May 2018 Connections

Connections ideas • news • events May 2018

Issue 3 Vol. 5

Abraham

I will indeed bless you, and I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore.

Genesis 22:17

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Abraham T

he mists of legend and pre-history shroud the patriarch revered by Jews, Christians, and Muslims as their earliest hero of the faith. Some scholars suggest that the Abraham of the Bible and the Quran was not a single individual, but a tribe or composite figure representing several ancient leaders whose names are lost to us. Both Jews and Arabs claim descent from Abraham; the name means “father of a multitude.”

In the Hebrew Bible, the Lord directs Abraham to “go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” Abraham obeys and God then gives him and his descendants the land of Canaan (modern Israel and Palestine), promising to make of Abraham’s progeny a great nation. This promise, fulfilled through Abraham’s son Isaac, is the biblical basis of the modern Israeli nation’s claim to the land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. Years later, in a terrifying encounter, God tests Abraham by commanding him to slay the boy Isaac on a remote mountaintop, a command Abraham was prepared to obey until an angel stopped him at the last instant. One of the names of God in the Hebrew Bible is “the shield of Abraham.”

For Christians, Abraham is the great paragon of faith. The apostle Paul twice writes that “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” Abraham was right with God, Paul says, not because of any acts of obedience, but because he believed and trusted God. Paul contrasts this to what he perceived as rabbinic Judaism’s excessive legalism. All who trust God, not adherents of the law, are the true descendants of Abraham and children of God, Paul says.

Arabs trace their descent from Abraham through his older son Ishmael. Abraham is a major figure in the Quran, which portrays him as the archetypal Muslim. He boldly challenges his father to abandon his idols and worship the one true God. For this he is thrown into a blazing fire, which God miraculously cools. The Quran also includes the story of the sacrifice of Abraham’s son, who is not named but whom Muslims presume to be Ishmael.

Abraham’s name is closely linked with Mecca, “the city of Abraham,” where he constructs the world’s first mosque, the Kaaba.

This brief biography of Abraham is taken from Sages, Saints, & Seers: A Breviary of Spiritual Masters, by Richard H. Schmidt (Morehouse Publishing, 2015).

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I will indeed bless you, and I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore.

Genesis 22:17

2

Abraham T

he mists of legend and pre-history shroud the patriarch revered by Jews, Christians, and Muslims as their earliest hero of the faith. Some scholars suggest that the Abraham of the Bible and the Quran was not a single individual, but a tribe or composite figure representing several ancient leaders whose names are lost to us. Both Jews and Arabs claim descent from Abraham; the name means “father of a multitude.”

In the Hebrew Bible, the Lord directs Abraham to “go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you.” Abraham obeys and God then gives him and his descendants the land of Canaan (modern Israel and Palestine), promising to make of Abraham’s progeny a great nation. This promise, fulfilled through Abraham’s son Isaac, is the biblical basis of the modern Israeli nation’s claim to the land between the Mediterranean Sea and the Jordan River. Years later, in a terrifying encounter, God tests Abraham by commanding him to slay the boy Isaac on a remote mountaintop, a command Abraham was prepared to obey until an angel stopped him at the last instant. One of the names of God in the Hebrew Bible is “the shield of Abraham.”

For Christians, Abraham is the great paragon of faith. The apostle Paul twice writes that “Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness.” Abraham was right with God, Paul says, not because of any acts of obedience, but because he believed and trusted God. Paul contrasts this to what he perceived as rabbinic Judaism’s excessive legalism. All who trust God, not adherents of the law, are the true descendants of Abraham and children of God, Paul says.

Arabs trace their descent from Abraham through his older son Ishmael. Abraham is a major figure in the Quran, which portrays him as the archetypal Muslim. He boldly challenges his father to abandon his idols and worship the one true God. For this he is thrown into a blazing fire, which God miraculously cools. The Quran also includes the story of the sacrifice of Abraham’s son, who is not named but whom Muslims presume to be Ishmael.

Abraham’s name is closely linked with Mecca, “the city of Abraham,” where he constructs the world’s first mosque, the Kaaba.

This brief biography of Abraham is taken from Sages, Saints, & Seers: A Breviary of Spiritual Masters, by Richard H. Schmidt (Morehouse Publishing, 2015).

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Man of faith or yes-man?

In the book of Genesis, God tells Abraham to get up and leave his home and everything he knows for the promise of many heirs, and Abraham does it. After years of waiting, God finally delivers on that promise and gives Abraham a son in his old age. But then God turns around and orders Abraham to sacrifice Isaac – and Abraham obediently goes and prepares to do it!

Biblical scholars tell us that this shows Abraham to be a man of great faith.

In that same story we also learn that while waiting around for this promised child, Abraham’s wife Sarah tells him to get her servant pregnant so that he will have an heir. It doesn’t appear to take much convincing for him to comply. Later, in a fit of jealousy, she orders him to cast that same woman and her child out into the wilderness. Once again, he bows to her command. These don’t seem like the actions of a person with great faith in God, more like those of a milquetoast who can’t stand up to his overbearing spouse. So is Abraham actually just the first yes-man?

I often wonder about this disconnect and what the story doesn't tell us. Was Abraham angry when God told him to move to a strange land? Did he rebel?

Did he argue with Sarah? Did he mourn the distance between him and his son Ishmael? Did he beg for Isaac's life? Did he offer to trade places? He bargained with God for the lives of the people in Sodom and Gomorrah – did he do the same for his own son?

The biblical writer(s) chose to leave out those details to to make the case that Abraham showed unflinching obedience to God, and God in turn placed continual faith in him. But that absence of any questioning or cajoling by Abraham has often made me wonder if

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I somehow fall short of being eligible for the same unfailing faith of God. I just can’t seem to muster up the same level of blind faith that Abraham seems to have.

In addition to a couple of reviews of some great resources on further study of Abraham, this issue of Connections offers some astounding reflections on his faith. Bishop Breidenthal reminds us while Abraham made his way toward Mount Moriah he clung to hope that God would spare him the horror of killing his own son, just as Jesus prayed to his Father to spare him from his fate. Author Richard Schmidt asks us to take a look at the story of the sacrifice of Isaac from a different perspective, one in which God as victim is very familiar with having to face pain and despair. Artist Karl Stevens hauntingly depicts the story through the eyes of Sarah.

Taking some time to reconsider the story of Abraham in preparation for this issue has given me the feeling that there is hope for me yet. Through great love, God continually has faith in a man who, while flawed, remains faithful to him. Surely I, with all of my questions and doubts, am just as deserving of that same continuing faith and love.

Connections editor Julie Murray serves as Associate Director of Communication for the Diocese of Southern Ohio. Connect with her at jmurray@diosohio.org.

Get up and go!i.

This edition is devoted to Abraham.

As a diocese, we have been working through the exodus story all year. It is Abraham who prefigures that story and sets the stage for it. Centuries before his descendants begin their sojourn in Egypt, Abraham is called to leave his ancestral home in what is now Iraq or southwestern Turkey and make his way to Canaan; the area we know today as Israel and the West Bank (Genesis 12:1).

God’s command to Abraham is emphatic: “Get up and go!” From the very beginning, the starting point of our relationship with God is a push to move out into a new place.

Not surprisingly, the rabbinical tradition has commented considerably and deeply on this command and its consequence. One midrash (commentary) likens Abraham’s call and response to a man who saw a building on fire, and asked who was in charge. The owner of the building looked out and answered, “I am in charge.” According to the midrash, the building on fire is the world, consumed by mercilessness and wrongdoing, and the owner of the building is God, who will not let the world go up in flame.

The midrash proceeds to liken Abraham to the young bride in Psalm 45:11, who

is being called from her birth family to a new family and a new set of relationships. (Midrash Rabbah, 39:1-3) The point here is Abraham’s understanding of his call. On the one hand, Abraham is struck by the hurt he sees all around him, and by the power of God to put the fire of cruelty out. On the other, he is willing to give himself over to God, as to a spouse, in order to be part of that effort. For the rabbis, Abraham epitomizes the heart and soul of Israel’s vocation — a calling to be a witness to the care and mercy of the one, true God, and to be united to God in a relationship as intimate and personal as marriage.

Islam and Christianity, the two other religious traditions that revere Abraham as their spiritual ancestor, also claim this twofold calling. The so-called Abrahamic faiths are distinct in many ways, but they are bound together by the conviction that there is but one truth at the center of everything, and that truth is love. For all three communities, Abraham is the first person to pioneer and model the spiritual exodus we are invited into to this day. For Christians, of course, this exodus finds its culmination in Jesus, whom the author of Hebrews calls “the pioneer and perfecter

of our faith” Hebrews 12:2). But as Paul reminds us repeatedly, the faith exemplified by Jesus is the faith revealed in Abraham, who put his whole trust in God. For both Abraham and Jesus, that trust is tested to the uttermost. When God commands Abraham to offer his beloved child Isaac as a sacrifice, Abraham clings to the hope that God will provide a way out — as in fact he does. When Jesus, on the night before he dies, begs to be spared yet yields to the Father’s will, he demonstrates a trust that finds its reward in resurrection.

We can thank God that we don’t have to equal Abraham, still less Jesus. What was an experience of excruciating challenge for them becomes the assurance of God’s kindliness to us. God does not lead us into suffering, but seeks to protect us from it, despite our frailty and our sin.

The Rt. Rev. Thomas E. Breidenthal is the Bishop of the Diocese of Southern Ohio. Connect with him at tbreidenthal@diosohio.org.

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Abraham and Moses

"“T

lessons from our Exodus Big Read

he mind and heart of God are vulnerable to the pleas and arguments of human creatures,” declared Dr. Terence Fretheim, as we gathered for the Exodus Colloquium to wrap up our months long study of Exodus on April 7. The rain and snow had finally let up, and pale yellow sunlight suffused the sanctuary of All Saints Episcopal Church in New Albany, and it did, indeed, feel like God was quite willingly answering our prayers for spring.

But many of us felt a certain unease at Fretheim’s remark.

After all, we were raised believing that God was omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent. And this understanding of God leads many Christians to the logical conclusion that God has some vast and sprawling plan for the cosmos that we simply can’t understand. More than that, we tend to believe that everything that happens is the result of this plan, and must, in some way, be good, even if it appears to be evil. But Fretheim was saying something very different.

He was talking about the scene in Exodus 32, when God threatens to destroy the chosen people. God has reasons to be miffed. While Moses has been up on Mount Sinai receiving the laws, the people at the foot of the mountain have been fashioning all of the jewelry that they took from the Egyptians into a giant calf idol. Moses comes down the mountain to find them worshiping this calf and, what’s worse, partying it up and indulging in acts that we cannot mention in polite society.

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God says, “Leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”

Anyone familiar with Abraham’s story will perk their ears up at this point. This is exactly the same promise that God made to Abraham. It’s as if God has gone through the previous four or five hundred years, protecting Abraham’s family and shepherding them along and trying to teach them, combatting Pharaoh and sending signs and wonders to free the chosen people, leading those same chosen people through the wilderness and giving them miracles of water and food whenever they need them – for nothing. God is ready to start all over again.

And Moses’s answer should also seem quite familiar to fans of the Book of Genesis. In Genesis 19, when God threatens to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham talks God out of it. When God threatens to wipe out the partying chosen people at the foot of Mount Sinai, Moses does the same. And, as Fretheim pointed out, both stories seem to indicate that God can be persuaded by human prayer. Argue long enough with God, and you might just get your way.

This feels like a dangerous, almost transgressive thing to say. After all, there have been moments in my life when I’ve prayed, and prayed hard, for something to happen, and then had to deal with a sense of betrayal when it didn’t happen. If God is so persuadable, why wasn’t God persuaded by me?

I don’t have a great answer for this, but I do have Abraham and Moses’s stories as guides for thinking about this question. God tells Abraham that he will be the father of a great nation. Then he waits, and waits, and waits for his wife Sarah to get pregnant. God promises to help Moses bring the chosen people out of Egypt and into a land flowing with milk and honey. Getting out of Egypt is a chore, but the really hard part, the part that makes it seem like God is reneging on the promise, is the forty years wandering in the wilderness. And Moses himself never gets to that land of milk and honey. He dies at the end of Deuteronomy, looking down at the Jordan River and the land of Canaan on the other side.

In other words, God enters into a relationship with us, and is with us all along, and we pray to God as a way of keeping up our end of the relationship. We think that God is going to be persuaded to do things in just the way that we’d like them to be done. God might be persuaded that the things we want are worth having, but God is going to find a way to make them happen that will be wholly out of our control, and entirely surprising. You might get your way, but not in the way you thought you would.

Which leads me to the biggest question that I’ve been pondering during the past eight months as we have studied Exodus. It’s the question of identity. Both Genesis and Exodus are stories of identity. Take an ordinary man, Abraham, and watch him cultivate a profound relationship with God, and see how it changes him. And not just him, but his descendants, especially Jacob and Joseph.

Then take an entire people and watch them enter into a profound relationship with God, and see how it changes

them. At the beginning of Exodus, the chosen people barely think of themselves as a group, let alone a people. By the end of Exodus, they have a set of laws that help them know how to act ethically towards each other and keep that all-important relationship with God going.

Christians in America are also undergoing a transformation, losing prominence and seeing our identity shift from being the normal, expected identity of any American to just being one subgroup among many, many subgroups. Because of this, we feel lost in the wilderness, and we often want to return to the fleshpots of Egypt. We keep asking God to help us maintain our power and privilege. But as with Abraham and Moses, God doesn’t seem inclined to answer our prayers in a way that we’d like.

Instead, God seems to want us to wander in the wilderness for a while, even if that means that we spend most of our time complaining. In the end, God might not care that much about our position in society or whether our churches are full on Sundays. Instead, God might answer our prayer by making us important in the way that we were always meant to be important. Not as people of power and privilege, but as people of charity, humility, and grace.

God may be vulnerable to our pleas, but we are more than vulnerable to God’s greater vision of what we should be.

The Rev. Karl Stevens is the Director of Children and Youth Formation at St. John’s, Worthington, and served as the coordinator of the Exodus Big Read. Connect with him at kbpstevens@ gmail.com.

7

Abraham and Moses

"“T

lessons from our Exodus Big Read

he mind and heart of God are vulnerable to the pleas and arguments of human creatures,” declared Dr. Terence Fretheim, as we gathered for the Exodus Colloquium to wrap up our months long study of Exodus on April 7. The rain and snow had finally let up, and pale yellow sunlight suffused the sanctuary of All Saints Episcopal Church in New Albany, and it did, indeed, feel like God was quite willingly answering our prayers for spring.

But many of us felt a certain unease at Fretheim’s remark.

After all, we were raised believing that God was omnipresent, omniscient, and omnipotent. And this understanding of God leads many Christians to the logical conclusion that God has some vast and sprawling plan for the cosmos that we simply can’t understand. More than that, we tend to believe that everything that happens is the result of this plan, and must, in some way, be good, even if it appears to be evil. But Fretheim was saying something very different.

He was talking about the scene in Exodus 32, when God threatens to destroy the chosen people. God has reasons to be miffed. While Moses has been up on Mount Sinai receiving the laws, the people at the foot of the mountain have been fashioning all of the jewelry that they took from the Egyptians into a giant calf idol. Moses comes down the mountain to find them worshiping this calf and, what’s worse, partying it up and indulging in acts that we cannot mention in polite society.

6

God says, “Leave me alone so that my anger may burn against them and that I may destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.”

Anyone familiar with Abraham’s story will perk their ears up at this point. This is exactly the same promise that God made to Abraham. It’s as if God has gone through the previous four or five hundred years, protecting Abraham’s family and shepherding them along and trying to teach them, combatting Pharaoh and sending signs and wonders to free the chosen people, leading those same chosen people through the wilderness and giving them miracles of water and food whenever they need them – for nothing. God is ready to start all over again.

And Moses’s answer should also seem quite familiar to fans of the Book of Genesis. In Genesis 19, when God threatens to destroy the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham talks God out of it. When God threatens to wipe out the partying chosen people at the foot of Mount Sinai, Moses does the same. And, as Fretheim pointed out, both stories seem to indicate that God can be persuaded by human prayer. Argue long enough with God, and you might just get your way.

This feels like a dangerous, almost transgressive thing to say. After all, there have been moments in my life when I’ve prayed, and prayed hard, for something to happen, and then had to deal with a sense of betrayal when it didn’t happen. If God is so persuadable, why wasn’t God persuaded by me?

I don’t have a great answer for this, but I do have Abraham and Moses’s stories as guides for thinking about this question. God tells Abraham that he will be the father of a great nation. Then he waits, and waits, and waits for his wife Sarah to get pregnant. God promises to help Moses bring the chosen people out of Egypt and into a land flowing with milk and honey. Getting out of Egypt is a chore, but the really hard part, the part that makes it seem like God is reneging on the promise, is the forty years wandering in the wilderness. And Moses himself never gets to that land of milk and honey. He dies at the end of Deuteronomy, looking down at the Jordan River and the land of Canaan on the other side.

In other words, God enters into a relationship with us, and is with us all along, and we pray to God as a way of keeping up our end of the relationship. We think that God is going to be persuaded to do things in just the way that we’d like them to be done. God might be persuaded that the things we want are worth having, but God is going to find a way to make them happen that will be wholly out of our control, and entirely surprising. You might get your way, but not in the way you thought you would.

Which leads me to the biggest question that I’ve been pondering during the past eight months as we have studied Exodus. It’s the question of identity. Both Genesis and Exodus are stories of identity. Take an ordinary man, Abraham, and watch him cultivate a profound relationship with God, and see how it changes him. And not just him, but his descendants, especially Jacob and Joseph.

Then take an entire people and watch them enter into a profound relationship with God, and see how it changes

them. At the beginning of Exodus, the chosen people barely think of themselves as a group, let alone a people. By the end of Exodus, they have a set of laws that help them know how to act ethically towards each other and keep that all-important relationship with God going.

Christians in America are also undergoing a transformation, losing prominence and seeing our identity shift from being the normal, expected identity of any American to just being one subgroup among many, many subgroups. Because of this, we feel lost in the wilderness, and we often want to return to the fleshpots of Egypt. We keep asking God to help us maintain our power and privilege. But as with Abraham and Moses, God doesn’t seem inclined to answer our prayers in a way that we’d like.

Instead, God seems to want us to wander in the wilderness for a while, even if that means that we spend most of our time complaining. In the end, God might not care that much about our position in society or whether our churches are full on Sundays. Instead, God might answer our prayer by making us important in the way that we were always meant to be important. Not as people of power and privilege, but as people of charity, humility, and grace.

God may be vulnerable to our pleas, but we are more than vulnerable to God’s greater vision of what we should be.

The Rev. Karl Stevens is the Director of Children and Youth Formation at St. John’s, Worthington, and served as the coordinator of the Exodus Big Read. Connect with him at kbpstevens@ gmail.com.

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“Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love . . .…”

I have always hated the story of the sacrifice of Isaac (Genesis 22), and even today I shiver whenever I hear it. The story takes place on a remote mountain called Mount Moriah, and even that name has come to have a foreboding, ominous ring for me. Child sacrifice is utterly rejected in the Bible – except in this one place.

As a child, I identified with Isaac in the story. I envisioned my father taking me on a three-day journey far from anyone and anything familiar, and then tying me up and taking an axe to hack open my skull. I loathed the story. Today, as the father of three grown sons and grandfather of six, I identify with Abraham and envision myself compelled by some ghastly power to murder my son or grandson. I still loathe the story. The sacrifice of Isaac also raises a host of troublesome theoretical questions for me. It begins by saying that God was testing Abraham. Why does God test Abraham? Does God test us? Why would God test us? Doesn’t God already know everything? And what are we being tested for? And what kind of a God would test one of his servants by asking him to do such a thing? Did Abraham just say, “So you want me to kill my son. Fine, I’ll get right on it”? Did he never question whether it was really God asking him to do this horrid thing? How did Abraham know it was God and not the devil talking to him?

It doesn’t help to say, “But Abraham didn’t actually have to kill Isaac in the end, so God wasn’t really condoning child sacrifice.” While it would seem to be a cruel God who would require me to sacrifice my son, it would be almost as cruel for God to play games with me, making me travel three days to a lonely, barren mountain thinking I would have to sacrifice my boy there, only to let me off the hook just as I was raising the knife to kill him.

Either way, God is a fiend.

I attended a meeting last year where this story was discussed. Others tried to find ways to soften the story, but I would have none of it. I remember saying that if God asked me to kill one of my sons, I’d spit in God’s face and say, “To hell with you! I will not serve you!”

There is no way to soften this story. It is a horrid, hideous tale. But it might help, a little, if we ask not where we see ourselves in the story, but where we see

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"Sacrifice of Isaac," Red chalk on light brown paper, anonymous artist, 17th century.

Photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

God in the story. As it’s told, God is the one demanding that Abraham sacrifice his boy. But maybe that’s just a dramatic device. Could Abraham represent God in the story? Could Isaac represent God? Could the purpose of the story be to arouse our deepest fears and dreads – and thereby to give us a glimpse inside the heart of God on Good Friday? On that day, God experienced the grief, confusion, and fear of Abraham in the story, and also the grief, confusion, and fear of Isaac.

Seen that way, God is not the perpetrator of horror, but the victim of horror, and the terror and dread that the story arouses in us are the terror and dread felt by God himself. It’s still a horrid story, but one with a touch of grace in it. It means that you and I can never suffer alone. It’s not possible to suffer alone.

Of course we may feel alone in our suffering. Many sufferers do feel that way. But feeling alone and being alone are not the same. People have all kinds of feelings, some of them based on reality and others unrelated to reality.

If you feel you’re suffering alone, that’s a feeling unrelated to reality because there is always someone suffering with you. God suffers with you.

Sometimes a would-be comforter will say, “I know just how you feel,” but it has a hollow ring to it and you say to yourself, “That person couldn’t possibly know how I feel.”

Most people who say that don’t know how you feel; they just can’t think of anything else to say. But God has been to Mount Moriah. God has been to Golgotha. And regardless of how painful things may be for you, you can’t hurt any worse than God has hurt.

When God says, “Come unto me,” you can know that in coming to God, you will find a heart accustomed to suffering. In fact, what we call suffering is probably, compared to what God has known, a mere mosquito bite.

So when you read or hear this horrid story, it is fine to identify with Abraham or Isaac. But know that God identifies with Abraham and Isaac as well. And that God identifies with you.

The Rev. Dr. Richard H. Schmidt retired in 2011 as Editor and Director of Forward Movement in Cincinnati. He and his wife, Pam, live in Fairhope, Alabama.

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“Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love . . .…”

I have always hated the story of the sacrifice of Isaac (Genesis 22), and even today I shiver whenever I hear it. The story takes place on a remote mountain called Mount Moriah, and even that name has come to have a foreboding, ominous ring for me. Child sacrifice is utterly rejected in the Bible – except in this one place.

As a child, I identified with Isaac in the story. I envisioned my father taking me on a three-day journey far from anyone and anything familiar, and then tying me up and taking an axe to hack open my skull. I loathed the story. Today, as the father of three grown sons and grandfather of six, I identify with Abraham and envision myself compelled by some ghastly power to murder my son or grandson. I still loathe the story. The sacrifice of Isaac also raises a host of troublesome theoretical questions for me. It begins by saying that God was testing Abraham. Why does God test Abraham? Does God test us? Why would God test us? Doesn’t God already know everything? And what are we being tested for? And what kind of a God would test one of his servants by asking him to do such a thing? Did Abraham just say, “So you want me to kill my son. Fine, I’ll get right on it”? Did he never question whether it was really God asking him to do this horrid thing? How did Abraham know it was God and not the devil talking to him?

It doesn’t help to say, “But Abraham didn’t actually have to kill Isaac in the end, so God wasn’t really condoning child sacrifice.” While it would seem to be a cruel God who would require me to sacrifice my son, it would be almost as cruel for God to play games with me, making me travel three days to a lonely, barren mountain thinking I would have to sacrifice my boy there, only to let me off the hook just as I was raising the knife to kill him.

Either way, God is a fiend.

I attended a meeting last year where this story was discussed. Others tried to find ways to soften the story, but I would have none of it. I remember saying that if God asked me to kill one of my sons, I’d spit in God’s face and say, “To hell with you! I will not serve you!”

There is no way to soften this story. It is a horrid, hideous tale. But it might help, a little, if we ask not where we see ourselves in the story, but where we see

8

"Sacrifice of Isaac," Red chalk on light brown paper, anonymous artist, 17th century.

Photo courtesy of the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

God in the story. As it’s told, God is the one demanding that Abraham sacrifice his boy. But maybe that’s just a dramatic device. Could Abraham represent God in the story? Could Isaac represent God? Could the purpose of the story be to arouse our deepest fears and dreads – and thereby to give us a glimpse inside the heart of God on Good Friday? On that day, God experienced the grief, confusion, and fear of Abraham in the story, and also the grief, confusion, and fear of Isaac.

Seen that way, God is not the perpetrator of horror, but the victim of horror, and the terror and dread that the story arouses in us are the terror and dread felt by God himself. It’s still a horrid story, but one with a touch of grace in it. It means that you and I can never suffer alone. It’s not possible to suffer alone.

Of course we may feel alone in our suffering. Many sufferers do feel that way. But feeling alone and being alone are not the same. People have all kinds of feelings, some of them based on reality and others unrelated to reality.

If you feel you’re suffering alone, that’s a feeling unrelated to reality because there is always someone suffering with you. God suffers with you.

Sometimes a would-be comforter will say, “I know just how you feel,” but it has a hollow ring to it and you say to yourself, “That person couldn’t possibly know how I feel.”

Most people who say that don’t know how you feel; they just can’t think of anything else to say. But God has been to Mount Moriah. God has been to Golgotha. And regardless of how painful things may be for you, you can’t hurt any worse than God has hurt.

When God says, “Come unto me,” you can know that in coming to God, you will find a heart accustomed to suffering. In fact, what we call suffering is probably, compared to what God has known, a mere mosquito bite.

So when you read or hear this horrid story, it is fine to identify with Abraham or Isaac. But know that God identifies with Abraham and Isaac as well. And that God identifies with you.

The Rev. Dr. Richard H. Schmidt retired in 2011 as Editor and Director of Forward Movement in Cincinnati. He and his wife, Pam, live in Fairhope, Alabama.

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“Mount Moriah” Sarah is one of those Biblical figures who just doesn’t get a good ending. In Chapter 21 of Genesis Sarah becomes jealous of her slave girl Hagar, who is the mother of Ishmael, Abraham’s firstborn son. So she has Abraham send Hagar and Ishmael away into the wilderness.

Then, in Chapter 22, God commands Abraham to sacrifice Sarah’s own son, Isaac. We’re never told what Sarah thinks

about this. At the last moment, God provides a ram to be sacrificed in Isaac’s stead.

And then, in Chapter 23, Sarah dies. So her last acts consist of jealousy and spite, and then presumed terror as her own son is led off to be sacrificed. In this painting, artist Karl Stevens centers the story of the sacrifice of Isaac on Sarah herself, to evoke a more sympathetic understanding of her final days on earth.

About the medallions:

Lower left: This medallion (also featured on the cover) is Abraham at the Oaks of Mamre, right after he’s been told that he and Sarah will have a child after all, and that their descendants will be multitudinous. The faces around the rim of the medallion are those generations, and Abraham is dreaming of them.

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“Mount Moriah,” oil on canvas, 2018. KPB Stevens

Top left: This medallion depicts the angel of the Lord, who keeps Abraham from the sacrifice at the last moment. But also, it’s God who demands the sacrifice to begin with, so the angel also has that role within the painting.

About the artist: Karl Stevens is an Episcopal priest, artist and spiritual director. He currently serves as Director of Children and Youth Formation at St. John’s, Worthington. You can see more of Karl's work at prayerbookart.com.

Middle right: This medallion represents the attempted sacrifice. I adapted the image from several Romanesque and Gothic sculptures and friezes, and I hope that the violence and terror of the intended act are apparent.

The gear-like pattern on the outside of the medallion is meant to evoke the machine-like nature of ancient sacrifice, the routinized killing of animals and people (including children) to appease the gods. The cultures that surrounded Abraham and his family practiced human sacrifice, and one reading of the Binding of Isaac is that it was meant to make a break with this practice, to dramatically demonstrate that God neither needed nor desired such sacrifices.

Lower right: This medallion is the ram that appears in the thorn bush, and that Abraham sacrifices instead.

It is also meant to represent the Agnus Dei, the Lamb of God, Jesus himself; hence the thorns in their crown-like pattern around the outside of the medallion.

11

“Mount Moriah” Sarah is one of those Biblical figures who just doesn’t get a good ending. In Chapter 21 of Genesis Sarah becomes jealous of her slave girl Hagar, who is the mother of Ishmael, Abraham’s firstborn son. So she has Abraham send Hagar and Ishmael away into the wilderness.

Then, in Chapter 22, God commands Abraham to sacrifice Sarah’s own son, Isaac. We’re never told what Sarah thinks

about this. At the last moment, God provides a ram to be sacrificed in Isaac’s stead.

And then, in Chapter 23, Sarah dies. So her last acts consist of jealousy and spite, and then presumed terror as her own son is led off to be sacrificed. In this painting, artist Karl Stevens centers the story of the sacrifice of Isaac on Sarah herself, to evoke a more sympathetic understanding of her final days on earth.

About the medallions:

Lower left: This medallion (also featured on the cover) is Abraham at the Oaks of Mamre, right after he’s been told that he and Sarah will have a child after all, and that their descendants will be multitudinous. The faces around the rim of the medallion are those generations, and Abraham is dreaming of them.

10

“Mount Moriah,” oil on canvas, 2018. KPB Stevens

Top left: This medallion depicts the angel of the Lord, who keeps Abraham from the sacrifice at the last moment. But also, it’s God who demands the sacrifice to begin with, so the angel also has that role within the painting.

About the artist: Karl Stevens is an Episcopal priest, artist and spiritual director. He currently serves as Director of Children and Youth Formation at St. John’s, Worthington. You can see more of Karl's work at prayerbookart.com.

Middle right: This medallion represents the attempted sacrifice. I adapted the image from several Romanesque and Gothic sculptures and friezes, and I hope that the violence and terror of the intended act are apparent.

The gear-like pattern on the outside of the medallion is meant to evoke the machine-like nature of ancient sacrifice, the routinized killing of animals and people (including children) to appease the gods. The cultures that surrounded Abraham and his family practiced human sacrifice, and one reading of the Binding of Isaac is that it was meant to make a break with this practice, to dramatically demonstrate that God neither needed nor desired such sacrifices.

Lower right: This medallion is the ram that appears in the thorn bush, and that Abraham sacrifices instead.

It is also meant to represent the Agnus Dei, the Lamb of God, Jesus himself; hence the thorns in their crown-like pattern around the outside of the medallion.

11

Another look at Abraham:

A story and its uses First, a disclaimer – I want to push a book by a good friend. Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin is an astute observer of all things that connect holiness and daily life. He is a scholar and a storyteller - in near equal measure - who gets right to the point in matters of what it is to be a Jew and a human being and a citizen today. No less a figure than Los Angeles’ Hebrew Union College Steinberg Emeritus Professor of Human Relations, Rabbi William Cutter, says of Jeff Salkin that “he is unique in his ability to address the essential, the primary, the central concerns of life, and not become distracted by the periphery.” And, many share the insight of his longtime friend from rabbinical school, Rabbi Robert Goldstein of Andover, Massachusetts, who once told me that “Jeffrey is the brightest star of our generation, and the smartest observer and critic of contemporary social issues through the Jewish lens.”

ef

12

Wow! So, go ahead and order the book: The Gods are Broken: The Hidden Legacy of Abraham (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2013), and read it as both a primer on Jewish ideas of holiness and iconoclasm and a meditation on the primary character from our shared biblical religions. Abraham, the one who, by his faith, shuns idols.

Writer Cynthia Ozick deftly summarizes what it is to be a Jew: “A Jew is someone who shuns idols, who least of all would wish to become, like Terah, the father of Abraham, the maker of idols.” (Victor H. Strandberg, Greek Mind/Jewish Soul: The Conflicted Art of Cynthia Ozick, 1994).

But where do we get this idea? Not in the Bible, says Rabbi Salkin. “Try to find it there, as generations of Jewish children have done, and you will be disappointed. That tale ‘should’ be somewhere around Genesis 11:26… But the story

is not in its expected place in the Torah narrative.

It is a post-biblical midrash – perhaps one of the most famous midrashim in the world.”

And what is a midrash? Rabbi Salkin reaches again for the right words from another writer: “Midrash is that literary place ‘where exegesis turns into literature and comes to possess its own language and voice’” (David Stern, “Midrash and the Language of Exegesis” in Geoffrey H. Hartman and Sanford Budick, Midrash and Literature, 1986).

Christians often experience a kind of holy envy regarding midrash. We admire the flexibility and imagination of the practice, yet we (at least I) often remain overly careful not to seem to make the text say things not said. Yet, I think Jeffrey Salkin’s ability to reveal central, primary concerns protects against such misreading, and renders the biblical story with a new luster and

greater utility. Such a practice is worth our envy, indeed!

In his first paragraph in The Gods Are Broken, Salkin tells of an interchange he had with an elder in a past congregation: “At a certain point in the conversation, he told me about the few unhappy years of his Jewish education. ‘It couldn’t have all been bad,’ I suggested. ‘Is there any lesson, in particular, that you remember?’

Without a moment of hesitation, he responded: ‘Of course. I remember the first sentence we learned to recite in Hebrew.’

‘What was it?’ I asked.

He closed his eyes, and he reached back in his mind to a memory that was more than seventy years old: ‘Avraham lo

12

he’emin bap’silim’ (Abraham did not believe in the idols). That was, essentially, all that he remembered from his Jewish education. No texts, no stories, no other prayers.”

He is not alone.

We in the Diocese of Southern Ohio are “making connection” between biblical foundations and faith formation all the time. We are trying to know our common story, as we have put it in recent years, in order to live in newness of life in the God of Abraham, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. We seek experiences that will be remembered long into our faith journey, and equally urgently into the faith journeys of our children, and our children’s children. Yet, what will we remember unto the seventieth year? Will we remember to shatter idols, like Abraham did? Will we so associate ourselves with our Jewish roots (and the promise of the Prophets) that we really will seek freedom from “Egyptian” idolatry and security and orderliness, resting only in the grace, mercy, and peace of God? Will we remember that “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself,” and, therefore, making us ambassadors for reconciliation?

This is the way the midrash tells the story: God chose Abram because Abram did not believe in idols. When his father, Terah, left his lucrative idol-making shop in Ur and put his young son in charge over the shop for a brief while, the boy took a stick and shattered all the idols in the shop, putting the stick in the hands of the largest idol.

Rabbi Salkin continues the midrash in these words: “When Terah returned from his journey, he found his merchandise in pieces on the floor. ‘What happened,’ he demanded to know.

‘Oh father, it was terrible,’ his son said. ‘The small idols got hungry and they started fighting for food, and finally the large idol got angry and he broke them into pieces.’

‘Idols don’t get hungry,’ said Terah. ‘They don’t get angry, they don’t speak – they’re just idols.’

Upon hearing this, his son smiled and said: ‘Oh, father, if only your ears could hear what your mouth is saying. Why, then, do you worship them?’”

Here’s a story that can be (and truly is) remembered for a lifetime … Abraham did not believe in the idols. Now, with God’s help, we are moved to write new, memorable midrashim on freedom and reconciliation, trusting in a peace that passes all understanding.

The Rev. Dick Burnett serves as rector at Trinity, Columbus.

13 13

Another look at Abraham:

A story and its uses First, a disclaimer – I want to push a book by a good friend. Rabbi Jeffrey Salkin is an astute observer of all things that connect holiness and daily life. He is a scholar and a storyteller - in near equal measure - who gets right to the point in matters of what it is to be a Jew and a human being and a citizen today. No less a figure than Los Angeles’ Hebrew Union College Steinberg Emeritus Professor of Human Relations, Rabbi William Cutter, says of Jeff Salkin that “he is unique in his ability to address the essential, the primary, the central concerns of life, and not become distracted by the periphery.” And, many share the insight of his longtime friend from rabbinical school, Rabbi Robert Goldstein of Andover, Massachusetts, who once told me that “Jeffrey is the brightest star of our generation, and the smartest observer and critic of contemporary social issues through the Jewish lens.”

ef

12

Wow! So, go ahead and order the book: The Gods are Broken: The Hidden Legacy of Abraham (Philadelphia: Jewish Publication Society, 2013), and read it as both a primer on Jewish ideas of holiness and iconoclasm and a meditation on the primary character from our shared biblical religions. Abraham, the one who, by his faith, shuns idols.

Writer Cynthia Ozick deftly summarizes what it is to be a Jew: “A Jew is someone who shuns idols, who least of all would wish to become, like Terah, the father of Abraham, the maker of idols.” (Victor H. Strandberg, Greek Mind/Jewish Soul: The Conflicted Art of Cynthia Ozick, 1994).

But where do we get this idea? Not in the Bible, says Rabbi Salkin. “Try to find it there, as generations of Jewish children have done, and you will be disappointed. That tale ‘should’ be somewhere around Genesis 11:26… But the story

is not in its expected place in the Torah narrative.

It is a post-biblical midrash – perhaps one of the most famous midrashim in the world.”

And what is a midrash? Rabbi Salkin reaches again for the right words from another writer: “Midrash is that literary place ‘where exegesis turns into literature and comes to possess its own language and voice’” (David Stern, “Midrash and the Language of Exegesis” in Geoffrey H. Hartman and Sanford Budick, Midrash and Literature, 1986).

Christians often experience a kind of holy envy regarding midrash. We admire the flexibility and imagination of the practice, yet we (at least I) often remain overly careful not to seem to make the text say things not said. Yet, I think Jeffrey Salkin’s ability to reveal central, primary concerns protects against such misreading, and renders the biblical story with a new luster and

greater utility. Such a practice is worth our envy, indeed!

In his first paragraph in The Gods Are Broken, Salkin tells of an interchange he had with an elder in a past congregation: “At a certain point in the conversation, he told me about the few unhappy years of his Jewish education. ‘It couldn’t have all been bad,’ I suggested. ‘Is there any lesson, in particular, that you remember?’

Without a moment of hesitation, he responded: ‘Of course. I remember the first sentence we learned to recite in Hebrew.’

‘What was it?’ I asked.

He closed his eyes, and he reached back in his mind to a memory that was more than seventy years old: ‘Avraham lo

12

he’emin bap’silim’ (Abraham did not believe in the idols). That was, essentially, all that he remembered from his Jewish education. No texts, no stories, no other prayers.”

He is not alone.

We in the Diocese of Southern Ohio are “making connection” between biblical foundations and faith formation all the time. We are trying to know our common story, as we have put it in recent years, in order to live in newness of life in the God of Abraham, the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. We seek experiences that will be remembered long into our faith journey, and equally urgently into the faith journeys of our children, and our children’s children. Yet, what will we remember unto the seventieth year? Will we remember to shatter idols, like Abraham did? Will we so associate ourselves with our Jewish roots (and the promise of the Prophets) that we really will seek freedom from “Egyptian” idolatry and security and orderliness, resting only in the grace, mercy, and peace of God? Will we remember that “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself,” and, therefore, making us ambassadors for reconciliation?

This is the way the midrash tells the story: God chose Abram because Abram did not believe in idols. When his father, Terah, left his lucrative idol-making shop in Ur and put his young son in charge over the shop for a brief while, the boy took a stick and shattered all the idols in the shop, putting the stick in the hands of the largest idol.

Rabbi Salkin continues the midrash in these words: “When Terah returned from his journey, he found his merchandise in pieces on the floor. ‘What happened,’ he demanded to know.

‘Oh father, it was terrible,’ his son said. ‘The small idols got hungry and they started fighting for food, and finally the large idol got angry and he broke them into pieces.’

‘Idols don’t get hungry,’ said Terah. ‘They don’t get angry, they don’t speak – they’re just idols.’

Upon hearing this, his son smiled and said: ‘Oh, father, if only your ears could hear what your mouth is saying. Why, then, do you worship them?’”

Here’s a story that can be (and truly is) remembered for a lifetime … Abraham did not believe in the idols. Now, with God’s help, we are moved to write new, memorable midrashim on freedom and reconciliation, trusting in a peace that passes all understanding.

The Rev. Dick Burnett serves as rector at Trinity, Columbus.

13 13

REVIEW:

Inheriting Abraham: The Legacy of the Patriarch in Judaism, Christianity & Islam

By Jon D. Levenson (Princeton NJ: 2012, Princeton University Press) While carefully noting the way that Abraham serves as a unifying figure for the three great “Abrahamic” religions, Jon Levenson cautions against a simplistic leveling out of each tradition’s unique interpretation of Abraham’s importance. Levenson, the Albert A. List Professor of Jewish Studies at Harvard University, draws from the depths of his more than three decades of research and teaching to clarify the similarities and also the great differences in the way that the three religions make use of the image of the patriarch.

The author explains upfront (p. xiii) that he is writing for “both general and scholarly readers.” Yet, as readable as this volume is, it is not for those who prefer a facile equivalence of the three faiths’ interpretation of Abraham and his significance. Instead, he looks not only at the usually-cited Genesis texts, but also at the “reception history” of the narratives: the way that each religion has drawn upon and developed the description given in those texts, taking them in markedly different directions.

For Judaism, the author focuses on Abraham as the biological ancestor

14

of the Jewish people, including also those who have converted to Judaism; in doing so, he draws on his masterful understanding of the Hebrew Bible, the rabbinical literature, and the wider Jewish tradition. For Christianity, he

explores especially Paul’s reinterpretation of the Genesis stories, reshaping Abraham’s image to portray him as primarily an exemplar of faith. And for Islam, which does not include Genesis along with the Quran in its sacred scripture, he describes its portrait of Abraham, not as the father of a people or of a faith, but as one in a great line of prophets, stretching from Adam to Mohammed: one who fervently and without wavering promoted a strict monotheism.

Levenson concludes (p. 214) by observing: “Rather than inventing a neutral Abraham to whom these three ancient communities must now hold themselves accountable, we would be better served by appreciating better both the profound commonalities and equally profound differences among them and why the commonalities and the differences alike have endured and show every sign of continuing to do so.” For those who desire a morethan-superficial understanding of the Abraham who both unites and divides Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, this book is an invaluable resource.

The Rev. Michael Kreutzer serves as rector of St. Mark’s, Dayton.

abrahamic religions Place Founded

Southern Levant (modern-day Israel, Palestine, and Jordan)

Southern Levant (modern-day Israel, Palestine, and Jordan)

Arabian Peninsula

Expansion

within 60 years, churches in major cities in Palestine, Turkey, Greece and Rome; entire Roman Empire by end of 4th century

little expansion; mostly confined to Palestine area throughout history

within 12 years, entire Arabian peninsula; within 100 years, Muslim world stretched from the Atlantic to China

Adherents

2.2 billion (23% of the global population)

14 million (0.2% of the global population)

1.6 billion (23% of the global population)

God

One God, who is a Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit; angels; demons; saints

One God: Yahweh (YHVH)

One God (Allah in Arabic); the same God revealed (imperfectly) in the Jewish and Christian Bibles

Jesus

true prophet of God, false prophet Son of God, God whose message has 15 incarnate, Word of been corrupted God, Messiah, savior of the world Source: http://www.religionfacts.com/charts/christianity-islam-judaism

Sarah

Hagar

Abraham isaac Jacob

12 Sons | 12 Tribes™£

Ishmael

Moses

Abraham 16

12 Sons | 12 Tribes™£

one father

three traditions

17 17

Sarah

Hagar

Abraham isaac Jacob

12 Sons | 12 Tribes™£

Ishmael

Moses

Abraham 16

12 Sons | 12 Tribes™£

one father

three traditions

17 17

By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.

(Galatians 5:22-23)

My first solo tour was with Sister Judy and her colleague Mary. It was a cool, clean, gorgeous morning in August. Near the end of the tour, as we walked the gravel path back to our cars, Sister Judy asked me this question: Sister Judy: Do you glean this farm?

Newbie: What is glean?

Sister Judy: You will find it in the Old Testament. The farmer invites those in need to come to the farm after the harvest is done. The gleaners clean the field of what is left and take it home and are invited to share it with others.

Newbie: I need to Google that.

So I searched on “Gleaning in Ohio” and found the Society of St. Andrew, a nation-wide food rescue and distribution ministry, and its Gleaning Network.

“Glean and Share” 2018 Pilot Project

"The Gleaners," by Jean-François Millet, oil on canvas,1857

GLEAN

SHARE &

18 18

‘To glean,’ and ‘gleaning’ are mentioned almost 20 times in the Torah. While gleaning is not named specifically in the New Testament or the Quran, both invite us numerous times to share with those in need. If we think of Muslims, Jews and Christians as cousins rooted in Abraham, then go way back to the era of Moses and stories in the Torah. There you will find gleaning in Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy. The Book of Ruth has a fun story where we find gleaning and Boaz, Ruth and Naomi.

In 2016, as a 62-year-old newbie in the local fresh organic food movement in southwest Ohio, there was much to learn.

My first paycheck job in the movement was with the Our Harvest Cooperative. The cooperative grows mainly vegetables on about 11 acres of land at the Bahr Farm in College Hill. The Our Harvest team trained me, the newbie, to give tours of their operation to guests and potential customers.

In 2018, through a “Cincy Save the Food Fund” sustainable food system grant awarded to Our Harvest in February by Green Umbrella Regional Sustainability Alliance, we at Our Harvest, along with others from VITALITY Cincinnati, the Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation, the Julie Hanser Garden in ALLAH the Exalted says: "And Walnut Hills, Working in they give food, in spite of their love Neighborhoods and the North for it (or for the love of Him), Fairmont Community Council to the poor, the orphan, and the will initiate a farm-gleaning captive.''(Al-'Insn 76:8) pilot project based on the Gleaning Network’s model and endorsed by the USDA. A group of volunteers will gather three or four times during the 2018 harvest season to glean the Our Harvest Bahr Farm of vegetables and one fruit farm in southwest Ohio or southeast Indiana, and distribute the food gathered to those in need. The project will utilize local volunteer networks and deliver thousands of pounds of fruits and vegetables from local farms to low-income families and individuals in Cincinnati’s Walnut Hills, South Cumminsville, Millvale, and North Fairmont neighborhoods. Some of the vegetables and fruit of our labor will be kept by the gleaners, who will then be invited to share with family, friends and neighbors.

The project team will focus on the community building impact of a diverse population of volunteers from all walks of life who will share in these experiences. Volunteers for the project are currently being recruited by VITALITY Cincinnati.

Our goals are to feed hungry people, reduce waste and establish a Society of St. Andrew (SoSA) chapter in Cincinnati. Once established, the SoSA chapter will help make gleaning a sustaining dimension of the local food movement in the greater Cincinnati Tristate area in 2019 and beyond.

Anyone interested in volunteering for the Glean and Share program should contact Brian Shircliff at Vitalitycincinnati@gmail.com or 513.300.5174. To learn more about the Society of St. Andrew, visit www.endhunger.org.

Mike Eck is a Food Justice Advocate and is actively involved in the local organic food movement in southwest Ohio. Mike and his wife, Denise, are members of Christ Church, Glendale.

So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. She picked it up and came into the town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gleaned. Then she took out and gave her what was left over after she herself had been satisfied. Her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.”

So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.” Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “Blessed be he by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a relative of ours, one of our nearest kin.” Then Ruth the Moabite said, “He even said to me, ‘Stay close by my servants, until they have finished all my harvest.’” Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, “It is better, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, otherwise you might be bothered in another field.” So she stayed close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests; and she lived with her motherin-law.

(Ruth 2:17-23) 19

By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things.

(Galatians 5:22-23)

My first solo tour was with Sister Judy and her colleague Mary. It was a cool, clean, gorgeous morning in August. Near the end of the tour, as we walked the gravel path back to our cars, Sister Judy asked me this question: Sister Judy: Do you glean this farm?

Newbie: What is glean?

Sister Judy: You will find it in the Old Testament. The farmer invites those in need to come to the farm after the harvest is done. The gleaners clean the field of what is left and take it home and are invited to share it with others.

Newbie: I need to Google that.

So I searched on “Gleaning in Ohio” and found the Society of St. Andrew, a nation-wide food rescue and distribution ministry, and its Gleaning Network.

“Glean and Share” 2018 Pilot Project

"The Gleaners," by Jean-François Millet, oil on canvas,1857

GLEAN

SHARE &

18 18

‘To glean,’ and ‘gleaning’ are mentioned almost 20 times in the Torah. While gleaning is not named specifically in the New Testament or the Quran, both invite us numerous times to share with those in need. If we think of Muslims, Jews and Christians as cousins rooted in Abraham, then go way back to the era of Moses and stories in the Torah. There you will find gleaning in Exodus, Leviticus and Deuteronomy. The Book of Ruth has a fun story where we find gleaning and Boaz, Ruth and Naomi.

In 2016, as a 62-year-old newbie in the local fresh organic food movement in southwest Ohio, there was much to learn.

My first paycheck job in the movement was with the Our Harvest Cooperative. The cooperative grows mainly vegetables on about 11 acres of land at the Bahr Farm in College Hill. The Our Harvest team trained me, the newbie, to give tours of their operation to guests and potential customers.

In 2018, through a “Cincy Save the Food Fund” sustainable food system grant awarded to Our Harvest in February by Green Umbrella Regional Sustainability Alliance, we at Our Harvest, along with others from VITALITY Cincinnati, the Walnut Hills Redevelopment Foundation, the Julie Hanser Garden in ALLAH the Exalted says: "And Walnut Hills, Working in they give food, in spite of their love Neighborhoods and the North for it (or for the love of Him), Fairmont Community Council to the poor, the orphan, and the will initiate a farm-gleaning captive.''(Al-'Insn 76:8) pilot project based on the Gleaning Network’s model and endorsed by the USDA. A group of volunteers will gather three or four times during the 2018 harvest season to glean the Our Harvest Bahr Farm of vegetables and one fruit farm in southwest Ohio or southeast Indiana, and distribute the food gathered to those in need. The project will utilize local volunteer networks and deliver thousands of pounds of fruits and vegetables from local farms to low-income families and individuals in Cincinnati’s Walnut Hills, South Cumminsville, Millvale, and North Fairmont neighborhoods. Some of the vegetables and fruit of our labor will be kept by the gleaners, who will then be invited to share with family, friends and neighbors.

The project team will focus on the community building impact of a diverse population of volunteers from all walks of life who will share in these experiences. Volunteers for the project are currently being recruited by VITALITY Cincinnati.

Our goals are to feed hungry people, reduce waste and establish a Society of St. Andrew (SoSA) chapter in Cincinnati. Once established, the SoSA chapter will help make gleaning a sustaining dimension of the local food movement in the greater Cincinnati Tristate area in 2019 and beyond.

Anyone interested in volunteering for the Glean and Share program should contact Brian Shircliff at Vitalitycincinnati@gmail.com or 513.300.5174. To learn more about the Society of St. Andrew, visit www.endhunger.org.

Mike Eck is a Food Justice Advocate and is actively involved in the local organic food movement in southwest Ohio. Mike and his wife, Denise, are members of Christ Church, Glendale.

So she gleaned in the field until evening. Then she beat out what she had gleaned, and it was about an ephah of barley. She picked it up and came into the town, and her mother-in-law saw how much she had gleaned. Then she took out and gave her what was left over after she herself had been satisfied. Her mother-in-law said to her, “Where did you glean today? And where have you worked? Blessed be the man who took notice of you.”

So she told her mother-in-law with whom she had worked, and said, “The name of the man with whom I worked today is Boaz.” Then Naomi said to her daughter-in-law, “Blessed be he by the Lord, whose kindness has not forsaken the living or the dead!” Naomi also said to her, “The man is a relative of ours, one of our nearest kin.” Then Ruth the Moabite said, “He even said to me, ‘Stay close by my servants, until they have finished all my harvest.’” Naomi said to Ruth, her daughter-in-law, “It is better, my daughter, that you go out with his young women, otherwise you might be bothered in another field.” So she stayed close to the young women of Boaz, gleaning until the end of the barley and wheat harvests; and she lived with her motherin-law.

(Ruth 2:17-23) 19

Name changes, covenants and moving on Abraham, Sarah and women’s ministries

I

20

n thinking about how Abraham’s journey applies to Women’s Ministries and doing a quick search, I found an article “Was Abraham the First Feminist?” by Chana Weisberg on the website TheJewishWoman.org. According to the article, Sarai is Yiskah in Hebrew, which means gazes and also references princedom. Sarai had a gift of divine inspiration and had authority. She was also described as a very beautiful woman.

When Abram and Sarai went to Egypt to escape famine in Canaan, Sarai became a pronoun to Pharoah until God intervened and lifted her out of Pharoah’s grip through inflicting serious diseases on his family and the court. Despite Abram trying to save himself by portraying Sarai as his sister, Abram did recognize Sarai as a total individual who would be instrumental in responding to God’s call and in keeping God’s covenants. While the Egyptians merely valued Sarai’s physical attributes and externalities, Abram understood that men and women were created for the same purpose, to work with God to bless and co-create a better world as God revealed to them.

Sarai and Abram became Sarah and Abraham following God’s delivery of the Abrahamic Covenant, also known as the Covenant of Circumcision. Sarai became Sarah – a ruler, a bearer of kings and a mother of nations. Abram was an exalted father and now became a father of many as Abraham. The partnership of Sarah and Abraham would ultimately lead humankind to the recognition of God’s sovereignty. God desires relationship with humanity and continued involvement with God’s creation. Abraham and Sarah and their descendants would initiate this message of grace and provide the blessing of a moral compass as God had proclaimed which was applicable to all.

Abraham continued his mission and trust in God by pleading for Sodom. His conversation with God highlighted how God demanded separation from this city because of their grievous

sins. He moved into Gerar and then Abraham and Sarah were blessed with Isaac as promised.

In keeping with the Abrahamic Covenant, women’s ministries continues to move on as God directs to create a better world which seeks to right injustice. Feminism is merely the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities. Women’s ministries embraces the idea that the world would be a better place if women were given the chance and not oppressed either overtly or covertly. With the Abrahamic Covenant and through its revelation in Jesus, women’s ministries advocates for women to bring us closer to the world God intended. Abraham and Sarah give us inspiration in their responsiveness and obedience to God’s calling and promises.

Women's Ministries will host a conference on Building Beloved Community on September 22 at Procter, with attention to reducing violence against women. We also have plans to engage the diocese more fully with the United Nations Committee of the Status of Women’s annual meeting that is held every March in New York City. Our dream is to send young women and their mothers to experience this lifechanging event. The young women would bring back ideas and resources for ministry in our own part of the world as well as ideas to support women worldwide. We also support The Episcopal Church’s task force on sexual harassment and we brought a resolution to last year’s diocesan convention.

We have plans to educate, inform and gain feedback through a diocesan-wide survey to help us with future formation. We desire to worship God through our service and share God’s desire to have relationship with creation as Abraham and Sarah did.

Kathy Mank serves as the diocesan Women’s Ministries coordinator, and is a member of Christ Church Cathedral. Connect with her at kathymank@gmail.com.

PRAYER FOR THE CHILDREN OF ABRAHAM Lord our God, Creator and Ruler of all things, you called your servant Abraham into covenant with you and bade him find his home in an unknown land: Grant to Jews, Christians, and Muslims, who look to Abraham as spiritual forebear and example, to be faithful as he was faithful and to venture courageously to unknown places. Inspire us to celebrate our common heritage, recognizing one another as beloved brothers and sisters while laboring and praying for the day when all your children will dwell together in one fellowship of justice, freedom, and peace.

This prayer, by Richard H. Schmidt, is taken from Prayers Old and New (Revised 2007 Edition), Forward Movement, Cincinnati.

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CONNECTING St. Timothy’s receives I-CAIR Award St. Timothy’s, Cincinnati, was recently awarded the I-CAIR for Encouraging Dialog Award by the Cincinnati office of the Council on American Islamic Relations for hosting an interfaith dialogue series in 2017. CAIR Executive Director Karen Dabdoub noted that while the dialogue series, which has been held annually since 2007, would normally draw about 25-30 participants, the efforts of the people of St. Timothy’s in organizing, publicizing and preparing for this series drew 130 or more people for each of the four weeks.

“At CAIR we understand the great need in our society today, and never more so, for community institutions that are willing to go the extra distance to help our community become a better, safer, more compassionate place for all its inhabitants,” Dabdoub said in her award presentation.

Dabdoub also commended St. Timothy’s for messages on their electronic sign, which celebrate and value the rich diversity of the community.

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Eco-Hawks Bethany School received 20 new recycling bins from Hamilton County Recycling and Solid Waste District. These have been placed all over Bethany School’s campus and serve as a reminder to keep up the recycling. The student group, named the Eco-Hawks, is led by Mrs. Dana Ball.

Bethany School, located in Glendale, is the only K-8 Episcopal school in the state of Ohio. Photo by Margie Kessler.

Episcopal Lay Preachers Association to hold 2nd annual dinner St. Paul’s, Chillicothe, will host the second annual meeting and dinner of the Episcopal Lay Preachers Association of Southern Ohio (ELPASO) on Friday, June 22, 2018, at 6 p.m.

The general mission of the organization is to promote the lay preacher ministry throughout the diocese; to provide a forum

for ongoing discussion about sermon preparation and theological and interpretive questions about Scripture; and to maintain and further develop our relationships.

Those invited are everyone from the Diocese of Southern Ohio and their guests. This dinner would be a great opportunity for anyone interested in the lay preacher ministry of the diocese to come meet those involved and learn about this ministry. A graduation ceremony and commissioning of the newly licensed lay preachers is part of this event.

The cost is $15 per person, $25 per couple. Payments will be received at the door. Credit card payment will be available.

To make your reservations, please contact Mark Conrad at 740.243.4933 or mconrad92@gmail.com by Friday, June 15, 2018.

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2018

Society of St. Simeon and St. Anna

Few of us can claim that we have the faith of Abraham. But there are some among us who serve as wonderful examples of living a life of faith and hope well into old age.

Each year, the diocese recognizes and honors the exemplary ministries of our older members through induction into the Society of St. Simeon and St. Anna.

The Society celebrates the wisdom, experience, maturity, and achievements of persons who are at least 60 years of age and Episcopalians for 15 or more years.

Eleven individuals were inducted into the Society as the Class of 2018 at a special Eucharist and luncheon at the Procter Center April 18. We're sharing some excerpts from their nominating letters so you can get to know these exceptional people of faith and models of affirmative aging. A hearty congratulations to these faithful servants.

Charlie Evranian, All Saints, New Albany A faithful member of All Saints, New Albany, for many years, Charlie Evranian is a true Christian disciple bearing the compassion of Jesus Christ to all he meets. His wisdom and kindness have become an invaluable asset to the parish. He is quick to help in any way he can. His tools of ministry range from broom and shovels to liturgy bulletins and palms. He exemplifies welcome and hospitality to all he encounters.

Charlie is loyal to his duties as a greeter, always quick to offer a smile and welcome to all who enter.

For many years as the congregation began a "new” 8:30 a.m. service, Charlie would faithfully administer his duties as greeter no matter the weather, sometimes with only he, the parish deacon and the rector in attendance. Now, the 8:30 Eucharist has nearly 40 people due to the welcome and kindness they receive from Charlie. He truly demonstrates the hospitality of Jesus Christ in his life and actions.

Howard and Nell Gregory, St. Barnabas,Montgomery Howard and Nell Gregory have been a part of several Episcopal churches in Cincinnati throughout the decades of their lives, serving as Sunday school teachers, altar guild, and vestry members along the way. They arrived at St. Barnabas, Montgomery, in the 1990s and were foundational in starting OPALS (Older People with Active Lifestyles), and more recently a popular supper club, so that people do not have to always eat alone.

Well into chronological old age, Howard and Nell exemplify an eagerness and curiosity about the world, a positive attitude about life and a willingness to create and encourage community among the people around them. Nell has a smile for everyone and a positive outlook on life despite some physical limitations. Howard is always ready with a joke or riddle.

Recently, a young family with four children came to the church. Howard, who has great artistic ability and throughout his life has enjoyed drawing cartoons of every sort, drew a cartoon character one Sunday for their young son, Jamie, to color.

Jamie enjoyed it so much that Howard drew another the next time he saw him. From that time on, Howard planned his drawing to match the alphabet, and every Sunday was prepared with another drawing for Jamie. Jamie's mother collected the beautiful drawings of the alphabet that her son had colored and created a book of them, which she then copied and gave to Howard. This connection has been an inspiration for a variety of new inter-generational community events to strengthen the bonds of the different ages and cultures at St. Barnabas.

Mary McKell, St. Paul’s, Chillicothe Mary McKell has served as altar guild director at St. Paul’s, Chillicothe, for many years. She tries to delegate and share the work with others on the altar guild as an important ministry and support for the clergy. Even though she has been altar guild director for a long time, she still studies and checks to see that things are as the clergy would like them to be.

Mary’s services to St. Paul’s are not limited to the altar guild. She is involved in a number of other things at the church as well, such as the knitting group, outreach committee, flower committee and fundraising committee.

A model of Christian living, St. Paul’s members can count on Mary being in her pew on Sunday, in the sacristy before church, in the kitchen after church, or sharing a comforting word with a grieving family after a funeral service. You will always find Mary welcoming a stranger or chatting up a friend, all in the name of Christ. She has a warm and welcoming heart for all that enter the doors of St. Paul’s, and does all she can to make them feel at home and part of the church family.

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Donna Nickerson, St. Paul’s, Chillicothe For a number of reasons, one of the first people you meet if you attend a service at St. Paul’s, Chillicothe is Donna Nickerson. First, Donna is in charge of the ushers. She wants to make you feel welcome and comfortable at St. Paul’s as well as to know what’s going on in the congregation. Donna keeps her eye out for people who might need attention by someone during the service, if they seem lost following the service, or may need help by the priest after the service.

She just seems to always know who and when there are needs.

Another aspect of Donna’s ministry is her leadership of the outreach committee. Just as she has an eye for those who need help on Sunday, Donna is always looking for ways for St. Paul’s to help those in need in Chillicothe and in the world. She is always ready to respond to a hurricane in Florida or Texas or sub-freezing weather in the city of Chillicothe. Everyone knows that after the church service, you may be asked by Donna to help collect warm clothing for the domestic abuse center or cook supper for Hope Clinic. But whatever you are asked to do, Donna Nickerson will be right beside you all the time, helping you out and cheering you on.

Marybeth Peebles, St. Luke, Marietta A native of Chicago, Marybeth Peebles has been a part of the St. Luke’s community since her arrival in Marietta in 2001, when Marietta College called her to a position as professor of education. She retired from this post in 2010. Both she and her husband, Jim, have been quite active in the parish, filling a great many roles.

Throughout her professional career, Marybeth has been active in community affairs, serving on the board of Red Cross for nine years. She has been an aerobics instructor for thirty-five years and continues to teach at the local YMCA. Her parish involvement includes serving as the chair of the Outreach Committee for several years. She has been a reader at the liturgy and a Eucharistic Minister and Visitor. She designed and directed the children’s reading program, Holy Moly, for three years.

She has worked with other community groups to establish a monthly community meal, and coordinated an annual Secret Santa program for economically challenged families for several years. She has directed the parish’s monthly “Door-to-door” meal delivery to shut-in people in the city, and has served as parish liaison and coordinator of the principal fundraiser for the local churchsupported food pantry. In most of these activities, Marybeth has worked with others from a variety of churches in Marietta. It is not too much to say that she is, in some ways, the public face of St. Luke’s parish.

Throughout her life at St. Luke’s, Marybeth has been unfailingly helpful and considerate. She treats everyone she encounters with dignity and respect. Those who are touched by the church’s various outreach programs invariably comment on how much they care for Marybeth, because she obviously takes a real interest in them as people, and not as receivers of benefits. This is, perhaps, her greatest contribution to the life of the parish: to model the all-embracing love of a God who does not distinguish between us based on our status or privilege.

Editor's note: Unfortunately, Marybeth was unable to attend the induction ceremony on April 18, so no photo of her is available.

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Photos by Sherri Martin/Diocese of Southern Ohio

Sara Rich, St. George’s, Dayton Sara Rich joined St. George's, Dayton, in 1975 and has been active in the Altar Guild since 1976, serving as the director for 18 years. She has served on vestry, as both Junior and Senior Warden, as a member of the search committee and has chaired a discernment committee. For the past 10-12 years Sara has been a member of the finance committee, and she chaired the 2000 capital campaign "Visions 2000," which raised $1.5 million for new stained-glass windows and other capital projects.

Somehow, Sara also found the time to be a Sunday school teacher, chair a Vacation Bible School and schedule acolytes for eight years.

Sara's life is a testament to her beliefs, and she has given generously Sara Rich is congratulated by the Rev. Gregory Sammons at of her time, talent and skills. Her faith led her to join others to work for the April 18 induction ceremony. more than 20 years as a founder and board member of the Miami Valley Episcopal Russian Network (MVERN), to help restore Christianity in the village of Sabino, Russia. Seeking to make her neighborhood a better place, Sara held several leadership roles with the Kettering Board of Education and used her skills to raise funds for scholarships for hundreds of students in medicine and allied fields in Montgomery County. She is even-tempered, patient, kind, loving and generous. Her willingness to give of her talents has enriched her life in addition to bettering the lives of countless other people.

Janice “Gay” Roberts, St. John’s, Columbus

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Gay Roberts has been a member of St. John's, Columbus, for over 50 years and has actively participated in all facets of the church’s ministries. She is a quiet presence with deep, spiritually astute insights into matters both religious and secular. She bears the personal challenges of family members with courage and faith, never wavering in her trust in a loving God. She models God's love in her own relationships.

Gay has served many terms on Mission Council and as Senior Warden. She has served as a faithful volunteer at His Place dinners and in the adult learning center. Currently, Gay is serving another term on Mission Council and also as church librarian, distributing free books available to adults and children. She spent many years teaching Sunday school and helping with any activities involving children. She is a "go to" person at the church – if something needs done, she is always willing to help out!

Gay regularly attends worship and takes advantage of Advent and Lenten programs that focus on spiritual practices, biblical reflection, and prayer.

She puts her faith where her life is. She reaches out in love even when she has been hurt and actively prays for those who are in any pain. She is, at the same time, honest in her encounters with people and gives spiritual guidance from her heart. Gay sees Christ reflected wherever she looks – in other people, and in creation.

Willa Tait, Holy Trinity, Kenwood

The Rev. Margaret Sammons holds a photo of Willa Tait, who was unable to attend the ceremony.

Willa Tait is a lifelong Episcopalian, and was baptized in the Cathedral prior to its present location in Cincinnati. Ever since she was a young child, Willa has faithfully attended Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, from Madisonville to its present location in Kenwood/Madeira.

Over the years, Willa has served the church in various capacities, including Altar Guild secretary and directress, Sunday school teacher, greeter, lector, chalice bearer, music planning, and as church auditor and historian. She took on responsibility for bulletins when the church secretary left, and added a newsletter to the weekly bulletin to keep the community informed.

Willa, who will turn 90 this year, continues to assist with altar guild duties, including the care of all linens. She still does the weekly bulletins, consulting regularly with the organist and priest. Willa was baptized, confirmed, and married in the Episcopal Church, raised two children in the church, and has watched the church pass through many seasons, all while remaining an ever faithful servant.

Willa has never met a stranger in her midst; with every newcomer she has stepped forward with a warm and genuine greeting. Willa is the true matriarch of Holy Trinity, Kenwood, yet does not like to draw attention to herself. Rather she prefers to celebrate others, expressing praise and gratitude for their contributions. She is a quiet, behind-the-scenes woman who knows the love of Christ in a way that simply emanates from her being to all those around her. Willa is the source of memory for things past at Holy Trinity, as well as pointing to the hope of what is to come by way of her gentle spirit and openness to those who are new, applauding change as it unfolds.

Linda and William Whittle, St. James, Cincinnati

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Bill and Linda Whittle are partners in ministry as well as life. They have been active members of St. James, Cincinnati, for many years, raising children and grandchildren in the parish.

Bill has served on the vestry and stewardship committee, and as an acolyte, lector, and Eucharistic minister. He is also one of the founders and organizers of the Belles and Whistles, a group of model train enthusiasts who erect a massive train display in the parish hall each December to the delight of children and adults alike.

Utilizing her nursing background, Linda spends many hours each week talking with parishioners by phone or visiting them in the hospital, skilled care facilities, or at home. Bill often joins her when they are serving as Eucharistic visitors. Together they Linda and Bill Whittle were joined at the provided pastoral care to members of St. James during the transition between clergy when there was no interim. When they visit parishioners, they bring smiles, comfort and ceremony by the Rev. Mary Carson, Priest in charge at St. James, Westwood. caring so that those who are often isolated can feel connected to their parish.

Both are members of the choir. Bill’s been singing since he was a boy. Linda joined just a few years ago, perhaps so she could sit with him more often! Both are also graduates of Education for Ministry.

Recently Linda took on the responsibility of serving as St. James’ representative to the Westfed food pantry, the neighborhood ecumenical pantry. She is helping St. James to become more active in donating needed food items and is volunteering in the once-a-month packing and distribution.

They both love God and the Church and the deep faith in Christ that they share freely with others is an encouragement to those with whom they serve.

Refreshing Your Soul: LOVE and Positive Aging Sold out conference celebrates 20th year of services to the community, focuses on healthy aging For Episcopal Retirement Services’ Parish Healthy Ministry, it has been a 20-year journey of faith. The mission to support community nursing and health ministry provides opportunities for churches to renew their role in healthcare at a time when transformation of our healthcare system is a critical priority. The annual Refresh Your Soul conference for health professionals and all caregivers has grown out of this ministry and this year was sold-out in record time, a clear signal that healthy aging is a quintessential topic.

Dr. Gary Chapman, keynote speaker and the author of The Five Love Languages, had the 2018 “Refresh Your Soul” Positive Aging conference in the palm of his hand, brandishing humor, candor, tears, joy and amazingly inspirational ‘love’ stories at Xavier University’s Cintas Center.

“As we age, and at any age, if we feel loved, life is beautiful,” Chapman told those gathered. “If not, life can begin to look pretty dark. The key is speaking each others’ primary love language.”

The Refresh Your Soul Conference benefits Parish Health Ministry, an ecumenical outreach of Episcopal Retirement Services (ERS), connecting more than 70 churches and community organizations throughout the Tri-State with the ERS network of senior services and retirement communities.

Chapman (5lovelanguages.com) appeared along with esteemed professional speakers Kay Van Norman, Wendy Rogers, and

Cincinnati’s own Liz Tassone at this year’s event, drawing over 650 to the conference. Sponsored by Tri-Health, Refresh Your Soul 2018 once again partnered with Xavier University, which presented their Dementia Care Summit also in March.

“Our goal every year with Refresh Your Soul is to provide an engaging, educational, enlightening event for seniors, care partners, and professionals in our industry. This year in particular struck a resounding chord for attendees on a personal level,” said Laura Lamb, CEO of ERS. “Gary, Kay, Wendy, and Liz were inspiring. Along with everyone at ERS and Parish Health Ministry, we thank them for their enlightening outlook.”

Kristin Davenport serves as Director of Communication for Episcopal Retirement Services. Connect with her at kdavenport@ erslife.org

Dr. Gary Chapman addresses the audience at the 2018 Refresh Your Soul Conference. © 2018 Gary Kessler | kesslerphotography.com

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KIDS4PEACE CINCINNATI INTERFAITH DAY CAMP

Cincinnati Kids4Peace brings together Jewish, Christian and Muslim middle school students to learn about other religions, equality and social justice to pursue peace in our surrounding communities. Campers will: • Come together to learn about other religions through visits to a mosque, church and synagogue • Engage in team-building and empowerment exercises • Learn leadership skills such as bringing people together and advocating for social justice in your community • Volunteer at a social action organization Join us this summer to learn, play, sing and explore while making new friends!

Kids4Peace Camp is held at different locations during the week; the Islamic Center of Cincinnati in West Chester, St. Barnabas Episcopal Church in Montgomery, Adath Israel Congregation in Amberley Village, and a social action organization in the community. Tuition for the five-day camp is $150; scholarships are available. Apply at www.k4p.org/summer2018.

For more information, contact Natalie Shribman, Cincinnati K4P program coordinator at Cincinnati@k4p.org.

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Advancing toward General Convention:

OUR DEPUTATION

The House of Deputies is one of the legislative houses of the bicameral General Convention of the Episcopal Church.

The House of Deputies has equal numbers of clergy and lay deputies elected by each of the 109 dioceses and one convocation of Episcopal Church congregations in Europe. Like bishops, deputies cannot be instructed to vote one way or another by their diocese. They agree to come to General Convention with open hearts so that they can prayerfully listen to others and be led by the Holy Spirit.

Southern Ohio’s deputies to the 79th General Convention were elected at our 142nd annual convention in 2016.

Deputies, Clerical order: The Rev. Canon Scott Gunn, Executive Director of Forward Movement and honorary canon at Christ Church Cathedral The Rev. Canon Manoj Zacharia,

Sub-dean at Christ Church Cathedral The Rev. Paula Jackson, Rector of Church of Our Saviour, Cincinnati The Rev. Jason Prati, Rector of All Saints, New Albany Alternates: The Rev. Dick Burnett, Rector of Trinity, Columbus The Rev. John Agbaje, Rector of St. Andrew’s, Cincinnati The Rev. Suzanne LeVesconte, Rector of Trinity, Hamilton Deputies, Lay order: Cathy Bagot, Trinity, Newark Meghan Western, St. James, Columbus Elizabeth Barker, St. Patrick’s, Dublin Deborah Stokes, St. Philip’s, Columbus Alternates: Harold Patrick, St. Matthew’s, Westerville Eric Schryver, St. George’s, Dayton David Jones, St. James, Piqua

Welcome Carine deLange Bishop Breidenthal and Dean Greenwell are pleased to announce their hiring of Carine de Lange (pronounced Car-een D'Long-gay) as the new Operations Executive for Christ Church Cathedral and the bishop’s staff. This joint position will help facilitate a closer relationship between the two staffs for their shared ministries in the Diocese of Southern Ohio.

Carine, originally from South Africa, moved to the United States nine years ago with her husband Martin and son Adriaan. She subsequently has become an American citizen. Carine most recently served as the Director of Operations for Ronald McDonald House Charities of Greater Cincinnati. Her former career was in banking compliance and she holds two South African law degrees.

Her compassion, demonstrated skills in coaching and mentoring staff and ability to establish procedures and efficiencies are outstanding. Carine began in her new position on April 2, 2018. Welcome, Carine!

COMING UP NEXT: POP CULTURE Popular culture, or pop culture, is loosely defined by Wikipedia as a set of practices, beliefs and objects that are dominant in a society at a given point in time; a collection of ideas spread virally via mass media, which quickly becomes a part of our everyday lives. And since it is readily available to anyone, regardless of education or class, many regard pop culture as superficial.

But is it? In the next issue of Connections, let’s take a look at pop culture and how it affects the church. Submissions are due June 1. You can find the guidelines for submitting an article to Connections at dsoConnections.org/submission-guidelines/.

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CONNECTIONS

The official publication of the Diocese of Southern Ohio www.diosohio.org

The Rt. Rev. Thomas E. Breidenthal, Publisher David Dreisbach, Art director Julie Murray, Editor Amy Svihlik, Designer Dave Caudill, Copy editor

Submissions: Connections encourages the submission of articles and pictures. We reserve the right to edit material offered for publication. All submissions must include name, phone and email address for verification.

Send submissions to communication@diosohio.org.

Next deadline: June 1

Connections (USPS 020933) is published bi-monthly by the Diocese of Southern Ohio, 412 Sycamore St., Cincinnati, OH 45202-4179. Periodical postage paid at Cincinnati, OH. This publication is sent to all members of Episcopal congregations in the Diocese of Southern Ohio and is funded by mission share payments to the diocesan operating budget. Other subscriptions are $10 annually.

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POSTMASTER: Send changes of address to Connections, 412 Sycamore St., Cincinnati, OH 45202-4179.

We are a people of connection. We kneel around the same table regardless of color, creed, gender, race or sexual orientation.

Connections is a publication of the Diocese of

Southern Ohio, designed to enhance these connections and help foster new ones – because we are continually looking for ways to widen our circle.

dsoConnections.org