http://www.edusc.org/images/stories/documents/Crosswalk%20Archive/Archive/200402

crosswalk the official publication of the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina

The chapel at Cullum Hall the day following the fire (photo by Steve Peterson).

HOW CAN I HELP? Donations to help with rebuilding and restoration may be sent to 1115 Marion Street, Columbia, SC 29201. Please make checks payable to the Diocese of Upper SC, with “Cullum Hall Fund” on the memo line.

By Peggy Van Antwerp Hill The diocesan General Convention Response Committee (GCRC), which began its work in August at the request of Bishop Henderson, has undertaken a new charge from the bishop: the development of a proposal for a special meeting in Columbia for those who seek a “middle way” in the conflict that has evolved since General Convention’s consent to the consecration of the Rev. Canon Gene Robinson.

In October the GCRC presented a statement to the 81st Diocesan Convention, as well as a resolution calling the diocese to “move forward in mission and faithfulness,” despite profound differences of opinion. The resolution was adopted by convention.

Within the text of the GCRC statement presented at convention was the following recommendation: “We ask our bishop to convene a special meeting in Columbia of bishops, clergy, and laity from throughout the nation who seek a middle way and who will explore avenues that will allow those who believe themselves disenfranchised by the [General] Convention’s actions to claim again their place in the Episcopal Church and to bring the Episcopal Church back to its place within the Anglican Communion.”

(For a copy of the full statement, see

Crosswalk to undergo changes New emphasis on resources for spiritual growth and mission coming this spring Web-based and electronic publications to complement new design

By Peggy Van Antwerp Hill

As a result of a recommendation from the Diocesan Communications Committee and endorsements from the Coordinating Commission for Administration and the Diocesan Executive Council (DEC), Crosswalk, the official publication of the diocese, will soon have a new schedule, a new focus, and a new look. The shift is an outgrowth of ongoing diocesan longrange planning, and, in particular, the development of Goal IV of the diocesan long-range plan, which calls for

the creation of “an effective 21st-century communications ministry” that reflects the vision of the One Body with One Mission, which is the diocese.

LOG ON, REACH IN, REACH OUT . . .

Upper SC news and events, long the mainstay of Crosswalk, will soon become the business of a bi-weekly email newsletter to which all individuals in the diocese may subscribe (and submit material as well). This electronic newsletter will be supplemented with bulletin inserts and other communications distributed via local

congregations. Groups and organizations within the diocese will be able to create specialized listservs and discussion forums that will help them disseminate information and increase contact with one another as they “meet” in cyberspace to discuss issues and focus mission efforts. The diocesan Web site, www.edusc.org, is undergoing revision to accommodate these new directions, provide a resource center (including templates and

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www.edusc.org Visit our diocese online!

the diocesan Web site, or ask your priest.)

In December, Bishop Henderson took this recommendation to the annual winter meeting of the bishops of Province IV, in New Orleans. They were so enthusiastic about this proposal that they affirmed it in principle and asked that our diocesan GCRC, working with five bishops, develop a more detailed proposal to be reported to them in March.

There is a possibility that the Province IV bishops will endorse this as a provincial project, and will join the invitation to nationwide involvement.

The bishop’s commitment to honor the 1998 Lambeth Conference Resolution adopted by the primates and other bishops of the Anglican Communion— in both of its provisions—proceeds.

Under the leadership of the Rev. Canon Charles M. Davis, Jr., sub-dean of Trinity Cathedral, and the Hon. Belton Zeigler, chancellor for the diocese, the GCRC has been reconfigured and charged with planning the proposed meeting in Columbia. Trinity Cathedral dean the Rev. Dr. Philip C. Linder is assisting the bishop by convening a group which will fulfill Lambeth’s commitment to inclusion of gay persons in the Anglican Communion’s life, and to dialogue with them on sexuality issues.

PAID

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Proposal to be considered by Province IV bishops

Permit No. 848 Columbia, SC

On Saturday evening, December 20, a fire at Gravatt destroyed the chapel in Cullum Hall and caused extensive collateral damage to the rest of the structure. The cause of the fire is unknown, although a SLED investigation is under way. According to Gravatt executive director Paul Price, such investigations are routinely conducted when there is a fire on any property belonging to a church.

Firefighters from at least five districts fought the blaze, which was reported at approximately 8:00 p.m. The effort to extinguish the fire lasted for

more than two hours. Additional firefighters and EMS workers were placed on standby but, because there were no injuries, they were not called to the scene.

Currently, a team of structural engineers is assessing the damage to Cullum Hall. Although they have not completed their examination of the building, it appears that it will be possible to rebuild the chapel area and restore the rest of the building rather than construct anew. Recent reports indicate that some of the banners and

Nonprofit Org. U.S. POSTAGE

By Peggy Van Antwerp Hill

Committee continues work toward middle way

Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina 1115 Marion Street Columbia, South Carolina 29201

Chapel destroyed in Gravatt fire

Febr uar y 2004

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Ask the bishop . . .

Got a question for the bishop?

Send it to “Ask the bishop,” 1115 Marion Street, Columbia, SC 29201, or via e-mail to phill@edusc.org.

DEAR BISHOP HENDERSON: I am curious about the Church’s standing on marriage during Lent.

I have heard various things, i.e., do’s and don’t’s, but I have neither been able to find any biblical basis for these claims, nor have I received any biblical reference from the people who have made these claims. I would appreciate any knowledge that you have on the subject.

Thank you.

D. S. THE BISHOP RESPONDS: There is a longer answer, and I hope you’ll ask your local priest for it. The short answer is this: Lent (you’ll find no reference to the word in Holy Scripture) originated in the early Church, connected to the tradition of doing baptisms on Easter Day. Lent con-

crosswalk Official Publication of the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina 1115 Marion Street Columbia, South Carolina 29201 (803) 771-7800/(800) 889-6961 (803) 799-5119 (FAX) dioceseusc@aol.com

Crosswalk E-mail Address phill@edusc.org Bishop The Rt. Rev. Dorsey F. Henderson, Jr. Archdeacon and Assistant for Mission and Ministry The Ven. Frederick C. Byrd fbyrd@edusc.org Canon for Christian Formation The Rev. J. Philip Purser ppurser@edusc.org Missioner of Youth Ministry The Rev. L. Sue von Rautenkranz, Deacon suevon@edusc.org Director of Communications, Editor of Crosswalk Peggy Van Antwerp Hill phill@edusc.org Assistant to Bishop Henderson Jane B. Goldsmith jgoldsmith@edusc.org

stituted the period prior to Easter Day when catechumens (candidates for Holy Baptism) went through their final preparation for the sacrament.

After some variation, the Church decided upon 40 days as an appropriate length for Lent (not counting Sundays, which are ALWAYS celebrations of the Resurrection), starting with Ash Wednesday. Although not specified in Holy Scripture, the biblical basis is this: The 40 days corresponds to our Lord’s 40 days of prayer and temptation in the desert, following his baptism. (That figure is also meant to remind us of the 40 years Israel spent wandering in the desert, following the captivity in Egypt, and prior to being led into the Promised Land.)

As I indicated, the period was the climax of the time of preparation for Holy Baptism (which traditionally lasted three years). It was characterized for the candidates by additional study, repentance, prayer, fasting, and special acts of charity. Eventually, the whole Church saw this as an opportunity to renew itself spiritually by having all individuals share with the candidates their Lenten discipline. The liturgy for Ash Wednesday describes that discipline in this exhortation, calling the faithful to “the observance of a holy Lent, by self-examination and repentance; by prayer, fasting, and self-denial; and by reading and meditating on God’s holy Word” (Book of Common Prayer, p. 265).

So it is the nature of the season (prayer, fasting, and self-denial) that led the Church to discourage Holy Matrimony during Lent. After all, marriage is an occasion of joy and celebration, and warrants great exuberance—inconsistent with the purpose and spiritual ambiance of Lent. It has become a firm guideline, but, in cases of special circumstance requiring pastoral consideration, exception may be made.

I don’t know this for sure, but I suspect that one of the reasons that June has become a traditional month for weddings is in connection with the practice of delaying them until after the celebration of the Resurrection on Easter Day. I thought I said the “short answer.” Believe it or not, it could be longer, but I hope this is helpful to you. Thanks for asking. These are the fun questions.

Assistant for Finance and Administration Julie Price jprice@edusc.org Assistant to Archdeacon Byrd Bonnie Blackberg bblackberg@edusc.org Assistant for Christian Formation, Manager of Diocesan Resource Center Roslyn Hook rhook@edusc.org Assistant for Finance and Insurance Cynthia Hendrix chendrix@edusc.org Bishop Gravatt Center bgravatt@mindspring.com

Please send all Crosswalk address corrections, deletions or additions to: Trevett’s Labels and Mailing Service, LLC 2217 Lake Murray Blvd.

Columbia, SC 29212 Phone: (803) 781-3150 Fax: (803) 732-1393 email: mail@trevetts.com

From the

bishop’s desk ...

Epiphany, 2004 “. . . [A]nd the star which they had seen it its rising went ahead of them until it stopped above the place where the child lay.”

Sisters and Brothers, dearly Beloved, As the star led the Magi to Jesus, and to worship him, so we are called to a similar journey, and to bring others with us. That is what the Lord calls us to do. The Magi are important because of Jesus. Mary and Joseph, whose lives and ministry we continue to celebrate during Epiphany, are important because of Jesus. John Baptist, whose baptism of the Lord is the setting for still another epiphany, is also important because of Jesus. And all are remembered because they consistently pointed to Jesus.

Our calling, too, is to point consistently to Jesus—in the words of the Baptismal Covenant—”to proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Christ.” This should remain our focus, even as we struggle with those matters which would distract us: terrorism, the economy, turmoil in our culture and nation, in our personal lives, and in God’s Church. All of these concerns are important to God and to us, but Holy Scripture is clear that Christ’s mission of making disciples, “baptizing . . . [and] teaching” is the paramount priority for the Church.

You have heard it many times as we have examined life in our diocese: “As we are baptized into the Body of Christ, so we are baptized into His mission”—we are called to be “disciples making disciples.”

In other words, we need to keep our eyes on the star rather than upon the disasters around and within us—with trust that God will take care of them. Susan Heath+, one of the priests on the staff of your cathedral, observed in her homily on the Feast of the Epiphany that the word disaster is the combination of the prefix dis, which means to “undo” or “remove,” and the derivative of the Greek word astron, meaning “star.” A disaster occurs when we lose sight of the star—and if that star is Christ’s, for Christians a disaster occurs whenever we lose sight of the mission which Christ has given to us. “O star of wonder, star of night . . . guide us to thy perfect light.”

A “silver lining”?

In the midst of the fall-out following General Convention, I believe that we can take heart and comfort in—and advantage of—the widespread renewal of interest in the study of Holy Scripture. Accordingly, I urge clergy and lay leaders to use this opportunity to live more fully into the teaching office of ministry by offering study courses in the written Word of God. As Anglicans who utilize a lectionary, we incorporate more scripture in our worship than some in other traditions do. (When I was ordained, someone gave me this advice: “Obtain a red Bible—a well-read Bible”). But delving further into the study—and not just the reading—of Holy Scripture would enrich all of us. A good place to start is by examination of two questions in our catechism: “Why do we call the Holy Scriptures the Word of God?”; and, “How do we understand the meaning of the Bible?”

I commend to you another opportunity for the study of Holy Scripture. Our diocesan “School for Ministry” was created as resource to everyone who wants to deepen his/her understanding of Christian faith and practice, including Bible study. Despite a common misunderstanding, the school is not just for those who feel called to ordained ministry. Classes are currently in progress in Columbia and Greenville— and will be offered in Columbia and Spartanburg again this summer.

For additional information, check our Web site (www.edusc.org) or consult with your clergy.

What do we do next?

Please refer to the story on page one of this issue which covers recent actions to implement the suggestions of the bishop’s General Convention Response group. As you know, we committed ourselves as a diocese to make a difference in the life of the national Church, and this article (“Committee continues work toward middle way”) provides an update.

Beloved, I am grateful for the greetings and good wishes extended to me over the Holy Days. Please know that you have my warmest personal regards, and that my prayer for you throughout this season of Epiphany, and the Year of our Lord 2004, is that God will bless and strengthen us for life, mission, and ministry as the Body of Christ.

Faithfully,

Upper South Carolina VII

Conference focuses on discipleship and mission—no matter what

By Belton T. Zeigler

CALLED TO HEAL THE WOUNDS A mission-driven church does not cut these wounds more deeply.

Instead it treats them with tender-

ness and respect, binding them up in hopes that they will eventually be healed. It sets these divisions aside with faith and confidence that God will indeed heal them, and in time will lead the Church into all truth. In support of the healing of these wounds, a mission-driven church uses all its spiritual and sacramental resources, and its gifts of love, forbearance, gentleness, patience, and humility. But this healing takes time. In the meantime,

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The canon comments on Epiphany . . .

Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine!

By the Rev. Canon J. Philip Purser A grandmother was putting her young grandson in the car, along with his sister, and she noticed that he was praying. When she asked him what he was doing, he said, “I am thanking God that we are all safe.” The grandmother said, “At that moment I remembered that God is a part of all that has and will take place.”

As we move into a new calendar year we carry forth our tradition of faith: Christ was born and wisemen came from the East to see him and to worship him. I have often wondered what they talked about and what they shared about this Epiphany when they returned to their country.

The Christian Church season after Christmas is Epiphany. It begins on January 6th. It is a time during which the Church tells the story of the Good News of God coming to us in Jesus.

The most recent General Con-

vention of the Episcopal Church passed a resolution that, if acted upon, will have a more lasting effect than all the other resolutions put together. Resolution A 083 calls “every Episcopalian to be able to articulate his or her faith story” and urges “dioceses and congregations to create opportunities for these stories to be told.”

A curriculum in our Diocesan Resource Center entitled Let It Shine puts it well: “The light of God continues to come into the world.

We experience this light through our personal relationship with God in Christ, our personal and communal stories of salvation.”

Epiphany is a time of sharing the story of your faith with others.

Some may wonder if they have a story of faith, and others may think they need a white suit and a television program to share their stories. Our faith story is about how we came to own our belief in God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

As a child I heard the faith sto-

ries of the community of Israel and the early Church in church, in Sunday school, and in the home of my grandparents. Even now I can see those flannel-backed figures of “holy people” being placed on the board as the story of the birth of Jesus was told. A woman once said about the hymns of the Church, “As children we sang the songs of faith before we even knew what they meant, but now that I am an adult those words

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Resources for church growth available free through Percept’s Link2Lead By the Rev. David F. O. Thompson Link2Lead.com is an exciting Internet leadership resource available free of charge to all congregations in Upper South Carolina. It is one of many tools offered to clergy and lay leaders by Percept, the leading provider of demographic and other information to religious organizations for the past 16 years.

The aim of Link2Lead is to help congregations better understand the ministry needs of their local communities. It is easy to use, and, even better, the cost of accessing basic demographic and other resources information has been paid by diocesan funds, made available through each local congregation’s honoring of the episcopal pledge.

Upper SC’s subscription to Percept resources is funded through the Statement of Mission line item for

the Great Commission Commission.

Here’s all you have to do to access this valuable information. Visit www.Link2Lead.com, and sign up as a first-time visitor. Answer the questions about your denomination, diocese, zip code, church name, and your position within the church.

Once all the information has been provided, you are ushered into the Web site and will have the opportunity to access a variety of resources.

The Link2Lead Web site offers clearly marked “tabs” that provide gateways to various kinds of information: “My Self”—An interactive survey in this section called iChange helps users assess their responses to change. It’s a fun tool and it’s a great way to see how different people in you congregation feel about change.

“My Community”—This area offers the opportunity to learn important facts about the local community, using the 10-Facts Series Reports. Included is information about the breakdown of different ethnic groups for the different zip codes in your community and the demographic trends for the next five years.

“My Congregation”—A particular challenge for congregations is knowing whom to reach out to in areas that surround the church. It’s hard to know how to reach out to, for example, people living in the housing

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MISSION FIRST, ALWAYS What Beasley said was this: The job of a missionary church is to fill itself with Christian disciples who are creating other Christian disciples and sending them into the world.

They bring spiritual food to those who are starving for it. That food is the transforming love of Jesus.

We have this food in limitless quantities. Yet all around us hungry people are living on spiritual scraps because they do not know something far better is available. It is our responsibility, as Christians, to lead these people to the table.

What we lack are the disciples to do so. These disciples are the laborers that Jesus asked us to pray to the Father to send into the harvest.

In Beazley’s opinion, a truly missionary church focuses its attention on creating and empowering disciples to bring others to the banquet.

It does not indulge itself in the desire to win internal church battles over issues that, however important they may be to some, are secondary to our missionary calling. Missionary churches do not vote on matters of deep division and strongly held conviction. Such votes create winners and losers. The losers are fel-

Commission, taught that divisions such as those concerning our differing approaches to human sexuality were not issues to be decided.

As divisions to our unity in the Body of Christ, they are quite literally wounds on the Christ’s Body.

They are wounds the Church is called to heal.

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The Clear Vision conference, held each November at Camp Allen in the Diocese of Texas, has a special place in the history of the Diocese of Upper South Carolina. It was there, four years ago, that our initial efforts at missionary transformation were kicked into high gear by the excitement and success of other dioceses like Texas, Maryland, and Virginia.

It was there that we were introduced to the book Reclaiming the Great Commission that has guided our diocese in its transformation efforts.

The Clear Vision conference is a broad-based affair. Leaders from the dioceses of Connecticut, Massachusetts, Nevada, Montana, and Hawaii—to name a few—came this year. As always, when Episcopalians gather, we learned much from each other and greatly enjoyed our fellowship.

The topic each year centers on how dioceses become visionary communities, bringing the transforming power of the Gospel to their communities, and in the process being the transformed themselves.

This year, the question on the minds of many at the conference was, How do the actions of the 74th General Convention fit with this effort?

Hamilton Beazley, coauthor of Reclaiming the Great Commission, spoke on this topic in some detail.

Beazley is a professor of organizational psychology, recently at George Washington University. His comments did not seek to illuminate the issues of sexuality itself.

Instead, they focused on how missionary dioceses deal with issues that divide them.

low disciples whose love, service, and energy we critically need to fulfill our mission. If these people are driven away from their shared ministry with us, all of us are impoverished in our discipleship. Most important, those whom together we might have reached for Christ may be left hungry, unable to find the banquet table because of our failings.

When he was bishop of Texas, the Rt. Rev. Claude Payne, also coauther of Reclaiming the Great

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“Clear Vision,” mission, and division in the Church

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Stewardship squared . . .

“Becoming Stewards of Stewards” conference coming up March 19–20 “Never before has the teaching of authentic Christian stewardship, its principles and practice, been more important in our life together. This has become especially clear during the months since General Convention.”

— The Rt. Rev. Dorsey F. Henderson, Jr. Thanks to the Diocesan Stewardship Committee, chaired by the Rev. Charles M. Davis, Sr., every Upper SC congregation has the opportunity to number among its lay leaders at least one specially trained stewardship consultant. The goal of this year ’s conference, “Becoming Stewards of Stewards,” to be held March 19–20 at the Bishop Gravatt Center, Aiken, is to train one person from each church and to provide the tools and resources that person will need to be an effective teacher of stewardship on the local level.

Facilitator for the conference will be the Rev. Dr. C. K. “Chuck” Robertson, well known consultant, member of the board for the Episcopal Network for Stewardship, and author of Barnabas, a program that many churches have adopted for stewardship education.

Participant fees—$60 per person, $55 per person for teams of two, $50 per person for teams of three of more—cover the cost of room and meals at the Bishop Gravatt Center. The diocese is covering the honorarium for the facilitator andthe cost of all materials.

For scholarship assistance, contact the Rev. Philip J. Purser, canon for Christian formation, (803) 771-7800, ppurser@edusc.org.

To register, see below. Materials have also been sent to all congregations and are available on the Web at www.edusc.org/Stewardship/ StewardshipConference.shtml. For more information, contact the Rev. Charles M. Davis, Sr., (803) 732-7736, candw1@bellsouth.net.

In Bishop Henderson’s words: “This conference is one of the ‘Next Steps in Mission’ and designed to enhance our faithfulness and progress as ‘One Body, One Mission: Changing Lives.’ Accordingly, I commend it to you with enthusiasm and high expectations.”

Love One Another Piedmont Convocation Pastoral Care Workshop February 28, 2004 St. Christopher’s, Spartanburg This conference is designed to introduce a model for lay pastoral ministry in order to call out, train, and deploy pastoral teams of lay persons to carry out the ministry of compassionate caring.

Name: __________________________________________________ Church: _________________________________________________

“BECOMING STEWARDS OF STEWARDS” March 19–20 Bishop Gravatt Center, Aiken Please complete one registration form per registrant.

Enclosed is our check (payable to DUSC) for: ___one person from my church @ $60.00 per person ___two persons from my church @ $55.00 per person ___three persons from my church @ $50.00 per person Total $ ______________ Name _______________________________________________________ Familiar name for nametag ____________________________________ Address _____________________________________________________ City _________________________________________________________ State _______________________________ Zip ____________________ Phone _______________________________________________________ E-mail address _______________________________________________ Home church ________________________________________________ Return forms and payment to: Stewardship Conference Attn.: Roslyn Hook 1115 Marion Street, Columbia, SC 29201

Seen our fantastic diocesan billboards (in Columbia and in the Greenville-Spartanburg, Rock Hill, Aiken, and Anderson areas)? More than 120,000 people pass them every day! You can help drive the message home with a bumper sticker on your very own car! Every Episcopalian a missionary! A bumper sticker on every car! Order some today for everyone in your congregation!

Address: ________________________________________________ E-mail: _________________________________________________ Phone: _________________________________________________

Workshops: (Choose two) G G G G G G

Pastoral care for those who mourn Hospital visits Christian hospitality Pastoral care of children Ministry to the homebound Addictions and family systems

Cost $25 (includes lunch) (3 or more from the same church–$20) Return registration to: Pastoral Care Conference St. Christopher’s Church 400 Dupre Drive Spartanburg, SC 29307 or register online at www.stchrisonline.org

DRIVING THE MESSAGE HOME — A BUMPER STICKER ON EVERY CAR UPPER SC BUMPER STICKER ORDER FORM $1.00 each, or $.75 each for orders of 50 or more Name _______________________________________________________ Church ______________________________________________________ Mailing address ______________________________________________ _____________________________________________ E-mail _____________________________ How many bumper stickers? ________ ________ Soul Searching? ________ Welcoming All God’s Children Amount enclosed ___________________

Order bumper stickers online at

Checks payable to Diocese of Upper SC (DUSC), “Bumper Stickers” on the memo line.

www.edusc.org

Send to Office of Communications, 1115 Marion Street, Columbia, SC 29201. Indicate “Bumper Stickers” on the envelope.

The Spartanburg/Gaffney monthly Cursillo reunion group known as Ultreya has made a donation of $250 to Thunderhead Episcopal Center located in the Black Hills of South Dakota. The funds will provide two scholarships to needy individuals seeking to attend 2004 summer sessions, and the donation, it is hoped, will inspire other Ultreya groups to spread this kind of “palanca,” or loving support, to those in need.

Staying on the path . . .

St. Martin’s labyrinth available first Fridays A labyrinth is available for walking meditation at St. Martin’s-inthe-Fields, Columbia, on the first Friday of most months. This tool can be used by people who wish to take a break from their busy lives to spend time in quiet meditation.

Many find it helpful in clearing their minds and calming their spirits. People use the labyrinth to express gratitude, to petition for healing, to ask for forgiveness, to cope with loss, or simply to increase their awareness of God.

For those who are unfamiliar with the labyrinth, someone is available to explain how to use it.

The labyrinth is available from 3:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on the following dates: February 6; March 5; April 2; May 7; and June 4.

St. Martin’s is located at 5220 Clemson Avenue, Columbia. For more information, contact the church, (803) 787-0392.

Have you remembered the diocese in your will? decisions, you should consult with your attorney and financial advisors.

MORE NEW

ABS FORMULASEXY ANTI-AGING

LOW

HORSEPOWER

WHITEN YOUR TEETH WHILE

CARBYOU WORK LOOK YEARS ACT YOUNGERNOW

HIGHLUXGODURY SPEED LOSETEN YOU’VE GOT P OUNDS MAILIN ONE WEEK How do we make room for God in today’s world?

Regent College at Christ Church presents prolific writer and brilliant theologian Marva J. Dawn who will discuss the conflicts Christians face as members of an affluent and increasingly materialistic society. Money, power and Jesus. Sound interesting? Join us the evenings of February 8th & 9th to hear more.

For more information call (864) 271-8773, EXT. 128, e-mail us at ptate@ccgsc.org or visit our website at www.ccgsc.org.

Historic Trinity Episcopal Church in Edgefield remains closed with her windows boarded up due to insufficient funds to complete the restoration. The roof has been repaired and replaced, and the under-floor support has been repaired and the electrical system has been rewired. The next phase, consisting of window restoration, shutter repair, stained-glass window covers, front-door refinishing, bell-tower repair, exterior painting and interior painting of windows, will cost $60,000 with only $26,000 on hand.

Once this phase is completed an additional $20,000 will be needed for floor/ceiling repairs, interior painting and carpet installation. At that time the congregation will be able to hold services in the church.

The final phase will consist of brick restoration and handicap access installation.

The goal of the capital fund drive campaign remains at $300,000, of which $193,000 has been collected by the hard work of church members and the generous giving of the Episcopalians of the Church of the Ridge, which includes Trinity, Edgefield, Church of Our Savior, Trenton, and Grace Church, Ridge Spring. There has been some support from other churches and the community and past members.

Church services have continued in the parish hall adjacent to Trinity. But after two years, the congregation desperately and prayerfully wishes to return to the church for services where worship has been almost continuous since 1836. The small, but vigorous, congregation

has practically exhausted internal resources and is begging for the local community, adjoining communities, and other Episcopalians throughout South Carolina and Georgia to come forth with financial support so that services can once again be conducted in this beautiful and historic house of worship.

Tax deductible contributions can be made to: Restoring Trinity, P.O. Box 184, Edgefield, SC 29824, or to the CSRA Community Foundation, Inc., P.O. Box 31358, Augusta, Ga., 30903 for The Historic Trinity Foundation Fund.

Frank Feltham, a member of Church of the Ridge, is chair of the Restoring Trinity Committee. You may contact him at (803) 637-5558.

Sewanee Educates Leaders For The Church — And The World.

Before Katherine Avery coordinated the efforts of 5,000 volunteers at Ground Zero, she learned to help people through Sewanee Outreach.

Sewanee, The University of the South, is: ■ A College of Arts and Sciences where 1,364 undergraduates live and work in close community with Sewanee’s caring faculty members.

■ A School of Theology where seminarians study, worship, pray, and celebrate life — then spread out to the world to help others connect God’s story to life and faith.

Katherine Avery, C’00

Sewanee educates students and shapes lives of honor, integrity and service to others. www.sewanee.edu • Admission 800.522.2234 Other inquiries 800.367.1179 28 OWNING DIOCESES OF THE UNIVERSITY OF THE SOUTH Alabama • Arkansas • Atlanta • Central Florida • Central Gulf Coast • Dallas • East Carolina • East Tennessee • Florida • Fort Worth • Georgia • Kentucky • Lexington • Louisiana • Mississippi • Missouri • North Carolina • Northwest Texas • South Carolina • Southeast Florida • Southwest Florida • Tennessee • Texas • Upper South Carolina • Western Louisiana • Western North Carolina • West Tennessee • West Texas

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BETTER

By Frank Feltham

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Please keep in mind that before you make any

Trinity, Edgefield, restoration in need of financial support

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Ultreya group funds two camp scholarships

One Body . . . One Mission . . .

#

Response to Robinson conse

By Peggy Van

Response to the consecration on November 2, 2003, of the Rev. Canon Gene Robinson as bishop-coadjutor of New Hampshire continues to unfold in the Episcopal Church in the United States (ECUSA) and throughout the Anglican Communion. Bishop Robinson, elected by the people of New Hampshire in June, 2003, and the first openly gay person elevated to the episcopate, has become a “household name” and a flash point for discerning the path of the Church in the future.

What follows is a timeline, beginning with Bishop Henderson’s September pastoral letter and the historic meeting of the primates of the Anglican Communion with the archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Rowan Williams, in mid-October of last year.

Events in Upper South Carolina are printed in bold italics.

2003 September 30: In a pastoral letter dated 16th Pentecost, Bishop Henderson writes: . . . so long as I am bishop, the traditional teaching of the Church in matters of sexuality will be maintained in the Diocese of Upper South Carolina—unless and until the universal Church (or at least the Anglican Communion) determines legitimately that the Holy Spirit has led us into a new and different understanding of Holy Scripture, Tradition, and Reason. The implications for our practice include, among others, that: 1. I do not authorize the blessing of same-gender relationships.

2. I will not ordain, nor receive into this diocese, clergy involved in a sexual relationship outside the bonds of Holy Matrimony.

Those are the principles which have been the guidelines for our diocese, for clergy and those seeking ordination, from the beginning of my episcopate—and, I am confident, since the establishment of Upper South Carolina as a separate diocese in 1921—and before.

October 15-16: The archbishop of Canterbury meets with the primates of the Anglican Communion,

including the Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold III, presiding bishop of ECUSA. Following the meeting the primates issue a statement holding that the actions of General Convention “threaten the unity of our own Communion” and “do not express the mind of our Communion as a whole.”

Citing the 1998 Lambeth Conference resolution affirming the Church’s traditional teaching on human sexuality and calling for greater dialogue on issues of sexuality and on full inclusion of homosexuals in the life of the Church, the primates call on the archbishop of Canterbury to establish a commission “to consider his own role in maintaining communion” and “to include urgent and deep theological and legal reflection on the way in which the dangers we have identified at this meeting will have to be addressed.”

Requesting that the commission complete its work within 12 months, the primates also “urge our provinces not to act precipitately on these wider questions, but take time to share in this process of reflection and to consider their own constitutional requirements as individual provinces face up to potential realignments.”

(Go to www.anglicancommunion.org/ acns/articles/36/25/acns3633.html to read the full statement.)

October 25-26: The 81 st Convention of the Diocese of Upper South Carolina meets in Columbia and adopts a resolution proposed by the General Convention Response Committee (GCRC) appointed by Bishop Henderson in August.

The resolution (full text at www.edusc.org/Convention), adopted by a vote of 249 to 48, professes the diocese’s will to remain committed to Christian mission despite profound differences of opinion on issues of sexuality.

October 28: The archbishop of Canterbury appoints the commission called for by the primates (see October 15-16 above) to be chaired by the Most Rev. Robin Eames, archbishop of Armagh, who in the 1970s served as chair of a similar group studying women’s ordination. Archbishop Williams describes the commission’s “main task” as offering “advice on finding a way through the situation which currently threatens to divide the Communion.” The commission is charged with reporting to the

archbishop by September 30, 2004.

(Go to www.anglicancommunion.org/ acns/articles/36/50/acns3652.html for more information on the appointment of the commission.)

November 2: The Rev. Canon Gene Robinson is consecrated bishopcoadjutor of the Diocese of New Hampshire.

November-December: Despite the primates’ urging that provinces “not act precipitately” (see October 15-16 above), various members of the worldwide Anglican Communion sever ties or declare “impaired communion” with ECUSA, among them the Provinces of Rwanda, Uganda, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania, Central Africa, Southeast Asia, and the West Indies. Beyond the Anglican Communion, similar declarations of impaired relationship are made by several of the Orthodox churches.

Earlier in the year Pope John Paul II warned Archbishop Williams that the issue of homosexuality would jeopardize relations between Anglicans and Roman Catholics.

December 9: Bishop Henderson takes the recommendation of our diocesan GCRC—that there be convened “a special meeting in Columbia of bishops, clergy, and laity from throughout the nation who seek a middle way and who will explore avenues that will allow those who believe themselves disenfranchised by the [General] Convention’s actions to claim again their place in the Episcopal Church and to bring the Episcopal Church back to its place within the Anglican Communion”—to the annual winter meeting of the bishops of Province IV. (See the story on page 1 of this issue of Crosswalk.

The statement of the GCRC is available on the diocesan Web site, www.edusc.org.)

The Province IV bishops embrace this idea and ask that our diocesan Response Committee, working with five bishops, develop a detailed proposal to be presented in March.

There is a possibility Province IV bishops will endorse this as a provincial project and will join the invitation to nationwide involvement.

December 5: In a letter to the House of Bishops Presiding Bishop Griswold comments on a draft document addressing “Supplemental Episcopal

Pastoral Care” circu of the House for “di where appropriate, i implementation.” Th Bishop Griswold not object of “further rev discussion by the Ho at their meeting in M letter the presiding b a recent conversation archbishop of Cante archbishop “made it responsibility for wo of extended Episcop within our province continues, “the cons in the [October 15] s primates . . . is preci not involve some kin intervention on his p http://gc2003.episco ens/3577_22910_EN to read the full text o Griswold’s letter.)

December 15: Conse Pittsburgh bishop th Duncan, a high-prof American Anglican C opposition to Bishop announces the forma “Network of Anglica Dioceses and Parish will serve as modera 18 “Memorandum o posted on the AAC W (www.americanangl News.cfm?ID=920&c the network “shall o faith within the Con ECUSA.”

In a New York Times Duncan further asse Bishop Griswold’s s above, December 5), archbishop of Cante “encouraged the for network,” which, in posted memorandum operation with the A Canterbury and the participate in the pr adequate episcopal o

Media reports are co According to some, initially reports that have agreed to join t press for recognition “authentic” Episcop United States, althou bishops from those 1 disavow their conne saying that the anno premature.” Accordi Web site, the four fo

ration continues to unfold Antwerp Hill

ulated to members discussion and, , immediate The document, otes, will be the evision and House as a whole” March, 2004. In the g bishop also reports on with the terbury in which the it clear that the working out a form opal ministry lies e. Indeed,” he nsultation envisaged statement of the cisely that and does kind of direct s part.” (Go to copalchurch.org/ NG_HTM.htm t of Bishop

servative the Rt. Rev. Robert ofile leader of n Council (AAC) op Robinson, mation of a can Communion hes,” of which he rator. A December of Agreement” C Web site glican.org/News/ &c=21) asserts that operate in good onstitution of

are South Carolina, Fort Worth, Dallas, and Pittsburgh. A disclaimer posted on the Web site notes: “The four bishops listed above were the initial signatories. Nine additional bishops have also added their names to the Memorandum. A Bishop’s signing the memorandum DOES NOT mean that their diocese has joined the network” (www.americananglican.org/News/ News.cfm?ID=920&c=21).

December 18: Episcopal News Service (ENS) reports that “’Via Media’ groups are resisting calls for realignment, redirection” provoked by the consecration of the Rev. Canon Gene Robinson. The report (online at http://gc2003.episcopalchurch.org/ ens/3577_23833_ENG_HTM.htm) offers a lengthy list of groups that have formed throughout the U.S. On the same day, in our neighboring diocese, South Carolina, the Rt. Rev. Edward Salmon, based on information that its vestry had met to begin the formal process of withdrawing the parrish from the diocese, removes the vestry and wardens of All Saints, Waccamaw, on Pawleys Island. Bishop Salmon cites the vestry’s violation of loyalty to the diocese under the constitution and canons. (See January 27 below.)

s interview Bishop serts, in contrast to statement (see ), that the terbury has ormation of such a n the words of the um, “in coArchbishop of e Primates, shall providing of l oversight.”

All Saints, Waccamaw, is home to the breakaway Anglican Mission in America (AMiA), a “missionary outreach” of the Anglican Provinces of Rwanda and Southeast Asia launched in January 2000 with the “irregular” consecration as bishops of two traditionalist priests, the Rev. Charles Murphy III, former rector of All Saints, Pawleys Island, and the Rev. John Rodgers of Pennsylvania. All Saints sued its bishop to obtain a ruling that the diocese could not prevent the transfer of the church property outside the diocese. That suit is currently pending before the SC Court of Appeals.

confusing. , Bishop Duncan at some 13 dioceses n the network to on as the pal Church in the ough several e 13 dioceses nection to the group, nouncement is ding to the AAC founding dioceses

Because AMiA actions, including four additional “irregular consecrations” in 2001, took place outside all formal structures of the Anglican Communion, these bishops are not recognized by the See of Canterbury, nor are they accepted by ECUSA. In an interview soon after his consecration in Singapore, Charles Murphy noted that AMiA’s launch marked the beginning of “the unraveling” of the Episcopal Church.

2004 January 8: A majority of the 1,000+ membership of All Saints, Waccamaw (see December 18, above), votes to leave the Diocese of South Carolina and ECUSA. (See also January 27 below.)

January 8-9: As a prelude to the Plano East” conference (see below, January 9-10), St. Philip’s, Charleston, hosts a two-day “think tank” called “The Future of the Anglican Communion,” sponsored by the Anglican Communion Institute (www.anglicancommunioninstitute.org), a group that sponsors conferences and publishes books on Anglican doctrine.

Keynote speaker is West Indies Archbishop Drexel Gomez, one of several primates who refuse to allow supporters of Bishop Robinson to minister in local churches.

January 9-10: “Plano East,” conference sponsored by the American Anglican Council (AAC), a group that proclaims itself “a network of individuals, parishes, specialized ministries and Episcopal bishops who affirm Biblical authority and Anglican orthodoxy.” The title of the conference refers to an earlier (October 2-3) meeting sponsored by the AAC and held in Plano, Texas, to air conservative reactions to General Convention and begin to formulate strategies for realignment.

“Plano East” is billed as a prelude to a gathering to take place, again in Plano, on January 19-20 (see below), with an eye to “formally establish[ing] a network of traditionalist Episcopal congregations throughout the United States.” (See above, December 15.)

January 14: The Washington Post reports on a “confidential document” attributed to the AAC, charging that, despite “public denials of any plan to break away from the 2.3 million member Episcopal Church USA, leaders of the traditionalist camp intend to severely challenge the authority of Episcopal bishops.”

The memo, dated December 28 and signed by AAC member the Rev. Geoff Chapman, details a two-stage process for dismantling ECUSA as it currently exists in favor of a “replacement jurisdiction” committed to “biblical faith and values” and “closely aligned with the majority of world Anglicanism.” AAC authorities

respond, emphasizing that Chapman is not an official spokesperson for the group, reiterating their intention to work within the Church, and disavowing the strategy outlined in the memo.

January 15: Bishop Henderson informs clergy and lay leaders in Upper South Carolina that the Rev. Charles (“Chip”) Edgar, formerly of the Diocese of Chicago, has resigned his parochial post there, indicating that he will be serving under the bishop of Rwanda for the purpose of planting new AMiA-affiliated churches in our diocese.

As a member of a breakaway “missionary outreach” of the Church in Rwanda (see December 18, above) the Rev. Mr. Edgar, in Bishop Henderson’s words, “is not licensed for any purpose or function in the Diocese of Upper South Carolina.”

Our bishop has communicated with both the bishop of Rwanda and the archbishop of Canterbury, protesting the divisive, extra-canonical activities of Edgar’s “missionary outreach.”

January 19-20: “Plano II” conference, a second meeting at Christ Church in Plano, Texas (see above, January 9-10), results in the official launch of the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes (see above, December 15) and the adoption of a structural charter for the organization.

A news release distributed by the AAC pledges that the new network “will operate within the constitution of the Episcopal Church” and reiterates the earlier assertion that the network “was formed in faithful response to a recommendation of the Archbishop of Canterbury as well as other Anglican Primates.”

Thirteen of the some 100 dioceses in ECUSA are cited in the organization’s charter, which is online at www.americananglican.org/News/ News.cfm?ID=952&c=21.

January 27: South Carolina’s Bishop Salmon meets with some 40 All Saints members who do not wish to leave ECUSA (see January 8, above), reiterates the congregation’s status as a parish of the diocese, and confirms a new vestry to lead the congregation, which will continue to be known as All Saints, Waccamaw. According to media reports, Bishop Salmon assures the faithful that suitable worship space will be found.

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&

SC State Day smashing success

Hundreds of South Carolinians participate in National Cathedral worship service National Cathedral News Service Scores of South Carolinians took part in a major service and celebration November 16 at the landmark Washington National Cathedral, an event that featured a musical performance from 150 men, women, and children in the acoustic-rich house of worship.

Dozens of Episcopal parishes from all parts of the state had joined to organize special adult and children’s choirs that debuted at South Carolina State Day at the national house of prayer. The voices of more than 80 youngsters performing early sacred music and modern spirituals flowed from the chancel steps while 67 men and women joined in from high above in the cathedral’s south balcony.

“It was exciting, I’ve never done this before,” 10-year-old Carly Campbell of Anderson said after the performance. “It sounded pretty good.

We practiced for three months.” Added Steven Cauley, 8, from Anderson: “This was cool.”

Some of the 33 acolytes present at the liturgy on SC State Day assemble for the opening procession.

The 25-minute musical program was directed

by Karen Harmon of Columbia and Scott Bennett of Charleston. It served as the prelude to a worship service led by the state’s two Episcopal bishops and a bishop representing the South Carolina Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

The participation of seven cadets from The Citadel and an official proclamation from Gov. Mark Sanford added to the Palmetto State flavor. The service was attended by 1,095 worshipers, including more than 400 visitors from South Carolina, plus natives who live in the Washington area.

Dr. Daniel W. Massie, senior pastor of First (Scots) Presbyterian Church in Charleston, was featured as guest preacher at the 11 a.m. worship service. He addressed the congregation from the historic Canterbury Pulpit, from which the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., delivered his last Sunday sermon.

Gov. Sanford declared November 16 as “South Carolina State Day” in a signed proclamation that was read at a reception after the service by his Washington representative, Blair Goodrich.

The Rt. Rev. Edward L. Salmon, Jr., bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina, was celebrant.

The Rt. Rev. Dorsey F. Henderson, Jr., bishop of the Diocese of Upper South Carolina, and the Rt. Rev. David A. Donges of Columbia, bishop of the South Carolina Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, were co-celebrants.

South Carolinians played key roles throughout the worship. Nell Barr of Columbia, a National Cathedral Association (NCA) regional volunteer leader, and Ben Hutto, a Charleston native who is director of performing arts at the National Cathedral School for Girls and St. Alban’s School, read Scripture. Carolyn Donges

Lucy Bullock, Haley Moore, and Audrey Neal prepare for the youth pilgrimage candlelight tour of National Cathedral.

of Columbia, Lucy Bullock of Columbia, Leila Fenhagen of Charleston, Darby Collins, an NCA volunteer leader from Charleston, and Bobbi Kennedy, an NCA trustee from Columbia, carried gifts to the altar during the offertory.

Thirty-three acolytes representing 18 congregations participated in the service-opening procession, carrying colorful banners and placing them to the side of the altar. Cadet Staff Sgt. Robbie Kirk carried the South Carolina flag during the procession, accompanied by six other cadets from The Citadel.

After the service, the NCA sponsored a reception recognizing all South Carolina participants.

The Rt. Rev. A. Theodore Eastman, vicar of Washington National Cathedral, welcomed the visitors, cathedral officials thanked the NCA’s regional volunteer leaders and association members in South Carolina, part of a network of more than 13,000 people in every state and around the world.

It takes a family . . .

African priest honoring unusual call in Spartanburg area

By Melinda McDonald Imagine the surprise of the greeters at St. Margaret’s in northern Spartanburg County when a man carrying a briefcase speaks with a British accent and tells them that he is an African priest! This was the scene at 10:25 a.m. on November 23, 2003, as St. Margaret’s greeter Dewey Michelin went to get interim rector the Rev. Roy Cole.

The Rev. Alban Sylwin Katemba, Malawian Anglican priest, had come to worship with his family at the beginning of a new chapter in his own ministry, as primary caretaker for his grandson Trevor. Nine-month-old Trevor is the first child of Katemba’s son, Eddie, and Eddie’s wife Elisa, both of whom are family practitioners in the Spartanburg area.

In 1997 Elisa, a Michigan native, chose an elective course that took her to Blantyre, Malawi, where she met Eddie, who was running a local hospital. They became friends, and after completing her course, Elisa returned to the States to continue her medical training. Their first date was in Singapore after a year of correspondence, and in 2000 they married.

Eddie was eager to broaden his training, and, because Elisa had done a residency at Spartanburg Regional, they decided to settle in the area.

When they found out they were expecting a child, the concept of having one of Eddie’s family members join them to take care of Trevor evolved. Eddie’s sister, Monica, came over first, for a period of six months. As her stay came to

an end, Fr. Katemba made the journey. His wife, Ruth Katemba, will be coming to the States later in the spring to have time with grandson Trevor and with her caretaker husband before they return to Malawi, where they will continue to care for extended family back home.

Their extended family now includes St. Margaret’s, where Eddie Katemba has offered to assist with coaching the state championship St. Margaret’s soccer team, part of the church’s outreach program designed to make participation in youth sports affordable for all members of the community.

“As human beings, we are born to love, to live, and to worship God,” states Fr. Katemba. “As a priest, I was called to serve. I was working for

Extending the extended family: The Katembas, Monica, Elisa, Fr. Katemba, Eddie, and nine-monthold Trevor

Malawian government in agriculture for 26 years, teaching about the three main food groups. Now I am teaching about the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.” Katemba has been a priest since 1986, having completed five years of theological study by extension and then five years’ residential study under the auspices of the Zomba Theology College, an ecumenical institution in southern Malawi.

Katemba had been an elder for many years in the Presbyterian church, but he had Anglican ties from missionaries who taught him as a child to read and write. Both of his parents were educated by missionaries. Katemba is enhancing his English skills while he’s in the Upstate. English is an administrative language in Malawi, while the Bantu language Chichewa, in which Katemba is accustomed to conducting services, and other regional languages are spoken.

Malawi is a slender country, slightly smaller in area than the state of Pennsylvania, located in lower central Africa on the eastern side of the continent, nestled between Zambia Mozambique, with Tanzania on its northeastern border.

It was a British protectorate until 1964 when it was established as an independent nation. It became a democracy in 1994. Katemba participated in that transition too, working as a trainer of trainers to monitor elections. His bishop has kindly allowed him a leave of absence to spend time with Trevor.

Melinda McDonald is a member of Church of the Advent, Spartanburg.

What is it about the Episcopal Church that told you, you were “home”? Whether you’re a cradle Episcopalian or a seeker who’s recently found your place, Upper South Carolina wants to know your story. Yours is, perhaps, the most important story of all as we as One Body seek to live into our One Mission, which is Changing Lives.

Send your story to Crosswalk, 1115 Marion Street, Columbia, SC 29201, or to phill@edusc.org. All contributions must include author’s name, home church, and contact information.

Why am I an Episcopalian?

The churches of the Gravatt Convocation have committed to building an elementary school facility at Blanchard, Haiti, one of the villages surrounding Cange, where Upper SC has been active for more than 25 years.

This commitment was made in thanksgiving for the ministry of the Rt. Rev. William A. Beckham, sixth bishop of the diocese, who began the outreach to Cange.

Building the school is a three-year project with an estimated cost of $50,000. At the Cange Symposium

held last fall at Christ Church, Greenville, Gravatt Convocation representatives presented the first “installment” of their pledge— more than $13,000 representing contributions from Church of the Resurrection, Greenwood; St. Thaddeus, Aiken; and Trinity, Abbeville.

Those individuals or groups who wish to join the Gravatt effort may send checks payable to DUSC, Cange/Blanchard Project, 1115 Marion Street, Columbia, SC 29201.

The idolatry of sameness Reflections on 1 Corinthians 12:4 By the Rev. Herman Yoos “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same spirit. There are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but the same God who activates all of them in everyone.”

1 Corinthians 12:4 If ever there was a lesson the church in Corinth needed to learn, it was that variety and differences in the body of Christ are not threats but blessings of the Holy Spirit.

The tendency among those first Christians was to try and make a cookie-cutter kind of Christian, with everybody stamped out of the same mold. Sameness in the body of Christ was thought to be good and holy. For instance, if speaking in tongues was a good thing, then every Christian should speak in tongues. If serving others in a soup kitchen was important, then every Christian should take his or her turn in the soup line. If teaching the faith was important, then everyone should teach the faith in the same way. Of course, the result of trying to achieve this kind of sameness was that it led to bitter arguments,

conflict, and disagreements about how to accomplish it.

Wisely, Paul reminded those Christians and reminds us today that God loves variety and that differences of gifts, interests, and abilities are the work of the Holy Spirit and should be celebrated.

There is no single “cookie-cutter” way to worship God or to live out one’s faith in Jesus Christ. Our unity, therefore, does not come from sameness of actions, gifts, or services, but rather from our willingness to use what God has given us in service to the same Lord.

Dear God, free me from the idolatry of sameness and open my eyes to the incredible variety of gifts with which you bless your people with. Free me to use my own special abilities and talents for your loving purposes in the world. In the name of Jesus Christ. Amen.

The Rev. Herman Yoos is pastor of Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Columbia. This reflection was originally published as a Good Shepherd email devotion and is used with permission.

www.edusc.org Our diocese online!

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How’s this for an epiphany?

Gravatt Convocation builds Haitian elementary school

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By the Rev. Jeffrey Meadowcroft Did you ever ask yourself why ing or around celebrating such you attend the Episcopal Church? events as Christmas or my own perWhy among all the religions of the sonal entering into worship. world and all the denominations For example, I like to kneel to pray. that exist you attend an Episcopal It just seems like the position I Church? Even if you were born into should assume before God. I like to this Church, as I was, you could cerwear a collar that identifies me as a tainly switch, so why here? The folpriest in a hospital or when I am lowing is simply my answer to that making a pastoral visit. Often I have question. It is a good question and if had people come up to me and ask you would ever like to discuss it, I for prayers because I am wearing a would be delighted to do so. collar. I like distinguishing between There are three aspects of our the seasons by the use of colors and Church which are very attractive liturgical events by the use of vestto me. ments. I like participation in worship 1. We are a church rooted and by having different people do differbased in Scripture. We are the Enent things and by the way worshipglish wing of the Protestant Reforers change position when reading or mation, which emphasized a return praying or praising God. Ritual to Scripture. The Book of Common gives comfort and involvement to my worship. I have attended serPrayer that we use is filled with vices in other denominations, such Scripture. Our services contain four readings at some length from the as funerals or weddings, and felt as if I was just there and had no part in Bible. Every priest at ordination is the service. In the Episcopal Church asked by the bishop: “Do you believe the Holy Scriptures to be the everyone has a valued part in worship. It is the difference between beWord of God?”— to which he or she ing a participant and a spectator. must answer “I do.” Our Church teaches that nothing can be taught 3. We are a positive Church. We rarely lead by fear or judgment or as necessary to salvation which is guilt, which is in tune with the way not taught in Scripture. Often I have asked people who visit another I see Jesus leading. When the rich young man walks away, Jesus church to tell me of one that has doesn’t send a lightning bolt or call more Scripture in their worship than we do, and no one ever has. after him with threats of hell’s fire.

2. We are a church of ritual parThe Bible tells us that Jesus “loved ticipation. Ritual gives meaning to him” and let him go. The Bible also promises that whatever we have my life, whether it be the ritual I have around getting up every morndone or wherever we have been, the Father sees us from afar and welcomes us home. I need those promises. And I do not need more guilt. I have enough of that already. Jesus said “I did not come to judge the world.” If Jesus did not, then who am I to do it? I want the Church to lead as he did, by acceptance, by love, by compassion, by openness, by example, even if that example leads us to the cross.

We have a long way to go in all these areas. Scripture needs to be more than what we read in church.

It needs to be what we live everyday. Ritual needs to be understood, entered into, and experienced, not just followed by rote. We, too, fall into judging, often into judging the judges—just ask a fundamentalist.

“How sweet it is!” The Rev. Dr. But being positive isn’t enough; we Philip Whitehead, rector of St. need to know the One about whom Michael & All Angels, Columbia, we are positive, and let go of the rest. is bussed by a camel named The Rev. Jeffrey Meadowcroft is Abraham during the St. rector of the Church of the Epiphany, Michael’s Epiphany celebration.

Laurens.

Let the building begin!

The Rev. Peter Hawes (left), rector of Church of the Resurrection, Greenwood, and Dr. Mark Myers (far right), chair of the Gravatt Convocation’s Haiti Task Force, pose with Cange priest the Rev. Fritz Lafontant and his daughter Marie-Flore.

February 2004 ................................................................................................

The Episcopal Church welcomed ME!

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ECW Bena Dial Scholarships winners The Episcopal Church Women of the Diocese of Upper South Carolina have proudly announced the 20032004 recipients of the Bena Dial Scholarships. Thanks to the generosity of the Diocese of Upper South Carolina Episcopal Church Women, four $1,000 scholarships —were awarded.

Margaret Elizabeth Langford— Grace Episcopal Church, Anderson Langford began her volunteer service with the church as an acolyte, eventually becoming a lector and chalice bearer. After moving to Anderson from Texas, to help her adjust to the move, she participated in the Episcopal Youth Community.

She was also an active member in the Diocesan Youth Leadership Commission. At T. L. Hanna High School, Langford was a member in the band, Speech and Debate Team, Key Club, and the STRA Club. Other activities in which she participated include the Spanish Club, Students in Action for Education, and the National Honor Society. She is attending the University of the South at Sewanee. With the ultimate goal of attending law school, her plans are to study history/government with an emphasis on communications.

Garrett C. Hill—Christ Church, Greenville As an active member of Christ Church, Hill was the music leader for EYC. He had the honor of serving on the Youth Committee whose purpose was to call a new youth leader. At Greenville High School, he was a member of the National Honor Society, the Fellowship of Christian

Students, and the high school tennis team. Volunteer work for many organizations has been a big part of his life. He is attending the College of Charleston, where he is pursuing pre-medicine studies.

Michelle Freeman—Christ Church, Greenville As a member of Christ Church, Freeman was active in the EYC; in 2002, she participated in a mission trip to Haiti. She attended Wren High School, graduating as salutatorian of her class; she was the National Merit Commended Student for 2003. While in high school, she was a member of the marching band; participated in two drama productions; and served as historian of NHS and First Priority (School Christian Club). Freeman also attended Governor’s School for Arts and Humanities Summer Honors Program in 2001. She plans to major in biology at the University of Virginia.

Jennifer Pilat—Trinity Cathedral When attending Irmo High School, Pilat was a member of the Beta Club, the National Honor Society, the French Honor Society, and the Spanish Honor Society. She participated in the Air Force Junior ROTC and was named the Most Outstanding Female Cadet her sophomore year. She is an accomplished musician who plays a number of instruments, including the clarinet, saxophone, flute, tuba, and French horn. She has sung in the choir at Trinity for several years. She is currently attending the University of South Carolina.

Upper SC ECW calls for Bena Dial Scholarship applicants The Episcopal Church Women in the Diocese of Upper South Carolina will offer one or more scholarships to students in our diocese for the school year 2004-2005. The recipient of a Bena Dial Scholarship will use it to attend as a full-time student any accredited college, vocational school, or graduate school.

Criteria for selecting a BENA DIAL Scholar are as follows: 1. 50% - Academic and Extra Curricular School and/or Community Activities 2. 25% - Church Activities 3. 25% - Financial Need • The applicant must be an ACTIVE Episcopalian and a resident of the Diocese of Upper South Carolina.

• He or she must have at least a “B” average from high school or college; he or she must submit an official transcript of this school record.

• The applicant must submit official test score results from the SAT or ACT for high school (and college students) or the GRE (for graduate students).

The applicant shall submit: 1. The Bena Dial application form.

2. A personal letter of intent and financial assistance information.

3. Three (3) letters of reference a. one from his or her priest; b. one from a teacher, principal or professor, and c. one from an adult in the community, reflecting the character of the applicant, as well as his or her chances of success in higher education or professional life.

The Bena Dial Scholarship is a one-time award and the number available is dependent on the money received from individual contributions, as well as money designated and received from the congregational branches of the EPISCOPAL CHURCH WOMEN in the diocese. It is generally anticipated that one or more scholarships of $1,000.00 will be awarded. Recipients will be announced in May 2004.

All information should be sent directly to the BENA DIAL CHAIRPERSON and must be postmarked no later than March 1, 2004.

For additional details or to receive a scholarship packet, contact the BENA DIAL CHAIRPERSON: Mrs. Eunice Robinson, 4039 Pinecone Drive, Columbia SC 29204, (803) 754-2489.

I WILL WITH GOD S HELP A LENTEN QUIET DAY OF MEDITATION AND MUSIC Sponsored by the Upper SC ECW

Saturday, February 28, 2004 St. Simon and St. Jude, Irmo •10:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

•Registration/Coffee - 9:00 a.m.

Cost $10.00 - Includes Lunch

Please send name, address, and your church name to

Pam Steude, Worship Chairperson 3544 Wessinger Road, Chapin, SC 29036

(803) 345-1767

l Chapel destroyed in Gravatt fire vestments housed in Cullum Hall may be recovered, although it is impossible to state such with certainty at this time.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 send a check payable to the Diocese of Upper South Carolina, with “Cullum Hall Fund” on the memo line, to Diocesan House, 1115 Marion Street, Columbia, SC 29201.

PLEASE NOTE . . .

Gravatt is still up and running, but asks that vestries, mission committees, and other groups coming for retreats and other events bring Eucharistic vessels and altar linens.

The Bishop Gravatt Center has established a fund to help defray the costs of rebuilding and recovery that will not be covered by insurance. Individuals wishing to The main entrance to Cullum Hall, on the day after the make a donation may fire (photo by Steve Peterson).

l Crosswalk to undergo changes downloads) for congregations, and support the new orientation of Crosswalk.

TEACH AND INSPIRE The new Crosswalk will be published quarterly with an emphasis on providing information and resources of use to individuals and congregations as they live into the diocesan vision of reclaiming our Lord’s Great Commission. Disciples making disciples—“Teach” and “Inspire”— are the guidelines for content; a new look, contemporary, easy-on-the-eyes, with color front and back, will deliver articles and features devoted to the spiritual journey and designed to uphold disciples and equip those disciples to reach out to others awaiting the invitation. Each “new” Crosswalk issue will focus on a single theme. The publication will

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1 kick off with Transformation— (what else?) the theme for Eastertide. Semaphore, Inc., of Columbia has contributed the design for the new publication and is also developing templates for the new electronic news.

STAY TUNED! More information will be available soon in all congregations, to all recipients of Crosswalk, and on the Web at www.edusc.org. It’s a promise. All things new at Eastertide!

TO GET INVOLVED Crosswalk welcomes your suggestions and your participation. Artists, photographers, writers, reviewers, cartoonists et al.—please contact Peggy Hill at Diocesan House, 803771-7800, phill@edusc.org.

Patty Willett, a junior in the master of divinity degree program at Sewanee: The University of the South’s School of Theology, has been elected the seminary’s student representative to the university’s Board of Trustees. Sponsored by the Diocese of Upper South Carolina, she is a Greenville native and a member of Christ Church. As trustee representative her duties will involve attending meetings and participating on committees, and she plans to promote the relationship between students at the School of Theology and the College of Arts & Sciences.

Willett’s interest in Sewanee goes a little deeper than that of most seminarians—all three of her daughters are enrolled in the col-

lege. Anna, a senior majoring in French studies and a member of the swim team, was joined on campus this year by her mother and twin sisters Molly and Lauren. As first-year students and avid players on the tennis team, Molly is studying English and Lauren is interested in economics and French.

“My fellow students probably nominated me because I’m so involved in the seminary and the college,” laughs Willett. She and her husband, Joseph F. “Buzz” Wi l l e t t , h a v e s e r v e d o n t h e S e w a n e e P a re n t s C o u n c i l f o r three years, chairing it this year.

“The university does a great job of giving us a bird’s-eye view of what goes on—this information

is invaluable to me as a parent.”

Willett would like to see a closer relationship develop among college students and seminarians.

Among other things, she plans to encourage seminarians to do work/study at the college. “Last year, a senior seminarian kept statistics for the swim team,” she said.

“They all got to know one another and he went to the conference meet. This kind of relationship benefits all of us.”

In addition to the seminary, the School of Theology’s Programs Center offers spiritual growth and leadership opportunities, education at-a-distance (the Education for Ministry Program), and continuing education for laity, clergy,

Patty Willett

and congregations. Sewanee is owned by 28 Episcopal dioceses, the only university so directly related to the Episcopal Church.

l Epiphany

l Link2Lead resources developments and other identifiable demographic groups surrounding your congregation.

Through MinistryMatch this section of Link2Lead helps users identify the most requested needs and preferences of the people in your community; ministries can then be planned to meet those needs.

“My World”—Although change is threatening and it’s hard to keep pace, change is a fact and it’s essential to know what the future will be like and how change will affect it. Will change take place in the same ways as it always has or will change evolve differently?

This area of Link2Lead helps users begin thinking about change and offers information on moving ahead in the 21 st century with thoughtfulness.

Percept, through Link2Lead, can also provide congregations with

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 more specific and detailed information through questionnaires and additional demographic information tailored to individual needs.

These services are available for a fee. But no matter whether you want additional information or use only the information that is provided on the Web site via the diocesan account, you will gain new information that will enable you and your congregation to make better decisions about your ministries.

Grab your browser and head to Link2Lead, NOW! The Rev. David F. O. Thompson is rector of St. Bartholomew’s, N. Augusta, and Great Commission Commissioner for the diocese.

The Bowen Conference—Fiction and Faith: An Invitation to Spiritual Renewal through Film, March 2–4.

Keynoter is the Rev. Dr. William H. Willimon, dean of the chapel and professor of Christian ministry, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina.

For more information or to register: (828) 692-9136, info@kanuga.org, or www.kanuga.org.

l “Clear vision” CONTINUED FROM PAGE 3 all disciples are needed for the mission of the Church. None are to be driven off.

My prayer for us all is that we will look on the present divisions in our Church not as fights to be won, but wounds to be healed. I pray that we would see that in winning votes, there is no victory, only division and impoverishment both of our selves and of those outside the Church whom, to paraphrase

St. Paul, we are called to make rich.

I pray we would understand, as St. Augustine said, that patience is indeed the companion of wisdom.

I hope our prayers and efforts will prevent faithful and sincere disciples from being lost to us.

Belton T. Zeigler, one of our diocesan congregational consultants, is a member of Trinity Cathedral, Columbia.

l Parish profile CONTINUED FROM PAGE 12 would attract mostly young people, but it has attracted many older people as well.

St. Thaddeus is also home to Mead Hall. It is an Episcopal day school that was established in 1955 and was just coming out of a slump when Mozeliak arrived. Since he has been there Mead Hall has hired headmaster Kitty Gordon, who is a St. Thaddeus parishioner, increased teachers’ salaries, and

raised the student population from 120 to what is now the maximum capacity of 174 students. Mead Hall educates students from 3K through eighth grade. Their motto is “excellence in education in a Christian environment”—a noble calling which they live every day.

Kimberley Higgins is a member of St. Paul’s, Batesburg.

......................................................................................................

gradual, but some come to faith in a crises and can give you the date and time of “the bolt of lighting”.

During this year open yourself up to the story of faith that you have.

Share this story with others, celebrate your story in the community of faith. The young boy praying in the car was living into his faith and sharing with his grandmother and his sister. I wonder how he came to tell others of his belief, and I wonder how you might share your faith with those who need to hear the good news of God in Christ Jesus and the Holy Spirit?

The Rev. J. Philip Purser is diocesan canon for Christian Formation. Contact him at (803) 771-7800 or via e-mail to ppurser@edusc.org.

At Kanuga . . .

crosswalk

are a part of my believing faith.”

As a young child I believed in God; at the age of five I knew that God loved me. At the age of nine I professed Jesus Christ as my Lord and Savior, the one who saves me from sin and death, and was baptized. When I was 12 I found a church home where the teachers of my Sunday school class showed me what care and nurture of the faith was about, in part by sharing their faith with me. At the age of 18 I was nurtured by my parish priest and other adults in the power of the Spirit. I confirmed my faith in the Episcopal Church and moved from being alone to being an active part of the Body of Christ.

Coming to “own” my faith was

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February 2004 ................................................................................................

Upper SC seminarian Willett selected trustee representative at Sewanee

................................................................................. February 200

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Parish profile . . .

Saint Thaddeus, Aiken

By Kimberly Higgins Who: St. Thaddeus. Parish. Gravatt Convocation. 125 Pendleton Street, Southwest, Aiken, South Carolina, 29801; (803) 648-5497; www.st.thaddeus.org. Average Sunday attendance 326. Rector: the Rev. Leon C. Mozeliak Jr.; transitional deacon: the Rev. Jerry DuBose.

Where: Along a row of old shade trees sits the white stuccoed church, located on one city block in historic downtown Aiken. The graveyard lies between the sanctuary and the other church structures, and boasts the final resting place for such notable South Carolinians as the botanist Henry Ravenel and the poet James Matthews Legare. It is also the final resting place of both Union and Confederate soldiers, who died in the 1865 Battle of Aiken.

When: St. Thaddeus was the first church structure built in Aiken, although it is not the oldest religious community. The first Episcopal congregation began in 1840 and the church was built two years later, with the cornerstone laid on September 5, 1842. The Cornish Building houses St. Thaddeus’s current offices, as well as the Cornish Memorial Chapel, named for the second rector of St. Thaddeus Church, who served for about 30 years? The Rev. Leon Mozeliak, current rector, came

to St. Thaddeus from Connecticut about three and a half years ago. He celebrated his first service with the members on the first Sunday in May of 2000.

Why: Soon after Mozeliak arrived, St. Thaddeus changed its vision and mission statement from a paragraph to just a few words: “Bringing people closer to Christ.”

Says the rector, “We balance everything we do at St. Thaddeus to see if it’s in line with that statement. Are we bringing people closer to Christ?” The goal is to make St. Thaddeus a very welcoming place.

“We welcome new people at the beginning of every service of Holy Eucharist and we encourage our people to? live into the mandate of our Lord’s Great Commission, which is what our bishop wants us to do,” says Mozeliak.

For the last three years St. Thaddeus has been exhorting the vestry and the parish at large to “go out and really reclaim the Great Commission,” Mozeliak notes. “We got a bit side-tracked by the happenings at General Convention but we are starting to get focused again.”

What: With the new mission focus, their average Sunday attendance has been increasing. Their children’s ministry has doubled and tripled since calling Shirley Roberts to serve as Christian formation di-

rector, a year and a half ago. With Roberts’s input the number of youth who are active in the parish has also grown. There are now about 60 to 70 youth who attend on a regular basis. Although not all are from St. Thaddeus, many are friends of the youth who attend. St. Thaddeus also has a married adult group with about 30 couples. “Even though Aiken is considered a top retirement community, we are not just a retirement church,” adds Mozeliak. St. Thaddeus has close to 40 organizations and ministries in which the parishioners can be involved, such as the Alpha Program, Daughters of the

King, and Stephen Ministry to name a few.

St. Thaddeus offers three different services on Sundays, including a 5:00 p.m. service with a focus on contemporary, praise music— “the type of music you would hear at Cursillo, a more emotional music, praise hymns, with guitars, keyboard, percussion, and, hopefully, soon some electronic drums,” says Mozeliak.

The musicians are of all ages and come from every walk of life. Initially it was thought that this service

CONTINUED ON PAGE 11

DIOCESAN CALENDAR FOR FEBRUARY AND MARCH FEBRUARY 1

Bishop’s visitation to St. Matthew’s, Spartanburg Bishop Harris’s visitation to St. Philip’s, Greenville

6–8

Communications Workshop (Print and Internet for Church Communications), Piedmont Tech, Newberry

8

Bishop’s visitation to St. Timothy’s, Columbia

12-15

5-6 7

Diocese-wide ski trip to Winterplace, WVA

7

9-11

MARCH

Clergy Pre-Lenten Retreat, Gravatt

8-9

13–14 14

Cursillo #98, Gravatt

15

Bishop’s visitation to St. Simon & St. Jude, Irmo

16

Presidents’ Day. Diocesan House closed.

22

Bishop’s visitation to St. Matthias, Rock Hill

28

“Love One Another,” Piedmont Convocation Conference on Pastoral Care in the Local Church, St. Christopher’s, Spartanburg 29

ECW Diocesan Board Retreat, Gravatt Bishop’s visitation to St. Bartholomew’s, N. Augusta Examining Chaplains, Gravatt

Diocesan basketball tournament, hosted by Christ Church, Greenville Bishop’s visitation to St. Andrew’s, Greenville Bishop Duvall’s visitation to St. Mary’s, Columbia

19-20 21 26–28 28

“Becoming Stewards of Stewards” conference, Gravatt Bishop Harris’s visitation to St. Francis, Greenville Happening #51, Gravatt Bishop’s visitation to St. Paul’s, Batesburg

Bishop’s visitation to St. Michael’s, Easley

Please contact Peggy Hill at the Diocesan House (803) 771-7800, phill@edusc.org, if you have information for the calendar.