ABUNDANT Times Winter/Spring 2024

Holy Listening

Cover Photo: The Rev. Dr. George Porter, panel participant, Indigenous Peoples' Day Gathering 2023.

Photo: Episcopal WMA

In a few weeks I will be going with our delegation to General Convention in Louisville, Kentucky. As always, that Convention will have a very full schedule with meetings all day into the evenings. But at some point I will sneak away in that neighborhood to the intersection of 4th and Walnut.

Why? Because there is a plaque there marking the space where my spiritual hero, the monk Thomas Merton, had a vision on March 18, 1958. He wrote:

“In Louisville, at the corner of 4th and Walnut, in the center of the shopping district, I was suddenly overwhelmed with the realization that I loved all these people, that they were mine and I theirs, that we could not be alien to one another even though we were total strangers…The sense of liberation from an illusory difference was such a relief and joy…I have the immense joy of being human, a member of a people in which God Himself became incarnate…If only everybody could realize this! But it cannot be explained. There is no way of telling people that they are walking around shining like the sun… If only we could see each other that way all the time. There would be no more war, no more hatred, no more cruelty, no more greed.” Conjectures of a Guilty Bystander

That is why we include so many of our ministries under our financial

From the Bishop

The

Rt. Rev. Douglas J. Fisher 9th Bishop of Western Massachusetts

resource called Human to Human. In Building Bridges (our Veterans ministry), Reconciliation House, Marie’s Mission, Lydia’s Closet, Laundry Love, our Chaplaincy to jails, and outreach to those experiencing homelessness are not meetings of the “haves” with the “have nots”. It is human to human. That is also true of the many food pantries we have. The great gift of our churches that

supply housing for refugees goes way beyond the house itself. The gift is the relationships formed with them as people “who are shining like the sun.”

Greg Boyle says this most clearly. He is a Jesuit priest who has ministered among gangs in Los Angeles for 40 years. He writes: “Sister Elaine Roulette, the founder of My Mother’s House in New York, was asked ‘How do you work with the poor?’ She answered ‘You don’t. You share your life with the poor.’ It’s as basic as crying together. It is about ‘casting your lot’ before it ever becomes about ‘changing their lot.’ Success and failure ultimately have little to do with living the gospel. Jesus just stood with the outcasts until they were welcomed or until he was crucified—whichever came first.”

This edition of ABUNDANT Times is about holy listening. Stories of pain and resurrection move us to do justice and live justly alongside those whom we engage in ministry. If we are willing to listen deeply, we will continually recommit ourselves to Jesus’ mission of mercy, compassion, and hope. The Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray, prophetic leader, lawyer, and the first African American woman ordained an Episcopal priest wrote, “Hope is a song in a weary throat.” Human to Human is our response to the weariness of poverty and isolation in our communities. We are listening and reaching out in love. ♦

+Doug

Holy Listening: When the Story is the Good News

The Rev. Vicki Ix Managing Editor, ABUNDANT Times

Throughout the synoptic gospels, the word “listen” appears 89 times. Sometimes, it is God who points to the power of Jesus’ word. "Then from the cloud came a voice that said, 'This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!'" Luke 9:35

Sometimes, we are given the example of a disciple who wisely stills themselves to hear Jesus speak. "She had a sister named Mary, who sat at Jesus’s feet and listened to what he was saying." Luke 10:39

And, often, it is Jesus himself bidding us to open ourselves to his voice. "Let anyone with ears listen!"

Matthew 11:15

This issue of ABUNDANT Times is dedicated to the power of listening for disciples of Jesus and how we, in Western Massachusetts, have been making a concerted effort to listen to stories that can change us for the better and lead us to the transformative work of the gospel in our lives.

Listening is a spiritual practice when we are awake to the present moment and the Presence among and between us. That doesn’t mean listening is easy or always pleasant. It can be hard to hear the truth of history especially when the lens through which it passes is a precious human being. It can be painful to sit with the injustices of the past and of our present, but holy listening is Spirit-led and we are never alone when two or three are gathered. Christ is always with us in the breaking open of our lives.

The events described here were opportunities for us to listen together and be changed. There have been, and will be, more. But these recent gatherings suggest that we are committed to honoring personal narratives as sacred space in which the wounds of the past and the hope of God’s dream might meet. If we are willing to receive narratives that both break our hearts and shine with the resurrection, the stories themselves become the gateway to the fullness of life Jesus wants for us all.

The Rt. Rev. Alan Gates (left) and the Rt. Rev. Doug Fisher (right) listen to the panel at the Indigenous Peoples' Day Gathering 2023. Photo: Episcopal WMA

Indigenous Peoples' Day Gathering

Together with the Diocese of Massachusetts and the MA/WMA Indigenous Peoples Justice Network, our diocese planned a day of holy listening at All Saints Episcopal Church in Worcester. Graciously funded by a Province I grant, the gathering on October 9, 2023 began with a land acknowledgement read by the Rev. Samuel J. Smith, rector and host. “We begin with the truth. We worship on the unceded land of the Nipmuc and Agawam.” Smith continued with a summary of the relationship between the native peoples and the English which began with respect and mutuality but deteriorated into a series of broken promises. The settlers moved many of the indigenous people into praying towns where they were stripped of their culture and forcibly converted to Christianity.

“This is just a fragment of an unacknowledged history,” Smith said to the gathering which included two bishops. “As Christians in The Episcopal Church, we acknowledge this truth and the many ways in which the Church has been complicit in the destruction of native culture. With the wider Episcopal Church we commit to truth-telling and to the work of decolonization that is rightly ours to do.”

The morning session was essentially the Liturgy of the Word as prayer and song surrounded the sharing of stories. For two hours we listened to native voices among us in a panel moderated by Mr. Eric La Forest, co-chair of the Beloved Community Commission. Each spoke of how being an indigenous person in New England came with great challenges rooted in colonizing culture and reminded us of the living presence of native people thriving in spite of historical efforts to erase them.

After the panel we moved from the word to the table—literally. We ate together many of the foods that are still central to native cuisine. We returned to the sanctuary to learn about the Massachusetts Indigenous Legislative Agenda from Mahtowin Munro, United American Indians of New England (UAINE).

The Liturgy of the Table followed. Bishops Fisher and Gates shared preaching and presiding. The Rt. Rev. Carol Gallagher was the principal celebrant, but could not be present due to illness.

(L-R) The Rev. Danielle Di Bona (Wampanoag), Ms. Emily Gallagher Pollock (enrolled member Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma), Ms. Delta Carney (Apache/Kiowa/Seneca/Ojibway), and the Rev. George M Porter, D.Phil.

Photo: Episcopal WMA

Diocesan Sacred Ground Circles

The new year came with a new way of engaging the Sacred Ground curriculum created by The Episcopal Church in 2018. E. Jahn Hart of Christ Church Cathedral and the Rev. Pamela Porter organized our first online diocesan circles.

Many congregations have held Sacred Ground circles. To see how far the program has spread in Western Massachusetts, we can search for “Sacred Ground” on The Episcopal Asset Map. It is vitally important to make sure you add Sacred Ground to your parish profile on the Asset Map to be counted. Many congregations did Sacred Ground in-person and some did it online during the pandemic. Hart and Porter, as members of the Beloved Community Commission, have taken us to the next level by making it possible for anyone in our diocese to participate in this challenging, transformative spiritual experience.

Three circles are running concurrently from January to June—eleven sessions plus an initial introductory meeting. Each circle has two facilitators who have completed Sacred Ground and been prepared for the work of holding space for conversations about the truth of US history, the sin of slavery, and the ongoing impact of white supremacy.

Sacred Ground requires a faithful commitment over time and a willingness to prepare for each conversation. Those who have made the journey often find themselves asking the question, “What’s next?” Our Beloved Community Commission is now curating resources to meet this need that may be found here: www.diocesewma.org/our-sharedmission/sacred-ground-resources

SACRED GROUND is a film- and readingsbased dialogue series on race, grounded in faith. Small groups are invited to walk through chapters of America’s history of race and racism, while weaving in threads of family story, economic class, and political and regional identity.

The 11-part series is built around a powerful online curriculum of documentary films and readings that focus on Indigenous, Black, Latino, and Asian/Pacific American histories as they intersect with European American histories.

Sacred Ground is part of Becoming Beloved Community, The Episcopal Church’s long-term commitment to racial healing, reconciliation, and justice in our personal lives, our ministries, and our society. This series is open to all, and especially designed to help white people talk with other white people. Participants are invited to peel away the layers that have contributed to the challenges and divides of the present day – all while grounded in our call to faith, hope, and love.

E. Jahn Hart (left) and the Rev. Pam Porter (right) Photos: submitted

Bending Toward Justice 2024

Our 5th annual Bending Toward Justice gathering on January 20, 2024, sponsored by the Social Justice Commission, featured the Rt. Rev. Allen K. Shin, Bishop Suffragan of New York. The online experience, which included over 70 people, began with prayer in the spirit of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.—the inspiration for Bending Toward Justice and the reason the event takes place on the Saturday following Martin Luther King Day. It is a day to pray for God’s justice and for those who labor for it to be spiritually nurtured for the work of the year ahead. Started in-person in 2020, the pandemic necessitated the move online which opened the way for many voices near and far.

Bishop Shin’s keynote included some of the history of Asians in America and in The Episcopal Church. His own personal stories—his family’s experience, the racist taunts hurled at Asian Americans during the pandemic—allowed us into the private pain of white supremacy.

In the evaluation for Bending Toward Justice, participants spoke about the impact of listening to Bishop Shin:

• “He opened my eyes to the realities of his life and the racial struggles of the Asian population.”

• “The gift of his sacred story was deeply moving and informative.”

• “I realized how little I know about the history of some peoples.”

The Rt. Rev. Allen K. Shin

Photo: Episcopal WMA

Previous keynote speakers at Bending Toward Justice (L-R): The Rev. Arrington Chambliss (ECM), Canon Stephanie Spellers (TEC), the Rev. Dr. Mark Bozzuti-Jones (Trinity Church, Wall Street), and the Rt. Rev. Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows (Diocese of Indianapolis)

Disability: A Listening Session

On January 31, 2024, the bishop, canons, and select members of diocesan staff participated in our first gathering of disabled Episcopalians. The online meeting was facilitated by the Communications Office as part of an effort to listen to the concerns and needs of the faithful who might require an accommodation in our many mediums of diocesan communication. Each participant was given time to address those assembled and speak to how they have felt supported by our diocese and ways in which our diocese could do better. The stories were very personal and powerful. The desire to be seen and to see themselves in church communications was strong.

Although this was the first meeting of its kind, plans are underway for a spiritual retreat just for disabled Episcopalians and Lutherans among us. This online retreat will be a virtual space of healing reflection, prayer, and guided meditations. Participants will be

A Conversation about Reparations with The Rev. Peter Jarrett-Schell

Our most recent opportunity for holy listening was a webinar planned by the Bishop’s Office with the support of the Beloved Community Commission on March 12, 2024. The hour with the Rev. Peter JarrettSchell, author of Reparations: A Plan for Churches, reminded us that our road to atoning for the sin of slavery as a diocese will be wholly unique and spiritually challenging.

The Diocese of Washington, in its seventh year of reparations ministry, has learned much about the importance of listening to the truth of the diocesan story and the stories of those with whom we hope to make amends. In our journey we will get things right and we will make mistakes. We will learn so

invited to explore how to meet Jesus in the everyday challenges of living with a disability. Through a series of meditations and online activities based on biblical passages and other spiritual narratives of people with disabilities, participants will be led to an encounter with Jesus, disability, and vulnerability, to nurture renewed compassion and love.

Scheduled for Saturday, May 4th from 9:30 am – 12 noon via Zoom, the retreat will be led by Dr. Diana Ventura. Dr. Ventura is the author of Our Fractured Wholeness. She is a public health researcher at Harvard University and an adjunct professor of practical theology at Boston University. Dr. Ventura’s teaching and research explores a wide range of topics, including disability studies, chronic disease, health, aging, research methods, spirituality, and Christian mysticism.

much and face the limits of our understanding. Jarrett-Schell assured us that there will be joy along the way.

Jarrett-Schell’s book is an excellent reference for any congregation that might feel ready to explore its own history, but the work is at the diocesan level now and our Beloved Community Commission has a sub-group dedicated to the work outlined in the resolution passed by the 122nd Diocesan Convention last November.

Scan the QR code to read the resolution "A commitment to healing the legacy of slavery and racism through an act of atonement"

Dr. Diana Ventura

Photo: submitted

Our diocese hopes to model a process that will be a gift and guide to any congregation willing to enter this transformative work. Again, how our diocese approaches this important effort will be unlike others. It will be a process that reflects our story—the history of this place and Episcopalians here even before this diocese was established nearly 125 years ago. It will highlight the ways in which the Diocese of Western Massachusetts has benefitted from chattel slavery, Indigenous dispossession, and resource extraction during the time of slavery and beyond. We will not rush this important work nor will we reach a place where it is finished. Our diocesan resolution frees us to begin a concrete work that will invariably become a spiritual practice for us.

In the forward to Jarrett-Schell’s book, Canon Stephanie Spellers writes:

“Jesus regularly issued the invitation to sacrifice and self-emptying on the journey to new life. Especially when he encountered people with privilege, he was clear on the path to salvation: change your ways, relinquish your hold on privilege, admit what you have received at the expense of others, and make amends to those who have been hurt by the very systems designed to benefit you. Then you will know eternal life.”

We've been listening to many voices

As Alison Gamache and I began work on this issue of ABUNDANT Times, I found the search for a theme especially daunting. I couldn’t see it. It wasn’t crystal clear like previous issues in which we featured a specific ministry or a way of being church in the world, like being a deacon. We went round and round with multiple ideas and discussed cover art. None of it felt right. It was all too small to reflect how much had been going on this program year. As I listed all the significant events from fall to spring, it was clear that we’ve been listening. We’ve been listening to many voices—near and far. It also became clear to me that all this listening has lead

us to act in important ways. This makes listening holy—a spiritual practice integral to the way of love.

Back in October as we honored Indigenous Peoples’ Day, I took a lot of photos. It was one of those days when I knew there would be a visual story to tell. The one I keep coming back to is an image of two diocesan bishops listening deeply, actively to the painful stories of native neighbors. I remember feeling such love for The Episcopal Church and for leaders who understand that the stories themselves are the good news—an entry point to suffering and resurrection in the lives of all who follow Jesus. ♦

The Rev. Peter Jarrett-Schell and the Rev. Dr. Nina Ranadive Pooley in conversation.

Photo: Episcopal WMA

Disability: From One Perspective

Kathleen Kopitsky All Saints, Worcester

Iam currently a Postulant for Holy Orders in our diocese and I have 40 years of experience working for human services in Massachusetts, with people with disabilities, and in the community. These people have chronic mental health issues, developmental disabilities, substance abuse issues, acquired disabilities, and so on. The last 20 years I have been working with families who have a loved one in need, are looking at a new normal, and want to navigate the state system to avoid institutional or congregate care. I worked with families to keep everyone living at home; because home is best not only for a full life, but for recovery. In my last position, I was a Division Director with a staff of 20 nurses and social workers who supported the above mentioned families. I attended the diocesan listening session on disability on January 30th because my professional background gives me one perspective— the view from serving this community.

The word “disability” means different things to different people. For some people, it is a lifelong part of their life that has become an inherent part of their identity. Rather than accept what some consider a deficit, these people have risen above to fully embrace all parts of themselves. Thus the “disability” becomes one of many things they deal with every

Accommodation: From One Perspective

Meredith Haider Grace in the Southern Berkshires, Great Barrington

day. Comedian Maysoon Zayid tells her audiences, “I got 99 problems… Palsy is just one.” And not all “disabilities” can be seen readily.

The word “disability” can also mean that someone and their family are working to manage a “new normal” resulting from an event or a medical condition that is debilitating and deteriorating. It could be a skiing accident, a stroke, dementia, or so many other things. There is a shift from the usual way of doing things.

Our society has particular ideas about what is “normal”. Whether you are managing a lifelong disability or have acquired one, there is a journey to acceptance that no one should do alone. It is good that we have each other. Here are some ideas to consider along the way:

• “Normal” is over-rated. In the tremendous diversity that is a part of God’s creation, who can honestly define “normal”? We can eliminate the stigmas associated with being different by getting over the idea of “normalcy”.

• Barriers are not just about ambulation. Whether or not you believe in the physical healing of the people Jesus encountered is not the point. The greater thing Jesus did was to remove the barriers for people’s full participation in the community. Ramps and lifts are one thing. We need to also think about hearing, seeing, smelling, seating, etc.

• Grieving the loss of expectations or hopes can take a lifetime. Often, we

I’ve just returned from Sunday worship and I’m beaming, having been bathed in the love of Christ. Our congregation is incredible, and it is a true gift to watch every person in this somewhat small community give of themselves, each in a beautifully unique way.

I would not experience any of this joy without the collective efforts of our clergy, vestry members, and other congregants – past and present – who have willingly provided accommodations. An accommodation is defined by the

must figure out a way to live with it; as healing seems impossible. Still the possibility of hope looms large for those in community.

• We do not need to be everything to everyone, and it is good to know where the resources are. There are professionals in our communities who can lend support to our efforts. Where are they?

• Adaptations do not always mean a capital campaign. It is true that not every church building will be able to make it easy for wheelchair users to enter and participate. Every church can do something to remove barriers to full participation.

This is a call for creative adaptation of our communities. This is a call to listen to the lived-experiences of the faithful who live with disability and worship among us. ♦

Cambridge Dictionary as, “a special arrangement that is made for a person or group that has different needs to others.” I have different needs due to my disabling chronic illnesses. Accommodations enable me to access all that our parish offers. Without them and the spirit of loving welcome at my church, I’d probably have left organized religion altogether.

I belonged to a different denomination previously. I hadn’t yet qualified for a wheelchair, and when I became too ill

Photo: submitted

Kathleen Kopitsky is the pastoral intern currently assigned to All Saints, Worcester.

to sit upright in the pews without my blood pressure dropping dangerously low, I asked if I could bring a fold up camp chair and stool, since having my legs raised helped my body maintain homeostasis. I was given a noncommittal shrug by the pastor, who mumbled that it wasn’t the best idea. So I stayed home and waited hopefully for the occasions when a parish member could bring me communion. I felt so grateful for those visits, but they became quite sporadic and then nearly stopped. When I requested more frequent visits, I was rebuffed.

That’s when God led me to Grace Church in the Southern Berkshires. Grace does not own a building, but has rented space over the years in a banquet hall and, more recently, in our local community center. This means that there are no stairs and no pews for me to navigate. From the first moment I entered Grace, I felt welcomed, camp chair and all. I noted the availability of gluten-free communion wafers and the amplification devices available for those with hearing loss. This was the first church of the many I’d attended that gave more than a nod to accommodating the needs of its diverse members.

When the pandemic struck, Grace Church quickly pivoted and began online worship over Zoom. Zoom services provided the connection that our community needed. They also became a lifeline for me. By then, I’d come down with a virus (likely COVID-19) that left me almost completely bed bound.

Once in-person services resumed, I felt a bit concerned that I’d be left “outside the fold,” so to speak, but I needn’t have worried. Our priest and deacon each came to visit me at home often. In addition, our parish chose to hire a technology coordinator who, together with churchgoing volunteers, ensured that we who were homebound felt included every Sunday. We continue hybrid worship to this day, and although there’s nothing better than being with my church family in person, this accommodation doesn’t just help me; it allows those who travel, live in other states part time, or face temporary health setbacks to feel connected as well.

"Accommodations enable me to access all that our parish offers. Without them and the spirit of loving welcome at my church, I’d probably have left organized religion altogether."

Grace also purchased equipment that enabled me and many others to participate virtually in weekly gatherings held at our church office. Such inclusiveness and responsiveness to the needs of the people truly made a difference. There were technology glitches, but every time I provided feedback, I was met with open ears and efforts to improve accessibility.

Grace took things to a new level when I was elected to the vestry. I can’t imagine many churches that would invite a disabled, largely bed bound parishioner to join the vestry, but that’s the heart of our community. To make things easier for me and others, the vestry approved the purchase of a video conference camera that made meeting remotely a breeze.

All of these investments in technology were not only financial ones, but investments in connection. The inclusion and accessibility our congregation provides sets an example that is unparalleled by any other church I’ve attended.

These days, I’m getting stronger and am often able to attend Sunday services in person. Still, it’s not easy for me to keep my blood pressure steady. I’d hoped to take my new wheelchair to church each week, but in my rural area, accessible transportation is extremely limited on Sundays. So what did the members of Grace do? They bought me a zero gravity chair that allows me to recline and raise my legs during worship. Then they set up a transportation schedule that invites volunteers to drive those who need rides on Sundays. As a disabled person, I can state with certainty that the ways my church family has embraced my needs are truly exceptional.

Now, I enter our church space on Sundays with the aid of my walker and a congregation full of people who keep an eye out for my well being. I pick up a large print order of worship, recline in the zero gravity chair, and stand only when I’m able. I’m accepted just as I am, and have all the accommodations I need to be an active participant. On days when I’m not well enough to attend, I Zoom in and never feel that I’m sitting on the sidelines. Our rector sets an example by frequently acknowledging those of us on Zoom, and our congregation follows suit.

I know what it feels like to be an outsider looking in, longing to be involved in community. Now, I also know how it feels to receive accommodations that allow and encourage me to do so. Most churches have the capacity to do what Grace does. It can take financial resources, but mostly, it takes creativity, deep listening, and an openness on the part of a church community to welcome those who navigate the world differently from the norm. It is doable. It is also a tremendous gift; one I believe mirrors the love and justice that Jesus taught. ♦`

Photo: submitted

Diocesan Deputation Preparing for GC81 in Louisville

The Rev. Vicki Ix Managing Editor, ABUNDANT Times

The General Convention of The Episcopal Church meets every three years. An exception was made during the coronavirus pandemic when the 2021 convention was postponed one year. The 2022 gathering took place under the strictest protocols for in-person participation and was restricted to deputies only. The 81st General Convention will meet in Louisville, KY, June 23 – 28, 2024 and it will welcome deputies, vendors, guests, volunteers, and the press.

Our diocesan deputation has attended orientation and will begin work on various legislative committees whose work must begin online to keep the General Convention to one week. On June 22nd, the evening before the work begins, a churchwide revival will be held in Louisville with those assembled and be streamed so that all Episcopalians may join and worship.

If you are interested in the reports that have been prepared for this meeting, the Blue Book contains them all and may be accessed at: www.generalconvention.org/bluebook2024/

If you are already into the legislative process and looking for a new path into the conversation, the President of the House of Deputies, Julia Ayala Harris, is hosting a podcast that is available on all podcast platforms.

There is much work to do in all areas of church life, but a unique aspect of GC81 will be the election of the next Presiding Bishop. Dr. Deborah Harmon Hines, formerly of Holy Spirit, Sutton, was elected to serve on the Joint Nominating Committee for the Election of a Presiding Bishop from Province I. Residing now in West Tennessee with her husband, the Rev. John Edgar Freeman, Deborah continues the work as part of Province IV. The news of election will ring out from the House of Bishops on Wednesday, June 26th. ♦

Screenshot of EDWMA Deputation to GC81. Photo: www.generalconvention.org

About the General Convention

The General Convention of The Episcopal Church www.generalconvention.org

The General Convention is the governing body of The Episcopal Church. Every three years it meets as a bicameral legislature that includes the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops, composed of deputies and bishops from each diocese.

WHAT HAPPENS AT THE GENERAL CONVENTION MEETING?

The legislative process of the General Convention is an expression of The Episcopal Church’s belief that, under God, the Church is ordered and governed by its people: laity, deacons, priests, and bishops.

The General Convention is the Church’s highest temporal authority. As such, it has the power to amend the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church; to amend the Book of Common Prayer and to authorize other liturgical texts; to adopt the budget for the Church; to create covenants and official relationships with other branches of the Church; to determine requirements for its clergy and other leaders; to elect its officers, members of the Executive Council, and certain other groups; to delegate responsibilities to the Interim Bodies of The Episcopal Church; and to carry out various other responsibilities and authority.

HOW IS THE GENERAL CONVENTION ORGANIZED?

There are two legislative Houses of the General Convention: the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops. Each of the two Houses has a presiding officer: the Presiding Bishop and the President of the House of Deputies. When there is a joint meeting of the two Houses, the Presiding Bishop has the right to preside.

The House of Deputies is composed of deputations elected from each diocese of The Episcopal Church; from Navajoland; from the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe; and from Liberia (which has seat and voice). Deputations may include up to four clergy and four lay members. Members of the Official Youth Presence also have a seat and voice in the House of Deputies.

The House of Bishops is composed of every bishop of The Episcopal Church with jurisdiction; every bishop coadjutor; every bishop suffragan; every assistant bishop; and every bishop “who by reason of advanced age or bodily infirmity, or who, under an election to an office created by the General Convention, or for reasons of mission strategy determined by action of the General Convention or the House of Bishops, has resigned a jurisdiction.”

The General Convention acts through the adoption of resolutions. A resolution becomes an Act of Convention only after both Houses adopt it in the same form and at the same General Convention meeting. ♦

Congregation commissions icon to support Ukrainian hospital

The Rev. Dr. Stephen L. White Grace in the Southern Berkshires, Great Barrington

An icon of Our Lady with the Child was recently hung on the wall of Grace Church’s chapel in Great Barrington. The icon was written in Kyiv by Ukrainian artists Sofia Atlantova and Oleksandr Klymenko, who write traditional Orthodox Christian icons on the covers of actual ammunition boxes from the Ukrainian front lines, symbolically portraying life overcoming death.

The icon came to Great Barrington through the “Buy an Icon – Save a Life” project of the Pirogov First Volunteer Mobile Hospital (PFVMH), a volunteer organization of civilian medics that provides medical aid to both soldiers and civilians in Eastern Ukraine. As of January, the PFVMH had cared for over 30,000 patients in the bloody Ukrainian war.

The Rev. Tina Rathbone, Grace’s rector, proposed purchasing the icon in support of PFVMH to the congregation in March 2023. She asked for donations of no more than $100, and within days,

the $2,700 cost of the icon was raised and on its way to Ukraine. Grace Church has also committed to donate its Easter offering to PFVMH.

The icon is written on the lid of an ammunition box from the city of Avdiivka in the Donetsk region (which was taken by the Russians on February 17) with tempera and gold leaf, using centuries-old techniques, styles, and symbols. The slatted wooden lid used in Grace Church’s icon was collected by PFVMH volunteers on one of their ambulance runs to the front, and brought to the artists in Kyiv. The finished icon gains some of its power through its transformation from an article of war and death into sacred art filled with beauty, peace, and hope.

Grace Church encourages other congregations to consider supporting the excellent work of PFVMH by purchasing an icon of their own. For information, visit www.medbat.org.ua/en/buy-icon-save-a-life/, or reach out directly to Grace Church. ♦

Icon of Our Lady with the Child Photo: submitted

Books by Local Clergy

To Dance with Grief

Following the Rhythms and Motions of Mourning

by Domenic K. Ciannella, M. Div

"Drawing upon the insights gained over two decades of accompanying individuals on their grief journey, Domenic believes that grief work is a spiritual journey grounded in compassion, mutual conversation, and reconciliation of the deep pain that enfolds the griever. This is made possible through the sharing of story, which becomes the heart of the sacred journey of discovery, connection, and healing." ♦

She Keeled Over Into the Liver Pâté!

and Other True Humorous Stories in the Life of an Episcopal Priest

by The Rev. Scott H. Seabury

"During almost forty years of ordained ministry, and many years before, I have found myself the object of humorous situations, at least, as I viewed them, in which I am continually reminded that God has a sense of humor. I am convinced that God must have a sense of humor to have created the likes of me!

Several years ago, while on a sabbatical from my parish duties, I had a unique opportunity to pause, reflect, and compose these humorous true incidents. My intention at the time was to compile these stories and self-publish them to share with my family and friends. However, I put this project aside and forgot about it.

Although this book is intended for my family and friends, if you happen to read this, I hope it brings a smile to your face and an understanding that God loves us and smiles with us throughout our journey in life." ♦

The Just Kitchen

Invitations to Sustainability, Cooking, Connection, and Celebration

by Derrick Weston and Anna Woofenden

"Join the call of a just kitchen: where meal preparation is as much an act of resistance against injustice as marches and protests.

For food and faith writers and podcasters Derrick Weston and Anna Woofenden, The Just Kitchen is about a passion for food, sharing meals, showing hospitality, and understanding cultures, faith traditions, food histories, and local foodways.

Their authentic podcast conversations spill over the pages of this book and explore how the kitchen can be a place where the things we care about most in the world are reflected in the foods we prepare and the way we prepare them. In a world where disconnection from the earth, our food, our faith, and each other is becoming the norm, Weston and Woofenden bring together voices of hope who are working for a world of organic reconnections. They invite us to dig deeply into the complexity of ecology and food systems, as well as how faith communities are connected to them." ♦

Pickett's Dream

by Christopher Carlisle

"When smart and beautiful Athena Van Fleet attends her sister’s wedding, she encounters John Pickett, the officiating priest she knew as a student in college. Now married to retired tennis star, Ted Talbot, she moves to Newport, Rhode Island when her husband is named President of the Tennis Hall of Fame. Smitten by Pickett, Athena uses her sway as the daughter of a former bishop to secure the young priest an improbable call to her wealthy Newport parish.

As Ted begins to sense Athena’s enchantment, he jealously makes Pickett his prey. Then unaccountably, the penniless priest becomes proprietor of Rosecliff mansion-igniting rumors up and down the Eastern Seaboard that the priest is a tycoon or a drug lord. Narrator Brooke Adams, feeling like a “bystander implicated at the scene of the crime,” watches as Pickett’s incredible scheme is unraveled to an unintended end.

From the sad abandoned mill towns of industrial New England to the ballrooms and hunt fields of Newport, from an aged acolyte in rural Massachusetts to pretentious Park Avenue bishops, and from the shining spectacle of the Champs-Élysées to the elusive Bishop’s House in Providence, Pickett’s Dream is borne from the Yuppie Go-Go 80’s to the mean streets of our time, and the innocence of a heretical dreamer to the world we find ourselves in." ♦

Available March 28, 2024

The Land of the Living The Asylum Seekers

by Tim Crellin

"The immigrant experience in America was shaped by war throughout the 20th century. Played out over three generations and three wars, The Land of the Living is the gripping story of one Sicilian woman’s sacrifice as an immigrant who comes to America with her husband to pursue the Dream, only to lose everything. She perseveres in Gloucester, Massachusetts, her adopted home, until an unknown grandson enters her life. Her purpose revealed, her strength becomes the force that confronts war’s impact, heals her family, and opens the way for her own return to her homeland at the end of her life.

The Rt. Rev. Douglas J. Fisher calls it, 'a powerful, spiritual story.'” ♦

Coming February 2025

A Chronicle of Life, Death, and Community at the Border

by Cristina Rathbone

"Journalist turned Episcopal priest Cristina Rathbone spends months working with a remarkable community of asylum seekers gathered at the US-Mexico border. Living in tents and makeshift houses of cardboard, they organize and develop systems of self-governance, prayer, and strategies for getting the most families across the border. This book offers an unprecedented account of the day-today lives of people rarely heard from and of the often-struggling priest they welcome into their midst.

'Cristina Rathbone’s new book The Asylum Seekers, her deeply observed account of time at the border, is elegant, unsentimental, loving, and piercingly honest. It is a prayer— and almost a miracle. Not because prayer is magic, but because it is the planting ground for hope. For those who despair and those who rage, for all who thirst, Cristina Rathbone digs a furrow in the dirt of our shared suffering, and makes a space where we can abide together.'

- Sara Miles, author of Take This Bread: A Radical Conversion and City of God." ♦

Coming January 2025 from Broadleaf Books

Photo: submitted

Photo: submitted

Book Review - Joy: Poet, Seeker, and the Woman Who Captivated C.S. Lewis

Reviewed by J. Scott Jackson

Joy Davidman’s image has long stood in the shadow of her famous husband, C.S. “Jack” Lewis. In Richard Attenborough’s 1993 film Shadowlands, Debra Winger rivetingly portrays Davidman as the blunt Jewish writer from the Bronx who sweeps the hapless, middle-aged Oxford don (portrayed by Anthony Hopkins) off his smug bachelor pedestal. Shadowlands does capture something of Davidman’s tenacious, passionate relationship with her idol, whose popular theological works, such as The Problem of Pain and The Screwtape Letters, had helped turn her from atheism to Christianity. Still, Abigail Santamaria’s groundbreaking 2015 biography renders a story more complex and more compelling than earlier portrayals. From an early age, this daughter of self-made Russian immigrants was driven toward projects of “serious purpose,” and was a remarkable, gifted woman in her own right.

During the Depression, Davidman bristled at her parents’ ambitions that she follow them into the educational profession. She detested teaching, pursuing instead a literary career, and matriculating rapidly from Hunter College (BA) and Columbia (MA). Drawn into the heady New York leftist literary scene—featuring such luminaries as W.H. Auden, Langston Hughes, and William Carlos Williams—the young idealist joined the U.S. Communist Party, then in its halcyon days. She wrote myriad reviews for the party magazine, New

Masses, and clung to Marxist ideology after the Hitler-Stalin non-aggression pact of 1938 facilitated a mass exodus of members from the party. She published a book of poems, Letters to a Comrade (1938), two novels—Anya (1940) and Weeping Bay (1950)—and a study of the Ten Commandments, Smoke on the Mountain (1954), prefaced by Lewis.

In heartrending detail, Santamaria explores Davidman’s ultimately failed first marriage to the writer, folk singer, and veteran William Lindsay Gresham, with whom she had two sons. After Gresham attained success with his noir classic Nightmare Alley, the family, often struggling with money problems, bought a large farmhouse in upstate New York.

As Santamaria shows, Davidman’s materialist utopianism had always masked a yearning for the transcendent, which in her youth was manifest in ecstatic experiences of beauty. Once as a teenager, taking a winter walk in a park, Davidman perceived the sky and trees glimmering in the golden sunset light: “I heard the voice in the burning tree; the meaning of all things was revealed and the sacrament at the heart of all beauty lay bare; time and space fell away, and for a moment the world was only a door swinging ajar” (p. 22). Davidman and Gresham began reading Lewis, and Davidman eventually abandoned Marxism as a worldview. Suffering from trauma and alcoholism, an absent Gresham once phoned that

he was having a nervous breakdown. Davidman suspected (unconfirmed) adultery. Distressed, she suddenly felt the personal presence of a gracious God, an experience which transformed her life.

Gresham (initially) concurred with her new insights, and Davidman studied world religions. Initially averse to

Joy: Poet, Seeker, and the Woman Who Captivated C.S. Lewis

By Abigail Santamaria Houghton Mifflin Harcourt 432 pages, $25.88

Christianity, she considered Judaism, having always read the Bible with respect for its literary merits. Lewis’ work helped convince her that the accounts of Jesus in the Gospels were (mainly) accurate and that the essential claims of Christianity were true. The Greshams joined a Presbyterian church in Staatsburg, New York. Meanwhile, the couple dabbled in L. Ron Hubbard’s Dianetics, practicing psychological “audits” on friends in distress.

Gresham and Davidman’s literary aspirations butted heads amid the demands of supporting their household. As their marriage imploded, they invited Davidman’s cousin, Renee Pierce— who, with her two children, was fleeing an abusive marriage—to their home. Davidman, who had become a regular pen-friend of Lewis, idealized the Oxford don and fantasized about seducing him. Through a fortuitous discovery of personal papers that eluded previous researchers, Santamaria discovered that, beginning in the early 1950s, Davidman had penned plaintive love sonnets

dedicated to Lewis. On the pretense of researching an article on Charles II, Davidman took a months-long trip alone to England, where she first met Lewis, whose romantic affection—vainly, at first—she sought to win. Gresham wrote to her that their marriage was over and that he and Renee had fallen in love.

After returning to the States, Davidman later moved her two sons to London, over Gresham’s fierce objections, while their divorce was in process. Settling in London in 1953, with few prospects as a single mother in a foreign country, she enrolled them in boarding school while collecting inconsistent child support payments from Gresham. Lewis and Davidman spent an increasing amount of time together, enjoying debates and warm repartee, while Lewis introduced her—his American friend—to often incredulous peers. Davidman moved closer to the homestead Lewis shared with his brother Warren. As Davidman faced the prospect of an expiring visa, Lewis agreed to wed her in a civil marriage so she could stay in England.

"Lewis realized he loved her, and, despite objections from the Anglican bishop of Oxford against remarriage after divorce, Peter Bide, a priest friend, married Davidman and Lewis in her hospital room, laying hands on Davidman for healing."

After her femur snapped, Davidman was diagnosed with aggressive, metastasized cancer in her bones and breast; a dire prognosis gave her months, at most. Lewis realized he loved her, and, despite objections from the Anglican bishop of Oxford against remarriage after divorce, Peter Bide, a priest friend, married Davidman and Lewis in her hospital room, laying hands on Davidman for healing. She experienced an apparently miraculous recovery. Amid health struggles, the couple enjoyed marital bliss for two and a half years, while she re-organized the household and traveled with Lewis to Ireland and Greece. The cancer returned aggressively and she died, age 45, in 1960, and Lewis retained custody of the boys.

Davidman collaborated with Lewis on several of his finest later works— especially The Four Loves, Til We Have Faces, and his autobiographical Surprised by Joy, whose title was not inspired by her name but, rather, expounded Lewis’ life-long obsession with a transcendent desire that animates life remaining unfulfillable this side of heaven.

According to Santamaria, this unlikely couple shared the same spiritual quest: “Both Joy and Lewis longed, all their lives, for a spiritual realm that transcended both the beauty and the quotidian sting of earthly existence” (xi). After Davidman’s death, Lewis wrestled with God amid his devastating loss in A Grief Observed. ♦

J. Scott

Jackson

Photo: submitted

is an independent scholar and theologian who lives in Northampton.

HHuman to Human: Touching Lives

Mark Rogers Director, Human to Human

uman to Human continues to share Jesus’ mission of mercy, compassion & hope in the world by serving those who are among the most vulnerable in our society.

The organizations Human to Human supports continue to serve over 1,000 meals per month while providing community to our veterans through Building Bridges. Marie’s Mission provides diapers to over 150 families per month, and we continue to work with Mary D’Alessandro as she provides love, guidance, and dignity to inmates and those recently released from the Western Regional Women’s Correctional Center in Chicopee. We help to provide the dignity of clean laundry with Worcester’s Laundry Love, and to give clothing and other essentials to children entering foster care with Lydia’s Closet.

Your generosity continues to make all of this possible and we will continue. That, however, is not the end of the story. Bishop Fisher’s goal is to build Human to Human into an organization that will allow him to use his favorite phrase, “go for it,” when

Ready to support our frontline ministries?

Scan the QR code to make a donation to Human to Human!

ideas to spread that mission of mercy, compassion, and hope present themselves from Worcester County to the Berkshires!

We have been asked where Human to Human fits with the rest of the diocese and your parish. That mission and vision tell the story. Human to Human will become a permanent part of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts charitable value proposition.

The influence of Human to Human supported missions spreads. For example, parishes provide back packs and other support to the women Mary D’Alessandro serves. One of the Building Bridges sites has begun to provide palliative foot care at their lunches, and the list goes on.

In short, if you are interested in a place where your generosity knows no bounds, no religious litmus test, and that crosses socio, economic, gender and racial boundaries, Human to Human is for you.

We invite your participation. ♦

Photo: R. Simpson

Welcome to WMA

The Rev. Kate DeRose

Christ Church Cathedral, Springfield

Kate has transferred to our diocese from the Diocese of Los Angeles, where she was ordained a deacon in 1998. She serves as deacon at our Cathedral in Springfield since March. She’s bilingual, having lived and worked for many years in Latin America in community health development and research, and she served several multi-cultural parishes in Los Angeles. Currently, she a Professor of Community Health Education at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. ♦

The Rev. Samuel Vaught

St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Stockbridge

The people of St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Stockbridge called the Reverend Samuel T. Vaught to serve as their rector beginning January 1, 2024.

Sam was awarded the Master of Divinity from Yale Divinity School and a Diploma in Anglican Studies from Berkeley Divinity School at Yale in May 2020. He was ordained priest on June 20, 2020 in the Diocese of Indianapolis by the Rt. Rev. Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows and served as curate at The Episcopal Church of All Saints, Indianapolis, Indiana for the next two years. Sam has been serving more recently as pastor for an ecumenical Episcopal-Lutheran ministry, Grace Unlimited, on the campus of Butler University in Indianapolis. ♦

Earth Day 2024

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Scan the QR code to register.

Photo: UMass Amherst

Photo: submitted