ABUNDANT Times is the official news publication of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts.
The diocesan offices are located at:
37 Chestnut Street
Springfield, MA, 01103-1787
Call us: (413) 737-4786
Visit us: www.diocesewma.org
Follow us: @EpiscopalWMA
Abundant times
The Rt. Rev. Douglas J. Fisher IX Bishop of Western Massachusetts, Publisher
The Rev. Vicki Ix
Managing Editor
Alison Gamache
Layout and Copy Editor
At Diocesan House
The Rev. Steven Wilco
Interim Canon to the Ordinary
The Rev. Vicki Ix Canon for
The Rt. Rev. Mark Beckwith Missioner for Spirituality and Leadership
The Rev. Christopher Carlisle Director, Building Bridges Veterans Initiative
The Rev. Jennifer Gregg Missioner for Servant Leadership
The Rev. Ignacio Solano
Hispanic
Iam blessed to be writing my column for an issue of ABUNDANT Times that will reach households around All Saints Day. This convergence would always be special but, this year, I get to spotlight a new (unofficial) saint of our church –Charles R. Johnson.
In 2000, I arrived at Grace Church in Millbrook, NY after concluding my service at West Point Military Academy as Episcopal Chaplain. In Millbrook a friendship with Bill Augerson, US Army general retired and physician, quickly took root. Together, we discovered the story of Charlie Johnson whose family were faithful members of Grace Church. They were people of color in a mostly white congregation. Charlie was an outstanding athlete and student. He was drafted into the Army during the Korean War.
From the Bishop
The Rt. Rev. Douglas J. Fisher IX
Bishop of Western Massachusetts
Charlie served at Outpost Harry when it was attacked at the middle of the night by enemy forces. Witnesses testified to how he carried numerous wounded soldiers to safety across a field under heavy fire. At one point he took a position all alone between the attackers and the American army to hold them off. Many soldiers were saved because of this action. Tragically, Charlie was shot multiple times and died from those wounds.
I was a very small part of an effort to get this hero the Medal of Honor. On January 6, 2020, long after I left Grace Church to be bishop here in 2012, President Joseph R. Biden awarded Charlie Johnson the Medal of Honor posthumously. Grace Church raised funds to erect a stained-glass window in the church to commemorate this saint who gave his life for his fellow soldiers. They invited me back to bless this window and it was an awesome honor.
My time at West Point has a special place in my heart. I have been in correspondence with so many graduates
in their times in Iraq and Afghanistan. In our diocese, we have served over 150,000 free meals to veterans through Building Bridges. Our commitment to veterans is an essential part of who we are as a diocesan community.
At the same time, President Donald J. Trump is demanding that colleges delete references to the contributions of people of color to our country and all references to our history of enslavement. We must tell the story of Charlie Johnson and reject these demands to alter the truth of history. Jackie Robinson biographies have a place in the library of every school and military academy. I salute Charlie Johnson and all people of color who have served and built this nation. They make America great and we owe it to those who made the ultimate sacrifice to be the best country we can be in the days ahead.
Surrounded by a great cloud of witnesses… let us run with endurance the race that is set before us (Hebrews 12:1).
Amen. ♦
+Doug
The new stained glass windows at Grace Church, Millbrook, NY Photo: www.gracemillbrook.org
Your Mission, Your Gospel, Our Future!
The 124th Annual Diocesan Convention Including the Election of the Tenth Bishop
November 14-15, 2025
The 124th Annual Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts will be held on Friday and Saturday, November 14 and 15, 2025. As noted in the first Convention mailing, we are gathering once again at The Conference Center at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. All voting delegates must be present at the convention venue.
Important notes:
Registration for Convention is open
The registration fee for this two-day Convention is $100 per person. Each registrant will be asked for their email address, status at convention, and any dietary or accessibility needs. You may use this link or visit the convention website and click the registration button. Registration closes November 5.
Convention Website
Full details of the convention can be found on the convention website: www.diocesewma.org/convention. This will be your hub for all information pertaining to both days of the Convention, including profiles of the candidates for bishop.
Hotel Rooms
Recognizing that many delegates may not wish to travel all the way home on Friday evening, blocks of hotel rooms have been reserved at local Amherst hotels. Rooms should be reserved directly by delegates.
Rooms must be booked by October 15.
Smart Device Needed for Voting
We will once again use the SimplyVoting platform for elections and any additional resolutions. All delegates will need access to a “smart” device in order to access the voting platform. A voting site will be available in the Convention hall for those who do not have a smart device.
Friday Evening Dinner
While we are not organizing one big dinner on Friday evening, we recognize that the opportunity to gather together with old and new friends from across the diocese is always a highlight of Convention. To that end, we invite any affinity groups or ministries to consider facilitating a no-host dinner at a local restaurant. Delegates may then choose to
join with others for a casual dinner where stories and experiences may be shared and fellowship deepened. Any interested groups or ministries should contact the Secretary. We will help organize and communicate about these dinners, and options will be shared on the website.
Prayer Requests
Throughout our convention the Daughters of the King (DOK) will be offering prayers for Convention and all requested prayers. Please scroll down on the convention homepage for the DOK logo to submit your confidential prayer request. All prayer requests will be passed on to the DOK prayer team on Friday, November 14.
UTO Offering
Plan to bring your parish’s UTO offering to Convention. ♦
Scan the QR code below to register for convention.
Ms. Wende Wheeler, Secretary of Convention.
Photo: submitted
Convention Week Events
Pre-Convention Meeting
November 12, 7pm via Zoom
This meeting is strongly recommended for all delegates. We will discuss resolutions coming before Convention, voting procedures, and important information pertaining to the election of our Tenth Bishop. Zoom links will be provided to registrants.
Budget Q&A
November 14, 11am UMass Amherst with CFO, Kimberly Foster.
The 124th Annual Diocesan Convention
November 14, 12:15pm Call to Order UMass Amherst
Includes the Bishop's Address to the Convention.
Convention Week Events
Convention Eucharist
November 15, 9am UMass Amherst and our YouTube channel www.youtube.com/@EpiscopalWMA
The Rt. Rev. Douglas J. Fisher presiding.
The Election of the Tenth Bishop
November 15 following Convention Eucharist UMass Amherst
Watch for news on our website and social media!
Convention Chaplains
The Rev. Julie Carson Holy Spirit, Sutton Dean, Worcester South Corridor
Mr. Will Harron Saints James and Andrew, Greenfield Coordinator, Province 1
Convention Schedule
Friday, November 14
• 10:00 a.m. - Registration opens
• 11:00 a.m. – Budget Q&A with CFO Kim Foster
• 11:30 a.m. – Buffet lunch and gathering time
• 12:15 p.m. – Noonday Prayer and Call to Order
• 5:00 p.m. – Evening Prayer and Adjourn
Dinner on your own. Small group gatherings will be facilitated for those interested.
Saturday, November 15
• 8:00 a.m. - Registration opens
• 8:00 a.m. – Continental Breakfast available
• 9:00 a.m. – Convention Eucharist
• Election of the Tenth Bishop of the Diocese of Western Massachusetts
Ballots will be taken until our next bishop is elected. Buffet lunch will be provided.
Final Report from the Search Committee
This past January the Search Committee was charged with entering into a period of discernment for the election of our 10th Bishop. Our work was to include:
1. Listening to the people of this diocese by convening listening sessions.
2. Drafting the diocesan profile, including a Call for Nominees, by Easter Monday.
3. Prayerfully consider the candidacy of nominees, shortening the list of applicants to approximately 10 finalists.
4. Providing for a thorough process of references and background checks.
5. Convening the finalists for a discernment retreat in September.
6. Presenting a final slate of at least four candidates to the Standing Committee before September 22.
The committee began our work together in earnest at the discernment retreat on January 18. We introduced ourselves, identified norms to guide our work, and agreed on a decision-making method. We have approached our decision making by using a consensus model first (thumb test), with parameters that should a decision feel more substantive, any member could ask the Chair to instead take a formal vote that required a majority. In the end, every substantive decision was made with consensus.
At the first meeting, we broke into five subcommittees, responsible for different aspects of our work together. The description of each committee below also includes notable events that took place during this process.
The Listening Subcommittee was responsible for listening to those within our diocese. The members were committed to a process of listening by beginning at the margins of our diocese (smaller congregations with part time or no clergy; outdoor worshiping communities; an EpiscopalLutheran community; Spanish speaking communities; our historically black congregation; etc.) and then move their way inward toward the Cathedral as the heart of our diocese. Fourteen
listening sessions were held, ten in person and four online (including one for young adults). These were held between February 8 and March 2 at the following congregations (listed in order of sessions held) St. Helena’s, Lenox; All Saints, North Adams; Christ Trinity Church, Sheffield; St. Paul’s, Holyoke; St. Paul’s, Gardner; St. Peter’s Springfield; All Saints, Worcester; Holy Spirit, Sutton; St. Philip’s, Easthampton; and Christ Church Cathedral.
In addition to these listening sessions, sessions were offered for clergy within their deaneries; interviews were also held with diocesan staff, missioners, and leaders across our diocese; and a survey was offered which garnered fifty responses. It became clear that while we have growing edges, as a whole, this is a healthy diocese that has been loved and led well by our current bishop. As we look to the future, we know we will need to make some changes to our administrative structure, tend relationships across congregations of all sizes, and become ever more agile in the changing landscape of the church.
In early March, the Listening Subcommittee presented their findings to the Search Committee, which were accepted and affirmed. The baton was passed to the Profile Subcommittee. This subcommittee was responsible for crafting the profile that potential candidates would use to discern whether to apply. This involved pulling together essential facts about our diocese; describing life in Western Massachusetts; using the Listening Report to share who we are as the people of God in the diocese, and what we are looking for in our next bishop. The committee also spent time researching and discussing the design and seeking quotes from parish wardens and clergy describing their parishes for use in the profile.
On March 22, at St. John’s, Northampton, the Profile Subcommittee led the Search Committee through a process of reviewing and editing our draft profile in small groups. After those edits were incorporated, the team shifted the remainder of our work online, fact
checking the profile with diocesan leaders and staff; and collaborating with a copy editor and designer. We gathered as a Search Committee online on April 1 for a final review, and the profile was accepted and affirmed as representing our diocese and what we heard in our listening sessions. The profile emphasizes we are looking for a bishop who is: a bold and prophetic leader with strong organizational skills who will strategically equip and mobilize us for mission and ministry; a faithful, wise, and pastoral leader who will speak the truth in love to their people; and a strong leader who has a heart for justice, diversity, and inclusion, is committed to the gospel, and is a faithful witness in the public square.
Meanwhile, the Communication & Education Subcommittee, was busy announcing the listening sessions and the listening survey, seeking profile input, requesting prayers, and periodic updates on the work of the Search Committee; releasing the profile and slate; offering educational information on the role and function of a bishop, and the canonical process of electing a bishop. To this end they held three educational online gatherings: March 9 and March 11 in English; March 13 in Spanish.
This subcommittee utilized our diocesan email list, website, and social media for our communications. All communications, including the profile itself, were offered in both English and Spanish, thanks to the translation efforts of the Rev. Joel Martinez. When the profile was released on Easter Monday (April 21), it was communicated through the same channels, shared with over forty organizations, word of mouth, and featured in a month-long paid advertisement on Episcopal News Service. In anticipation of announcing the slate, the committee outlined a timeline and process, including the layout and materials to be posted on the diocesan website. Throughout this process, the support of the Rev. Vicki Ix and Ms. Alison Gamache, our diocesan communications leaders, have been invaluable.
Continued on next page
The Processing & Screening Subcommittee was responsible for determining the process for screening applications; collaborating with the Profile Subcommittee in creating a Call for Nominees and required application materials; organizing interviews and reference calls; determining what questions would be asked at each stage of the process; and collaborating with the Chair on a process for shortening the list of candidates. This subcommittee proposed a process and plan for screening to the Search Committee at our March 22 meeting; it was accepted and affirmed.
Nominations were open from April 21 to May 20. We had a diverse pool of candidates that reflected a vast array of experience, theological perspective, and backgrounds. Nominations were received from 6 of the 9 provinces. Between May 21 and June 13 every candidate and their three references were interviewed by a team online; all materials for each candidate, including interviews, were reviewed by all committee members; and interview teams prepared summaries of candidates and their references’ feedback.
On June 14, the Search Committee gathered at St. John’s, Northampton to discern which candidates to invite to the retreat, pending background checks, and which were to be thanked and conclude discernment. The committee spent the day in prayer and engaged in discernment activities to help determine which candidates had essential skills noted in our profile and which candidates the committee was the most excited about and drawn to continue discerning with at the retreat. There was consensus on all decisions, and then the complete lists of continuing and concluding candidates were then affirmed again by consensus.
The Retreat Subcommittee was responsible for organizing the discernment retreat with candidates. This included identifying a retreat location; instructing candidates about what to prepare, hospitality details, travel
arrangements, and reimbursement; crafting an agenda in collaboration with the Chaplains and Chair. The committee gathered at Genesis Spiritual Life Center in Westfield on September 11-14 and crafted a retreat that was focused on mutual discernment. Candidates were asked to lead a brief daily office, make a presentation, engage in dialogue and reflection on Episcopal vows, and think creatively about the church of today and tomorrow.
The Search Committee gathered to reflect on the candidates throughout the retreat. The committee noticed these candidates were largely people of great joy, able to inspire and encourage those they serve, while mirroring for us that this was something we were seeking in our next bishop, without even fully realizing it. Similarly, we noticed these candidates were primarily from larger dioceses, equipping them with a different sense of how a diocese can organize itself for effective mission and ministry. As expected, each candidate was a person of deep faith, wisdom, and skilled leadership.
Over the course of the weekend, it became abundantly clear the committee was unanimously enthusiastic about three of these candidates. Their gifts, skills, and experience were the most aligned with the qualities the profile described we sought in our next bishop.
On September 20 the Search Committee gathered to pray and discern the final slate, leaning on the same process used in June. The proposed slate was offered with great care and hope for where God will lead our diocese under the leadership of our tenth bishop.
The proposed slate is as follows:
• The Rev. Susan B. Fortunato, she/her
• The Very Rev. Dr. Marcus George Halley, he/him
• The Very Rev. Miguelina Howell, she/ her
The committee wishes to offer its thanks to those who supported this process,
known and unknown: those who prayed for this process; parish leaders who engaged and supported these efforts; for the good folks at Genesis Spiritual Life Center who hosted our retreat; Ms. Blanca Silvestrini, our Consultant, who journeyed with us offering us insights throughout our process; Mx. Aaron McMurray, our Search Administrator, who kept us organized; Mx. Liv Combest, Office and Operations Manager at St. John’s, Northampton who managed our hospitality at all day meetings; the Rev. Vicki Ix and Ms. Alison Gamache, who kept our communications out in front of our diocese; the Rev. Steven Wilco, Interim Canon to the Ordinary, and other diocesan staff who helped answer many questions and handled invoices in our process; the Rev. Rich Simpson, who offered his guidance on search processes as previous Search Committee Chair; the Rev. Nathaniel Anderson, who was available to answer questions that arose in our process; and the Chaplains, the Rev. Julie Carson and Mr. Will Harron. They were a gift to this committee and our process. They led our worship, were frequently called upon to pray throughout our gatherings, and were there to listen and walk alongside us.
Yours in the peace, love, hope, and joy of Christ. ♦
• The Rev. Heather Blais, Chair - Sts. James and Andrew, Greenfield
• Mr. Richard Delorme - St. Francis, Holden
• Mr. William Frazier - St. Stephen’s, Pittsfield
• The Ven. Jane Griesbach - Archdeacon
• The Rev. Jenny Gregg - Cathedral of the Beloved, Pittsfield
• Mr. Caleb Ireland - Grace Church, Amherst
• The Rev. Joel Martinez - St. Paul’s, Holyoke
• The Hon. Judith Philips - Christ the King-Epiphany, Wilbraham & St. Peter’s, Springfield
• Ms. Amanda Watroba - St. Stephen’s, Pittsfield
• The Rev. Anna Woofenden - St. John’s, Northampton
• Dr. Adrienne Wootters - St. John’s, Williamstown
Slate of Candidates for the Tenth Bishop of the Diocese of Western Massachusetts
The Rev. Susan B. Fortunato
Rector - Christ Episcopal Church, Poughkeepsie, NY
The Very Rev. Dr. Marcus George Halley
Chaplain to the College and Dean of Spiritual and Religious Life - Trinity College, Hartford, CT
"Throughout this process the Standing Committee has had every confidence in the work of the Search Committee. We feel confident that each of these candidates would make an outstanding bishop in Christ’s Church. We ask that you continue to join us in prayer as we discern together who God is calling to lead us and to serve among us at this time and in this place."
The Rev. Nathaniel Anderson, President, Standing Committee
Photo: Search Committee
Photo: Search Committee
Photo: Search Committee
ANEW ministry supports LGBTQ+ immigrants with help from St. Mark’s, East Longmeadow
The Rev. Vick Ix Managing Editor, ABUNDANT Times
This interview with Claire Sygiel, President of ANEW the LGBTQ Asylum Project, and member of St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in East Longmeadow, has been edited for length. The mission of ANEW is to provide support for LGBTQ people who have requested asylum in the United States because of the violence they have experienced in their country of origin. Read the full mission of ANEW in the sidebar.
Claire Sygiel: I knew nothing about asylum seekers, LGBTQ folks, anything until I made the home visit to Ted Grueser, the co-founder of ANEW, who wanted to adopt a retired racing Greyhound from the adoption group I volunteer with. When I went to meet with him at his apartment in Worcester, as part of getting to know him and seeing if he would be a good match for a Greyhound, we started talking about his work and he told me a little bit, but not a lot. I see now that maybe he wasn’t sure what my feelings might be about it. But,
as we got to know each other through the dogs, we became friends. He told me more about his work with the LGBTQ Asylum Task Force. The stories that he told me about some of the young men that he was working with were horrific. It wasn’t until he brought one young man to the airport, where we were getting new Greyhounds, that I met Sam. I just couldn’t understand how somebody would be so mean, so cruel to him and his family for the simple reason that he was gay.
At that point, it was just little things that I could do for those folks. Then Ted said to me one day, “Do you think your church (St. Mark’s) would be interested in helping to support us? I know Worcester is not right around the corner, but what do you think?” I asked Mia [the Reverend Mia Kano] and she was very supportive. She said, “I think there are people at Saint Mark’s that this would resonate with.” Soon after, asylum seekers from Worcester came to speak at our church.
They were very well received which surprised me a little bit, because it was so out of the realm of what was happening at Saint Mark’s.
That’s when we began to cook some meals for their community dinners that they have once a month in Worcester. We met more and more people through those community dinners. Then an asylum seeker named Jason wanted to take a phlebotomy course. According to the Cleveland Clinic, a phlebotomist is a medical professional who is trained to perform blood draws. They collect blood for testing or donation and can also perform blood transfusions. The cost was $1,500 and our outreach budget is not that big, but we decided that this is an investment in his future. He’s was going to be leaving the program soon and he would need to support himself. So we went for it and we sponsored him for that. Of course, he did very well in it.
In March 2024, Ted asked Claire if she would work with him to open an ANEW home in Springfield and she agreed. Ted became aware of an asylee in need and that spurred the set-up of an apartment in Springfield.
Claire Sygiel: Javier was having trouble in Guatemala for being gay. He’s still in this apartment and doing well. And then Amari came this past January as the second person, because it’s a two bedroom. Our plan was to secure a bigger place, so we could have more people come. We’ve had four or five people approach us who wanted to join the program but they’re not in the US yet. They’ve heard of ANEW and asked to come from Afghanistan and Nicaragua. There is a need but funding is very difficult. We were very grateful that the New Hope ministry gave us some money and then the Global Missions Committee [of our diocese] granted us money twice. First Church of Christ Longmeadow and South Congregational church in Springfield have also supported us. We just secured a grant from Edwards Church in Northampton. We’re hoping this will take care of the rent and the stipends for Javier and Amari until they’re out of the program at the end of the year [2025].
The week of our interview, Claire learned that Ted needed to relocate to Georgia to care for his aging parents. This means
the eventual end of ANEW in Springfield. When the apartment is empty, ANEW will open housing in Georgia. Claire began the interview with this disappointing news, thinking we would no longer wish to tell the story. I assured her that what has been done for the love of Christ is always good news.
Claire Sygiel: I’m going to take care of things here and see what happens after that. As for Saint Mark’s, I would say any time that the young men have come from Worcester to dinners we had, or they’ve come to some church services, they were very, very welcome. They have said to me that this was not their experience in their countries with the church.
“Church told us we were going to Hell. We were not worth anything. And here we are welcome in a church service.” So that did mean something to them. And Jonah, another asylum seeker, who has joined our choir, comes pretty regularly. They were in the Worcester program. They are on their own now. They’ve been coming, so it’s great.
EDITOR: It’s one thing to be welcoming. It’s another thing to affirm that LGBTQ persons are children of God and beloved just the way they are.
Claire Sygiel: Yes. Jonah, who has been coming to church, identifies as nonbinary. So when they came to speak
Our Mission:
ANEW, the LGBTQ Asylum Project, supports LGBTQ people who are fleeing extreme violence in their home countries due to their sexual orientation and are seeking asylum in the US. Asylum seekers cannot legally work for up to 180 days after petitioning for asylum. This can lead to homelessness or dangerous means of survival.
ANEW provides housing, food and a stipend for basic needs while asylum seekers wait for their work authorization. We seek to find pro bono legal services to help asylum seekers navigate the asylum process. Physical and mental health services are also available.
During the months of waiting for asylum to be granted, ANEW seeks to provide a sense of community. Leaving behind home and family is difficult. Sharing meals and participating in volunteer opportunities can help to ease an asylee’s transition to the United States.
www.anewlgbtq.com
Sam is the first asylum seeker Claire met whose story opened her heart to the difficulties that LGBTQ asylym seekers face. They have remained friends and see each other often. Photo: submitted
Jason returned to St. Mark's Church with the certification in phlebotomy that he earned through the church's sponsorship of his course. He is now fully employed in his chosen profession.
Photo: submitted
"The stories that [Ted] told me about some of the young men that he was working with were horrific. It wasn't until [...] I met Sam. I just couldn't understand how somebody would be so mean, so cruel to him and his family for the simple reason that he was gay."
to our church, they wore a dress. They came to join the choir, and sat in the middle of two choir members who were in their 80s. But, you know, they came and hugged our church members and it was great. So, that to me is what it was all about. That they just felt comfortable enough to come that way. And these two gentlemen in their 80s, it was fine. They sang along with them.
EDITOR: How beautiful. You’ve given me a new image of what the reign of God looks like, you know where everybody belongs. Where everybody has a place, where we presume God’s love for everyone. It must have made you very proud of Saint Mark’s.
Claire Sygiel: I definitely was.
EDITOR: We all have a lot to learn about new ways of expressing one’s gender in the world. But one thing we don’t have to learn as Episcopalians is, the dignity of every human being. That’s all we have to know. People who express their gender in new and different ways will teach us the rest and all we have to do is be respectful and loving.
Claire Sygiel: Yes, definitely. I want to tell you about seeing Jason at work. This was another defining moment to me. Amari was having a medical issue, so we went to urgent care in Worcester to Family Health Center. He met with the doctor there who ordered blood work. And who was working there in the lab but Jason. It was on a Saturday so he was the only
one in the lab. To see the two of them together was just…wonderful.
EDITOR: This kind of ministry reminds me of that starfish story. A woman is throwing starfish from the beach back into the surf and a passer-by wonders what difference that will make with so many stranded on the sand. She says, “It makes a difference to this one.” ANEW is one person at a time, and it makes a difference to that person – your love, your care, your support.
Claire Sygiel: Yes.
EDITOR: Well, maybe when ANEW phases out in Springfield and has a new birth in Georgia, you might consider how Saint Mark’s might connect with the Rainbow Initiative [LGBTQ+ Asylum project sponsored by Episcopal Relief and Development]. I think you’re going to need a rest first, a little break from the intensity of being part of a new ministry founded in Springfield. And you’re president now, right?
Claire Sygiel: Yes, I am. Ted is the ministry director.
EDITOR: And all through this window between 2023 to 2025, these specific human beings found life and hope in the United States because of you. You have that for your whole life to know that you did that.
Claire Sygiel: It’s extraordinary. I’m kind of sad, you know. I just didn’t expect
this [closing of the Springfield program]. But things happen and I understand completely that family comes first….I think with the Edwards grant, I don’t have to worry too much about the finances. Javier got his work papers. So, the agreement was that he would have five months after he gets the work permit to get himself set to go. Amari might not get his work papers until October, so he will have five months after that. They’re just such wonderful guys that, you know, I love working with them. And I’m just so grateful that they’re still going to be here for this time.
EDITOR: Well, I understand your sadness. It’s like this new thing was born. And you’ve put so much love and energy into it.
Claire Sygiel: So much.
EDITOR: Mother love, really, for these young adults who have been through terrible things – things that we just can’t imagine.
Claire Sygiel: Yes.
EDITOR: It’s clear that your soul is in this. God doesn’t waste any of our gifts so if this one door closes with ANEW, another door will open and you’ll find another way to give your love in God’s time.
Claire Sygiel: That’s great. I’m willing. ♦
The Church in the Streets
As movements for justice and peace have taken to the streets, so has the Church in our diocese. Many congregations used the summer months to stand up for the values of the Gospel with intentional public witness. As we continue to discern what people of faith can do to protect the vulnerable and stand with the oppressed, we are grateful for the example of our neighbors who found a way to show up and proclaim the love of God in Christ. ♦
▲ June 8, Stand Up for Jesus at St. Stephen's, Pittsfield.
Photo: submitted
▼ May 14. L-R: Ila Parker; Elizabeth McAnulty; Gail Mulczynski; the Rev. Michael Bullock.
Photo: Thad Bennett
▲ Bishop Mark Beckwith giving witness in Jaffrey, New Hampshire.
Photo: submitted
◄ June 7, Ashfield Churches Together in the streets of Greenfield for Franklin County Pride.
St. John's, Ashfield
◄ June 14, Springfield, MA.
L-R: Wende Wheeler, St. Andrew's Longmeadow; Bishop Doug Fisher; & Rev. Dr. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas. Photo: submitted
Photo:
► Public witness created by the community of All Saints, South Hadley. Photo: submitted
Book Review - Martin Luther King: A Religious Life
Reviewed by J. Scott Jackson
Each January, Americans celebrate the life and legacy of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. They rehearse his leadership in efforts in the 1950s and 60s to integrate buses, lunch counters, and schools. Picture books, featuring a smiling King, grace the display shelves of public libraries. Clips of his iconic “I Have a Dream” speech, delivered in front of the Lincoln Memorial during the 1964 March on Washington, evoke King’s inclusive call for a society in which white and black children join hands and where everyone is judged by their quality of character, not their skin color. This idealized MLK, a non-threatening, “plaster saint” claimed by political liberals, moderates, and even conservatives, simplifies a complex man and his challenging teaching, according to University of Colorado (Colorado Springs) historian Paul Harvey. Indeed, he notes, it was not always so. At the time of his assassination in April 1968, after enduring years of FBI surveillance and constant harassment and defamation by government authorities, King was profoundly mistrusted as a dangerous radical, perhaps even a Communist, by millions of white Americans. Conversely, many Black Power activists on the left believed that King and the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) he had led, with their appeals to broad, interracial audiences and their unwavering commitment to nonviolence, had not gone far enough in confronting the systemic racism that has plagued our history for four centuries.
This intellectual biography seeks to redress distorted images of King and his legacy and to make the insights of recent scholarship available to a broader audience by tracing the roots
of his religious, philosophical, and political thought and the ways these commitments shaped his vocations as a pastor, activist, and global champion of human rights. “King championed the cause of non-violent civil disobedience and spoke to local people’s grievances as well as national political issues,” Harvey writes. “He did so by combining prophetic black church Christianity, social gospel liberal Christianity, Gandhian nonviolence, and the best of American civil religion.” (77). As Harvey ably shows, King from his student days onward held together a (broadly) liberal theological standpoint and a radical commitment to social democracy in politics and economics. If anything, his courtship with and marriage to Coretta Scott, an activist in her own right, only sharpened those commitments. Although he was influenced by theologian Reinhold Niebuhr’s profound account of individual and social sin, King was more deeply animated by Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and the traditions of Christian personalist idealism in forging his vision for a Beloved Community that would harmonize the demands of love and justice. Though he tempered his more radical economic and political views in addresses aimed at broad, interracial audiences, he often expressed himself more candidly in sermons aimed at the black community or in talks given to labor groups.
King identified himself, first and foremost as a preacher, grounded in the prophetic black church tradition. Born in 1929, he grew up in the Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where his father was the pastor. Though more theologically conservative than his famous son,
King’s father imbued the young King with a spirit of fiery resistance to the humiliations he endured in the Jim Crow South. Precocious and brilliant, the young King excelled as a student – first at Morehouse College in Atlanta, then, as a graduate student at Crozer Theological Seminary in Pennsylvania and in the doctoral program at Boston University. More in line with the habits of preachers vamping freely on a variety of source material than with the stricter protocols of academic scholarship, King sometimes failed to attribute his sources properly in his school essays. Still, his professors recognized his potential and some urged him to pursue an academic career. But King was destined for the pulpit – in Boston, in Montgomery, and in Atlanta,
Martin Luther King: A Religious Life by Paul Harvey Rowman and Littlefield, 224 pp., 2021
but more crucially in the broader national pulpit where he was the most eminent spokesman for racial justice. In May 1954, King accepted a call to Dexter Avenue Baptist Church in Montgomery, Alabama, where he would soon earn national notoriety as an organizer and advocate during the bus boycott. The successful boycott led to the U.S. Supreme Court decision banning segregation in public transportation. The efforts of King and others to build upon it would prove fraught. As his growing role as a spokesman and activist made the task of pastoring a congregation daunting, King moved to Atlanta, and co-pastored the Ebenezer Baptist Church with his father.
One key challenge was in maintaining the discipline of nonviolent resistance he had embraced during the boycott through the advocacy of Bayard Rustin and others. Both ideologically and pragmatically, the goal of non-violence is not defeating opponents but winning over the hearts of oppressors, by evoking a salutary sense of moral shame. This ethical stance would be tested, especially in the later 1960s, as younger radicals became increasingly disillusioned with the mainstream civil rights movement. Still, in the Birmingham campaign of 1963, the SCLC, in concert with local activists on the ground, deployed this nonviolent strategy beautifully, though such efforts evoked reactionary, racist violence – most notoriously in the 16th Street Baptist Church bombing that murdered four young girls. Later that year, President Kennedy was assassinated, as was the Mississippi activist Medger Evers. The March on Washington helped urge the passage of the monumental Civil Rights Act of 1964. When King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, he took it as a vindication
"Although
he was influenced by theologian Reinhold Niebuhr’s profound account of individual and social sin, King was more deeply animated by Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount and the traditions of Christian personalist idealism in forging his vision for a Beloved Community that would harmonize the demands of love and justice."
of his nonviolent worldview. Another high point was the march from Selma to Montgomery for voting rights, which itself came at the cost of the murders of several protestors. Amid such successes were frustrating, abortive campaigns in such cities as Albany, Georgia, and St. Augustine, Florida.
Toward the end of his life, King turned his efforts northward, for example in a campaign with ambiguous results in Chicago, while he began to advocate publicly for a more comprehensive program of social and economic transformation transcended the earlier civil rights goals of ending legal segregation. He attacked housing discrimination and police brutality, and he argued that jobs and redistributing income to the poor were prerequisites for the liberation of African Americans. These emphases were part of a three-pronged campaign against poverty, institutional racism, and disempowerment. King’s vision was increasingly converging with that of Malcolm X, when the former Nation of Islam spokesman was gunned down in a New York theater. In the last years of his life, King alienated the Johnson administration and many white liberals and moderates with his opposition to the war in Indo-China. As he had for years, he connected the struggle for liberation at home with antiimperial and anti-colonial movements abroad; King was an early advocate for divesting from South Africa’s apartheid
regime, a novel idea at the time that would bear fruit two decades later.
At a personal level, King suffered from burnout, feelings of inadequacy, and episodes of despair, as he took refuge in bouts of drinking and extramarital affairs. His sermons grew darker and more ominous, though perhaps also more incisive, and he expected to be killed at any time. “King often cast himself as the suffering Jesus, ready to lay down his life; later, he increasingly cast himself as an Old Testament prophet, who expressed the wrath of God for the sins of a society,” Harvey writes (153). His last campaign was to advocate for sanitation workers in Memphis, Tennessee, where he was assassinated on April 4, 1968. This is the Martin Luther King, Jr. – the complex, hopeful, broken, radical, and incisive prophet – that fine texts like Harvey’s can help us retrieve today. ♦
J. Scott Jackson is an independent scholar and theologian who lives in Northampton.
Creation Care is the work of community
Marilyn O'Connor
All Saints’, South Hadley
This Creation Care story began several years ago. While out walking my dog, Nora, neighbors of mine were picking up litter – alcoholic “nips.’ They told me they picked up 92 bottles! I thought to myself, “No more of that.” I began to pick up litter of all kinds when I was out walking my dog. That grew into a Creation Care community project for Trinity Church in Chicopee. Parishioners gathered together and got quite a bit of cleanup done.
When Trinity Church closed [in 2022], some of us continued our cleanup work. As I was working one day, our City Council member, Mary Beth Pniak Costello, offered to help and that is how cleanup at the “island” began. The island is an area between two busy streets in Chicopee that was overgrown, full of trash, and was used as a dumping site. As we began to clean up the area, more neighbors began to help. Some trimmed brush, others picked up litter. Our effort was really helped when a wonderful business across the street mowed down overgrowth. These people live and have their business across the street and were thrilled people were actually cleaning it. It was such a blessing to see the community come out to help, to see the power of community engaging this problem. It was an amazing blessing!
All Saints’ Church in South Hadley, where I am now so grateful to be a member, began several Creation Care projects after my arrival. We created pollinator gardens and built raised beds for veggies and herbs. Parishioners came together to make the new gardens, to care for them and to enjoy the fruits of our gardens such as tomatoes and herbs. We have even received compliments from our neighbors.
I would say that this is a story of the power of community and of love for our community as we care for God’s beautiful Creation. This started with a simple act of picking up litter and grew, with the assistance of our neighbors, to caring for many other areas of God’s Creation in Chicopee and South Hadley. It amazes me. I am so grateful that this work will continue. The work of climate justice is large scale and immediate, but we each have a call to tend our garden. We each must model love for the Creation. As Chief Seattle stated, “Teach your children what we have taught our children, that the Earth is our mother. Whatever befalls the Earth befalls the Sons of the Earth.” ♦
The "island" in Chicopee, MA. Photo: submitted
Pollinator garden at Lawrence House in South Hadley, MA.
Photo: submitted
Photo: submitted
The Third Annual Human To Human Golf Tournament: "a great success"
Mark Rogers Director, Human to Human
On September 8th, 15 teams of golfers—old and new, good to not-so-good, from near and far— all gathered for the Third Annual Human to Human Golf Tournament at the Ledges Golf Club in South Hadley. We were there to raise money in support of Human to Human and, of course, to have some fun.
Human to Human is a mission of the diocese which supports organizations to do God’s justice by sharing Jesus’ mission of mercy, compassion, and hope in the world.
Among the organization we support are Building Bridges, which provides a meal and community to over 1,000 of our veterans each month; Marie’s Mission in Worcester which provides diapers for hundreds of families; Laundry Love; a chaplain serving the Women’s Correctional Center in Chicopee; Lydia’s Closet, Longmeadow; and more. All of these organizations certainly share our mission.
We raised over $22,000 dollars. We appreciate all of the players and sponsors. Each year, the number of golfers and money raised has increased.
See you next year. ♦
Chancellor Don Allison and the Rev. Nathaniel Anderson.
Photo: submitted
Bishop Fisher and his team.
Photo: submitted
Ordinations
Elle Morgan Ignacio Solano Pickett
to the Sacred Order of Priests
June 14, 2025
Kathleen Kopitsky
to the Sacred Order of Priests
June 14, 2025
to the Sacred Order of Priests
June 14, 2025
Chandler Poling
to the Sacred Order of Deacons
September 20, 2025
Chandler grew up in Church of the Brethren, where his deep sense of compassion, service, and community took root. Over time, his
spiritual journey led him to the Orthodox Church, where he became a priest and spent several years offering care and guidance to those in need. He left the Orthodox priesthood by choice after some personally difficult times.
Much of his professional life has been devoted to serving people experiencing
homelessness, bringing not only practical support but also a deep sense of dignity and presence to those often overlooked. Now, as he continues to follow his calling, he has been ordained to the Episcopal Diaconate, having been drawn to a tradition that blends liturgy, inclusivity, and a commitment to social justice. ♦
Rev. Chandler Poling stands left of Bishop Fisher.
Photo: submitted
Welcome to WMA
The Rev. Cynthia Pape
Christ Church, Rochdale & St. Luke's, Worcester
CThe Rev. Rebecca Grant
Grace Episcopal Church Amherst
ynthia was formed, raised up, and ordained to the diaconate on June 6, 2009, at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston, MA and served faithfully in the Diocese of Massachusetts for 16 years. She served as deacon to the Cathedral Church of St. Paul; St. John’s Church, Jamaica Plain; Old North Church, Boston; St. Chrysostom’s Church in Quincy; and St. John’s, Charlestown.
Bishop Fisher has assigned Cynthia to serve Christ Episcopal Church, Rochdale and St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Worcester. As those congregations walk closely together in mission, they now share a deacon who will bring her gifts to this mutual ministry. ♦
RRebecca was ordained deacon in the Episcopal Diocese of Maine in June of 2009 by the Right Rev. Stephen Lane. During her sixteen years of ministry, Rebecca first served at St. Mark’s in Augusta. She remained there as St. Mark's and Prince of Peace Lutheran were federated and became Emmanuel Lutheran Episcopal Church. In 2018, Rebecca moved to the Cathedral of St. Luke’s in Portland, Maine where she served as deacon for seven years.
Over the course of her ordained life, Rebecca has worked with a variety of outreach ministries, helping to form a clothing bank, feeding program, and essentials pantry. She has participated in prison ministry, facilitated Sacred Ground groups and she is trained in conflict resolution, and diversity, equity, and inclusion. ♦
Installation of new Dean of Cathedral
May 3, 2025 - "Blessed to pray at Christ Church Cathedral as we installed Jose Reyes as the new dean. Enthusiastic congregation for a liturgy in English and Spanish. In this picture is the Cathedral’s Deacon Kate DeRose, Jose and his family, and my predecessor as Bishop of WMA, Gordon Scruton, who knew Jose as a child growing up at our Cathedral. The Jesus Movement Rolls On."
