4 Bishop Glenda S. Curry’s Opening Address at the 194th Diocesan Convention
7 How Is God Calling You? Let’s Have a Conversation
8 Update on the Equipping The Saints Capital Campaign
11 Elizabeth Webber of Canterbury Tuscaloosa Confirmed at Diocesan Convention 12 Beyond The Church Walls
14 Recap of the 194th Diocesan Convention: “Go Ahead to Galilee”
18 St. Matthew’s In-The-Pines, Seale Marks 70 Years
20 St. Dunstan’s Church, Auburn, Celebrates 100 Years of Faith and Fellowship
21 The Year of Friendship at St. Mary’s, Jasper
22 Person2Person 2025: Improving Race Relations in Alabama
24 Diocesan Youth Department Hosts Christmas Conference at Camp McDowell
26 Diapers With Grace 28 Partners In Mission
30 Sweet Potatoes, Beans, Rice, And Empty Bowls
31 Save The Date
A Note from Bishop Curry
I had a great time seeing some of you at Convention. I hope you enjoy this issue and as always, I hope to see you at Church.
Blessings,
BISHOP GLENDA S. CURRY’S OPENING ADDRESS AT THE 194TH DIOCESAN CONVENTION
The following is a lightly edited transcript of the opening address.
Graceto you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Your prayers and love are consistent, deep, and enduring. For these last five years, you have freely given those to me and Bishop Prior every time we have visited. I don’t know a single visit that I have made that I have not felt overwhelmed by both your ministry and your heart.
Welcome to this 194th gathering of our diocese. You know our theme already: “Go ahead to Galilee”. It’s the direction that the angels gave the frightened women and apostles when they found the empty tomb on Easter. “He’s not here; he’s been raised,” they said. “Come and see the place where he lay, and then go quickly and tell his disciples he has been raised from the dead, and indeed, he is going ahead of you to Galilee, and you will see him”. This is my message. So, they left the tomb quickly with fear and great joy and ran to tell his disciples. Before he died, Jesus promised them that he would go to Galilee and meet them there after he was raised. Our theme reminds us that all our ministry together is meant to reveal the risen Christ – alive, active, and walking with us every moment.
In those days, there were lots of gods that people were prone to worship, appease, report to, and obey, not like today. Those pagan gods occupied a distant and unreachable realm, but there was really only one God, one God that claimed to be Emmanuel, who claimed that he would be alive and touchable and with us wherever we were, and that was Christ Jesus. The angel says, go to Galilee; you’ll see him there, and when they encounter Jesus only two verses later in the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus tells them, “Do not be afraid. Despite what you’ve just seen and heard in the last few days, do not be afraid”, he says. “Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and they will see me there.” As I travel the diocese and visit our 87 parishes, our four worshiping communities, and our Camp McDowell, our beloved Camp McDowell, I see Jesus everywhere, healing and loving and at the same time challenging us to keep following, to never stop. Our job is to hope, to believe, to lead others to faith and the reality that Jesus has risen despite all other signs. No one else in the world can do that job but us. Everything we do should point to the reality that Jesus is with us, alive and living, right now.
So welcome to this bishop’s address, or my chance to share the big picture of who we are, where we started, and where we’re headed in our common life and ministry as I see it. I feel blessed to have the seat that I have and the chance that I have to see so
many of you all over the place so regularly. In my first two years, we lived and learned and loved under the shadow of a terrible pandemic. I think less than 60 days after my election, one of the first meetings people were invited to was on the phone, because then we didn’t use Zoom, and we talked about how we had to close our churches. Those were uncertain, scary, sad times and no one had a playbook for that. Yet God was with us, blessing our ministry and teaching us so many new things. If you stop and think back, there are so many things we might not have learned. Today, we are well beyond COVID-19, and we’re going into a new chapter rapidly, but our church in Alabama has changed. It has grown in numbers and vitality in many ways. Since sometimes numbers can give us one picture, just one dimension of our vitality, let’s look for a minute at our financial picture.
quite a few, and the trend is that there will be many others by next year. We should give praise to God for those right there.
Our trust funds invested dollars overseen by a great, mighty, fine group of advisors led by our treasurer. Our trust funds for the diocese were at $9,215,871.11; in 2024, those had grown to $10,329,495.75 for a gain of $1.1 million. The parish trust funds in 2020 were $16,472,135.30; in 2024, they are $19,816,819.11, a gain of $3.3 million. This is a sign of your generosity, a sign of the trustee’s careful management, and a sign that you are investing in your church.
Our average Sunday attendance through 2023 (because we don’t have the numbers for 2024 yet) from the previous year was up seven percent. The number of pledging units was up one percent; the pledges were up three percent. Everything is moving and trending up. Next year, I expect we will exceed the pre-pandemic numbers we all knew and loved. I told you two years ago that I wanted the diocese to be a resource to you. So, how are we doing? Well, these are the parishes that reported growth last year beyond pre-pandemic numbers. There are
Recently, I had the honor of baptizing a man named Tom. It’s not his real name. He found the church through its online presence. He had never been inside it. He is living with autism. This made it hard for him to go into a place where there were a lot of people. Joining a church community was beyond what he imagined, but he showed up and wanted to be baptized. That’s the power of the Lord. I was touched by his great courage because he was clearly working hard to find a comfort level among all these people on that big Sunday and he wanted to be part of this new community somehow. But when we went through and practiced the baptismal promises where he proclaimed Jesus as Lord, his budding faith showed everyone there how to stand tall against our limits and how to share our best. Without our online worship, without our internet and active website presence to introduce him to the parish, we might’ve missed him. I’m sure maybe God could have gotten him there a different way, but we might’ve missed him. The tools we developed because of COVID helped lead this man to Jesus. He’s just sort of an icon for me of how the church has changed in the past five years.
The way we lead now that we can have online committee meetings gives us a broader representation from all parts of our diocese. We have classes where people can now come more easily, and it’s more flexible. Some have changed the focus of their services, so we even look better on TV. I highly recommend that! We’re still experimenting with our online ability and keep adding capacity. We’ve upgraded websites that help us communicate more easily. And as we experimented with encouraging folks to return after the pandemic, we added innovative services we’d never had before. We started approaching our campus ministries from an ecumenical standpoint. A few have made space for children inside their naves, creating places for them to play - something the English call “messy church.” Others have added all kinds of outside lighting and landscaping, as well as better signage. Some are even experimenting with, dare I say, more singable music.
This year, we have completed nine clergy searches. Nine new clergy have been welcomed to the diocese; we’ve had 31 parish consultations and held eight vestry retreats. And when I say “we”, I mean myself and all the people that work at Carpenter House. 15 mutual ministry reviews. Bishop Prior and I have done 127 bishop visits to parishes. 135 staff visits have been accomplished with the help of the Diocesan staff. We’ve had eight racial healing events, and we have 40 new parish websites working. We have an able staff of volunteer consultants who will come to help you, walk alongside you, and work with you to make a ministry action plan. All you have to do is call and ask for help.
We have strengthened our offerings by training lay preachers and worship leaders, and
all of this is part of something I’ve come to think of as a step toward a culture of unreasonable hospitality. That idea comes from a man whose restaurant came in last in the top 50 in New York City. Unreasonable Hospitality came from Will Guidara, who wanted to be number one, and he was invited to a meeting of the top 50 restaurants in New York City. While he was sitting there, he learned that he was last on the list, and he didn’t like it, so he decided he would do something to understand how to be first. Not a bad impulse.
He found that the human desire to be taken care of never goes away. So, if he could create a culture of hospitality that was so over the top, people would love to be in his restaurant for something more than food. That might be important. “How do you make the people who work for you and the people you serve feel seen and valued? How do you give them a sense of belonging? How do you make them feel part of something bigger than themselves? How do you make them feel welcome?” he wondered.
Rich Webster at Saint Luke’s, Birmingham thought Will Guidara’s magic sounded an awful lot like love one another as I have loved you, and a chance for them to create a welcome culture at Saint Luke’s. He can tell the story much better - I don’t know a story Rich can’t tell better - but suffice it to say church size is not the point. Church size doesn’t matter if you focus on a welcoming culture and not a welcoming committee. Rich says there are two central catalysts – breakfast all day from the minute the church opens, not just in that hour. Wherever we have, it should be easily accessible - pre-wrapped breakfast biscuits to be exact, coffee, water, and they have a QR code where they invite payment, but they don’t require it. You put those out in the hallway, you get a few high-top tables, and you let people serve themselves and it gets really messy, but that’s okay. Folks pay through the QR code whatever amount they want, and usually, they pay more than the food is worth. Then, they take the
Continued on page 9
HOW IS GOD CALLING YOU?
LET’S HAVE
A CONVERSATION
BY: THE REV. CAMERON NATIONS, CANON FOR VOCATIONS AND COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
Since beginning this new chapter as Canon for Vocations and Community Engagement this past October, I’ve been getting my bearings, building relationships with my colleagues at Carpenter House, connecting with friends, old and new, getting to know all of those who are in various stages of the ordination process, and learning about all the incredible initiatives and ministries being carried out all across the diocese. There are so many faithful servants living into their call to love and serve the Lord in ways big and small, and it’s energizing to see.
Everywhere I look, I see the reflection of 1 Corinthians 12– one of the epistle readings featured in the lectionary this January. In this part of 1 Corinthians, Paul talks about how in the Church, there are many gifts but one Spirit; many members, but one Body.
“For just as the body is one and has many members,” Paul writes, “and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in the one Spirit, we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and we were all made to drink of one Spirit. Indeed, the body does not consist of one member but of many.”
The conviction that everyone has a call and a ministry as a part of the body is a core part of our tradition as Episcopalians. Both the Prayer Book and the Canons make this assumption when talking about the nature of the church. Ministry is not somehow relegated to the ordained but is instead the inheritance of every believer, ordained or not.
Thus, individuals each have a call, and because the church comprises individuals, parishes themselves have calls, too. Ultimately, I believe the call of every Christian is to love others the way God first loved us and to share this love and the hope of salvation with everyone we meet by inviting them to follow Jesus with us. Like Paul, I believe that whatever your particular gifts may be, their ultimate aim is found in love and service to others in the spread of the Gospel. (Just read 1 Corinthians 13, which, despite being often read at weddings, is not about romantic love but the mission and the living of the Christian life.)
While our call as Christians might be universal, how we live out that love is unique to each of us. Every person has unique gifts, passions, and perspectives that God uses to convey his love in and to the world. For some, this might indeed look like serving as a deacon or a priest. But it could just as easily look like any number of other pursuits that draw people closer to Jesus— leading a Bible study, teaching children’s Sunday school, staffing a food
pantry, launching a new community initiative, or even just doing whatever it is that you do for a living in such a way that it injects more grace into the world.
Similarly, each parish has its own qualities that make it uniquely positioned to be a beacon of God’s grace in its community and beyond. Together, we bring Christ to life in our communities, proclaiming the Good News, serving our neighbors, and sowing compassion and hope.
It’s my job (literally) to walk with those interested in exploring how they might be called to live out God’s love in the world. So put me to work! Let’s have a conversation.
I want to encourage rectors and other clergy to start conversations with your people about discerning God’s call in their lives. If you’re reading this and have wondered for years how God might be calling you to serve, please take this as the encouragement you need to approach me or your rector about it.
There are some exciting things taking shape across the diocese— we’re working to develop more pathways for licensed lay leadership within the church, expanding our partnership with an organization based out of the UK who can train folks interested in starting missional communities aimed at reaching the un-churched and de-churched, and offering Explorer’s Days for those interested in pursuing discernment for ordination.
I’m happy to preach, teach, or facilitate parish and vestry retreats. It’s one of my greatest joys to help individuals and congregations engage in discernment to clarify their call and live with greater purpose and intention for the spread of the Gospel.
The work of sharing God’s love isn’t just for some; it’s for all. If you want to learn more about opportunities for ministry within the diocese or clarify your own sense of call, start the conversation today. I’d love to hear from you. You can contact Canon Cameron at cnations@diola.org.
proceeds and dedicate them to outreach efforts or another ministry. A second catalyst that he talks about is that Saint Luke’s has tightened their liturgy carefully to make every service one hour long. That might mean reducing the readings to two, which the rubrics allow. And on Christmas Eve, they began celebrating at 10:00 AM with a new service, and they got 500 additional people on Christmas Eve.
This year, Saint Luke’s has about a hundred more people every Sunday. People gather in the halls to eat, and they make friends, and then they go worship. The QR code also works for visitor cards and there’s a free Google form that helps you set the whole thing up. He said last Sunday, an 18-year-old brought 12 of her friends to church to celebrate her birthday. It’s not breakfast hour; it’s breakfast all morning. After COVID-19, Saint Luke’s noticed that attention spans are shorter, people are more comfortable with technology than they ever have been, and they want earlier events. Services of an hour with no dead air helped them. We’re in a post-Covid world now. Rich says to ask yourself what works for growth, not what works for us, and the average age at Saint Luke’s has dropped from 52 to 40.
Unreasonable hospitality, though, comes in many, many forms. St. Stephen’s, Birmingham, picked up the breakfast all-day idea, and they’re seeing the same energy. They worked hard at helping and healing from the tragedy of three years ago when we lost those three faithful people. Yet God has given them a vision for turning that tragedy into a welcome to the community around them. First, the memorial to the martyrs is a labyrinth open to all and right by their playground. You can see that it’s inviting the kids and the community to come and play and pray. Most recently they’re working to establish the Threshold Center in the former St. John’s For the Deaf building. It’s a place where people who are curious about their faith from many perspectives can gather. They can ask questions, they can study, explore, and I like to think of it as a giant arrow pointing to the worship of Jesus across the street.
You may remember a couple of years ago when Jason Byassee, who wrote “Northern Lights” challenged us all to lower our thresholds, meaning do all kinds of things to make our front door a lot easier to get into. St. Stephen’s has added a service with a Celtic feel and the Threshold Center and that’s their response. Christ Church, Tuscaloosa has been experimenting with concerts outside in warmer weather using John Prine and the Beatles and Grateful Dead music as a way of introducing the outside world to our liturgy. Rector Paul Pradat says, “The concerts have become a bridge to meeting church people when otherwise those people would not darken our doors.” Typically, over 300 people of all ages come, and the musicians come from four different parishes.
Many of you are offering all kinds of creative new ways of introducing people outside our church to the gifts we bring to following Jesus. Don’t stop. Keep doing things. Trinity, Florence has helped us nourish an ecumenical campus ministry that has grown rapidly, bringing students of all kinds of faith traditions into their church for worship and service. Their ecumenical work extends across the Shoals, building bridges for youth across traditions, inviting diversity, and sharing resources. Speaking of sharing resources, this year, we have given $337,970 in grants. Those grants included Creation Care, Outreach, and Refresh and Renew grants for the second year in a row - Refresh and Renew 2.0. People have used those little bits of money between $250 and $5,000 for AV equipment, microphones, landscaping, lighting, and repairs of every-
thing from kitchens to bathrooms. Do you remember Diaper Row at St. Peter’s, Talladega? As of the end of January - hold your hat – they have welcomed 1,948 guests, served 3,189 babies, and distributed 121,230 diapers and 18,400 pull-ups, all in two hours a month. That’s a lot of diapers and a lot of pull-ups.
The Church of Epiphany, Leeds, is on Highway 119. It’s a busy road, but you can see the sign in the dark. They got a $250 solar-powered light paid for with a Creation Care grant, and now they can be easily spotted at night. $250 made that much of a difference, but I think what made a difference was looking outside and saying, “How can people find us?” They’ve got to be able to see us to do it. Emmanuel, Opelika, the little church I told you about that was in the dark in May of 2023, came into the light and now has 40 people on Sunday and growing. The city took notice. They awarded them the best historical building and invested $250,000 to build sidewalks around the building. That building was once completely landlocked, so they’re moving on.
Partnerships with your community work. They value us, especially when we go and talk to them, and they see what’s possible. Our Refresh and Renew grant 2.0 stimulated many things in smaller churches. I blessed a new playground at St. Simon Peter, Pell City, and will bless another at St. Andrew’s, Montevallo. There are so many ways you can use these grants to encourage connection to the people around you—infrastructure, buildings, and grounds. 56 parishes received this money for programming, parking, and removing barriers to growth. Outreach grants built a community garden at St. Bart’s in Florence; Stations of the Cross at St. Michael and All Angels, Anniston; English as a Second Language classes at St. Michael’s in Fayette; and Memory Care Respite at Christ Church, Tuscaloosa. They also helped veterans at Epiphany, Guntersville. Nine grants went to expand our many feeding programs. One even helped with cognitive neurodivergent support at Holy Comforter in Montgomery, as well as laundry and clothing banks at Nativity, Huntsville, and Grace in Woodlawn. I want to give a shout-out to all our feeding programs. There are so many everywhere, all around us, feeding the hungry—from little boxes to hands-on efforts, passing out food.
learning program served 162 children. Breanna Mitchell, our Missioner for Racial Healing and Pilgrimage is now a certified practitioner for Courageous Conversations. This year, in our diocese, we studied Catherine Meeks’ Spiritual Guide to Racial Healing Together in 35 parishes with 450 people. 250 people walked the Jonathan Daniels Pilgrimage. This year, 2025, the former Presiding Bishop (a cousin of mine), Michael Curry, is coming to preach. He’s still my cousin, even if he’s out of office.
Bre facilitated the 270 Sawyerville volunteer staff in a racial healing conversation for a day. Imagine those kids working together to understand each other—what might happen? Finally, our construction at Good Shepherd will begin shortly in a renovated and new space. Good Shepherd continues to thrive, grow, and tell its story, offering hospitality to many people who come to Montgomery on pilgrimage. St. Paul’s, Selma, also continues to welcome countless visitors to its doors to hear its story.
I want to make sure we all know that Camp McDowell recently welcomed a new Executive Director, Derek Hill, and his wife Beverly. Derek arrived here before his clothes, so he wore the same shirt for two weeks. We are excited that he has hit the ground running. He’s already working to guide our renovation of Epps Hall. The bathrooms under the pool are about to start. Then we’ll move across the way to Epps, and he’ll help us with the famous septic system in our quest to keep Clear Creek clear. Derek, we welcome you and Beverly. Derek lives in Scott House, which has also had a facelift, and there’s more to come.
We kicked off equipping the Saints, the capital effort that we spent so much time telling you about last year. It was a very busy season sharing the story of our ministry, which is not hard to do. The challenge comes in getting around to see everybody that you want to see. We went to three baseball games in three locations with 441 Episcopalians in the hot, hot sun. 40 parishes participated. We waited until it got really, really hot before we went. We visited 17 parishes, we visited Camp, and Sawyerville, and had 15 major donor events with 215 households attending. Our leaders were Tom and Cornelia Heflin and Will and Liesel French. We could not do it without them. They work diligently to invite all kinds of participation in a God-sized dream.
Racial healing and pilgrimage continue to grow across our parishes. Sawyerville had a remarkable year this past summer. In its 31st year, 270 volunteers served 525 campers. The summer
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ELIZABETH WEBBER OF CANTERBURY TUSCALOOSA CONFIRMED AT DIOCESAN CONVENTION
BY NANA AFIA TENKORAMAA, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS
Elizabeth Webber arrived at the 194th Diocesan Convention with no expectation that she would leave confirmed. For a long time, she had prayerfully considered taking this step in her faith, but she hadn’t imagined it would happen that weekend—or in such a memorable way.
In the days before the convention, she shared her thoughts with the Rev. Marc Burnette, the rector at Canterbury Chapel. As they prepared for Decatur, she expressed her growing sense of readiness but had no idea that confirmation was just ahead.
“Being confirmed at the close of the convention was not my expectation for the weekend, and I am certain it was not on Bishop Curry’s to-do list either, but I am so thankful,” Elizabeth said.
Since joining Canterbury Chapel and the Episcopal Church during her college years, Elizabeth has discovered a faith community that has surrounded her with love, encouragement, and spiritual growth. In a heartfelt note to Bishop Curry, she reflected on how this unexpected moment deepened her trust in God’s plan:
“I am a “planner”, and I always have been. God is teaching me, through many experiences and especially through circumstances of my confirmation, that it is okay when things don’t go according to my plans. By His grace, God is showing me consistently that His dreams and plans for me are so much bigger and more beautiful than the ones I could envision for myself.”
Elizabeth’s journey to confirmation is a testament to the power of faith, community, and divine timing. As she looks ahead, she does so with an open heart, trusting that God’s plans will always be bigger, bolder, and more beautiful than her own.
Elizabeth Webber shares the joyful moment with the Rev. Marc Burnette.
Elizabeth Webber poses with Bishop Curry, joined by Ariel Llewellyn (far left) and Renee Angerer (far right).
Bishop Curry presents Elizabeth Webber with her confirmation certificate.
Inwhat now seems like a past life, Elizabeth Guthrie played a unique role in her church community. She was a lay Eucharistic visitor, trained to administer Holy Communion to people who were too sick or frail to attend services.
All that changed in December of 2021 when Guthrie came down with what she thought was a mild case of COVID-19. When she seemed to have recovered, she returned to work; on her second day, she almost fainted. “I went home and crawled into bed,” she remembers. “I was bedridden for several months.” The diagnosis was long COVID, and she still suffers from daily, debilitating fatigue. As her condition stretched on, she realized that now she was the one in need of lay Eucharistic visits.
Though she had been a member of a different denomination, Guthrie and her husband had recently been visiting All Saints’ Church in Homewood, AL., and she called there to ask about receiving pastoral care. A clergy member visited her several times and then matched her with Joseph Slane, a retired Presbyterian minister who is now a member of All Saints and serves as a lay Eucharistic visitor.
BEYOND THE CHURCH WALLS
BY: ROSALIND FOURNIER, FREELANCE WRITER
Slane has been visiting Guthrie at least once a month for almost three years. “I cherish that experience,” he says. “The gift of being able to receive Christ in our bodies in Holy Communion strikes me as so important for each of us individually and as a congregation.”
When You Can’t Come to the Church, the Church Comes to You
Lay Eucharistic visitors are church members who undergo special training in pastoral care, the service of Communion, and proper care of the travel communion kit—prepared by the altar guild—to treat it with the full dignity of the sacrament. Following this training, a rector can recommend that they be licensed by the bishop.
The Rev. Brad Landry, rector at All Saints, says the role of lay Eucharistic visitors helps inform what it means to be a minister of the church.
“The catechism says the ministers of the church are laypersons, bishops, priests, and deacons,” he says. “There’s actually a very narrow list of what the bishops, priests, and deacons can do that a layperson can’t do. Much more can be done in lay ministry than we sometimes practice, and the ministry of the lay Eucharistic visitor is a good reminder of that.”
The Rev. Landry has initiated a formal sending out of lay Eucharistic visitors at the end of the service to recognize this ministry’s importance. “It’s a way of remembering those who want to be here but can’t,” he says, “and to show that communion extends when we walk beyond these doors. If the church, the body of Christ, is wherever two or three are gathered in the name of Jesus, I believe wholeheartedly that when you can’t come to church, the church comes to you.”
Landry says it reminds him of the work of missionaries or frontier clergy people. “When we talk about the Holy Eucharist, we talk about all the special things
we have in church like the altar, lectern, paten, chalice, and all these things, but a hospital tray can be an altar. Beginning to see everything is holy is one of the ways we begin to be healed.”
The Rev. Polly Robb, rector at St. Luke’s Church in Scottsboro, AL, describes lay Eucharistic visits as not only an administration of communion but “the ministry of presence.”
She adds that, like many small churches in the diocese, St. Luke’s has many older members who are unable to attend church, increasing the need for lay persons trained to serve them. “While we stream all our services, there is nothing that can substitute for a personal visit,” Robb says. “Widening the group of pastoral visitors, including Eucharistic visitors, furthers a sense of belonging to the community who is the body of Christ.”
Alicia Bell is one of St. Luke’s lay Eucharistic visitors. She says that when Rev. Robb put out word that she wanted to start a pastoral care team, she was curious. Although she already served as an acolyte, lector, and lay eucharistic minister trained to serve communion at the altar, “I didn’t know laypeople could take communion out,” she says. “I’d seen our priest do it before, but I didn’t realize that could be part of what we did.”
After a trial run with the Rev. Robb, Bell started to embrace the visits. “It feels so personal when you’re in someone’s home and take the time to sit with them and meet them where they are,” she says. “Then you set the table for the Lord’s supper. It’s amazing to be able to administer the sacraments there with them. It’s a very worshipful and humbling experience.”
Bell once took communion to a parishioner who was a close friend suffering from a terminal illness. “From knowing her to then having Eucharist with her was very touching,” Bell says. “It helps the person who is not able to attend church, but it is also a huge blessing for the person who is able to take it into the home.”
An Enduring Bond
Today, Slane and Guthrie have become friends. They talk about how Guthrie is doing, how she spends her time, and spiritual questions that sometimes arise during their visits. Slane describes their Eucharistic visits as “very much a ministry of pastoral care,” including reading the Gospel, offering prayers, and being there to listen.
Last April, Guthrie returned to All Saints for the first time since the onset of her illness. She wanted finally to be received into the Episcopal Church. Given her fatigue and weakened immune system, she didn’t feel strong enough to enter the building, but after the service Bishop Glenda Curry, who was there that day, the clergy, and Slane met her outside. Bishop Curry officially received her, and the clergy administered communion.
For now, though, such visits are few and far between as long as COVID stubbornly continues to sap her energy. The pain she used to experience has mostly subsided, and what she describes
as “brain fog” has improved too. Still, she thinks it will be a long haul.
“I always make a point with Elizabeth to allow plenty of time for our visit because it helps us both,” he says. “We incorporate our discussion as part of the Eucharist because it becomes part of the prayer that we offer to God. Then we receive what we need, in the receiving of the bread of heaven and the cup of salvation, to face the challenges in our lives.”
In the meantime, Slane’s visits provide much-needed spiritual sustenance. “If you’re stuck at home and not able to go to service, having that connection with someone who believes what you believe is encouraging,” Guthrie says. “It strengthens my faith to know that I’m still a part of that community, even though I am absent in physical form.”
Joseph Slane and Elizabeth Guthrie. Joseph has been taking communion to Elizabeth at her home for three years.
RECAP OF THE 194TH DIOCESAN CONVENTION: “GO AHEAD TO GALILEE”
BY: NANA AFIA TENKORAMAA, DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS
From Thursday, January 30, to Saturday, February 1, 2025, more than 400 clergy members, lay delegates, and guests gathered in Decatur, AL, for the Diocese of Alabama’s 194th Annual Diocesan Convention. Guided by this year’s theme, “Go Ahead to Galilee,” inspired by Mark 16:7—”But go, tell his disciples and Peter that he is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.”—our time together was filled with worship, fellowship, and meaningful discussions.
Here are some key moments from our time together. For a more detailed recap, scan the QR code at the bottom of the page.
Convention Sermon Preached by the Rev. Chase D. Ackerman, Rector of St. John’s Church, Decatur, at the Opening Eucharist
GEPHESIANS 4:4-13; PSALM 150; MARK 16:1-8
race and peace to you, in the name of our risen Lord Jesus Christ. It is such an honor to welcome you to Decatur, where they say, “It is greater,” and to stand before you as we gather for this opening Eucharist of the 194th Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama. And, it is especially important that we gather here together in unity on this day of national tragedy, as we mourn the loss of so many people in our nation’s capital. Just like the 193 years before this, we gather together as the Body of Christ in unity, in worship, and with a shared commitment to discern God’s call for
us as a diocese. This year’s theme, “Go Ahead to Galilee,” invites us into the very heart of the Gospel message. It compels us to look beyond the places of comfort and familiarity and to step into the spaces where the risen Christ is waiting for us. It echoes the words of the angel at the empty tomb: “He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see him, just as he told you.”
The full sermon is available on the Convention recap webpage.
SPEAKERS
We were blessed to hear from and engage with two sets of speakers at convention. On Friday, during Business Session II, we welcomed our first keynote speaker, Melina Luna Smith, founder of StoryMakers, who shared valuable insights on faith formation through storytelling. On Saturday, during Business Session III, we heard from our second keynote speakers, Jim Davis and Michael Graham, who offered thought-provoking perspectives on discipleship in today’s world. Their presentation slides and video coverage are all available online.
NEW CLERGY INTRODUCTIONS
• Sam Burcham – Deacon, St. John’s, Decatur
• The Rev. Corrie Cabes – Rector, St. Mary’s, Jasper
• Lucian Cronkite – Pastoral Oversight, St. Matthias, Tuscaloosa
• Will Fagan – Curate, Cathedral Church of the Advent
• Malissa Hartley – Priest Associate, Church of the Nativity, Huntsville
• Katie Kirk-Coastas – Associate Rector, St. Thomas, Huntsville
• Chris Paul – Pastoral Oversight, Trinity Church, Clanton
• Paul Petznick – Regular Supply Clergy, St. Paul’s, Carlowville
• Becca Walton – Associate Rector, St. Luke’s, Mountain Brook
RESOLUTIONS
• (Details on each resolution are available on the Convention Webpage)
• Resolution 1: The Episcopal Diocese of Alabama Operating Budget – Adopted
• Resolution 2: McDowell Camp and Conference Center Budget – Adopted
• Resolution 3: Missional Communities – Adopted
DIOCESAN COUNCIL ELECTION RESULTS
Northern District
• The Rev. Donavan Cain – St. Thomas, Huntsville (Priest)
• Gayle Ozbirn – Trinity Church, Florence (Lay)
Middle District
• The Rev. H. Huey Gardner – St. Mary’s on the Highlands (Priest)
• Jennifer Boylan – St. Luke’s, Mountain Brook, (Lay)
Southern District
• The Rev. Sarah Smith Halloran – Grace Church, Pike Road (Priest)
• Billington M. Garrett – Church of the Ascension, Montgomery (Lay)
Disciplinary Board
• The Rev. Worth Stuart – Church of the Holy Spirit, Alabaster (Priest)
• George Carpenter – Trinity Church, Florence (Lay)
Standing Committee
• The Rev. Emily Collette – The Church of the Ascension, Vestavia Hills (Priest)
Itall started with a mixed marriage—she was a Methodist, and he was a Baptist.
Shortly after they married in 1951, Betty Pitts and Charles Tigner decided to join a different church. After research and visits to other denominations, they settled on the Episcopal Church.
With his love of history, Charles discovered that the first Episcopal Church serving this part of the Diocese of Alabama was St. John’s in the Wilderness, located east of Seale in the Oswichee area of Russell County. It was founded before 1844. In 1869, St. John’s was joined by the Church of the Redeemer, which regularly met in the Masonic Lodge of Seale.
The Episcopalians in the Seale area ceased to be active around the turn of the 20th century. They held only occasional services and hosted sporadic visits by the bishop from 1910 to 1951. The Tigners set about locating others in the area. In 1951, a group of seven confirmed members and other interested parties met in Tigners’ home and reorganized the congregation in Seale. The initial meeting places were homes, the Seale School, other churches, and the old Russell County Courthouse.
By 1954, the church had its own building with a name—St. Matthew’s In-the-Pines—selected by the Seventh Bishop of Alabama, the Rt. Rev. George M. Murray. The building was constructed by members and friends in 1954 and completed for services in just 22 days.
Bishop Brian Prior and St. Matthew’s founding member Betty Tigner Owens
St. Matthew’s In-the-Pines celebrates 70th anniversary on January 19, 2025.
On January 19th, 2025, St. Matthew’s celebrated its 70th anniversary with a visit from Bishop Brian Prior and his wife Stacy and Deacon Judy Quick, followed by a potluck lunch in the parish hall. Members, old and new, were there along with guests who are friends of the “little church that could.” Though attendance has ebbed and flowed through the years, the church, with an average attendance hovering around a dozen, has remained steadfast, holding services every Sunday.
The honored guest of the anniversary celebration was Betty Tigner Owens, believed to be the last living founding member. At 92, she remarked at the luncheon, “I’m so proud to be here today to see that what started in our living room all those years ago has grown into the St. Matthew’s of today. I want to thank all of you for keeping St. Matthew’s alive and strong.”
ST. DUNSTAN’S CHURCH, AUBURN, MARKS 100 YEARS OF FAITH AND FELLOWSHIP
BY: ST. DUNSTAN’S CHURCH, AUBURN
“On this special day, I appreciate that our calendars are aligned. I really can’t say enough about your leaders. Your leaders are so strong. You have a great priest who is helping you with all your ministries, and your ministries are responding, growing, changing, and moving.”
With these words, Bishop Glenda Curry opened her sermon on the Second Sunday after Christmas during her annual visit to St. Dunstan’s Episcopal Church—a visit made even more meaningful as the parish celebrated its centennial anniversary.
One day shy of the exact date, Sunday, January 4, 1925, marked the first service held in the newly constructed home for Holy Innocents Episcopal Church. This building, however, was not the original Holy Innocents. The Diocese had approved the construction of a new church in January 1921, with a budget of $40,000. The first Holy Innocents structure, which stood from 1887 to 1924, had served its purpose, and the journey to raising the necessary funds for its successor took several years. The wait between 1921 and 1925 must have felt long, but the faith and perseverance of the congregation prevailed.
Reflecting on this history, Bishop Curry continued, “We are standing here today because we stand on the shoulders of the many faithfuls who have brought us through these first 100 years. Now, we look ahead to the next 100 years, trusting that God will gift us with the spirit and the will to carry this mission forward—one day at a time.”
On its 100th anniversary, the church nave was filled with parishioners whose joyful smiles and uplifting energy reflected the spirit of the occasion, which included the confirmation of 11 members. They gathered in the same building authorized
in 1921, which held its first service on January 4, 1925. Holy Innocents, now St. Dunstan’s, changed its name when it transitioned from a parish to a diocesan student center in 1957. In 2019, St. Dunstan’s ceased to be a student center and once again became a parish. What may seem like an ending is often just the beginning of something new.
Since 1887, people have gathered at this location on Magnolia Avenue to give thanks to God, share in fellowship, study, and prayer, and seek and serve Christ in all persons. In celebration of this milestone, St. Dunstan’s vestry has formed a committee dedicated to honoring the rich history and heritage of both Holy Innocents and St. Dunstan’s.
“We are beginning preparations for a centennial celebration of our life as both Holy Innocents and St. Dunstan’s, as a parish and a student center. We hope to reconnect with the people who, over the years, have called this their church home,” said its beloved rector, the Rev. Thomas Joyner.
If you, or someone you know, attended Holy Innocents or St. Dunstan’s, we would love to hear their memories, see their pictures, and reconnect them with the life of St. Dunstan’s as a parish. We have created a Facebook group called Alumni of St. Dunstan’s Auburn to collect memories and pictures. You can contact the Rev. Thomas Joyner at thomas@ stdunstansauburn.org to share and connect with the memories.
THE YEAR OF FRIENDSHIP AT ST. MARY’S, JASPER
BY: THE REV. CORRIE CABES
In late 2024, the vestry and clergy of St. Mary’s met for a leadership retreat to read and discuss “Friendship: The Heart of Being Human” by the Rev. Dr. Victor Austin. What resulted from that gathering was an increased desire to develop relationships in the parish and in our local community. This year, St. Mary’s is listening and responding to our neighbors, especially our “friends” in downtown Jasper.
Soup and Study
After hearing that a local shopkeeper missed opportunities for a bible study on Wednesday nights due to shop hours, a plan was born to gather at The Pink Cone (1808 4th Avenue) to read and discuss the bible story of the prodigal son through Henri Nouwen’s beautiful book, “The Return of the Prodigal Son.” The Pink Cone will offer different soups each week of the study, and all are welcome to gather and ponder this timeless story, perfect for Lent. Books were ordered at the local downtown bookstore, Paper Places Bookshop (229 19th Street West), and soon folks will be able to pick up copies and join in this fiveweek series starting on March 12th, from 5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m. on Wednesday nights. (March 12th, 19th, 26th, and April 2nd, and 9th at 5:30 p.m.)
Good Friday Outdoor Stations at the Cross, Gamble Park
St. Mary’s will host an outdoor prayer walk on April 18 at 5 p.m. at Gamble Park (1100-1398 Gamble Avenue, Jasper 35501) to walk, pray, and reflect, joining Jesus on the journey to the cross. This interactive service involves participants leading prayers, taking turns walking and carrying a cross, and is open to all ages. Wear comfortable clothing and shoes and bring a water bottle. Invite a friend. (Weather permitting)
Summer Art Camp with Downtown Art Crawl
We are joining forces with our “besties” from The Trace Church to offer a summer art camp for elementary-aged children. Think Van Gogh meets Genesis! Clergy and lay volunteers from both churches, and community leaders will gather on June 23 and 24 from 5:30 p.m. - 7 p.m. at the Trace Church (601 The Mall Way, Jasper) to help tell the story of creation, offer a light dinner, and children will respond with artwork.
The artwork will be placed in downtown Jasper businesses and restaurants and on Wednesday, June 25, folks will be invited to head downtown beginning at 4 p.m. for an “art crawl” with an interactive map to look for art, eat and shop, and strengthen relationships in the community. The event will close with worship in the Courthouse square with live music, prayer, and celebration. This event coincides with a family-friendly downtown experience with bounce houses and an outdoor movie theater. To learn more contact rector@stmarysjasper.org or Jasper Main Street (jaspermainstreet.com).
PERSON2PERSON 2025: IMPROVING RACE RELATIONS IN ALABAMA
Are you courageous enough to talk about race in Alabama, not just with your friends who look like you but also with strangers who don’t?
Over and over again, I hear folks say, ‘If we could just sit down and have a conversation about it.’ Differences. Every generation has them. Differences in opinions, faith, and belief. Differences about religion, politics, and race. Differences about how you remember history and how you view the future.
Over the Martin Luther King Jr. weekend, 23 participants and staff traveled from Greensboro to Birmingham to soak in the stories of race during the 1960s in Alabama at the Civil Rights Institute. It was the first stop. 16-18-year-olds taking in the “olden days” of how things were just a little over 60 years ago. Police dogs, fire hoses, lynchings, and bombs. Segregation and letters to make it stop from a man inside a jail cell. But we didn’t stop there; we would make several more as we were guided into courageous conversations under the leadership of Breanna Carter, Diocesan Missioner for Racial Healing and
Pilgrimage. We rode the bus south for more remembrance and hope of reconciliation.
If you haven’t been to the Legacy Museum on North Court Street in Montgomery, it might be time to make a pilgrimage and see how easy it is for humanity to cast off the ancient command to ‘Love thy neighbor’ really is. It can seem like an ocean of a time ago when the first slave ships entered colonial ports and sold black men, women, and children down the Alabama River. Only to stand half naked on the very bricks, our 23 pilgrims stood while reading how the South was built.
But it is important. It is important to remember, reflect, and then ask oneself how this could be. How can I make a difference in the world I was born into? How can I sit down with my neighbor and talk about differences? How can I participate in the healing of my beautiful State of Alabama? Because at the end of the day, we need the reminder of Jesus’ words from the Gospel of John: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another.” - John 13:34.
This year’s Person2Person (P2P) conference marked a significant shift in programming, offering youth and young adults an innovative space to explore activism and leadership. Led by Breanna Carter, the 2025 program focused on youth activism and how participants could partner with Sawyerville leadership to bring their visions to life.
The program divided participants into three groups, each focusing on racial healing through different approaches: leveraging social media for advocacy, creating programming for campers and staff, and planning a oneday event. Throughout the weekend, participants engaged in deep discussions, goal planning, budget creation, and priority setting. The hands-on approach empowered them to think strategically and develop actionable plans.
At the culmination of the weekend, each group pitched their ideas to the entire group, showcasing their commitment to action. This fresh approach to programming was well received, as it provided space for both large-group discussions and smaller, more intimate settings where participants who may not be comfortable speaking in a crowd could connect and contribute. The program’s success highlighted the importance of collaboration, strategic planning, and racial healing in activism. As Person2Person continues to evolve, this year’s model offers a blueprint for fostering meaningful dialogue and action among young people in our Diocese.
As part of our advocacy programming, we had the privilege of welcoming Ethan Hill from Ethan’s Heart Bags4Blessing! Ethan, a high school student from Birmingham, inspired and empowered our youth to take action and create meaningful change in their local communities. His passion and dedication left a lasting impact, motivating our youth to step up as changemakers in their own communities.
In addition to these transformative discussions, we embarked on a powerful journey through history, visiting the Birmingham Civil Rights Institute, the Civil Rights Memorial Center, St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church, the Legacy Museum, and the Freedom Monument Sculpture Park. These visits deepened our understanding of the ongoing struggle for justice and the importance of continuing the work of racial healing.
We are incredibly grateful to St. John’s Montgomery and All Saints Birmingham for hosting this impactful event. A heartfelt thank you as well to Christ Episcopal Church Tuscaloosa, Trinity Episcopal Church Demopolis, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Birmingham, All Saints Episcopal Church Birmingham, Paige Brendle, and Colin Mitchell for generously providing meals and supporting this meaningful gathering.
If you’d like to be involved with Person2Person or hear more about this ministry, contact Breanna Carter at bcarter@dioala.org.
“I am thankful for the enriching experience I had through a well-structured program led by trained professionals. The program’s thoughtful approach of setting clear expectations as a group, followed by reflections after each site visit, fostered an environment of shared learning and laid a foundation for meaningful conversations.” - Nana Afia Tenkoramaa (First-time Person2Person participant)
Participants and staff worshipped at Rosa Parks’ home church of St. Paul’s African Methodist Episcopal Church listening to the Rev. Dr. Agnes Lover preach “Put Your Hope in God”: when disappointment doesn’t seem to have an expiration date.
DIOCESAN YOUTH DEPARTMENT HOSTS CHRISTMAS CONFERENCE AT CAMP MCDOWELL
BY: CAROLINE ODOM – YD MEMBER, ST. STEPHEN’S BIRMINGHAM
I’veloved going to Camp McDowell every summer for as long as I can remember, which led me to get more involved in diocesan events as I’ve grown older. When I first attended Youth Department events, I was amazed at how strong the loving community was, even outside Camp McDowell. I was always impressed by how high schoolers planned and ran these events, and I looked up to them so much. Even though I always admired the Youth Department members, I never imagined that I would be one myself one day. However, when the opportunity to run for YD arose in January of last year, I took it. Looking back now, I could not be more grateful for that decision. Christmas Conference is our biggest event, and over 150 people are in attendance. It is my favorite YD event, and I was so excited to be a part of planning and running it.
As one of the program liaisons for the YD, I had the privilege of collaborating with the Rev. Emily Rowell Brown of Christ Church Tuscaloosa to create the program and small group plans for our theme: ‘Destination Christmas: Where Will Your Faith Take You?’. Through this theme, we explored the journeys in the story of Jesus’ birth and how we can learn from them. We learned about Mary’s journey and the importance of trusting God in hard times. We also created timelines of our faith journeys, reflecting
on the ups and downs that shaped who we are today. We then focused on Joseph’s journey, learning how he chose to stay with Mary and become a father to a child who wasn’t his own, even when it was difficult. This taught us the importance of having a strong support system. We painted prayer rocks with messages of encouragement and love to spread around camp and share with each other. We concluded by reflecting on the Magi’s journey and how to embrace change as we continue to grow in our faith. During this lesson, we made prayer beads to remind us of God’s presence when we don’t know what or how to pray.
The lesson that stood out to me most was about community — the importance of surrounding ourselves with people who love and support us as we grow in our faith. Camp is where I feel like my truest self, surrounded by a community rooted in unconditional love. Whether I’m dancing in lip sync battles, singing my heart out at the canteen, or dressing up as Home Alone robbers for life-size Clue with my best friend, I feel free to be myself, knowing that camp is a community that accepts everyone as they are. While I love all the fast-paced fun that comes with camp, I felt a deeper joy in the slower moments during the weekend. As a senior, experiencing so many ‘lasts’ has led me to reflect on my time as a youth in the diocese and at camp. With so many changes coming in all other parts of my life, I think a change I have feared most is what it will be like not to be a youth in the diocese anymore. On the first night of the Christmas Conference, severe weather forced us to stay in our cabins for hours. While the storm was raging outside, our cabin of twelve girls piled onto our beds and spent hours talking. I watched as the magic of camp brought together girls of all ages, from first-time campers to counselors who had been coming to camp for years. What seemed like an inconvenience turned out to be a small representation of what was about to happen in my life. I realized that despite the chaos of the outside world, the community I’ve found at camp will always be there for me. No matter how old I get, I will always have these people to lean on and connect to, just like our group huddled up during the storm. I’m forever grateful for YD events like Christmas Conference that bring light to a world often filled with darkness and give me hope and excitement for the future.
DIAPERS WITH GRACE
BY MAGGI ODELL – GRACE CHURCH, PIKE ROAD
Grace Church Pike Road’s “diaper awareness” began in July 2021. Grace’s new rector, the Rev. Sarah Smith Halloran, had returned from her threemonth parental leave. The parish wanted to celebrate the arrival of Sarah, her husband Colin, and their first child, a daughter, Arden.
At first, the parish wanted to hold a welcome baby shower for the new family. Sarah and Colin had other ideas. They said they really had all the baby items they needed and asked Grace instead to make diaper gifts to be given to families in need. Grace collected diapers and gave them to the Family Sunshine Center, a crisis intervention organization for victims of domestic violence and human trafficking.
In 2022, Grace’s research identified the need for a second diaper bank in the greater Montgomery area. The existing one happily shared information with Grace about its organization and distribution. With their help, we had an outline of how to begin.
We sought diaper donations from our congregation, and in 2023, we had our first Diapers with Grace distribution. We distributed 720 diapers to 20 children from 12 families. We ended our first 10 months of Diapers with Grace with a total distribution of 16,520 diapers for 439 children from 260 families. We believed that word-of-mouth and social media advertising were the source of the rapid growth of our distribution, and we had only scratched the surface of the need for diapers in our community. Foster families, grandparents returning to parenting, neighbors, fire victims, recent immigrants, and others needing assistance through a challenging time all found a friendly, welcoming place that loved their kids.
In August 2023, Grace hosted a diocesan parish growth conference. At the outreach group discussion, each person was asked what their church was doing for outreach. When I finished speaking, the woman beside me said, “Are you distributing safe sleep information with your diapers?” She introduced herself as a member of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Prattville. She was Carolyn Miller, the State Perinatal Division Director. She said she had materials on safe sleep practices for infants, a safe sleep garment, materials on breastfeeding, and how to get car seats and cribs from the State of Alabama if a family could not afford them. We connected, and Carolyn provided Grace with both English and Spanish materials. We also regularly distribute information about the Imagination Library and the local food pantry.
2024 was a year of continued growth for Diapers with Grace. We distributed 35,630 diapers to 1153 children from 506 families. Parishioners continued to contribute diapers and their time, but Grace explored other sources for acquiring diapers as we grew. The Pike Road United Methodists, who share our campus; Pike Road teachers, and others have joined in wrapping diapers for distribution; Aim Academy (our neighboring daycare), Pike Road Leo Club, Mental Health America members, the town of Pike Road, Holy Comforter Episcopal Church, the Kiwanis Club, and a few unknown online donors have all made contributions towards diapers. We received an outreach grant from the Diocese of Alabama, and the Town of Pike Road collected diapers for Diapers with Grace during their Season of Giving Campaign.
As we begin 2025, we continue to look for new sources of diapers for this ministry and, as we often say, are grateful for so many drier baby bottoms. If your parish is considering having your diaper bank, Grace Episcopal Church Pike Road would happily share some of our “lessons learned” with your parish. The Rev. Sarah Smith Halloran can be reached at (334) 215-1422 or rector@ graceepiscopalpikeroad.org.
PARTNERS IN MISSION
BY: THE REVS. SUSAN OAKES, KATIE NAKAMURA RENGERS, AND JOSIAH RENGERS
Inlate 2024, The Abbey Worshiping Community and Saint Thomas’ Church all based in Birmingham, created a covenant of shared mission and mutual support. We want to share our story because we believe this kind of collaboration can be replicated around the diocese.
St. Thomas is a 35-year-old congregation in a majority-white suburb. Ten miles away is The Abbey, a new church plant and coffee shop ministry established in 2015 in an urban neighborhood of Birmingham—a city known for its ongoing story of racism, activism, and reconciliation.
The Abbey was born not so much out of love of coffee as a vehicle to share the love of Jesus by engaging people who would not normally enter an Episcopal Church. The coffee shop ministry was located between the attractive new entertainment district and longtime residents, who include people in subsidized housing and people experiencing homelessness. Across the railroad tracks is one of the poorest housing projects in the city.
Saint Thomas was an early partner with The Abbey in providing free coffee and hospitality to anyone in need, regardless of their ability to pay. In 2019, the coffee shop closed, and the ministry continues through two connected ministries: its thriving, urban, missional worshiping community and its Breakfast Church, a daily outdoor ministry that continues to feed anyone hungry for food and, or community. Breakfast Church runs on the combined energy of several local parishes, including The Abbey, Saint Stephen’s, All Saints, Church of the Ascension, and Saint Thomas. Last year, The Alabama Episcopalian featured an article about The Abbey’s partnership with Zion Spring Baptist, where they meet for weekly worship. 2024 was a year of discerning more with Saint Thomas about how to deepen their shared ministry in Avondale. The two churches recently created a formalized partnership of mutual support, which includes shared clergy (the Rev. Susan Oakes), mission, and resources - including some administrative support. We committed to creating opportunities for our communities to serve side by side, and experience God’s love and grace in new ways.
In our Birmingham context, the history of white flight and racialized poverty has left deep generational wounds and created cultural differences between the struggling urban dwellers and their relatively affluent suburban neighbors. We have learned that the food we share is simply a conduit for developing authentic relationships that foster healing between these communities and reflect the kingdom of God. These relationships teach us that, no matter where a person may be located spiritually or socio-economically, each of us is made in the image of God, has a name and story with inherent value and dignity, and has something to contribute. We see the light of Christ reflected most radiantly and colorfully through our interactions with a wide spectrum of humanity. We believe our work proclaims the Good News of Jesus Christ through our words and actions, invites new believers to experience God’s grace, responds to the human needs and suffering in our community, challenges unjust structures of our society, and ultimately restores God’s Beloved Community.
We believe this unique partnership between The Abbey and Saint Thomas is fostering a deeper faith among our members, opening our hearts and minds to God’s power and presence around us, enabling us to grow our ministry of doing God’s justice in this world, bearing witness to God’s mercy for us and all whom we meet, and radiating God’s glory for us to experience together.
SWEET POTATOES, BEANS, RICE, AND EMPTY BOWLS
DR. CAROL LAMMON – ST. MATTHIAS’ CHURCH, TUSCALOOSA
For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me something to drink. I was a stranger and you invited me in - Matthew 25:35
When I was growing up, my father, a retired US Navy Chief Petty Officer, would say, “all hands-on deck,” when there was a job that required maximum effort and everyone’s participation. At St. Matthias, Tuscaloosa, I recently heard our senior warden, Amanda, use this phrase to call the church to work during our October Beans and Rice Distribution. This was a special month because one of our members, John, drives a long bed trailer to the farms of Mississippi and returns with approximately two thousand pounds of sweet potatoes to share with our community. This was our third year to have this seasonal food, and our community had been asking for months if we would do it again this year. This mountain of sweet potatoes is bagged up on the day of distribution because doing so early would cause the food to begin to spoil. So, many hands were needed to make the distribution of beans, rice, and sweet potatoes efficient and successful
for everyone within this ministry, and it unites our church with a common purpose of serving others. Due to increasing need, we have recently raised the number of households served back to our pre-pandemic level of 250 per month. We were thankful to receive an outreach grant this year from the diocese to help support this ministry, as the cost of serving 250 households with beans and rice is about $880 per month at this time.
We are a small church with an average Sunday attendance of around 30-35 parishioners. On a typical beans and rice distribution day, we have around 10-12 people helping. On “Sweet Potato Day,” we had twenty-two volunteers of all ages, from kids to seniors, working together to serve others. It was a joyous and productive day with “all hands-on deck” to get the work done.
The Beans and Rice ministry is in its tenth year at St. Matthias and has been a blessing to our church as well as the community. By the beginning of 2025, we will hit a milestone by serving 20,000 households with beans and rice. There is a job
Last year, we began an empty bowls fundraiser at St. Matthias to support the beans and rice ministry, and we have just completed our second empty bowls event. This was the second time in two months that I heard the expression “all hands-on deck.” It takes many hands to conduct a fundraiser like empty bowls. Bowls were donated by a local woodworker, the Kentuck Red Dog Potters, and Big Leaf Pottery. Soup cozies were crocheted by one of our members. Twelve pots of delicious soup were provided by our parishioners, and the men of the church served the meager meal of soup, bread, and water, to the participants. The planning committee, set-up crew, and clean-up crew did a great job. It was a wonderful day of fun and fellowship. The event made us mindful of those experiencing food insecurity and thankful for the opportunity to help fight this serious problem in our community. We had several guests from other churches in the area and we raised more donations this year than last, totaling $3210.
This will purchase beans and rice for three more months to help feed hungry people in our community. Thanks be to God.
8.9.2025
521 NORTH 20TH STREET, BIRMINGHAM, AL 35203–2682 www.dioala.org
Missio 2025 in Honduras:
“Mission with Jesus,” April 29-May 2
Registration is now open for Missio 2025, the world mission conference for the Episcopal Church, which this year is organized by GEMN and the Diocese of Honduras.
At the invitation of Bishop Lloyd Allen of the Diocese of Honduras, Missio will meet in the city of San Pedro Sula, April 29-May 2. Tuesday the 29th and Friday the 2nd will be the travel days for the core conference.
“Mission with Jesus” is the Missio theme, with emphases on Evangelism, Empowerment, and Climate Change. Missio will be bilingual, with simultaneous interpretation offered between English and Spanish.
For additional information and registration, scan this QR Code.
The Episcopal Church of Alabama Carpenter House, 521 North 20th Street, Birmingham, AL 35203–2682
Bishop: The Rt. Rev. Glenda S. Curry
Assisting Bishop: The Rt. Rev. Brian N. Prior
The Alabama Episcopalian
Nana Afia Tenkoramaa, Editor
Miles Parsons, Art Director Vol. 110, No.5; 1st Quarter, 2025; USPS 070-910 ISSN 1041-3316
Periodical postage paid
POSTMASTER: Please send address corrections to Liza Lee Horton, The Alabama Episcopalian, 521 North 20th Street, Birmingham, AL, 35203-2682.
The Alabama Episcopalian is published quarterly. Please send stories and photographs (full color, at the highest resolution possible) to Nana Afia Tenkoramaa, Editor at nana@dioala.org.
The submission deadlines for each issue are February 1, May 1, August 1, and November 1. Parishes and individuals, please send all address changes or additions to Liza Lee Horton, lhorton@dioala.org, or Carpenter House, 521 North 20th Street, Birmingham, AL 35203–2682
