The Bishop’s column | camp allen | profiles
Diolog
sept 2012
volume 2
number 3
The Texas Episcopalian
diversity: Changing demongraphics offer new opportunities page 08
Kids 4 peace Camp allen page 32
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epicenter.org
www.epicenter.org
Diolog: The Texas Episcopalian (since 1874) is an official publication of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas.
Our mission is to bring you the wealth of stories from the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion, to inform and inspire you and to deepen your spiritual life. Publisher:
The Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle
Editor: Carol E. Barnwell, cbarnwell@epicenter.org designer:
LaShane K. Eaglin, leaglin@epicenter.org
Staff Writer:
Luke Blount, lblount@epicenter.org
Diolog: The Texas Episcopalian (PE# USPS 10965, ISSN# 1074-441X) is published quarterly (March, June, September and December) for $25 a year by the Episcopal Diocese of Texas, 1225 Texas St., Houston, TX 77002-3504. Periodical postage paid at Houston, TX. Address changes may be emailed to: txepis@epicenter.org
Postmaster: Address changes: Diolog: The Texas
Episcopalian, 1225 Texas St., Houston, TX 77002-3504
© 2012 The Episcopal Diocese of Texas
The Episcopal Diocese of Texas
Contents:
september 2012
In This Issue: 04 Editor’s Letter Carol E. Barnwell
Faith & HEALING
St. Cuthbert Sunday morning Eucharist
06
06 Bishop’s Column 08 Changing Demographics Offer New Opportunities
Photo: Brian Schack
It’s About Radical Hospitality
Diversity & Culture
11
As our population becomes more diverse, how will the Church respond?
13 Using Invitation to Build Relationships
12 Know Thyself, Then Reach Out 14 Our Challenge Is to Make Room 16 Exploring Power and Culture 18 Holy Listening 20 general Convention profiles
Luminary, Juan Rosa page 22
Lauren Anderson, former principal ballerina for the Houston Ballet.
24 Photo: Brian Schack
music of the heart Lauren Anderson, America’s first Black prima ballerina, talks about her faith and what feeds her soul.
The Arts, Lauren Anderson page 24 Advocate, El Buen Samaritano page 28 Congregation, St. Cuthbert, Houston page 30 32 Camp Allen Kids 4 Peace
34 Bishop’s calendar & people Cover and Inside Cover Photo: Carol E. Barnwell
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editor’s letter
The New Normal I was fascinated to learn last spring that Houston no longer had any racial majorities. I had recently attended my goddaughter’s induction into the National Honor Society and was struck by the diversity of students at Lamar High School. It was like attending a meeting at the United Nations. I remember when it was big news that an African-American girl had enrolled in my high school in Austin! The only diversity we experienced was the science geeks, the jocks, the “in” crowd and everyone else. In many places today, our congregations are like my high school — the most segregated gatherings in the community. Some of reason is that our churches reflect their neighborhoods. Rice University’s Dr. Steven Klineberg noted the changes in our Houston-area demographics. Although diversity is not something we can force, as our neighborhoods begin to reflect these changing demographics, our churches should be prepared to welcome people who may not necessarily look the same as the current membership. The Rev. Alex Montes-Vela, who is of Peruvian descent and married to a woman of Vietnamese descent, is building a new congregation in Manor, just outside Austin. He has training in multicultural ministry and is being purposeful to reach out to the many different people in his area. He had some words of wisdom to offer on the subject of diversity: “The question that communities of faith need to ask is, ‘Do we reflect (ethnically and socioeconomically, language, etc.) the community surrounding us? And if we don’t, what changes and modifications do we need to make in
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order to become a community where those people who surround us feel welcomed? What opportunities outside of our buildings do we create in order to meet and begin a relationship with those people (no strings attached)?’ It’s hard work, and it’s uncomfortable and scary. Nevertheless, very transformational.” I invite you to read the article on Klineberg’s findings on page 8, then to consider how we might be a more welcoming community, how we might plan ministries that will allow young people to meet the challenges of this twenty-first century. We have articles that address the many layers of diversity and culture: how we hear a diversity of opinions (page 18)—especially important as we enter this election season; the notion of power (page 16): and age diversity (page 14). We have highlighted the diverse culture at St. Cuthbert in the congregation profile; Lauren Anderson, the country’s first Black prima ballerina and member of St. James’, Houston; and Juan Rosa, a Salvadorian immigrant who fled from war and now helps other immigrants at El Buen Samaritano, the diocese’s social service agency in Austin. Part of being a vital part of the community is to have the right questions. I hope this issue helps you discern some new and interesting ones for yourself as well as your congregation while it introduces you to some very interesting people. Texas is a better place because the Episcopal Church is here. Go to: epicenter.org/because to complete this sentence! “I dream of a church that _______________.” We’ll report your answers in the Advent issue of Diolog. Blessings,
Carol E. Barnwell
Editor
cbarnwell@epicenter.org
Photo: LaShane K. Eaglin
Janita K. Lo
The Next Great Project On Sunday, October 23, 2011, former U.S. Senator John C. Danforth gave a sermon at St. Martin’s, Houston, entitled “The Next Great Project: Holding America Together.” Visit tinyurl.com/sendanforth to read his sermon.
Lets talk about diversity The Rev. Eric Law and the Rev. Canon John Newton sat down to discuss diversity and its context in the Bible. Visit tinyurl.com/lawnewton to watch a video of their discussion.
edot gallery Features Episcopal Artist
Janita K. Lo Through October 30
Photo: Carol E. Barnwell
Opening reception September 6, 5-7 p.m.
diocese elects new Bishop Suffragan The Rev. Jeff W. Fisher was elected as the next Bishop Suffragan of the Diocese of Texas on June 2. Visit tinyurl.com/fisherelected to read more.
EDOT Gallery is located in the Diocesan Center at Texas and San Jacinto and is open from 9-5, M-F. Call 713.520.6444 for group tours.
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Diversity and culture Welcoming
A Wideness in God’s Mercy by the Rt. Rev. C. Andrew Doyle
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At seminary during Morning Prayer I sat on the back row, pulpit side, against the wall. From my vantage point, for three years, I looked towards the altar and at the stained glass window of Jesus teaching his disciples. “Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel” (Mark 16:15) was written around the windows. This is our work as a community and as individual followers of Jesus. (Matthew 28:19) To everyone … through our actions and works of mercy, by word and by example. Paul says exactly this when he told the people of the church at Thessalonica that they were to be imitators of Christ and examples to those around them. (1 Thessalonians 1:6ff) We, the friends of Jesus, live out the gospel in our own lives. Quite simply we tell people about the grace of God and that God loves them. I love Hymn 577: “God is love, and where true love is God himself is there. Here in Christ we gather, love of Christ our calling. Christ, our love, is with us, gladness be his greeting. Let us fear and love him, holy God eternal. Loving him, let each love Christ in one another.” Loving God and loving others is the first and second commandment. (Deuteronomy 6:4ff; Matthew 22:36ff) It is simple but it is not easy. We get confused about the love of God, I think. Sometimes we choose who should receive God’s love. A good and wise friend always reminds me that we move from God’s free grace and outpouring of love to the scarcity of human love when we use the word “but.” God loves Bob but ... I know God redeemed my sister but ... Our human response to God’s free outpouring of love on the cross becomes the southern equivalent to “God bless her but …” followed by any number of slurs one might offer. We, me included, limit God’s love. It is a reality. We may not want to love too much, the wrong person, someone who doesn’t love us back, someone who might cause us trouble or pain, someone who is different from us and therefore difficult to comprehend.
When I am in control of offering God’s love, I am relieved from the responsibility of preaching the gospel to people I don’t agree with, those who aren’t deserving or those with whom it is simply uncomfortable to speak. Hymn 470 reads: “For the love of God is broader than the measure of man’s mind, and the heart of the Eternal is most wonderfully kind. But we make his love too narrow by false limits of our own; and we magnify its strictness with a zeal he will not own.” There is a wideness in God’s mercy; and it seems to me that in order to preach the gospel in all the world, to all people, I have to endeavor to remove my own limiting human response to God’s love. In the Diocese of Texas we believe that we will know we are making progress towards God’s kingdom when our churches reflect the diversity in age and race and social status that we find in our changing cultural landscape. This reflection is a result of loving God and loving our neighbor with abandon and openness. The result must be something like John’s witness in Revelation. He writes, “[T]here was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, saying, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!’” (7:9ff) From both the Old and New Testament, I believe the whole of scripture teaches that the Kingdom of God is a place where God’s love binds us into a new community. When the day is done and we have preached the Gospel to the ends of the earth, we shall rest in the arms of God with all sorts and conditions of men and women, the young and the old, the rich and the poor, the Republican and Democrat, those who today are divided by national strife and a whole host of ethnicities. That is the Kingdom of God I believe in. That is good news for all the world to hear.
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Diversity and culture
Changing Demographics Offer New opportunities by Carol E. Barnwell and Luke Blount
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This spring Houston passed a milestone: the city no longer has any one group who is an ethnic majority. According to Stephen Klineberg, codirector of Rice University’s Kinder Institute for Urban Research, “Houston is where America will be by 2040.” But where will the Church be in terms of diversity in the future? Indeed, Texas grew by 20 percent between 2000 and 2010, while average Sunday attendance in Episcopal churches in the Diocese of Texas dropped by more than 3,000 people. While not all four million new people moved into the Diocese of Texas, a deeper look into the changes can help the Church better understand how and where it can grow. Klineberg and his graduate students have surveyed a random group of people annually for the last 30+ years in Houston and the surrounding area. Although the statistics represent only a small geographic portion of the Diocese of Texas, they are similar throughout East and Central Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, people identifying as Hispanic or Latino account for the biggest population increases in Texas. The Houston metro area alone saw an influx of almost 750,000 Hispanic people in just 10 years. Similarly, in Waco, the overall population increased from 213,000 to 234,000, almost entirely accounted for by Hispanics. The metro areas of Austin, College Station, Killeen, Tyler, and Texarkana all saw increases of their Hispanic population by at least 53 percent. Tyler’s Hispanic population grew by 85 percent, though still that accounts for only 17 percent of Tyler’s population. In Beaumont, the population remained virtually unchanged in number. But the area lost 18,000 non-Hispanic white people and gained 20,000 Hispanic people. In many cities, the Hispanic population isn’t the fastest growing in terms of percentage. Houston’s Asian population rose 70 percent from 228,000 to 387,000. Other cities saw 50–60 percent increases in the multiracial population. All the growth during the last quarter
century has come from immigration, Klineberg said in his explanation of the most recent survey. Of the population over 60 years of age, 70 percent are Anglo. Those younger than 30 are 75 percent non-Anglo. One-third of the Texas population five years and older speaks a language other than English at home. Twenty five percent of households are singles. The fastest growing groups are empty nesters and young professionals with no children. One-third of all households have children. The trend to move to more urban areas where shops and restaurants are within walking distance is growing, while the number of people who aspire to move to the suburbs is decreasing. This doesn’t spell the demise of the suburbs, but it does give one pause.
Access to Education Is Key In the previous half century, our wealth came from natural resources. The East Texas oil fields attracted people who were mostly Anglo. After the oil bust of 1982, there was no Anglo growth. Today, there is a more even distribution of ethnicities among the four “great communities” in Harris County. “Just striking!” Klineberg said, “It is where all of America will be in 25–30 years.” The gap between rich and poor is accelerating across America, and one’s ability to make a good living is predicated on access to higher education. Investment in education is key for the future. “How Houston navigates the transition to build a successful, inclusive, multiethnic society will have enormous implications not just for Houston’s future, but for the American future. This is where America’s future is going to be worked out,” Klineberg contended. This diversity, Klineberg said, can be the source of great strength for the whole culture. We remain a very religious community: 35 percent are fundamentalists in terms of their interpretation of the Bible, 10 percent are secularists, and there is a drop in the number of Protestants along with a small increase in the number of Roman Catholics. The number of those who are Buddhist, Muslim or Hindu has tripled. Klineberg believes that acceptance and appreciation of other religions and ethnicities is inevitable, although “a lot of people are
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uncomfortable.” Historically, Americans have thought that the last group of immigrants was great, and that the current group is detrimental, whether that was the Chinese at the turn of the twentieth century, or later the Irish, Italians, etc.
Changes Present Challenges Klineberg’s surveys have identified three major challenges for Texans: education, quality of life and building a truly successful, inclusive, multiethnic society. “That’s the agenda for the twenty-first century,” he concludes. Sunday morning worship is still a segregated time in church and while many seek out worship in their own languag—Spanish or Vietnamese, for example—most congregations just seem to reflect the neighborhoods in which they are located. The difference today is that those neighborhoods are changing and becoming more multiethnic. Our challenge is to be intentional, to live lives of radical welcome, both to our neighbors and to visitors in our churches. This may be easier for a younger generation who have grown up connected to the whole world. For the rest of us, God has laid a wealth of discovery at our door and asks us to embrace it. How will the Episcopal Church respond to these challenges in the future and help prepare upcoming generations? How do we incorporate a changing ethnic
community into our Sunday mornings? How do we design our outreach to fill in the gaps, to lift up the vulnerable? Some churches may find they need more bike racks and fewer parking spaces. Some are in the perfect place to offer English classes or college prep tutoring. Each congregation has a slightly different context and these questions can only be answered by examining the community around you. But to do so will guarantee a place for the Church in the future of the community. It will mean that your community is a better place because the Episcopal Church is there.
Training Available The Diocese of Texas offers The Fertile Ground Project training developed by the Rev. Eric Law and the Kaleidoscope Institute to help church communities respond faithfully to the call to be inclusive of all cultures and people. Workshops can be designed to meet specific needs and range from several hours to a full day. They are offered without charge to any church or organization within the diocese. Contact Denise Trevino, missioner for intercultural development at dtrevino@epicenter.org or call her at: 512.478.0580. See article on page 14. Go online now and tell us how you would finish this sentence: I dream of a church … epicenter.org/because.
2000
2010
Texas grew 20% while the average sunday attendance in episcopal churches dropped by 3,000 in the Diocese of Texas. 10 |
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It’s About Radical Hospitality Let mutual love continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing that some have entertained angels without knowing it! Hebrews 13:1-4 by the Rev. Victoria Mason Being multicultural is all about
I lived in a Latin American
came, I was eager to recall and
hospitality. It’s not the formal
country for a period of time during my
celebrate the birth of Jesus in a way
hospitality that we offer to guests.
childhood. I went to a school in which
I had never before. Similarly, the
It’s the generously informal welcome
there were children of 22 different
Resurrection of our Lord Jesus was
we extend to our beloved family
nationalities. I learned Spanish as the
more precious after experiencing
members. Being multicultural
Latin American children did. Half
the pageantry of the Via Crucis
is about us, not them. When we
of my classes were taught in English
procession on Good Friday. My “norte
welcome newcomers into our fold,
and the other half in Spanish. I
americano” Episcopal origins are
are we letting them in or are we
went to birthday parties of Peruvian
frequently challenged and consistently
expanding our circle? When we “let
friends that included everybody in
enriched by being in this multicultural
them in,” we imply that “they” are
the extended family, neighbors and
congregation.
strangers to be invited. It’s up to them
the families of the children who were
to integrate into our community.
invited to the party. A very different
What if we turned that around? What
birthday party than the Chucky Cheese
if we understood living in brotherly
feasts that we have here in the States!
love as inviting ourselves to change and adapt?
When I came to Iglesia Episcopal
Being multicultural should be a natural experience for us. After all, we all have immigrant origins. Our families, our communities and our churches have customs that came from
San Francisco de Asís, I thought I
each first-generation immigrant in our
knew a lot about Latino culture. Not
heritage. Being multicutural cannot
have to adapt my expectations. I have
so. I had a lot to learn and I still do
be a melting pot, in which all our
to learn about the cultural norms of
after three years. Being multicultural
heritages are blended into single color
the new members of my family. I also
is about opening my mind and heart
porridge. Being multicultural should
have to become aware of the norms of
to other ways of being and doing. It’s
be about adding more colors and
my own culture to know what might
about paying attention and observing
textures to the mosaic that illustrates
be getting in the way of developing
what’s different. For example, I found
our community.
relationships. We generally are not
that the Mexican tradition of Las
aware of the many hidden rules we
Posadas deepened and enriched my
Mason is a deacon at San Francisco de Asis, Austin.
have in our own culture.
Advent experience. When Christmas
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| 11 | SEPTEMBER 2012
Diversity and culture
Know Thyself, Then Reach Out According to the Rev. Eric Law, founder of the Kaleidoscope Institute, “Most people think about culture as race and ethnicity, but I like us to think about culture as more than that. Culture is all the things that impact the way I see myself and the way I relate to other people and my environment—creation, my community, and so on.”
Without the ability to articulate who you are as an Episcopalian, it’s impossible to understand and For Law, perhaps the most important piece of welcome people understanding culture is for people to first understand of other cultures themselves and to be authentic. That self-awareness to our churches. removes much of the difficulty in getting to know and “If I don’t know welcoming people of different backgrounds. who I am, I am going to be Law’s notion of culture is pretty broad. In fact he said, culture can revolve around smallest details of our lives. Law pretty fearful,” said Law. Our says that people who wear glasses share a culture, and so first reaction is do short people or tall people. “Tall people, short people apt to be: “I’m literally experience the world at a different level,” he said. going to lose my “You’ve heard of northerners, southerners in the United church to these The Rev. Eric Law of the Kaleidoscope Institute led workshops for the two-day conference at Palmer States—west coast people. Why do we have these labels? people.” Memorial, Houston. Because there are differences. It’s a very different mindset, Without a clear knowledge of our own faith and our and all of those things shape us. Some of the basic ones are place in that faith, being open to a more diverse group of gender. Males and females do experience the world very people to worship with us will create a lot of tension. “And differently. And age: my niece, for example, learned how with that fear, that’s it. It will stop you. You have to first to work the iPad at the age of two. What was I learning at know who you are,” Law said. the age of two? She learned a whole different set of skills because of her age and the period of time in which she grew This makes a great case for strong, lifelong Christian up. formation in all our churches if we are to some day reflect “So when I talk about cultural difference, I don’t mean just race and ethnicity. There are a whole lot of other things that make us different, and those differences can cause friction and tension. As leaders we need to learn how to deal with that and have skills to deal with that. Gone are the days when we assume the persons who are coming into our church have similar values to ours. That’s the ‘50s model of church. Today, I actually make the assumption that the person sitting next to me will most likely think differently, experience the world differently.”
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the diversity that surrounds us in our communities and not the islands of white, brown or black congregations who usually gather on Sunday mornings. The Kaleidoscope Institute was developed to address race and diversity issues in faithful and constructive ways. Training is provided in the Diocese of Texas by Denise Trevino, dtrevino@epicenter.org.
Photo: LaShane K. Eaglin
Using Invitation to Build Relationships by the Rev. Alex Montes-Vela I remember the first time I experienced the Kaleidoscope Bible Study. It seemed so simple. And it is. However, I had not yet realized its power, especially that of a process called “mutual invitation.” Mutual invitation is the process by which those in a group invite one another to speak. When invited to speak, you have the option to speak or to say, “I pass for now” when you need a little more time, or just “pass” when you don’t want to say anything. Everyone is invited to speak and everyone has the opportunity to “invite” others to speak. The great thing is that we don’t only get to speak, we also get to listen—to our own voice, and that of others. What a concept! In the Book of Proverbs we read, “Listen as Wisdom calls out! Hear as understanding raises her voice!” (Proverbs 8:1, New Living Translation, emphasis mine). I attended the Kaleidoscope Institute (KI) (now called The Fertile Ground Project) here in the Diocese of Texas to learn some additional tools as I prepared to plant a church in Manor, Texas, a small suburb northeast of Austin. It was at KI that I learned about “mutual invitation.” That church plant was put on hold when I was asked to be the interim priest for a Spanishspeaking Episcopal congregation in south Austin. Their bishop’s committee, or leadership team,
had not formally met for several months, and as I talked to them to get a sense of the congregation’s situation, they did not say much. So as I prepared for a formal meeting with them I asked myself, “How can I get them to talk and share their thoughts?” And then I realized, “Oh yeah, ‘mutual invitation!’” In the context of a Kaleidoscope Bible Study we had our first formal meeting, where the members of this leadership team shared their hopes for the future of their congregation. As they told me later on, mutual invitation had given them “a voice” and an opportunity to take responsibility for the work they had been elected to do. Many times they had stayed quiet as others talked or expressed their opinions. For the remainder of my eightmonth stay at this congregation, we used this format at leadership meetings. As the congregation went through the search process for a permanent priest, they continued to use mutual invitation, giving them a sense of ownership. I returned to the work of starting a church in Manor and used the Kaleidoscope Bible Study for midweek gatherings in my home. It was amazing to see how the Spirit moved and spoke through each of those newly gathered people—of which the majority had not attended church on a regular basis or ever been to a Bible study before. “Pass” or “pass for now” soon turned into raw proclamations of God’s mercy
and grace, and God’s presence in unexpected places. It was in one of these Bible studies that a mother told her 22-year-old daughter, “I love you,” for the first time ever! Such a simple tool this “mutual invitation” is, yet so powerful. There’s something special in that discipline of waiting to be invited to share—of knowing that while you are listening, you will also have an opportunity to share. And it’s also special that even though you’re going to “pass for now,” you’re still part of the conversation. Because of people’s cultural background or upbringing, or because one is an introvert and the other an extrovert, the dynamics within groups may not give an opportunity for people to intentionally “speak” and to “listen.” Can you imagine how much we could be missing because we don’t get to hear the voice of others? Can you imagine how much more enriched our communities would be if those of us who like to talk would actually listen to others? I continue to use the tools that I learned from the Kaleidoscope Institute. I encourage you and other members of your community to attend its workshops. The fruits you and your community will reap will be invaluable. Montes-Vela is the founding vicar of a multiethnic, Episcopal community in Manor, St. Mary Magdalene.
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Our Challenge is to Make Room by Matt Blank Spanning generations, cultures, languages and time, humanity has a deep and profound need to belong. As the body of Christ who promises to raise our baptized into the knowledge and love of Jesus Christ, we have work to do to live into our baptismal covenant and fulfill that need for others and ourselves. We are called to help our youth and young adult generations find a place to belong. Episcopalians are currently living under a ceiling of chronic anxiety. Between the widening walls of empty pews and an aging population, we justifiably fear the death of our Church. When I consider mid-1980s and 90s youth ministry, the catalyst of a dynamic youth program was entertainment (food, movies, skits, etc.). This paved the way for lasting relationships in which many of our current lay and clergy leaders were formed. Unfortunately, entertainment-based ministry is no longer effective because the church will almost always lose to more stimulating possibilities. Entertainment is no longer the primary entrypoint for youth and young adults. Youth and young adults are searching for a place to call home, a place to find shelter and a place where they can serve. In the first chapter of Ephesians we hear that, as baptized people, we are “marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance” (v. 13-14). The mission of a church that
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wishes to break through the ceiling of anxiety and widening walls needs to live into this meaningful verse where we find hope for the future. We are called to help our younger generations find a place where they are “marked with a seal” and told that they are truly welcome in the kingdom. As believers in Christ and members of the Church, we vow to support spiritual formation and growth of every baptized individual. Not only do we vow to support them, we vow to do all in our power to do so (BCP 303). If we dig deeper into what it truly looks like to support others, we realize it is a heart-shaping process that can be painful. Supporting someone in their formation means that we take the back seat, walk behind and encourage them onward. There are very real growing pains to becoming a multigenerational congregation. Change only happens when we humble ourselves, break down our own pride and allow the Holy Spirit to intercede. The key to becoming a congregation that seeks to grow a younger community is profoundly simple and challenging: make room. Whether it is finding another place for longtime members to serve or starting new ministries, members should make room for younger generations to serve. Younger generations should be vestry members, ushers and greeters. If we want to be a diverse church, we must be flexible to change. The apostle Paul reminds us in his first letter to the Corinthians that we “are the body of Christ and individually members of it” (12:27). All of us are equally important and necessary to the community. As a church we are challenged to believe it. We are called to make room and help young people find a place to belong. Blank is youth and young adult missioner for the Diocese of Texas.
Ways to “Make Room” for Younger Generations Allow young people to serve in ministries where they can use their spiritual gifts. Youth should serve as Lay Eucharistic Ministers, ushers, readers and greeters. Have youth and young adult representation on vestry. Youth may not have a vote but they can be representatives with a voice. Hold parish-wide events where all groups serve in different capacities. Place people in groups by gifts, not ages. Start a discipleship program where younger generations are paired with older to learn from one another. Introduce yourself to youth and young adults and learn their names. Invite! Youth and young adults want to be invited to coffee hour and other events so do not be afraid to extend the invitation. Tradition is what binds our church together but be creative as you vision. Plan for your replacement in a ministry. This provides younger people with a place to serve and gives you an opportunity to serve in other ways. Follow up with young adults beyond Sundays. Believe me, they are not too cool for you. They want to find a place to belong. Shift the scope of stewardship. All of us have something to bring to the table and we are all equally members.
Missionpalooza went to Bastrop Missionpalooza is the annual diocesan youth mission trip that brings together our youth to serve communities in need. This year, 160 participants from 15 churches took part in helping restore the Bastrop community. Serving groups painted, built, and planted all over Bastrop county. Visit vimeo.com/46709842 to watch a video on Missionpalooza.
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Diversity and culture
Exploring Power and Culture by Denise Trevino
“Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man’s character, give him power.” — Abraham Lincoln I think about this quote often when I do intercultural work. Historically, people have used their power to do incredibly positive things in the world, while others have misused it—sometimes intentional; sometimes not. As part of The Fertile Ground Project, a cultural competency workshop I teach across the diocese, we look at power and culture from many angles. In some ways, power and culture are at the root of understanding why and how all of us react to things, how we dialogue and how we treat others. Power can be defined as the ability to influence others. If you are in any position to influence someone else, whether as a teacher, parent, volunteer, clergy, vestry member, spouse or any other role we may play, then we all hold some form of power over others. Culture, on the other hand, is often defined as the behaviors, beliefs and values characteristic of a particular social, ethnic or age group—like pop culture, Hispanic culture, etc. There may be crossover in behavior among people of similar cultural backgrounds, but power is experienced
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differently depending on one’s own cultural background. Power in fact can have two very different dimensions for many of us. In certain situations, there can be a state of feeling very powerful, and for others, a state of feeling powerless. Most of us have experienced both. The state of powerfulness or powerlessness can determine how we navigate in the world with others. Imagine you are coming into contact with a new culture, a dominate culture. What might your state of power feel like? I attended a course recently on immigration and resettlement where several immigrants shared their stories. Every story was vastly different, but one after another, what I heard was not a state of feeling powerful, having finally made it to the U.S., but a state of feeling powerless. Putting aside for a moment one’s own political views about immigration and resettlement, I’m inviting you to imagine what it might feel like to be in a position of powerlessness for months or even years. As a Christian I ask myself, “What can I better understand about someone who might be experiencing that state of powerlessness?” If I hold any power at all, is there something I can or want to do
The Fertile Ground Workshops In the workshops that we offer congregations, I try to illuminate the blind spots. In one parish, the people have made leaps and bounds by looking at their own culture and power through a new lens. When it comes to our own self-awareness and cultural differences with power, there are things we miss about others and ourselves. It’s not just about looking outward that helps us see and think differently—that would be easy. More often than not it’s when we look inward that the blind spots become clearer. Be mindful of the lives you encounter and tread lightly, for you may be perceived as more powerful than you realize in the eyes of the more vulnerable. What you do with that will be up to you. In this very complex, but deeply beautiful intertwining of cultures, I pray that each of us remembers our own power and how we use it. And more importantly, remember 2 Corinthians 12:9-10 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
to make a difference? Understanding the dynamics of intercultural relations is highly complex because it is ever changing. We naturally want to do the right thing, not fumble and be politically correct. We are not sure what language to use or how to interact with someone outside our culture for fear that we might offend, but the truth is we won’t always get it right and that’s okay. It’s in the fumbling that we learn the most, but we have to be willing to take that
chance to learn and to grow with one another. The important thing is to stay in that journey, to stay engaged. I think the trick is not to make assumptions about a person or any particular cultural group. If I can manage that one thing, I open a wealth of possibilities about someone’s true potential. When I think of the thousands of people who may walk into one of our churches, schools and communities, I wonder what their stories are. What led them to this place
at this time? What role would God have us play in it? If I truly want to discover my own role as a Christian in any cross-cultural relation, then the first thing I have to do is resist casting judgment, or making assumptions because to truly see God’s creation before us is to allow ourselves to see exactly who it is God set in our path— not a preconceived stereotype. Trevino is diocesan missioner for intercultural development. She can be reached at dtrevino@epicenter.org.
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Diversity and culture
Holy Listening by the Rev. David Luckenbach I appeal to you, brothers, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree, and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be united in the same mind and the same judgment. 1 Corinthians 1:10 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel. Philippians 1:27 I . . . urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the
bond of peace. Ephesians 4:1-3 I don’t envy people who live in swing states. Silvia and I lived in New Mexico for seven years, through a series of national election cycles. In 2004, the robocalls and massive campaign mail volume were a shock. In 2008, we stopped watching any television, ceased listening to the radio and screened every call. The barrage of political messages, most pointedly negative, was stunning. Vigorous partisan rhetoric, in part, expresses American liberty in action. We thank God for the freedom we possess to say much of what we want about people and ideas. But that does not mean we have to like it. Or choose to listen to it. Or elect to participate in it. I am concerned that, at times, Christians can be caught up in the heat of the rhetoric. I am concerned that
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the loud volume and cutting sharpness in the culture war can enter into the life of the congregation and her members and do harm. The Church has a spotty history of working through disagreements great and small. During the Great Schism between the Roman Catholics and the Eastern Orthodox, the leaders of both churches excommunicated one another. In essence, they declared that the other and the churches they led were going to hell. Likewise, during the Protestant Reformation, Christian made war on Christian for over a century. And in Texas alone, thousands of churches of all denominations have split up over various issues of doctrine, practice and personality. Not our best moments. The respective letters to congregations in Corinth,
Ephesus and Philippi are instructive. Paul’s appeal for unity of mind and Spirit is likely in response to a lack of it in those congregations. He encourages them to walk in manner worthy of Christ. He challenges them to love one another demonstrably. He lists hatred, discord, fits of rage, dissensions and factions among destructive “sins of the flesh.” The apostle challenges the Church to pursue the fruit of the Holy Spirit, including love, peace, patience, goodness, kindness and gentleness (Galatians 5:19-23).
Does that mean we all have to cheer for the Cowboys? No. Does it mean we cannot voice disagreement about public policy, tax rates or doctrine? Of course not. But God desires for the saints to bear the fragrance of Christ (2 Corinthians 2:14). We can and will disagree about health care policy. But we must agree to reflect Christ in the manner we express our opinions. Our words must bear witness to Him. Our volume must bring glory and honor to Him. Or we risk distracting people from the message of the Gospel.
As we approach the heart of election season this fall, we would do well to walk and speak in a manner worthy of Christ. In the midst of the yelling, God calls us “to speak evil of no one, to avoid quarreling, to be gentle, and to show perfect courtesy toward all people” (Titus 3:2). Choose to disagree agreeably. You will be a credit to your King. Luckenbach is rector of Christ Church, Tyler.
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General Convention
Convention Wrap-Up: Re-Envisioning the Church for the 21st Century by Matthew Davies [Episcopal News Service – Indianapolis] General Convention has called on the Episcopal Church to re-imagine its structure, taken historic steps towards full inclusion, endorsed positive investment in the Palestinian Territories, and reaffirmed its commitment to building Anglican Communion relationships while saying it is unable to adopt the Anglican Covenant. Based on the Anglican Communion’s Five Marks of Mission, the budget for the Episcopal Church in the 2013-2015 triennium was adopted unanimously by the 77th General Convention July 11. The budget is balanced at $111,516,032, compared to $111,808,350 for the current triennium, and comes with a small surplus of $30,000.
Structural Reform Of the almost 400 resolutions submitted to General Convention more than 90 related to structural reform. Most of those resolutions were similar in nature and it was the work of the Structure Committee at convention to consider the legislation and make its recommendations to bishops and deputies. Applause and cheers erupted July 11 as Resolution C095, which calls for creation of a task force to re-imagine the workings of the Episcopal Church in the 21st century. The legislation creates a special task force of up to 24 people who will gather ideas in the next two years from all levels of the church about possible reforms to its structures, governance and administration. Its work will culminate in a special gathering of people from every diocese to hear what recommendations the task force plans to make to the 78th General Convention. Its final report is due by November 2014. Bishop Andy Doyle serves as vice-chair of the Structure Committee.
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The spending portion of the budget for the next triennium is allocated according to the Anglican Communion’s Five Marks of Mission, and the categories of administration and governance. The budget assumes $73.5 million in commitments from the church’s dioceses (line 2), nearly $4 million less than the current triennium. The total is based on keeping at 19 percent the amount that the church asks dioceses to contribute annually to the churchwide budget.
Same-gender blessings In a historic move, convention authorized provisional use of a rite for blessing same-gender blessings. “The Witnessing and Blessing of a Lifelong Covenant” rite will be available for use beginning in Advent, but clergy will need the permission of their bishop under the terms of the resolution. In Texas, Bishop Doyle initially will allow St. Stephens, Houston and St. David’s, Austin to offer blessings. Other churches may request permission but do not have to offer same-sex blessings. The resolution calls on the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music “to conduct a review process over the next triennium, making clear that this is a work in progress,” the Rev. Ruth Meyers, deputy of the Diocese of Chicago, told the deputies. She chaired the convention Prayer Book, Liturgy and Church Music Committee’s subcommittee on blessings and the SCLM. The resolution directs the SCLM to include “diverse theological perspectives in the further development of the theological resource” and to invite responses from throughout the church as well as from the Anglican Communion and the church’s ecumenical partners. The resolution states that, under existing canons, clergy can decline to preside at a blessing liturgy and says that no one “should be coerced or penalized in any manner,
nor suffer any canonical disabilities” for objecting to or supporting the 77th General Convention’s action on blessings.
Gender identity, expression Two resolutions passed by convention offer support for the transgender community by adding gender expression and identity to two canons that prevent discrimination. One makes clear that the ordination discernment process is open to them, and another guarantees their equal place in the life, worship and governance of the church. Following action on same-gender blessings and transgender rights, the majority of the Diocese of South Carolina’s deputies left the General Convention July 11 because, in the words of its remaining clergy deputy, the gathering had passed resolutions that violate the doctrine, discipline and worship of the Episcopal Church. However, that deputy, the Very Rev. John B. Burwell, told Episcopal News Service, “We are not leaving the Episcopal Church.”
Photo: Carol E. Barnwell
Positive investment
Anglican Covenant,
Convention overwhelmingly supported a resolution on positive investment in the Palestinian Territories. But the bishops agreed to postpone indefinitely a conversation on corporate engagement.
Continuing Indaba
Resolution B019 affirms positive investment “as a necessary means to create a sound economy and a sustainable infrastructure” in the Palestinian Territories. It also calls on the church to support “the Jewish, Muslim, and Christian study on peace with justice in the Middle East,” and produce an annotated bibliography of resources. Resolution C060, which called on the church to engage “in corporate social responsibility by more vigorous and public corporate engagement with companies in the church’s investment portfolio that contribute to the infrastructure of the Occupation,” was tabled after Bishop Sean Rowe of Northwestern Pennsylvania called for the conversation to be postponed indefinitely. The deputies had passed that resolution on July 9, but it would have required the bishops’ consent.
Convention also affirmed its commitment to building relationships across the Anglican Communion, especially through the Continuing Indaba program, and to decline to take a position on the Anglican Covenant. After considering eight resolutions, the General Convention’s Committee on World Mission recommended adoption of two resolutions on Anglican Communion relationships and the Anglican Covenant, a document that initially had been intended as a way to bind Anglicans globally across cultural and theological differences. The Rev. Gay Jennings of Ohio was elected to serve as the next president of the House of Deputies and Byron Rushing of Massachusetts as the next vice president. Each will serve a three-year term beginning at the end of General Convention. To read more about General Convention, visit epicenter.org/gc2012. Matthew Davies is editor/reporter for Episcopal News Service.
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profile: luminary
Finding New Life, One Day at a Time Juan Rosa, 45, has spent nearly three decades in the U.S., sent here to live with a sister after escaping his kidnappers in El Salvador at age 16. The youngest son of five boys and six girls, Juan was studying to attend seminary when he was pulled from a bus by rebel soldiers looking for young men to conscript. Today he works for El Buen Samaritano, an Episcopal social service agency in Austin as the Healthy Living Coordinator, helping others to navigate new lives. He is married and has two young daughters. Juan Rosa
Photos: Austin American-Statesman
CEB: What was life like growing up in El Salvador?
CEB: Do you believe the values you learned from your
JR: I was the third youngest of 11 children. My parents
mother have helped to shape your life and work? JR: Correct. Correct. Neither of my parents went to school but they knew how to read and write. My mom could do math in her head. She always had a plan to get things done—she had goals. My mom was the one who said, “This is what needs to be done” and my dad would say, “Okay, fine. Let’s do it that way.” Even though they were partners, my mom had the power to get things done. She raised pigs and chickens to sell, then cows and horses, then bought some land and finally she built a house. She was really the
were farmers [in central El Salvador]. We raised beans, rice, corn—you name it. And we had so many cows that people came to us to buy milk. We always had enough for our family and more. I remember when I was little, my mother would put me on a horse to take food to the people in the fields who were working for us. This was not so common. I learned from her that we have to see other people as human beings.
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head of the family and she is still is. When I was 10, I decided I wanted to be a priest. When the priest laughed at me because I was so young, I went to see the bishop and he finally agreed to let me begin classes to prepare for seminary. I was there for six years.
CEB: Around 1984 the civil war in Salvador was at its peak and something happened that changed the course of your life. JR: Then is when my life actually started getting a little bit difficult. I was 16, the perfect age for the guerrillas. They would find youth in the street and just take them. That’s what happened—they kidnapped me. They stopped the bus, and they took 30 of us, whoever could handle a rifle. They would train you to fight against the government. We walked for the whole night but I knew the area and the next morning I got an opportunity and I just started running. I thought, “Whatever happens to me is just going to happen.” I never believed in the war, to this day, it’s something that I hate. It took me almost two days to get home because—you know—they had me taken so far, and instead of coming back the same direction, I had to go around. When I made it back home, my mother said, “You’re leaving! You are out of here!” It just wasn’t safe after I ran away, [the rebels] would come and look for me. So we got my passport and I left the next day. It was a fast move.
CEB: You spent a long time in Los Angeles. How did you go about building a new life?
JR: I had four brothers there and I got a [part-time] job in a warehouse, even though I was just 16. The warehouse man gave me a lot of opportunities and taught me a lot of things. I worked for that company for 17 years all the
way to being their warehouse manager. I received my citizenship in 2002. I met my wife at work in 1991 but she changed jobs and we didn’t see each other for 10 years. Then I ran into her brother playing soccer in 2001 and there she was. We dated for a long time and when we got married in 2006, we moved to Austin.
CEB: How did you learn about El Buen Samaritano?
JR: I broke my wrist just before we moved and couldn’t work for a while. I was invited to a a job fair that was combined with a health fair. I ran into a promotora from El Buen Samaritano. She started talking to me like she knew me. My hand was still bandaged, she said, “We have a clinic. We have an education department. We have a food pantry.” And I said—I didn’t know— food pantry—because I had never needed it. I came because my savings were running low. They were able to help me out at the food pantry. That was a great, great help. Then my wife being pregnant, they were able to help at the clinic. I found a job at a hotel at Lake Travis and I felt like I needed to give back to the community what I had received from them and I became a volunteer.
CEB: Volunteerism isn’t something
in someone that day, and being in the healthy living outreach department actually gives me that opportunity. El Buen opened that opportunity to me. I can say that it was probably something that God had for me when I had the accident and when I broke my wrist. You know? It was probably obstacles that I had to go through to find my calling now.
CEB: So the kidnapping in El Salvador, the soccer game in Los Angeles and this desk at El Buen Samaritano in Austin are connected?
JR: Exactly! CEB: Your mother was a role model to you. What does she think of all you’ve accomplished?
JR: She is so proud. She thinks it’s amazing. Yesterday I taught a class that was based on role models. Some people see me as a role model. I don’t know. I never took that into consideration that other people were looking at me because of what I’ve done, what I do and what I enjoy doing. Here is how God works. I run into a former student who pays for my lunch, then there is an old man who comes to see me who needs help to pay a doctor’s bill. If I can help I do. I don’t have to think twice, and if it needs to be done, it needs to be done.
normally done in many countries. Did it feel the same as your earlier call to seminary?
CEB: What would you tell to
JR: Exactly! Well, it’s not something
JR: I would say to take the chances
that is encouraged in our community. I found out that there were not so many males involved as volunteers, especially in the outreach. I felt so good when I started getting some training and I started going out to the community talking to people. Here is the thing: I feel nowadays that that’s my calling—helping people. I can have a smile when I know that I have helped someone or made a difference
someone who had just arrived in this country today? and be positive. And when I say that— it’s education and learning English. Keep your roots, keep [your story] to share with your children. Find and use the resources that we offer because it’s actually going to help them, their kids—their family. Find out more about Juan Rosa and El Buen Samaritano at: tinyurl.com/ juanrosa. Diolog
| 23 | SEPTEMBER 2012
profile: the arts
Music of the Heart by Carol E. Barnwell It was the music that first made the precocious and chatty child want to dance. “I heard [Tchaikovsky’s] Nutcracker at Jones Hall with my mother when I was five. It was the most beautiful thing I’d ever heard,” said Lauren Anderson. She began to study ballet at age seven and performed in the Houston Ballet’s very first production of the Nutcracker that same year. Anderson’s competitive spirit landed her a place in the company in 1983 and brought her to center stage in 1990 as the first Black principal dancer of a major ballet company. Anderson received international acclaim during her 23-year tenure, and in 2006 her final performance was as the Nutcracker’s Sugar Plum Fairy. The only child of a classical piano teacher and a school administrator, Anderson said she had “lots of love” growing up. She attended University Christian Church with “some Southern Baptist influence from my dad’s family.” Anderson asked to be baptized when she was 11. “I told my mom, ‘I want to be clean.’ Did I really know what that meant? No, but it was put on my heart that it needed to happen then,” she remembered.
Photo: LaShane K. Eaglin
“In my twenties, my dad told me I needed to think about my faith and my relationship with God. ‘That’s the most important relationship you’ll ever have,’ he said … Now that I’m in my forties, it is the most important
relationship I have. Without that I have nothing, and I realize that now. It took a while, but I’m here,” Anderson said. She joined St. James’ Episcopal Church in Houston, with her former husband, Kyle Turner, who played in the jazz service at the church. “I loved the service, the way it tied into the community,” she said. “It wasn’t about giving your money for a building, it was for Manna House, or the Jubilee Service or to help get people off the street. It was all about service, so that was Anderson in Houston Ballet’s Don Quixote Photos: Drew Donovan
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Photo: Jim Caldwell
Anderson in Swan Lake
the first attraction. … Then I got the message. I don’t know if my heart was open and ready for the message but I started applying it to my daily life.” Now 47, and the mother of nine-year-old
During her career with Houston Ballet, Anderson was able to live out her passion. She said that dance allowed her to tell a story without saying a word. “A dancer is nothing without the music. The music
Lawrence, Anderson said her life has been an
drives me. I get to become music through
incredible journey, not without its issues. “I
movement—there is noting like that feeling.
cannot say that it hasn’t been bumpy, but I’ve
It’s like being filled with the Holy Spirit and I
given it up to God and it has been amazing.”
got to do that on purpose.”
Asked if perhaps the Episcopal Church
If ballet allowed her to tell stories, she
resonated with her because of the beauty of
brought her own to the stage. “I got to be the
the liturgy, Anderson said, “There is a lot of
Sugar Plum Fairy for 28 years. I told a lot of
scripture about dance and joy and rejoicing.
different stories, because my life was in a lot
The Church embraces that and led me to that
of different places. The magic of getting on
scripture. What is neat about what I do as
stage and being a dancer is I get to be other
a dancer, as a performer, is that I get to give
[characters], or other parts of me get to come
back. When I started thinking of it that way, I
out. Whatever is going on in my life at the
became a better dancer, and I dance for the
time, you can’t help but bring it to the stage.”
glory of God.”
When she danced Cleopatra, whose story had never been told in the ballet realm, Anderson was able to bring her interpretation of the regal and powerful Egyptian queen to life. When she played Swan Lake, Anderson was going through a divorce. “Swan Lake is a tragedy and I got to bring that energy to the stage … I got to use a bit of my real story in a bit of a story that has been told over and over again—to make it fresh,” she said. “I got to bring more of me to the stage in telling bits of my life through different roles.” What were those moments like before she stepped out onto the stage from the wings? “It’s horrible … I feel sick to my stomach … I want to pass out … I am a complete mess. Then I breathe in deep. I let it out. I take that first step onto the stage and when the light hits me, I become whatever it is I’m supposed to
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reaching children who have never seen a ballet. “I get to go into the community and teach kids who have never ever thought about ballet or the theatre or thought about dancing themselves. It’s neat how my faith connects with my job, with my service and now back into the church—I want to get a dance group together of young girls in the church. “God gave me this wonderful gift and I thought it was to be a dancer, and I found out that now, it is to be a teacher of dance … I’m back in the spotlight but [this is] more important,” she said, “because I’m giving … not to the [audience] but individually, oneon-one to kids.” Teaching, she finds, is a more vulnerable place. “You can put a costume on and become anything, but when you are teaching you don’t want to do anything that will discourage. I ask before I go into that room … ‘order my steps—just work through me so that I put the right message out there.’ It’s not my agenda, it’s Anderson teaches dance for the Chance to Dance program Photo: Nerio Photography
God’s,” Anderson said.
be. All those prayers are answered the moment I step on the stage.” If any story reflects her own, it is Sleeping Beauty, she said. “There’s a prologue where she’s a baby and she’s christened and the evil fairy comes … then she’s young and starting out and everything is great, then this tragic thing happens to her and she’s laid to rest. In the second act, her vision is conjured up and they get a prince to go kiss her and she awakens. In the third act, she is the princess and she is the woman that she was really born to be. That’s my life,” Anderson said with a bright smile. “I’m on the road to being that person … I’m at a point in my life where my faith, my job and my home life and friends and what I choose to do coincide, and I think I’m becoming the woman that I would like to be—a woman I can be proud of.” Anderson began a second career in 2007 as the Houston Ballet’s outreach associate, teaching masters classes at the Ben Stevenson Academy and in area schools. This summer she taught in the Parks Department summer enrichment program,
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Anderson in Four Last Songs Photo: Insight Photography
Anderson with her father, Lawrence Anderson, in the Green Room after one of her first performances as the Sugar Plum Fairy in The Nutcracker.
Visit tinyurl.com/ballerinalauren to watch an interview with Lauren Anderson.
Anderson in The Firebird Photo: Drew Donovan
Diolog
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profile: advocacy
Church and Outreach Help to Rebuild Whole Lives in Austin by Ivan Davila We hear often that body, mind and spirit are one unit, and they should be treated as such. Does that mean doctors, psychotherapists and spiritual counselors should share a common physical space? At El Buen Samaritano Episcopal Mission and San Francisco de Asís Episcopal Church in Austin, it sure does. Twenty-five years ago, these two sister entities opened their doors as a joint spiritual and outreach ministry of the Diocese of Texas. Together, they served hot lunches and offered clothes to needy families just south of downtown Austin. Two years later, services grew to include an on-site medical clinic. And in 2003, they moved to the current 11-acre campus in South Austin, which has allowed new programs and services to emerge and flourish addressing the complex needs of a growing Latino demographic. After more than two decades
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of service, El Buen’s new strategic plan acknowledges the need for a transformational phase of growth to meet the changing demographics of the Latino population in the area. “During the next five years, we will strengthen staff capacity, add buildings and services that reflect a fully functional family-focused system of care,” said Victor Azíos, executive director of El Buen Samaritano. “We want to assist families in their acculturation process to obtain needed language and job skills, have access to primary care and healthy living knowledge and better prepare to create, manage and preserve financial assets.” The story of San Francisco de Asís and El Buen Samaritano is best told through their clients and parishioners. “When I got to El Buen Samaritano and San Francisco de Asís nearly 25 years ago, I immediately felt at home,” said Yolanda Jirón, longtime
parishioner of San Francisco de Asís. Twenty-six years ago, Jirón left her native town of Chalchuapa, El Salvador, escaping a war she had lived with since she was 12 years old. Eightmonths pregnant, Jirón, then 24, came to Austin to reunite with her husband, but when she arrived, she was not welcome by his family and was abused by him. With no one to turn to, Jirón went to Casa Marianella, an emergency homeless shelter for recently arrived immigrants. She lived in the shelter with her newborn daughter for eight months before she found El Buen Samaritano and San Francisco de Asís. “Life was difficult,” Jirón said. “I have purposely forgotten many memories. But I do remember that when I finally got to El Buen Samaritano and San Francisco de Asís, my life completely turned around.” Through psychotherapy, Jirón
dealt with her post-traumatic stress disorder from living in war for half her life. But she attributes much of her recovery to what she calls the “spiritual therapy” she received at San Francisco de Asís. At El Buen, she took citizenship, English as a Second Language and GED preparation classes and became a community health worker. Jirón remarried and became a U.S. citizen. El Buen became her family’s health home, and San Francisco de Asís their spiritual home. “Part of the church’s vision is to grow, but we need to promote leadership among our parishioners first,” said Constantino Palma, senior warden and a parishioner for 10 years. The church will welcome its new vicar, the Rev. Albert Pearson from the Diocese of California on October 1. Twenty-five years later, El Buen Samaritano Episcopal Mission continues to help individuals like Jirón. And in close collaboration with San Francisco de Asís and many of the churches in the Austin area, the organization addresses the physical, emotional and spiritual health of Latino families in Central Texas. El Buen’s expanded programs and services include affordable health-care, education and economic-stability services for all members of the family. Davila is communication director at El Buen Samaritano, Austin. To learn more, visit www.elbuen.org.
did you know When the little stone house on West Mary and South Fifth Street in Austin opened its doors in July 1987, a group of volunteers rounded up three people for the hot lunch program. The following week, El Buen Samaritano served 42 lunches. Four years later, El Buen Samaritano was providing literacy classes, food, clothing, health and social services to more than 5,000 people. Today, El Buen Samaritano provides health, education and economic-stability services to 12,000 individuals a year—a number that is projected to double in the next five years, as they expand programs and services across the diocese.
Diolog
| 29 | SEPTEMBER 2012
profile: congregation
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St. Cuthbert Reflects Houston’s Diversity
Souflaki to Gumbo With a name like St. Cuthbert, we were destined to be diverse! Our congregation represents 27 different countries. There was never a “vision” to make our church diverse; rather, it happened organically. With that said, however, as this congregation flourished, we tried to be intentional in fostering diversity. Different cultural representations, traditions and viewpoints are valued and we ensure that those are included in the heartbeat of the church. For its 33 years, St. Cuthbert has always been a multiracial congregation. Many of our members grew up in an Anglican Church in their home countries, and find familiarity in the Episcopal service. Calling our current rector, the Rev. Desmond Goonesekera, only bolstered the diversity that was established. Father Desmond is a native of Sri Lanka, where he was ordained and served in the Anglican Church. He brought that experience with him when he began his ministry in America 25 years ago. Father Desmond’s missional mindset and evangelistic attitude helped create the charisma that flows through the congregation. Diversity is fostered by intention in our ministries and in our leadership. Care is taken in all aspects of ministry, including the Vestry, that reflects the variety of race, culture, heritage and stage of life in our congregation. Diversity also happens with a heart to welcome and a desire to get to know our visitors. As with many churches, greeters stand at the door every Sunday morning with a smile and a “Good morning.” After the services, we have a group who “connect” with visitors, to make a personal association and gather contact
Photo: John Renola
information when possible. Each visitor leaves with information about the church and a loaf of homemade bread. On Sunday afternoons, Father Desmond phones the visitors to again welcome them and answer any questions or concerns they may have. Once a month, a newcomer’s reception is held at Father Desmond’s home. Visitors and newcomers have said that seeing the composition of the congregation makes them feel at home. Mixed-race couples shared that they felt especially comfortable at St. Cuthbert, where they have not in other churches. The first Saturday in November we celebrate our various heritages. The International Festival spotlights our unique community and shows respect and appreciation for the traditions of other countries. Members set up booths that represent their country, and yes, Louisiana is considered a country! Native dress is worn and foods unique to that country are prepared. The children receive passports and collect stickers from each county. They are challenged to visit as many countries as possible. The festival is open to the public and we hope this draws even more neighbors to our campus. St. Cuthbert, under the lordship of Jesus Christ, combines a multitude of cultures with spirit-filled worship in a wonderful blend that makes it easy to find one’s place. Sally Mahon, Maizeanne Scarpati, Karen Cook and Jan Scarpati contributed to this article. The next International Festival will be held Saturday, November 3, and all are welcome.
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camp allen The Art of the Possible: Kids 4 Peace by Luke Blount
Over the past decade, countless conventions, meetings and summits have been held in search of a long-lasting peace between faith communities in Israel and Palestine, but for the children who take part in Kids 4 Peace, the solution seems simple because they experience it every day. Kids 4 Peace is a interfaith program developed through the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem and St. George’s College in Jerusalem that brings together Christian, Jewish and Muslim children from the Holy Land and the United States to take part in summer camps. The first camp took place in 2002 at Camp Allen, and 10 years later, Kids 4 Peace returned to the Diocese of Texas to inaugurate an annual gathering for interfaith education. Typically, 12 children, four of each faith, come together from Jerusalem along with 12 from the United States. They live, play, work and worship together for two weeks while exploring their similarities and differences. Currently, Kids 4 Peace has five twoweek summer camps across the United States.
“Ten years ago we had this dream of a summer camp where children would have the chance to meet each other faceto-face, cross the lines of conflict, learn about each others’ lives and religions and lay the groundwork for a better future,” said Executive Director Josh Thomas. Looking at the group at Camp Allen in July, it was hard to tell which kids came from which country or religion. They liked the same games, wore the same clothes and spoke at least some English. During dinner one evening, they all sang along to a pop song from the British/Irish band, One Direction, belting out the signature line “You don’t know you’re beautiful” in unison. “We are all friends,” said 12-yearold Eliya, a Jew from Jerusalem. “Jews, Christians, Muslims. That’s how it is supposed to be, so it’s good.” The children spent the week observing the practices of other faiths including Jewish Shabbat prayers, Muslim prayers and an Episcopal Eucharist. After each service, they asked and answered questions to learn more about the three faiths. Building friendships and seeking
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common ground came easily for the Kids 4 Peace throughout the week. They conquered physical challenges as well as emotional ones. One of the first activities they participated in together was Camp Allen’s Challenge Course and giant swing. The children had to work together, encourage and help each other to climb obstacles and ride a zip line more than 50 yards. “Its fun because I’m not thinking ‘They are not from my religion,’” said Eyal, another 12-year-old Jew from Jerusalem. “I don’t think like that.” Crossing cultural barriers is the central theme of the Kids 4 Peace camp, and Thomas sees a uniting principle that all three faiths can rally around. “Kids 4 Peace’s bottom line message is that all the children of Abraham can live together in peace,” Thomas said. “Peace and being a peacemaker is a priority and an imperative of each religious tradition on its own as well as something that is strengthened by our time together.” Throughout the week, the children displayed endless curiosity and love for each other. If one of them upset another, they were quick to forgive and forget. If
Photos: Luke Blount
The Rev. Josh Thomas (above) and the Kids 4 Peace visit Camp Allem.
another needed encouragement, they would gather together to cheer each other on. The ease with which they achieved a common understanding and the joy they expressed at every moment of the day leads one to wonder if these children could teach adults.
said. “The ease with which they come together and form relationships is so natural that it offers a glimpse into human possibility of what we are here on this earth for. It feels as if they have been waiting their whole lives for this chance to be together.”
“Adults could learn that maybe not everyone from a certain place or group is bad,” said 12-year-old Serifat, a Muslim from Houston. “We are just like everybody else.”
Thomas thinks that peacefulness is the natural state of these children, and if they can harness it at a young age, they can carry it into adulthood with a deeper understanding of what it means to be different, yet so similar. Kids 4 Peace conducts a continuation program in Jerusalem for 13 to 14-year-olds as well as a new leadership program for older teenagers to learn peace-building skills as they transition to adulthood.
“A lot of adults are not nice,” Eliya said. “I would just tell them not to behave like that because it’s not nice, and if we keep doing that, the world will never have peace.” “If you are fighting because of different religions, its not a good example for anything,” Eyal said. “It’s just not the right thing to do.” The simplicity of their message may seem trite when compared with the complexity of the conflict in Israel and Palestine, but perhaps they are on to something. “I often say the Kids 4 Peace is the closest thing I have experienced to a glimpse at the reign of God,” Thomas
“It is possible to love your enemies,” Thomas said. “It really is possible to cross beyond those things that divide people and learn about one another. We can value each other’s dignity and worth while respecting differences.” Visit www.k4p.org to learn more about the camps and visit vimeo.com/46320257 to watch a video about Kids 4 Peace.
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calendar & people Bishop Doyle’s Calendar
People
September
Viktoria Gotting, Pamela Graham, Elizabeth Huber, Robert Lowry, Travis Smith, Sean Steele, Portia Sweet, Mitchell Tollett and Sharon Williams were ordained to the sacred order of Deacons on June 16.
5 12:30 p.m. 7 p.m. 7 11:30 a.m. 8 6:30 p.m. 9 9 a.m. 4 p.m. 6 p.m. 11-12 13 11:30 a.m. 16 10 a.m. 5 p.m. 18 6 p.m. 19 6 p.m. 23 6 p.m. 25 3 p.m. 26-27 28 30 9:15 a.m.
Galveston Convocation Clericus, Holy Trinity, Dickinson Reid Morgan Celebration of New Ministry, St. John’s, La Porte Southeast Convocation Clericus, St. Stephen’s, Liberty Iona School, Camp Allen 15th Anniversary Celebration, Santa Maria Virgen, Houston St. Aidan’s, Cypress, CF 10th Anniversary Celebration, St. Aidan’s, Cypress Executive Board, Camp Allen Central Convocation Clericus, Camp Allen San Mateo, Bellaire, CF St. Barnabas & San Bernabé, Houston, CF 50th Anniversary Celebration, Texas Heart Institute, Houston Holy Comforter, Angleton, CF Grace, Houston, CF Blandy Lecture Series, Seminary of the Southwest, Austin College for Bishops Board meeting, Virginia Theological Seminary Bishop’s Health and Outreach Conference, Camp Allen St. Mary’s, Cypress, CF
October 6 11 a.m. 7 10:30 a.m. 5 p.m. 9 – 11 14 12:30 p.m. 4 p.m. 19 21 12 p.m. 21-24 25 2 p.m. 31 12:30 p.m.
Consecration of Bishop Suffragan-elect Jeff W. Fisher, Caldwell Auditorium, Tyler Patronal Feast, St. Francis, College Station Holy Innocents, Madisonville, CF Founders Day Convocation and Board of Trustees meeting, University of the South St. Bartholomew’s, Hempstead, CF Camp Allen Board Meeting ECW Annual Retreat, Camp Allen St. Paul’s/San Pablo, Houston, CF Clergy Conference, Camp Allen St. James House Silver Tea, Houston West Harris Convocation Clericus
November 1 11:30 a.m. 6:30 p.m. 4 10 a.m. 6 p.m. 9 8 a.m. 11 10:30 a.m. 3 p.m. 12-14 18 9 a.m. 27-28 30
Austin Convocation Clericus, Good Shepherd, Austin Dedication of St. Julian of Norwich, Austin Palmer Memorial, Houston, CF 75th Anniversary Celebration, St. James’, Houston Standing Committee meeting, Camp Allen St. George’s, Austin, CF St. Peter’s, Lago Vista, CF Province VII Bishops meeting Christ Church Cathedral, Houston, CF 60th Anniversary Lectures, Seminary of the Southwest Conspire Student Conference, St. Martin’s, Houston
The Rev. David Alwine of Christ Church, Temple, has been appointed to serve as interim Dean of the Northwest Convocation. The Rev. Susan Barnes accepted a call as rector of St. John’s, Minneapolis. She was previously the interim dean at Christ Church Cathedral. The Rev. Chris Duncan accepted the call as rector of St. Paul’s, Katy, He was previously the assistant at Good Shepherd, Austin. The Rev. Jeff W. Fisher was elected as Bishop Suffragan of the Diocese of Texas. He resigned as rector of St. Alban’s, Waco and as Dean of the Northwest Convocation. The Rev. Meredith Holt accepted the call as rector of Grace, Galveston. She was previously the assistant at St. Mary’s, Cypress. The Rev. Eric Hungerford is now the associate rector of St. Mark’s, Houston. He was previously the curate at Trinity, The Woodlands. The Rev. Kelly Jennings transitioned to non-parochial status. She was previously at St. James’, Taylor The Rev. Gill Keyworth is now the deacon at Calvary, Bastrop. She was previously splitting time between Calvary and Emmanuel, Houston. The Rev. Justin Lindstrom has accepted a call as dean of St. Paul’s Cathedral, Oklahoma City, OK. He was formerly rector at St. Aidan’s, Houston. The Rev. Paul Moore accepted the call as rector of Good Shepherd in Silver City, New Mexico. He was previously the rector of St. Christopher’s, Killeen. The Rev. Steve Secaur accepted the call as priest-in-charge of St. Bartholomew’s in Mayfield Village, Ohio. He was previously the priestin-charge of St. John’s, Center and Christ Church, San Augustine. The Rev. Jerry Sneary is now licensed in the Diocese of Texas and supplying at St. James’, Taylor. The Rev. Erin Warde was ordained a priest on August 3 in Waco.
Deaths
Alicia Alcantara’s mother passed away May 24. Alicia is the executive assistant to Bishop Dena A. Harrison. Joanne Benitez, the wife of the Rt. Rev. Maurice “Ben” Benitez, passed away July 25 in Austin. Nilda Gemignani, wife of the Rev. Michael Gemignani, died May 23. Carter Scott Hill, the brother of the Rev. Gary Hill, passed away May 3. Marjorie Holloway, the mother of Corlie Jackson and mother-in-law of Michael Jackson, passed away July 24. Jill St. Romain, sister of the Rev. Brad St. Romain, passed away June 28. The Rev. Steve Stahl passed away May 22. The Rev. Clarence “Dutch” Stolz passed away June 11 in Lawrenceburg, Kansas. The Rev. Thomas “Tom” C. Woods passed away May 23. Please keep these families in your prayers.
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The Center for Biblical Studies (thecenterforbiblicalstudies.org) has provided many resources to help both lay and clergy participate in the challenge. There are videos, schedules, tips to help the congregation, daily meditations, helpful hints for families and children to assist in the challenge.
75th Anniversary Celebrating
November 4
Consecration
St. James’, Houston, will hold an anniversary gala on November 4 at the Bayou City Events Center. Save the date! stjameshouston.org
Bisho p Suffragan -elect jeff wright fisher Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori will ordain the Rev. Jeff W. Fisher as Bishop Suffragan of Texas on October 6, 2012 at the Caldwell Auditorium in Tyler at 11 a.m.
epicenter.org/consecration-rsvp
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