Christmas 2008
Crosswalk
Around the Diocese —continued from page 2 Mr. Ellison, “a mentor in the faith to many,” was honored for his tireless commitment to a multitude of ministries within the Church and the community. Ms. McCrory was hailed by Bishop Henderson as one “never content to accept things as they are,” an “idealist” and “pioneer” who has long “sought to break both barriers and glass ceilings . . . utilizing her gifts inside and outside the community to work for biblical justice and peace.” Ms. Williams was recognized for her steadfast
Bishop Henderson with the recipients of the Bishop’s Cross, James Ellison, Jacquelyn Williams and Sarah McCrory
In announcing the fund, DEC president the Rev. Fletcher Montgomery cited the “dignity, faithfulness, and uncompromising commitment to Christ’s mission” with which Bishop Henderson serves the diocese and expressed “heartfelt affirmation of our bishop’s belief that ‘the congregation is the frontline of the Church’ and the key to the health of the diocese.” More information on the Legacy Fund will be available at www.edusc.org/Leadership.
New Gravatt chapel awaits consecration Gravatt’s new, free-standing Chapel of the Transfiguration, built to replace the chapel that burned with Cullum Hall in 2003, is ready for action. Designed by John Powell of LTC & Associates and constructed by Pizzuti Builders, the chapel will be consecrated by Bishop Henderson on Februrary 16. Gravatt continues to seek donations to help with completion of the chapel. Chairs can be dedicated for $250 each and funds are needed for landscaping and construction of a labyrinth. To make a donation, visit www.bishopgravatt.org or contact executive director Lauri Yeargin 803.648.1817, bishopgravatt@wildblue.net.
commitment to our diocesan ministry in Haiti, where she founded, and continues to develop, The Artisan Center, which teaches skills, nurtures creativity, and provides employment to people of the Central Plateau. Recognizing the honorees, Bishop Henderson presented each with a sculpted glass Jerusalem cross made by Shannon Norris of Fireworx Glass Studio, Candler, NC. Although the crosses were sculpted following a single design, each was individually made, so that it is, like its recipient, unique.
Diocesan Executive Council launches Bishop’s Legacy Fund At the Celebration Dinner on Friday, October, 17, following the business of the 86th Diocesan Convention, Diocesan Executive Council (DEC) called for the creation of the Bishop’s Legacy Fund to honor Bishop Henderson’s ministry among us and secure the future of the diocesan Healthy Church Initiative launched in 2006. The Bishop’s Legacy Fund provides an opportunity for individual Upper South Carolinians to honor our bishop by helping to build an endowment that will nurture and support congregational development in the diocese in the years to come. The fund will enable Upper SC churches to continue the work they have begun under the Healthy Church Initiative—to dream, plan, grow, and reach out, adding new programs, erecting new facilities, and launching new initiatives that would not otherwise be possible. The goal is to have 2,600 Partners in the Bishop’s Legacy Fund, that is, 10% of the total membership of the diocese, who pledge an amount from $25.00 to $100.00 per month over a 36-month period.
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Partnership Cange Symposium highlights ministry in Haiti, launches Bread & Water Campaign By Jeanne Keane On October 11, people from throughout the diocese gathered at Holy Trinity, Clemson, to learn more about Upper South Carolina’s ministry in Haiti, with its many successes and current urgent needs. Ms. Gillaine Warne, who has worked with the agriculture program since its inception, described the program’s development from a small hillside plot where she taught terracing, irrigation, composting, and propagation to the current huge farming operation geared to producing food medication products, including the peanut-based mixture Nourimanba,
which has saved so many starving children, and Nourimil, a food supplement made from rice or corn and beans. The Family Assistance Program is changing lives by teaching families how to develop their own gardens. Agents trained in Cange take on ten families each, with free seeds, citrus and mango tree seedlings, garden tools, and a goat. These families then share with others seeds, plants, produce, and eventually a baby goat. It is a joy for them to have something to share.
Bread & Water Symposium participants also learned about the Bread and Water Campaign, a $1+ million-dollar diocesanwide campaign to support urgent needs in the Cange area, including the restoration of the original water system built by members of our diocese in 1984. Dr. Harry Morse said that medical teams from this diocese to Haiti had long concluded that the greatest boon to improving health in Cange had been bringing clean water to the mountaintop village. The original water system, built to serve some 800 people, is now trying to serve more than 8,000 and is on the point of collapse. This would leave the hospital and villagers with only one week’s supply of water. An entire new system is crucial and is needed immediately. The hospital in Cange and clinics in outlying villages served more than two million patients last year. The current Bread and Water Campaign is necessary, not because we have failed, but because we have done so well. Bread & Water funds will also be used to help build a learning center which will include animal husbandry, reforestation, poultry and rabbit raising, fiberglass and charcoal manufacture, cottage industries, music, art and summer camps for children. Ms. Jeanne Keane is a member of Trinity Cathedral, Columbia
To make a donation to the Bread & Water Campaign, visit www.edusc.org/Cange and click “Make a donation” or contact Julie Price at Diocesan House, 803.771.7800, ext. 23.
All Saints’, Beech Island, dedicates new pipe organ By John Paul On November 8 Bishop Henderson dedicated the newly installed pipe organ during Evening Prayer at All Saints’ Church in Beech Island to the praise and glory of God. The organ was presented to the bishop by the the Rev. Charlotte Waldrop, vicar, Mr. John Paul, senior warden, and Mr. Ralph Newman, junior warden. The church was filled with members and friends for the service who were then treated to an organ recital by All Saints’ organist Mr. Everett Summerall.