES Change Email | Clergy Contact Changes | E-News Archive | Employment Opportunities | EDOT Gallery | Safe Church Training | Supply Clergy  | Update Church Info | People & Places

Christian Educator, Janie Stevens, Dies at 67 [more] Churches Prepare for Blessing of the Animals: Resources Available In Spanish And English [more] Drilling for Clean Water in Nicaragua [more] The Therapy Dogs of Houston Hospice [more] Spring Teen Puts Some Muscle into Mission [more]

 

Against the Tide - Forgiving as God Forgives. All Saints, Kowloon, China

Sermon preached at All Saints Cathedral, Kowloon.

Check out this episode!

Fwd: Episcopal Church House of Bishops Fall 2014 meeting: Daily Account for September 22

Media Release

The Episcopal Church
Office of Public Affairs

Episcopal Church House of Bishops Fall 2014 meeting: Daily Account for September 22

Episcopal Church House of Bishops Fall 2014 meeting:
Daily Account for Monday, September 22

The House of Bishops of The Episcopal Church is meeting in the Diocese of Taiwan from September 17 to September 23. The following is an account of the activities for September 22.

The theme for the fall meeting of the Episcopal Church House of Bishops is Expanding the Apostolic Imagination.

The day began with Eucharist, celebrated by Bishop Prince Singh of Rochester.  Preacher was HOB Chaplain the Rev. Stephanie Spellers of Long Island.  

The emcee for the day was Bishop Paul Lambert of Dallas.

Three presentations were offered during the morning session. The first was Theological Context and Mission Challenges in Japan was presented by Archbishop Nathaniel Uematsu of Nippon Sei Ko Kai (Anglican Church in Japan).

The second was Theological Context and Mission Challenges in Korea presented by Archbishop Paul Kim of the Anglican Church in Korea.

The morning session concluded with Theological Context and Mission Challenges in the Philippines presented by the Most Rev. Edward Malecdan, Prime Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the Philippines.

The afternoon private session featured three important updates, reports and discussion:

The Taskforce for Re-Imagining the Episcopal Church (TREC), presented by Bishop Sean Rowe of Northwest Pennsylvania/Bethlehem.

Task Force On the Study of Marriage , presented by Bishop Tom Ely of Vermont.

Joint Committee for the Nomination of the Presiding Bishop, presented by Bishop Edward Konieczny of Oklahoma.

Media Briefers for Monday, September 22
Bishop Edward Konieczny of Oklahoma
Bishop Mark Beckwith of Newark

Follow the bishops on Twitter: #HOBFall14

 

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Episcopal Church House of Bishops Fall 2014 meeting: Daily Account for Monday, September 22

Episcopal Church House of Bishops Fall 2014 meeting: Presiding Bishop¹s Sermon at St. John¹s Cathedral, Taiwan

Media Release

The Episcopal Church
Office of Public Affairs

Episcopal Church House of Bishops Fall 2014 meeting: Presiding Bishop's Sermon at St. John's Cathedral, Taiwan

Episcopal Church House of Bishops Fall 2014 meeting:
Presiding Bishop's Sermon at St. John's Cathedral, Taiwan

[September 21, 2014] The House of Bishops of The Episcopal Church is conducting its fall meeting in the Diocese of Taiwan September 17 – September 23.  On Sunday, September 21, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori preached at St. John's Cathedral, Taipei, Taiwan. The following is the sermon presented by Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori.

21 September 2014
St. John's Cathedral, Taipei, Taiwan
House of Bishops

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church

How do we decide that something is unfair?  Is it different than being unjust? 

When I was a child, we had family rules about sharing.  If there was one piece of cake to divide between two kids, one cut the cake and the other got to choose the first piece.  That was fair.  If we had company for dinner, the children were reminded that guests were served first, and we weren't supposed to ask for seconds until they had had all they wanted.  That was called hospitality.  But when we looked around and began to notice that some people never seemed to get anything, then we started to talk about injustice.

Fairness involves judgments about whether people get a similar portion of whatever goods are at hand; justice is about whether people get what they deserve. 

Jonah is royally ticked off because he thinks the Ninevites aren't getting what they deserve –they're not being punished for their evil ways.  God has given mercy rather than their just deserts.  When Jonah leaves the city to sulk, he enjoys the pure mercy of shade under a bush.  But when the bush withers, he gets mad, because he thinks he deserved its shade.  "Just kill me," he says, "I can't stand this – it's not fair!"  And God reminds him that the 120,000 Ninevites are worth a whole lot more than this blasted plant.  Mercy trumps justice, especially Jonah's understanding of justice.

Paul is sitting in a similar place as he writes to Philippi, but he has a very different reaction.  He is poised between life and death, but he's not nearly so anxious about the outcome.  Living or dead, he is with Christ, but if he's going to live, he decides he will use his life fruitfully, as a witness to good news.  Paul is not bound up in the fairness question.  He has a deep confidence in God's abounding mercy, whether he lives or dies, whether he suffers or flourishes.

The vineyard owner hires workers and treats them equally, whether they work all day or only an hour.  He sees that as justice – giving each one the necessary wage, to all their daily bread, "whatever is right."  But the ones who have worked all day long feel slighted – "those latecomers got more than they deserved!"

What is justice?  And what do we do when we discover that others believe that ultimate justice is a lot bigger or a lot smaller than our view of it?

Capital punishment is the human dilemma where this comes up most urgently.  Is it just?  Nation after nation has abolished the death penalty in recent years.  It's been ended in most nations where The Episcopal Church is present, starting with Venezuela in 1863.  Ecuador and Colombia eliminated it more than 100 years ago. Honduras in 1956.  Curaçao was the latest, in 2010.  Only the United States and Taiwan continue to execute people.  In the last three years, the United States has executed about 40 people a year, and 30 thus far in 2014, including Lisa Coleman, a black woman, last Wednesday.[1]   Taiwan executed five people in April of this year, after putting five or six to death in each of the last three years.[2]

The good news is that many people are raising questions of justice about the death penalty – about the adequacy of defense, the reliability of prosecution evidence and tactics, as well as the capacity to carry out an execution without causing undue pain and suffering.  All of that, however, stands in opposition to the position of this Church since 1958 – that capital punishment is fundamentally wrong, a violation of the intrinsic worth of every human being, of the divine image each one bears.  Yet the reality is that all Episcopalians live in societies where there is disagreement over what justice looks like.

Jonah apparently expected something like the death penalty for Nineveh – that it would be annihilated like the city of Sodom.  That's an all too common reaction to apparent injustice – well we'll just destroy the wrong-doer, we'll kill the enemy.  Yet God's mercy is greater than retributive human justice.  Jesus challenged us to love our enemies.  Bishop Azariah told us on Friday that he focuses on loving his neighbors – all of them – for he apparently does not want to define anyone as enemy.

There is great power when we can shift from demanding justice as punishment for wrongdoing to giving thanks for the grace of God's presence – God's presence with us and in our neighbors.  It's a shift from defensiveness to open-hearted vulnerability that ends by producing compassion, mercy, and godly justice. 

We visitors in Taiwan have seen that kind of mercy here in this diocese.  Over and over, we have discovered abundant compassion rather than minimalist understandings of fairness.  When a church many years ago from South Carolina [3]  helped St. James Taichung to build a church, that congregation in Taichung responded with profligate compassion by helping to build 12 churches in the Philippines.  The chaplain at St. John's University does not just offer occasional pizza for a few Episcopal students – he provides 20 meal plans to students for the whole academic year.  The parish kindergartens here and across the diocese don't just serve parishioners – they reach out to all children from the neighborhoods, of all creeds and none, to see that they get what they need and deserve.  The people of this diocese are reaching out to the elderly, the imprisoned, the handicapped, and the lonely, bringing life and dignity and abundant mercy.

True and godly and eternal justice makes more of self, it enlarges hearts and creates more life and greater abundance.  The pinched kind of self-centered justice that Jonah and the vineyard workers were looking for chooses death rather than life, and misses that expansiveness.  When we know that we are held in the palm of God's hand, whether we have suffering or joy, we discover that we can choose that deeper sort of justice, and choose it for all our neighbors.

May we remember God's mercy on the Ninevites. May we remember Jesus' telling the criminal dying next to him that they'd be together in paradise that very day.  We will find our daily bread of life in the mercy we offer our neighbors.

[1] http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/execution-list-2014
[2] http://www.deathpenalty.org/article.php?id=736   After an effective moratorium from 2005-2009. 
[3] St. James, Greenville, SC

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Episcopal Church House of Bishops Fall 2014 meeting: Presiding Bishop's Sermon at St. John's Cathedral, Taiwan