Seek: Our stories of following Jesus in the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri

Seek!

March 2019

Our stories of following Jesus in the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri

Meet these new Reverends, ordained on 12/22/2018 to the transitional diaconate. Ordination to the priesthood, God willing, this summer. Pages 3-4

ph: 314-231-1220 www.DioceseMo.org Episcopal Diocese of Missouri Offices of the Bishop 1210 Locust St. St. Louis, Missouri 63103

The Rev. Laurie Anzilotti is a third-year Masters of

Divinity student at Eden Theological Seminary in Webster Groves. She graduated from the University of Notre Dame with majors in Theology and English, and continued her theological studies at the master’s level at Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles and Aquinas Institute in St. Louis.

She deeply engaged with the community as a theology teacher, the children’s liturgist at the Church of St. Michael and St. George in Clayton, a community activist, and as the director of programming at Camp Thunderbird, a boys and girls camp in Minnesota.

She stepped down from her position as Director of Faith and For the Sake of All to become first seminarian, then after ordination to the priesthood this summer, assistant rector of Episcopal Church of the Holy Communion in University City.

The Rev. Pamela Stuerke is an Associate Professor of Accounting in

the College of Business Administration at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, where she recently completed a two-year term as Chair of the Faculty Senate and University Assembly. She teaches financial accounting and reporting for corporations, governments, partnerships, and not-for-profits.

She holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Northern Colorado, a Master of Science in Accounting from the University of Missouri–Kansas City, a Master of Business from Indiana University, and a Ph.D. in Business with a primary emphasis in Accounting also from Indiana University.

She came to the Episcopal Church in the early 1990s in Kansas City. Before discerning a call, she was active as a lay reader, lay Eucharistic minister and visitor, altar guild member, vestry member, diocesan representative to Cathedral Chapter, chorister, and substitute organist at parishes in Kansas City: Bloomington, Indiana; Cleveland, Ohio; Rhode Island; and St. Louis.

St. Mark’s in St. Louis Hills is her sponsoring parish, and her contextual education parishes were St. Timothy’s in Creve Coeur and Church of the Advent in Crestwood. In her spare time, she enjoys playing the organ, reading, and weaving. (She only knits because it’s hard to take a loom anywhere.)

Pamela was called to be clergy associate in the ministry partnership between the Episcopal Church of the Good Shepherd in Town & Country and St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Manchester.

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The Rev. Joe Thompson is delighted to be able to serve the

Church as a transitional deacon. Currently, he works at Virginia Theological Seminary where he is Assistant Professor of Race and Ethnicity Studies and Director of Multicultural Ministries. He helps to ensure that seminarians engage with issues of race, justice, and intercultural awareness as part of their theological education.

He was formerly Archivist for the African American Episcopal Historical Collection, also at VTS. Before heading off to seminary, Joe taught for ten years at Washington University in St. Louis. He holds an H.B.A. from the University of Delaware, an M.A. from Virginia Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Yale University. He resides in Southwest Washington, DC, where he enjoys working out, eating out, and taking advantage of the many concerts, plays, and museums in the area.

The Rev. Martin Geiger is grateful to be beginning his

ordained ministry as a transitional deacon. He is currently completing a Master's in Divinity at Virginia Theological Seminary, and will graduate this May. He serves as the seminarian at All Souls Episcopal Church in Washington, DC. Prior to seminary, he served with Deaconess Anne House for two years, and interned for Grace Hill Settlement House and the Offices of the Bishop. He holds a B.A in English from Cornell University.

When not busy with grad school, he enjoys novels, coffee shops, museums, and learning to bake.

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3

Witness to the Black Prophetic Voice

Absalom Jones Remembrance

Building on previous Absalom Jones commemorations, the Dismantling Racism Commission planned this year's celebration to be a Eucharist service at Christ Church Cathedral.

The preacher was Dr. Priscilla A. Dowden-White, Associate Professor of History at the University of Missouri, who spoke to the topic of A Liberating Presence: 200 Years of Black Episcopal Witness in Missouri.

In seasons past, the Commission has led us in conversation about the power of seeing in our imagery and stained glass more than only the white European Jesus, and howit feels to hear and see yourself represented in worship—to discern your own ministry in the Church.

The Commission organized this celebration to be led by Black clergy, and deacons and acolytes and readers and greeters.

"It is important for people to see themselves reflected in all aspects of the Church," said the Rev. Renee Fenner, rector of St. Barnabas' Episcopal Church in Florissant, and celebrant in the service. "That was important to me as a child."

She grew up Roman Catholic, and distinctly remembers the first time she saw a Black nun face to face. “I was like a lot of other little girls who thought of being a sister, a nun, but had never seen anyone that looked like me.” After she saw the nuns flesh and blood that looked like her, it inspired her imagination. “I finally saw myself reflected at the National Black Cath-

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olic Congress (Roman Catholic) in 1987. Priests, nuns, seminarians, novices, postulants, deacons, and lay leadership from across the nation; all People of Color. And I thought, this is the dream I had as a child but didn't think it could happen.

There I saw myself and knew it was possible!”

Reverend Renee recounts the witness in this diocese of the Reverends Michael Randolph and Emery Washington, Betty Bowen, and Johnnie Cassell. “We are standing on their shoulders, their presence and leadership in this Diocese. I looked to them, as a Person of Color, for strength and voice."

We can celebrate the history of the Black presence in the Episcopal Church with diverse gifts of music, song and art, paraments, vestments, and yes, preaching. “If anything, I hope that if among People of Color in the congregation and among the liturgical ministers of Saturday's Absalom Jones Eucharist that there is an ‘aha’ moment as they see themselves reflected at the altar.”

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More images and a complete service leaflet on www.flickr.com/diocesemo in the Absalom Jones album. Top image around the altar, Elizabeth Hines, Deacon Chester Hines, Jr., the Rev. Renee Fenner, the Rev. Joseph Wallace-Williams.

Below, acolytes Urlene Jackson-Branch, Noah Altemueller, and crucifer Michael Fowlkes.

The next anti-racism training will be led by the Commission on May 3 & 4. There is no cost but RSVP is required at diocesemo.org/DR

Leaning Towards the Light On New Year’s Eve, Chuck and I took Metrolink to the Civic Center. As you might expect the train wasn’t very busy and the majority of folks were wearing various articles of blue and gold, on their way to the Blues Hockey game. We weren’t headed to see the Blues.

Nor were we headed to any First Night activity or to any of the New Year’s Eve parties happening throughout downtown St. Louis. We were on our way to the New Year’s Eve Taizé Service at Christ Church Cathedral. A Taizé service, based on the worship style of the Taizé Community in the Burgundy region of France, is one that incorporates prayer, chanting, and a whole lot of silence.

Chuck and I arrived to a dimly lit cathedral narthex. Upon entering the nave, we saw a warm glow emanating from the chancel that grew warmer and brighter as we moved forward. As we were about half way up the center aisle we were able to discern that the cause of the glow were hundreds of candles—votives and pillars of various sizes—filing the floor space where the altar usually rests. It was arresting and inviting all at once.

We met up with Deacon Jerre Birdsong, who is part of Confluence, the group that organized the service, and he told us that he had spent the previous ninety minutes lighting all of the candles. What a blessing for us and all the other folks who gathered in that space that evening! The recently ordained Pamela Stuerke joined us, and a little while later another member of St. Mark's, Rita Mauchenheimer, found us, and then the lilting notes of a single flute signaled the start of a service focused on the love of God, the joy of God, and the light of God. In a Taizé service each chant is repeated over and over and you participate as you wish.

The chanting creates a meditative energy that allows you to truly embody the words—often in Latin, but also in English or French—as the space takes on various dimensions as you behold the candle light or close your eyes. It is a transporting way of praying—leaning into the light, leaning into the darkness, leaning into the chant, leaning into the silence. Yes, the silence. As each chant trails off, we are cradled in silence that holds the very depths of our souls, our being, in a moment out of time, yet in time, at the same time.

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At the end of the service the piper piped us over to tables laden with food and sparkling grape juice, and we toasted in the New Year amid the light of those hundreds of candles. Souls refreshed, hearts renewed—a perfect way to enter into a new year filled with hope and promise.

As Chuck and I walked back to Civic Center for the train to Shrewsbury, we went past the Enterprise Center which was lit up with a nearblinding glow—a secular cathedral, if you will, in definite contrast to the one we just left. And yet, just as at Christ Church, with its hundreds of candles a glow, here too, people were being drawn into the light.

I suppose the main difference is that the light of hope that entered and filled our hearts at Christ Church would not be extinguished by a 2-to-1 loss to the Rangers. And yet, hope springs eternal! Wishing a Happy, Hope-filled 2019!

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Reflection from the Rev. Mark Kozielec, Rector of St. Mark's Episcopal Church in St. Louis. www.saintmarks-stl.org. Photo from Chuck Doyle.

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Jesus Asset-Mapped?

When Jesus fed the crowd in the wilderness, he began by asking what food they already had. He took the five loaves and two fish and gave thanks for them, like we do in the eucharist, and then distributed them to the disciples (the ministers) to give to the people to eat. Everyone had enough, and there were twelve baskets-full left over!

Land extension in the new garden at All Saints Cathedral Church in Tanzania. The new wall stops soil erosion by rain. Please pray for this work in Jesus name. Amen. - Stephen Ngailloh, Tanzanian pastor who attended the conference

While studying at Eden Seminary for his Master's Degree in Theological Studies, the Rev. Anderson Madimilo invited two diocesan priests to present a conference on the theology of food security to the pastors of the Diocese of Mpwapwa in Tanzania.

The conference was in September of 2017 and Anderson was particularly interested in encouraging the pastors (140 of them) to begin demonstration gardens in their parishes to demonstrate techniques like drip irrigation, water conservation, and cash crops.

With a bit of trepidation about the local farming knowledge angle but exuberant about the Gospel angle, Dan Handschy and Pamela Dolan answered that invitation. Dan is rector of Church of the Advent in Crestwood and on the faculty at Eden and at that time Pamela was rector of Good Shepherd Church in Town & Country, and the inspiration behind the large church garden at Good Shepherd called Shepherd Farm.

While here, Anderson toured that garden and was impressed with how they collected roof water to water the garden He hoped they would talk about such conservation at the conference.

loaves and fish. When Dan asked them to name some differences between the stories, one of the pastors stood up and said, “Jesus asset mapped!!” They then read that Gospel passage at the eucharist, and said that the eucharist was meant to feed God’s people.

Dr. Anne Outwater was available for the They used Tanzanian Chiapati bread (flat conference. She teaches community nursing bread) rather than wafers. Dan said, “When at Muhimbili University of Health and Allied I described Jesus taking the bread, looking Science in Dar es Salaam, and spoke about the to heaven, saying the blessing, breaking the importance of good nutrition, about planting bread and then distributing it, I pantomimed fruit trees and how they create ‘utu,’ and how those actions. Pamela said that the look of to compost for fertilizer. epiphany on the pastors’ faces was remarkAt the conference, Pamela encouraged able. I couldn’t see it, as I was looking heaventhe pastors to learn to ‘asset map’ in their ward.” settings. Just the year before she had attended a Called to Transformation workshop, Part Two one of the Episcopal Church’s trainings on This past November, the Cathedral Asset-Based Community Development. She Church of All Saints in Mpwapwa was able encouraged the pastors to identify what to establish a demonstration garden. The resources they already had, rather than Cathedral sits on the top of a hill, so most of focusing only on the magnitude of the probthe property is not particularly usable as a lem they were trying to solve. They had not garden. The Cathedral (of which Anderson thought of the roofs of their buildings, for is now the dean) was able to acquire from the instance, as assets. local government a plot of land suitable as a During the conference, they compared garden in exchange for a promise to reforest the story of the manna in the wilderness to the hill with native (drought-tolerant) trees the story of Jesus feeding the 5000 with the to cut down on erosion. Anderson was par-

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ticularly anxious that the Cathedral should collect water from the roof for watering the garden. Because the new garden sits at the bottom of the hill, a drip irrigation system could be gravity fed with cisterns collecting water from the roof. The Cathedral congregation was able to buy one cistern for $450, but wanted to buy three more in order to collect 1200 gallons of water during the rainy season.

In late November Dan’s father died after a long illness. Dan’s parents have been avid gardeners as long as Dan can remember, and committed to organic methods and water conservation, using water from showers and sinks to water their gardens. They have also followed with interest his several trips to Africa. When members of Church of the Advent, wanted to contribute money to a suitable memorial for Dan’s father, someone suggested that money could be sent to the Cathedral Church of All Saints to purchase three more cisterns. Church of the Advent forwarded $1350 in early December, and Anderson bought the three cisterns in time for the rainy season!

When Jesus is present, what we have is more than enough!

Listening for God at a thin place

I’m going on a pilgrimage. Oh, my! What have I gotten myself into? Do people still do those things in this day and age? Pilgrimages are as old as time. Every year people leave their homes for a sacred journey to Mecca or Jerusalem or Canterbury, or even Iona.

Pilgrimages can be a spiritual journey to seek enlightenment or a journey of penance— pilgrimages have purpose. I believe these journeys should be at least somewhat arduous. The pilgrimage I and eleven others will take is to the Scottish island of Iona in the North Sea. And the trip fits this part of the bill with a plane ride across the ocean, bus to the town of Oban, ferry to the town of Craignure on the island of Mull, a bus across the island to the town of Fionnphort, and finally a ferry to Iona. So, I can check that off, I’m good on the somewhat arduous part.

So, then what? What will I find when I get there? Well, that’s the big question, isn’t it? The island of Iona is located in the Inner Hebrides, off the Scottish coast and home to the 6th century missionary St. Columba who brought Celtic Christianity to Scotland. The abbey he built was the center of Gaelic monasticism for three centuries. In 1200, Iona became home to a Benedictine abbey church and holds Scotland’s oldest Christian graveyard, including more than 60 Scottish kings. Today, the island is home to the Iona Community, a monastic-inspired organization representing a variety of denominations.

Iona is a “thin place”

A thin place where the distance or the distinction between heaven and earth, the distance between the spiritual and material world is

quite small, or thin. Implied for this pilgrimage, the point is to get there. After all, the “there” is unique in that you are closer to heaven and likely to see more clearly. If we are seeing through a glass darkly, wouldn’t it be better to be looking through thinner glass?

For me, the emphasis is on the place, Iona, not the journey. A place to reflect and receive.

A thinner place than where I live, a place where the word of God is a little louder... a little clearer.

Perhpas this pilgrimage falls more into seeking enlightenment rather than penance, though I’m sure I could use a good dose of both. Our planned walks through hundreds of miles of all kinds of terrain and all kinds of weather could serve either penance or enlightenment, but a warm place on a cold island doesn’t seem very penitential to me.

For many who have made this pilgrimage, the place itself strips life to its core. It allows us to withdraw from the world and focus on what is essential. That, I suspect, can be frightening in many ways if we truly open ourselves to the experience. Focused, it’s us and God. It’s a thin place. No church. No hymns. No liturgy. No clergy. It’s us and God—let’s face it, a precursor to our mortality.

And what comes out of this encounter?

Well, who knows? I know some who’ve gone and heard the voice of God speaking directly to them. Some who’ve found a kind of peace and some, I’m sure, who’ve heard nothing. What will I find? I don’t know, but I go with no agenda. I hope to be able to quiet myself, to open myself to whatever God wants. Some awareness? Some task

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(life-changing no doubt)? What if I hear nothing?

What if I hear something I don’t want to hear?

There’s some risk here. But isn’t that ultimately what this is all about—to come as close as you can to God to see what God wants to say to you?

If that doesn’t simultaneously scare the daylights out of you and excite you beyond words, I don’t know what to say to you.

The reasons for attending church vary considerably. For me, going to church is a kind of mini-pilgrimage. It’s a small withdrawal from the noise of everyday life. a time to retreat if only for an hour, to focus and renew myself and to then turn around and re-enter the daily world. Does a pilgrimage seem a fuller endeavor of the same kind?

The key, it seems, with church or any pilgrimage is what comes next. At Emmanuel, we conclude our weekly service with “the worship is over, the service begins.” Some call this transformation. Some conversion. My favorite is “unbecoming.”

I think the hope for traveling on a pilgrimage is not to get there, but to come home, as the poet R.S. Thomas says in his poem Somewhere, “laden with pollen you shall work up/ Into honey the mind feeds on.”

I don’t know, I’ll have to see. . . to wait and see. Pray for me.

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Author Jerry Cooper is a member of Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Webster Groves, and making a pilgrimage to Iona late Spring with Confluence Spirituality. He is also the President of Confluence's Board of Directors. Learn more about Confluence at confluencespirituality.org.

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Diocesan Youth Summer Mission Trip to Appalachia this July 13-20

The Diocese offers a Youth Summer Mission Trip this year, July 13-20, 2019. We will join youth from the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia on a trip to the Appalachian Mountains for a week of service in partnership with the Appalachia Service Project (ASP).

ASP works with families in Central Appalachia to make homes warmer, safer and drier. Each summer they host groups in Tennessee, North Carolina, West Virginia and Kentucky. We will stay with other groups at one of ASP’s Summer Centers and will go out to work on homes in the area. Whether you’ve never worked with your hands, or you regularly work on house projects, there will be something for you to take part in during this ministry! In addition to our work, we’ll spend time in prayer, worship, play, and fellowship with our companions from Georgia!

The trip is open to youth who are currently in grades 8-12. The cost of the trip is $600 per person, which includes meals.

Scholarship assistance is available.

Space is limited so please sign up soon.

Once all slots are filled a waiting list will be maintained. Registration deadline is March 15, 2019 and a $50 deposit is required. Register online at diocesemo.org/youth

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Acolyte Festival

Easter Overnight

• Saturday, March 30th • 10AM-3PM • Church of St. Michael and St. George

• Saturday, April 27th – Sunday, April 28th • 7PM Saturday-Noon Sunday • Grace Episcopal Church in Jefferson City

A gathering of youth in grades 6-12 to learn about and celebrate the ministry of acolytes!

In addition to workshops about acolyting, we will also have training for other lay ministries, preparing our youth to serve in their parishes as readers, altar guild, lay Eucharistic ministers, and more! We will end the event with an Instructed Eucharist where participants will have an opportunity to share the skills they have learned.

Join youth in grades 6-12 from across the diocese for an overnight event to celebrate the joy of the Easter season! We’ll have games, food, and fellowship, and we’ll join the people of Grace, Jefferson City for worship on Sunday morning!

Diocesan Youth Advisory Council Spring Meeting • Sunday, April 14th • 1PM • location TBD This spring gathering will focus on events for the summer, and will include a celebration for our senior DYAC members!

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Camp Phoenix • July 28th-August 3rd • DuBois Center • www.camp-phoenix.org The official summer camp of the Diocese of Missouri invites campers ages 8-15 for a week of outdoor fun, crafts, and spiritual formation. Rising high school seniors may apply to work as counselors-in-training!

Registration opened on February 1.

For more information on youth ministry in the diocese contact the Rev. Canon Loren Lasch, llasch@diocesemo.org.

The Chaplains of Episcopal City Mission The Rev. Kevin Aldridge

Chaplain Kevin enjoys doing God’s work and is honored to be a part of changing the lives of the children in detention through ECM chaplaincy. He has served as a part-time chaplain at the St. Louis City Detention Center since 2011, and in 2017 began serving at Missouri Hills Youth Center, the state’s Department of Youth Services facility in Bellfontaine. During his time as chaplain, Kevin has touched the lives of many children in detention by building relationships and restoring hope.

Over 16 years ago, Kevin answered the call to youth ministry. He was ordained and served for ten years as youth pastor at his church, Oasis of Love Fellowship, where he is assistant pastor. Working with underserved youth for the past 11 years as the director of an after-school program has enhanced Kevin’s ability to minister to the youth in detention.

Kevin counts as one of his greatest accomplishments his marriage of 26 years to his wife Karen. Together, they have four children: Kevin Jr. (wife Raven and their son Mikey and daughter Kourie), Kory (our angel in heaven), Kourtnie and Keldon.

The Rev. Deborah Burris

Chaplain Deborah began with ECM as an Eden Seminary intern (2011-2012) and has served as needed as a Chaplain since 2014. For most of her adult life, Deborah served the Baptist Church in youth ministry, Christian formation, prison ministry, preaching, and serving on church finance committees. She received her M. Div. from Eden Theological Seminary and was ordained in June 2014.

Deborah's Bachelor’s degree is in Organizational Development from St. Louis University, a Chancellor's Certificate in Human Resource Management from the University of Missouri-St. Louis, and her Master’s degree is in Educational Leadership & Policy Studies from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She is currently the Director & Chief Diversity Officer at the Office of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at the University of Missouri-St. Louis.

Deborah enjoys music, cooking, family gatherings at her home and playing with her grandchildren—teens to toddlers.

Mr. Brian Sieve:

Chaplain Brian has a Bachelor’s degree from St. Louis University in Education and Theology, with an emphasis in English; speech, theatre, and communications. Brian is a Presidential Scholar working toward his M. Div. degree at Chicago Theological Seminary, and plans to graduate in 2018. He spent the 2016-2017 school year as a Chaplain-intern with ECM, serving in both the City and County Detention Centers.

Juvenile Detention Chaplaincy is the most powerful ministry Brian has experienced in his over 30 years of a broad range of ministry experience, including addiction and recovery, pastoral care, working with the homeless, preaching, teaching, and fundraising. Until recently, he was part of the pastoral staff of John Calvin Presbyterian Church in Bridgeton, MO. He currently serves as pastoral support at his home church, Metropolitan Community Church (MCC) of Greater Saint Louis. He is a guest preacher around the region for his denomination, MCC. He is in his third year on the board of ARCHway Institute for Addictive Disease. Brian is a house manager for the Recovery House, living with twelve recovering men in the first facility certified for the Missouri STR grant.

Learn more about ministry to kids in detention through Episcopal City Mission at www.ecitymission.org.

ECM is looking for a fourth chaplain, do you see yourself in this role?

Contact ECM Executive Director Beth Goad at ESMdirectorSTL@gmail.com

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9

Remembering the Future

The ancient Liturgy of Saint James of Jerusalem gives us what is probably the longest Eucharistic prayer ever. If you find Eucharist Prayer D too short, then this is the prayer for you. The Scottish Episcopalians, our forebears in faith, loved the Prayer of St. James, and as you might guess, so do I. Here is the part of the Prayer with the technical name of anamnesis, the remembering-up or the knowing again, the part often labeled “The Memorial.” It goes like this: O God, Implant in our memories Christ’s life-giving passion, salutary death on the cross, burial, and Resurrection on the third day, sitting at the right of you our God and Father, and his second glorious and terrible Advent.

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The community praying this prayer calls into presence an awareness of Christ across an enormous expanse of time. Before all ages, until the end of time, and past that.

It does something paradoxical but, I think, spot on. It expresses a memory of the future. Implant Christ’s second coming in our memories.

The recollection of something that has not-yet happened.

Tilting toward the future is probably an under-expressed and under-utilized practice in Christian living. It undergirds any understanding of hope—which is not the same as optimism, not the same as saying every little thing is going to be all right, not the wearing of rose-tinted glasses. Hope sets believers in a posture toward

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the future, come what may, because we know that in that future, God in Christ Jesus awaits. If the future is glorious, or terrible, or a little bit of both, Christ awaits us.

A parting address

My address today is the last practical time for me to speak directly to you, the community of leaders in the Diocese of Missouri.

I say last practical time, because next year, all our energies will focus on the election of the 11th Bishop of Missouri. As they should be.

By that time, I will be wearing beige and sitting in the corner. As I should be. So this address is an exhortation, a word of encouragement, a plea for you to do that paradoxical thing about

remembering the future across a large expanse of time. The future which I can remember for this Diocese looks daunting, very different, and such an adventure that no one would want to be left out.

Do I have regrets? You bet I do.

To remember the future I have to start with some of the important might-have-beens of my seventeen years as your bishop. To say I have no regrets is either an expression of egotism or else the sign of an un-reflected life. I have three to name before you, although they are hardly the only ones.

I regret that we do not have at least one deacon in every parish or mission, as I had intended at the beginning of my ministry here among you.

There were three deacons when I arrived, and since then we have ordained some twenty more of them.

They make an enormous difference in providing servant leadership, wherever they are, and there are not nearly enough of them.

Secondly, and on a similar note, we do not have nearly enough priests; in fact we are on the cliff edge of a serious priest shortage. We do not have enough seminary-trained priests, and we do not have enough locally-trained priests.

A mixed ecology of these two sorts of priests, leavened by the presence of deacons also, is what a good future looks like. I think that I have had a good idea about what the shape of ordained ministry will be, and I regret that I did not accomplish more toward that end. Which will leave this Diocese facing shortages. What to do about that is an open question, and one now not for me to settle. I will have more to say about this later.

Third. My biggest regret. I have tried to hold in one hand the ideals of fullest possible inclusion possible for LGBT people among us, and in the other hand the highest degree of belonging among the forty provinces of the Anglican Communion. Sexuality and communion. Sometimes I got it more or less correct, and sometimes I dropped things from one hand or another. I apologize to you, for dropping something which you might treasure, from either hand. I have done some dropping.

The Lambeth Conference in 2008 was a turning point for my understanding around issues of human sexuality and the Anglican Communion. As to Communion, two things became clear to me. First, I discovered that I care far more about belonging to one another in Christ than some of the most strident apologists and enforcers for the Communion. That was a surprise. And a contradiction—because it appeared to me that some of the most vociferous proponents for the Anglican Communion were the ones most likely to cause its undoing.

The second insight was that the reality of the Communion proved more robust and resilient than many of us imagined. Related to this was an insight that Communion relationships were not likely to get much better, or much worse. The Communion actually does belong to God. I cannot fix what ails it, and I am not responsible if it falls, or becomes less than what it is. It’s God’s Communion. Let me say that it is actually a relief to remember who is God—and who is not.

I came back from England in August 2008 much less anxious about matters of Communion and human sexuality. More intent simply to proceed in an orderly way on the path toward full inclusion for LGBT Christians in our midst.

I do regret my occasional fumbling in the years before 2008, fumbling which hurt some of you.

To the purpose of fullest possible inclusion, I have new responsibilities for ministries as bishop in three parishes in the Diocese of Dallas, congregations who want to offer samesex marriage but whose bishop himself chooses not oversee the rite. I will be there at the invitation of Bishop George Sumner, whom I know as friend and colleague. My ministry will be an imperfect and temporary measure to provide for the rites, yes, but also to allow some space for the parishes, and for the bishop and for others in the Diocese. Space to remain in relationship.

Five Highlights

As I continue to mull our past as preparation for remembering our future, let me now name five matters about which I have no regrets.

The first may sound administratively mundane, but it has made an enormous difference in our life together. Before 2008, the Diocese of Missouri had been rolling deficits in our budget for so long, decades long, that we no longer realized that we were doing it.

When Tom Hedrick had been treasurer long enough to make sense out of our financial landscape, he said, This is going to stop, because it is not sustainable. He was right, and Diocesan Council and my staff began the work of building a responsible budget. That style of budget invariably requires personnel cut-backs, because no place else has the numbers of dollars to effect change.

Over the past decade there have been three reductions in force among the people who work in my office. None was easy, because reductions in force affect people whom we know and about whom we care. When I became Bishop of Missouri in 2002, my staff included positions amounting to thirteen-and-a-half full time equivalents. At this moment, there are sevenand-a-half full time equivalents. This-size-staff

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actually fits our-size-Diocese more effectively.

More to the point, these hard decisions freed money for mission and have boosted the morale among elected leadership, who once had to expend a lot of energy managing deficits. It is better this way. We are better stewards. We are better at mission. My thanks to Tom Hedrick, to Director of Finance Desiree Brattin, in my office, to finance committees and Diocesan Councils over the past decade. It may seem like a boring administrative matter. It has in fact made a huge difference for our common life. The freeing-up of finances has made it possible to take some audacious initiatives in mission and ministry.

Which leads me to item number two: Deaconess Anne House. This intentional community for young adults founded in 2012, part of a church-wide network called the Episcopal Service Corps, works from a house in Old North Saint Louis, a historic neighborhood about two miles north of here. The presence of this community has allowed our Diocese to stake a new sort of claim for ministry in St. Louis City. The footprint of Deaconess Anne House is far larger than the number of people who have lived there suggests. It extends into almost every corner of the Diocese, and it has become a center for mission for many of our parishes. In the months and years since Ferguson became a word loaded with meanings about the historic and current racisms here, the House became a rallying point for our Church’s response. Its gift for us became obvious.

Corps Members have been blessed to have a formation in life and faith that they would not have otherwise had. People who have lived in the House have discerned calls to all sorts of ministry, lay and ordained, both in this Diocese and beyond. It is a ministry dynamo. It is a pearl of great price, something costly, yes, but something to be cherished beyond expectations. Deaconess Anne House is a gift of the Spirit for us. I give a shout out to the three successive directors of the community: Jonathan Stratton, Rebecca Ragland, and Jillian Smith. They have each been the right leader at the right time, and I am proud of them all.

Related is item number three, our partnership with the Diocese of Lui in South Sudan, which draws to a close with this convention, at the recommendation of the Companion Diocese Committee. As it happens 2020, the year of my retirement, is also the centennial of Christianity first coming to Lui. Dr. Kenneth Fraser went to Lui in 1920, this Scottish physician who taught the Gospel to the Moru people.

The end of my episcopate, and a significant anniversary, both the same year. It also comes at a time when it is not safe for Missourians

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to travel to South Sudan, and difficult for our friends there to get documents to travel to the USA. Over forty Missourians have traveled to Lui since 2004, and about a dozen of the Moru people have come to Missouri. Bishop Stephen lived among us while he was studying at Eden Seminary. We have lasting friendships across two continents.

It has been a blessing to be in partnership with Christians in such different circumstances, in a place difficult to get to, in a culture so unlike ours, with challenges unimaginable. The partnership has been life-giving, and it is also time to forge a new partnership.

It is right for my successor to provide the leadership in doing so. Mission to a place that is other and difficult is not an option. Mission is the life-blood of the Church, and I plead with you not to settle for less.

Item number four is that the Diocese of Missouri has been able to stretch resources to build a Church for St. Francis’ in Eureka. It is a blessing to that mission congregation, a blessing for far west St. Louis County and its communities, a blessing for our Diocese to be part of something new and growing. No regrets here.

Item number five is another new venture, Faith Christian Church of India, who worship at St. Luke’s, Manchester. This Church, founded by wife and husband presbyters who come here from the Church of South India, Sujanna Raj and Clive Samson, seeks to minister to the expatriate Christian community from South Asia, living in St. Louis City and County. You will hear a report from them. But know this: our ability to stretch resources to fund something this Diocese has never done before is a great gift to everyone involved. This kind of ministry, beyond what is familiar and usual, is the sort of thing to generate more energy than it consumes.

So I come to that part about remembering the future.

Which no Christian need fear, since we know God awaits us. Though it is daunting and a little scary. But no one would want to miss it. I have three things to say about this future: Buildings. Ministries. And demographics.

First the buildings. We have a lot of old ones. We are in an old and beautiful one. An historic one, a congregation founded in 1819, this building having been completed in 1867.

These old buildings are blessing and they are conundrum. They will drain us of money, and they will drain us with worry and use up emotional capital. Marcus Halley, a priest in Minnesota, tweeted earlier this year that a lot of our parishes are one busted boiler from going out of existence. And so they are.

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Making Disciples

But we cannot take on a spiritualist attitude and say, Oh the buildings don’t matter. A faith like ours which stakes so much on incarnation and embodiment and physicality may not say that buildings don’t matter. But at the same time the Church cannot deteriorate into all property management, all the time.

The Diocese of Missouri will have buildings in its future—and choices about them. Including this one; including questions about what it even means to have a Cathedral. Blessing and conundrum. The buildings from our past await us in God’s future.

Ministries. I alluded to this part of our future in what I said about deacons—and more deacons—and a mixed ecology of seminary- and locally-trained priests. I think that ministry in our Church’s future requires an even more robust re-imagining than this.

I have spoken for years about the place where we find ourselves after Christendom.

It is a secular culture around us. There may still be a lot of religious and evangelical-sounding noise to distract us, but even that noise is mostly cover for underlying secular structures.

This is no bad thing for the Church; it instead gives us the opportunity to rediscover our truest identity as the Body of Christ.

A great resource for the future that is ours in God is our deepest history. Post-Christendom has the treasure of a record from the Pre-Christendom era. The first four or five centuries of this era tell us about Christians who occasionally suffered outright persecution, yes, but mostly they tell about people who suffered low-grade oppression—and even in that mainly a calculated indifference. We are entering another era of calculated indifference from the surrounding culture. It is happening at precisely the moment when our Church is facing a decrease in numbers among the ordained. Talk to Canon Joe Chambers about this reality. Talk to any transition minister, in any of our dioceses.

The antidote, I think, is twofold. And it is not simply a matter of ordaining more people.

I think that a clearer focus about what we expect from the ordained would be helpful.

Clearer and narrower. What we receive from the ordained then will actually then go farther.

A priest, for example, who is not consumed by property management or fund-raising finds freedom for a more broad-ranging pastoral and sacramental ministry. Which are the basics of the order. A bishop also, I think, freed from the corporate weight of so many board meetings, finds freedom to do more actual bishop-ing.

And could cover more territory in the course of it.

The future looks like lots of new configurations, priests and deacons providing ministry

Building Congregations

For the Life of the World

for more than one parish—parishes who would have to lose their competitive legacy among one another, for a better way of life. Bishops tending to more than one diocese. I plead with you: Don’t resist these movements; learn to look for them. I think that they will prove life-giving.

And second, we must get real about baptism and formation, for the sake of following Jesus more closely. Jesus, risen from the dead, spoke these last words to his disciples, in Matthew’s gospel: Go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age. The main verb is Go and Make Disciples. The two means for doing such a thing: Baptize. And Teach. This is the right formula for facing our future.

I do not know the details of this future. But I do know that it will be different. And compelling.

Everything is connected to everything else, which leads to a final characteristic for God’s future. Demographics. Anyone who studies the math of who we are now and who we are likely to become says that we will become a much smaller Church. The truth is not fatalist or defeatist. It is demographic. It is true for all the Churches in North America, and it is especially true for the Episcopal Church.

For my entire episcopate, I have known that we are Church in systemic decline.

Not just decline from recent trends, not even decline because of big box Churches (who are themselves in decline—they just don’t admit it.) Not a decline because of this controversial decision of the General Convention or that one.

We are reaping the results of patterns and practices which began in the 1930s and coalesced in the 1950s.

The question that I wrestle with is this one: What is God asking from a Church in systematic decline? Well, I think that God asks for faithfulness, against that growing secular backdrop. I think that God asks us to be more recognizable as disciples of Jesus. I think that God asks us to baptize and to be baptized, to teach and to learn, and to hold more closely to these practices. For the sake of the world. I list by title some of the small Churches in our world who make an enormous difference, leveraging by grace more than expected. Mustard seed Churches.

The Moravian Church. The Old Catholic Churches of the Union of Utrecht. The Mennonites. Minuscule Churches—numbering in the thousands, not millions. And look at the tiny monastic and other religious communities in

our own Church—little bitty things that provide leaven for the whole Church. In small Churches, in tiny corners of this Church, clarity of purpose and identity become crucial, as well as theological integrity and a missional resolve.

Another example is one which I described at length two years ago, the so-called Confessing Church in Germany, which emerged in the 1930s in opposition to that prevailing cultural tsunami called National Socialism, the Nazis.

These Christians went against the tide. And at their peak, the Confessing Church was six thousand strong. Ponder that. They provided the seed-bed for postwar Christianity everywhere in Europe. God uses what is small. And especially if the small thing has a purpose, and integrity, and will risk the world for the sake of following Jesus.

Homesick for Beulah Land

The gospel hymn Beulah Land expresses in poetical language this matter of remembering the future. “I’m kind of homesick for a country to which I have never been before.” That’s it.

Not pie in the sky in the sweet by and by. But a homesickness. Which comes from what we know in the past and which Christian hope informs. Which is not that every little thing is going to be all right. But that come what may, God awaits.

An informed homesickness, which grows out of deep belief and discipleship. That’s a future worth remembering.

The Rt. Rev. Wayne Smith retires in April 2020. The next diocesan convention, the 180th in November of 2019, will elect his successor.

About The Jesus Movement We’re following Jesus into loving, liberating and life-giving relationship with God, with each other and with the earth We are the Episcopal branch of the Jesus Movement, seeking every day to love God with our whole heart, mind and soul, and to love our neighbors as ourselves (Matthew 22:36-40).

About The Episcopal Church The Anglican Episcopal family consists of an estimated 85 million Christians who are members of 45 different Churches around the globe, led by the Most Rev. Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury. The member churches of Communion are joined together by choice in love, and have no direct authority over one another.

Archbishop Justin is acknowledged as the spiritual head of the Communion, but does not have direct authority over any Anglican church outside of England.

The Episcopal Church: 1.75 million follower of Jesus in 109 dioceses and three regional areas in 17 nations, led by the Most Rev. Michael Bruce Curry, Presiding Bishop and Primate.

The Episcopal Church is in communion with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Moravian Church in North America.

The Diocese of Missouri: 10,000+ members in 43 churches, and campus ministry and Deaconess Anne House (Episcopal Service Corps), led by the Rt. Rev. George Wayne Smith, 10th Bishop of Missouri.

SEEK, Winter 2019

Episcopal Diocese of Missouri Offices of the Bishop 1210 Locust St. St. Louis, Missouri 63103

Seek is a publication of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri. Diocesan members may request a complimentary subscription by mail: send address to the Offices of the Bishop attn: Seek Subscription.

Archived editions of Seek are online at diocesemo. org/seek.

Editor: Ms. Beth Felice, Director of Communications Editorial Board: the Rev. Daniel Handschy, Dean of the Episcopal School for Ministry; Ms. Krissy Bender-Crice, All Saints', Farmington; the Rev. Amy Fallon, vicar, Trinity, Kirksville; Mr. Sanford Hamilton, All Saints Ascension, Northwoods; Ms. Kate McCormick, Transfiguration, Lake St. Louis; Ms. Mimi Shipp, Emmanuel, Webster Groves; the Rev. Canon Joe Chambers, Canon to the Ordinary, Diocese of Missouri.

At the close of the 179th Diocesan Convention, Barbi Click was ordained Deacon. Helping adjust her diaconal stole are her wife Debbie Wheeler, Deacons Harry Leip and Susan Naylor, with diocesan clergy beaming behind. The Rev. Barbi Click has been assigned Deacon at Christ Church Cathedral.

The Episcopal Diocese of Missouri

DIOCESEMO.ORG

Submissions by post attn: Beth Felice, or online via diocesemo.org/submit. Deadline: Monday, May 14, 2019 for the edition available June 2019.

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Resolutions Passed by the 179th Diocesan Convention Seven resolutions were brought before Diocesan Convention, six were adopted. In addition to the four printed below, also passed were a suggested minimum compensation for clergy resolution, and a second reading of an amendment to the Diocesan Constitution and Canons.

You can find the full text of resolutions as passed in the official minutes of convention which are now available on the convention webpage at www.diocesemo.org/ convention2018.

Also passed as submitted was the operating budget, which you can find on that same webpage.

Each year, the organizations, task forces, and governance bodies of the Diocese submit reports to convention, and all are published on the same webpage.

You can find there links to photo galleries from the day.

The 180th Convention will also be held at Christ Church Cathedral and is back to the two day format.

It will be an electing convention, when clergy and lay delegates will vote to elect the next Bishop of Missouri.

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Resolution B-179 - Baptism

Submitted by the Bishop's Task Force on Baptism

1.BE IT RESOLVED that this 179th Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri affirms the centrality of Baptism to our identity as followers of Christ; 2.BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that preparation for Baptism in the Diocese of Missouri shall be undertaken reverently and deliberately so as to communicate the sacrament's importance; 3.BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that clergy be encouraged to offer a course of preparation of at least two, if not three sessions; 4.BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that clergy of the Diocese of Missouri are strongly encouraged to make use of those resources being provided by the Task Force on Baptism for such baptismal preparation(http://wiki.diocesemo.org/ baptism-resources:start); 5.BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that Godparents and Sponsors be encouraged to take an active role in both preparation and in the ongoing life of the individual they are sponsoring, so that they might

Making Disciples

Building Congregations

make good on the vows they take on behalf of those being baptized; 6.BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the sacramental reality of Baptism is full initiation into the Church through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ;and 7.BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that clergy and worshiping communities be encouraged to emphasize our common identity as baptized members of the Body of Christ in as many formation and education offerings as is possible, and to facilitate an understanding of how Baptism, and our new creation through it, informs our understanding about everything that it means to be a Christian.

RATIONALE: Holy Baptism is the means of entry into Christian community, the means by which we are adopted as children of God and made members of the Body of Christ. Because through baptism, we are called to our new identity as the Body, it is beneficial for all members of the Body of Christ to have a greater understanding of our baptismal identity and the vows we undertake as the Body of Christ.

For the Life of the World

Resolution C-179 - Companion Diocese of Lui

Submitted by Companion Diocese Committee

1.BE IT RESOLVED that this 179th Convention of the Diocese of Missouri expresses its gratitude to God for the many gifts we have received from our relationship with our brothers and sisters of the Diocese of Lui in South Sudan during the years of our companion relationship; 2.BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this Convention expresses its deep gratitude to the people of the Diocese of Lui for their faithfulness to Our Lord Jesus Christ and for their joy in sharing that faith with us; 3.BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that as the Diocese of Lui celebrates 100 years since the arrival of Christianity in the person of Doctor Frazer, this Convention will let our companion relationship lapse; 4.BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED by this Convention of the Diocese of Missouri that any and all moneys raised for the companion relationship, and for various purposes in

the Diocese of Lui, be forwarded to the Diocese of Lui for those purposes as expeditiously as possible; 5.BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this Convention encourage the people of the Diocese to continue to pray for our brothers and sisters in the Diocese of Lui, and for peace in South Sudan; and Minutes of the 179th Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri pg. 17 6.BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this Convention encourages the Companion Diocese Committee to prayerfully investigate an appropriate relationship for consideration after the election of the 11th Bishop of Missouri.

RATIONALE: The initial covenant between the Dioceses of Missouri and Lui, signed in April of 2006, was intended to run for five years, and was renewed for another five years in 2011. That renewal has now passed the five-year mark. A civil war in South Sudan, beginning in December 2013, has made travel to the Diocese of Lui practically impossible. Since the beginning of that war, visitors from the Diocese of Missouri have only been able to visit refugees in the camp at Kiryandongo, Uganda. Also, South Sudanese citizens have consistently been denied visas to visit the United States. For these reasons, this companion relationship can no longer serve one of the most important purposes of a companion relationship, viz., the exchange of visits for mutual learning and encouragement.

Also, as our bishop will retire in April 2020, now would be an opportune time to wind this relationship down to give our new bishop the chance to pursue a relationship in line with her or his vision of the

Diocese. The 100th anniversary celebration of the arrival of Christian missionaries in Lui gives us the opportunity to celebrate the fruits of this relationship with our friends in Lui.

Resolution E–179 Expansive Language

Submitted by the General Convention Deputation

1.BE IT RESOLVED that this 179th Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri commends General Convention Resolution 2018-D067 to clergy,members, congregations, and agencies of the Diocese of Missouri: General Convention 2018 – Resolution D067 Bias-Free and Expansive-Language for God and Humanity Resolved, That the 79th General Convention acknowledges as has the Society of Biblical Literature Book of Style, that “bias-free language respects all cultures, peoples, and religions” and encourages the use of inclusive and expansive language for both God and humanity; and be it further Resolved, That the 79th General Convention in the spirit of effective evangelism and proclamation of the Gospel affirm the use of “bias-free language” defined by the principles below: Eliminate the perception of conscious or unconscious bias by the distracting use of biased language when not central to the meaning of the text.

Avoid the generic use of masculine nouns and pronouns which is increasingly unacceptable in current English usage.

Avoid the use of language that perpetuates stereotypes based on characteristics such as race, ethnicity, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression.

Avoid the assignment of gender to God, except when required by the text.

Respect all cultures, peoples, and religions by sensitivity to the uncritical use of biblical characterizations such as “the Jews” or “the Pharisees” that can perpetuate religious and ethnic stereotypes.

Structure sentences to communicate clearly while using gender-neutral language, for example: Omit the pronoun.

Repeat the noun.

Use a plural antecedent.

Use an article instead of a pronoun.

Use the neutral singular pronoun “one.”

Use the relative pronoun “who.”

Use the imperative mood; And be it further Resolved, That the 79th General Convention urges that the Executive Council, the Office of General Convention and the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society give priority to using these guidelines in all published communications; and 2.BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this Convention urges Diocesan congregations, institutions, and organizations to follow these guidelines in all published communications.

The Episcopal Diocese of Missouri

DIOCESEMO.ORG

Resolution F-179 Letters of Agreement

Submitted by the General Convention Deputation

1.BE IT RESOLVED that this 179th Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri directs the Secretary of this convention to disseminate Resolution 2018-B006 of the 79th General Convention of The Episcopal Church to all clergy,Vestries, Bishop or Executive Committees, and all leadership of intentional diocesan communities: 1.Resolved, That every diocese and ministry organization, in recognition of the guidelines included in The Manual of Business Methods in Church Affairs, be requested to include a letter of agreement as part of a transparent hiring process for any church employee. Such letter of agreement may describe the duties and responsibilities of the position, including details about salary and benefits. The letter may also include provisions for an annual performance evaluation, procedures for the reconciliation of disagreements, and articulate policies concerning dissolution.

2.Notes: 3.Title I, Canon 7, “Of Business Methods in Church Affairs”, and Resolution D-147 (1979 GC): “Accounting Principles and Practices for Dioceses, Parishes, and Other Congregations” 4.https://www.episcopalchurch.org/files/full_manual_updated_012815_0.pdf 5.https://www.episcopalarchives.org/cgi-bin/acts/acts_search. pl 2.BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that congregations and other diocesan organizations are encouraged to share their Letter of Agreement templates for both clergy and lay positions with the Diocesan Office as a repository.

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Preparing for Lent

One of the best things about Lent is that it happens every year. It's like having a Christian restart button.

Lent reminds us that we are a people in process. As much as we intend to do well, we often fail. As much as we resolve to do differently, we forget.

Lent reminds us that imperfection and frailty are realities, but that growth is still possible— especially with God's help.

As I anticipate Lent, I have been asking God to guide me in the steps I can take to correct the ways I'm slipping.

Different years have brought different actions.

One year, I gave up putting sugar in my tea. That may seem insignificant but it was huge for me. I wasn't keeping track of how much sugar I was consuming. Giving it up during Lent was a way

Rebecca Ragland

to say to myself and God, 'I care about my health and I know you, God, do too'. When Lent ended, the sugar craving was lighter. I stopped using sugar for good. Now, I realize that I was eating about 3 lbs of sugar a month!

This year, my "giving up." activities will be different, but one thing remains the same: I want to hit a reset button.

God invites us to return when we wander, to knock when we need back in. Whatever we forgo, or change, or take on, God wants to be a part of it. When we empty something and invite God, God fills the empty space. When we want to change for the better, God gives us strength.

What will you add or remove in your life during Lent?

It's six weeks of resetting. Pray about it, anticipate it, do it! God is ready to welcome you into your "restart".

The Rev. Rebecca Ragland is priest-in-charge of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in the Carondelet neighborhood of St. Louis, www.carondeletchurch.org

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Making Disciples

Building Congregations

For the Life of the World

Ash Wednesday and Beyond: Meditations for Lent and Holy Week

In our Bishop’s address to Diocesan Convention this past November, he called us to live more fully into our Baptism. Let us observe a holy Lent by examining ourselves through the lens of our baptismal covenant and our catechism.

In our Baptismal Covenant, with God’s help we promise to “persevere in resisting evil, and, whenever [we] fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord.”

The Baptism Task Force has authored daily Lenten meditations for Ash Wednesday through Easter Sunday. They are arranged so that from Monday through Friday, we reflect on how we have fallen into sin so that we may confess our personal and common failures to live fully into our Baptismal calling. Saturdays offer an opportunity to reflect upon the major themes of the week. Sundays are a reflection on the themes from the preceding week from the opposite viewpoint: how have we lived into our baptism so that we can offer God our corporate life, both what we give thanks for and what we confess.

The meditations for Saturday and Sunday are designed to be used in community, such Adult Forum discussions.

Most weekday reflections are of four parts: an opening sentence appropriate to the season, a reflection upon a portion of the Ash Wednesday Litany of Penitence, a question or two for personal reflection, and a closing prayer drawn from the Book of Common Prayer. Using these meditations will give you an opportunity to explore the riches of the Book of Common Prayer.

You can download the complete Ash Wednesday and Beyond: Daily Meditations for Lent and Holy Week or subscribe for the meditations by daily email delivered at 5 am through www.diocesemo.org/Lent

This Season Of Lent It's about Shrove Tuesday pancakes and burning last year's palms for ashes to be used the following day in Ash Wednesday services, high and low, and on the street. And Lenten simple soup and study nights, quiet days and social action. Or through Stations of the Cross, Evensong, and special services, this Diocese prepares for Holy Week and Easter in many ways. We invite you to experience this season with all of your senses and in ways that are both comfortable and challenging.

The Episcopal Diocese of Missouri

Directory listing of parish Lenten gatherings, as well as favorite and new resources from the wider Church at www.diocesemo.org/Lent.

• • • • •

DIOCESEMO.ORG

Shrove Tuesday—March 5 Ash Wednesday—March 6 Palm Sunday—April 14 Easter Vigil—Saturday, April 20 Easter Sunday—April 21 17

Electing Our Next Bishop

Electing Our Next Bishop

In our last issue of Seek, the Search/Nominating Committee had just been chosen by the Standing Committee of the Diocese and was beginning its work. A retreat opened their work together, which is happening as we publish.

The committee is sending two members to every parish, to the major governance bodies, to clergy retreat, and to diocesan organizations such as Episcopal Church Women and the diocesan Youth. At these Holy Listening sessions the gathered are asked a series of questions about hopes for this diocese ten years out, about qualities we'd like to see in our next bishop, and some of the opportunities and challenges that lie ahead in Missouri and in the Church.

The questions are the same at each listening session, with a final question asking the gathered for anything they'd like to add. Answers are recorded and transcribed for the use of the committee (only), to create a profile for this diocese and our candidates.

This is a labor of love and generosity by all participants. These sessions have been well attended. Missouri has had icy and snowy Sundays which caused several sessions to be rescheduled.

In addition to the gatherings, the committee offered an online survey which was completed by over 850 respondents.

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Making Disciples

Timeline

April 30, 2019 •

Diocesan Profile will be published

September 16-20, 2019 • •

Slate of Nominees for Bishop published Petition process begins

Nov 4-8, 2019 •

Walkabouts

November 22-23, 2019 •

Election of the next bishop takes place during the 180th Diocesan Convention, held in St. Louis

April 25, 2020 •

Ordination and Consecration of the next bishop.

About the Transition Committee from Standing Committee President the Rev. Dawn-Victoria Mitchell

The Search/Nominations Committee is wrapping up its Holy Listening Sessions. What they have heard will be part of the profile that will help us discern our next Bishop.

The Electing Convention may be six months away, but the process is starting to welcome our eleventh Bishop and to thank Bishop Smith for his ministry among us.

The Standing Committee is pleased to

Building Congregations

For the Life of the World

announce the Transition Committee who will help us do that, and much more. Consultant Gary Butterworth is also a resource and a support for the Transition Committee in their work.

Michael Reiser, who has been a frequent fixture in planning our Diocesan Conventions, is also working with the Transition Committee.

The Transition Committee is able to seek assistance from volunteers to help them. So you may be hearing from them in the future.

God’s peace and blessings, Dawn-Victoria+

Transition Committee members • • • • • • • • • • • •

Jane Klieve, Chair, St. Timothy’s/Creve Coeur Jeanie Bryant, Church of St. Michael and St. George/Clayton Greg Dell, Advent/Crestwood The Rev. Renee Fenner, St. Barnabas/Florissant Kurt Greenbaum, St. John’s/Tower Grove The Rev. Emily Hillquist Davis, St. Thomas’ Deaf Church/Kirkwood Jeff Goldone, Christ Church Cathedral Doris Lucy-Goodlow, Christ Church Cathedral Rich Luebcke, All Saints’/Farmington Vicki Myers, Grace/Jefferson City The Hon. Mary Russell, Grace/Jefferson City The Rev. Marc Smith, Holy Communion/U City

Province V of The Episcopal Church invites you to the Province V of The Episcopal Church invites you to the

Big Provincial Gathering Big Provincial Gathering July July 12-13, 12-13, 2019 2019 in in Kalamazoo, Kalamazoo, Michigan Michigan

Behold!

Behold! II have have set set before you an open door before you an open door How do we reach deeper into our How do we reach deeper into our community’s needs? community’s needs?

Who are the people around our church Whothat are we theneed people church to around networkour with? that we need to network with?

How do I connect our ministry How do Iwith connect our ministry others? with others?

What are the ways we can support Whatone areanother the waysinwe can support ministry? one another in ministry?

Did you know the Diocese of Missouri is in in the Office of Church Planting and RedevelProvince 5 of the Episcopal Church? All the dioopment will offer a keynote, but also gather the speaker ceses belong to one of nine provinces, and there Keynote group after sessions toand shareconference wisdom gleaned.emcee is Keynote speaker and conference are 14 in Province V. The workshop schedule calls for three 90emcee is Why does a province exist? The Constituminute sessions. Each session is a mixture of tion and Canons of the Episcopal Church offers presentation, of things to try out in the room, this, "The primary purposes of the Provinces and time for networking and sharing by particiare to facilitate inter-diocesan collaboration to Mission pants. The Prov. 5 leadership hopes to offer ways Church Developer for the Episcopal achieve Diocesan and Episcopal Church goals, Mission of staying connected as these groups of interest Church Developer for the Episcopal and to enable more effective communications develop. and regional advocacy of significant programThere are some 50 workshops scheduled matic efforts." around the broad topics of: Theological EducaSome provinces and ministries have a tion; Lay Discernment; Outreach; Music; Young better tradition of collaboration. Province 5 has Adults; Dismantling Racism; Leadership; Evancertainly seen ups and downs in this regard. Our gelism / Church Planting; Preaching; Intergencurrent Prov. 5 director is the Rev. Heather Barerational Formation; Prayer; Advocacy / Justice; ta. This Michigander wondered if we could hold Telling our Stories; Care for Creation; Welcome / a big gathering with space for all of the dioceses, Hospitality; Monasticism; Liturgical Ministries; with topics of interest to each. A place to share Communications; Children's Ministries...To real- Kittells from St. Vincent's, and members of our our wisdom and begin some collaboration. ly appreciate this you'll need to read about each Dismantling Racism Commission (There are The venue chosen is Kalamazoo, a town of workshops at www.provincev.org. four sessions on anti-racism work scheduled at 78,000 in the Diocese of Western Michigan.

Diocesan members are participating as this point).

Local churches in a five block area of downtown session leaders and on panels, including GenOnline registration opens on March 1 at the are offering their space for workshops. The Rev. eral Convention Deputy and Chaplain the Rev. province website.. Who's up for a road trip?

Registration will open Vendor Workshops for ALL aspects of Shipptables from Emmanuel, the Mike Michie, the Episcopal Church's Staff Officer Beth Scriven, Mimi

Mike Michie Mike Michie

Participate Participate

Bring Bring

Share Share

Registration Vendor tablesDIOCESEMO.ORG Workshops for ALL aspects of 19 Marchwill 1 openThe Episcopal Diocese are available ministry will be offered. of Missouri March 1 are available ministry invited will be offered.

Cost: $50 Proposals

by Feb. 10 Cost: $50 Proposals invited by Feb. 10

This year at Deaconess Anne House Suburban sprawl covers the scarred land of a recently devastated community in Moore, Oklahoma. I was born and raised in Moore, sandwiched between the growing metro of Oklahoma City, the sport-centered University of Oklahoma, and the deafening whir of planes from the air Force Base nearby.

I came to St. Louis out of a sense of 'calling' and invitation.

Something intangible spoke to me out of my prayers and said yes Kevin—yes to this step away from your home. I knew that the service I had been longing for would be found in St. Louis if I was patient and sober enough. That was a lesson that I needed growth to be equipped to learn; I became better at waiting—at being still, at straining to hear God—and through it I have a new view of faith.

I am currently giving my service at The Haven of Grace in Old North Saint Louis, where we live. It is a maternity shelter for women experiencing homelessness. The mission of The Haven is emboldening and executed with fever and persistence.

Kevin Rysted

I’m from Nashville, Tennessee. I joined Deaconess Anne House for a year of growth and discernment after college, rooted in my faith tradition. I’m serving with Grace Hill Settlement House, a social service provider in North St. Louis, and I’m assisting with volunteer and community development programs. My favorite part of the program has been learning about community—at our house, in our neighborhood, in our church, at our service sites and in this great city. It’s been a great journey so far, and I look forward to what the next six months hold!

Shelton Clark

(who is currently doing a second year)

Annie Brock

(who joined the community in January)

Madison Orozco

I'm from Nashville, TN. I joined DAH because I wanted my first year after college to be a time when I could focus on the intersection faith and the pursuit of social justice, as well as a foundation for the way I want to live the rest of my life. I currently volunteer with Missouri Health Care for All, a Health Care (MHCFA) advocacy non-profit. I work as a grassroots community organizer, with the goal of empowering individuals to become advocates of social change through education and leadership development.

During my time at DAH, I have been most impacted by my work with MHCFA. The skills that I'm gaining as a community organizer are invaluable, and it's so amazing to see members of the community so passionate about an issue and to watch them become leaders in the movement.

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Making Disciples

Building Congregations

For the Life of the World

I grew up in Santa Cruz, CA and graduated from Kenyon College in December. Before attending Kenyon, I spent two years as an undergraduate at WashU in St. Louis, where I was an enthusiastic member of the Rockwell House Episcopal Campus Ministry. I am passionate about both youth & young adult ministry and the Episcopal Church, and I’m delighted to return to St. Louis and intern at Rockwell House as a part of the Deaconess Anne House Episcopal Service Corps. I am also excited to participate in an intentional, faith-based community and get involved in other service and justice work in the city.