More from Convention: Saturday (Part 1)

What a day!


Eucharist started at 8:30 at Trinity Church in Copley Square, Boston. This necessitated leaving Falmouth at 6:30 a.m. We returned home by about 6:00 p.m., so it was a long day. One of the more rewarding aspects of representing our parish is the time we spend driving together. It is an uninterrupted opportunity for getting to know each other and learning about diocesan (and other) issues. These commutes have been no different. An added benefit is the chance we have had to get to know our curate, Kate, a little better.

The Bishop of Tanga, Tanzania, the Rt. Rev'd. Philip Baji, preached this morning's sermon. He spoke of our
diocesan prayer, which engages all of us in mission as our major task. Because of the other influences of modern life (an example: advertising), God has been edged out of the center of many peoples lives. So man is living without religion. This has led to a period of 'ulitmate crisis' and thus Sending & Serving has become most important.

In the gospel passage chosen for our Convention, John 15:12-17, Jesus says He calls us not to be servants, but as friends. Bishop Baji also spoke of the command to love one another: we are sent out to love one another; not to compete, dispute, & quarrel with each other. And, as friends who love one another, we have the right and responsiblity to speak in love & truth, using mutual respect and a spirit of humility and prayerfulness as we relate with each other.

The highlight of the morning were the Sending & Serving presentations based on a portion of our gospel passage, 'and I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last.' The metaphor is particularly apt: planting seeds, cultivating them, having them bear fruit, and recognizing the fruit will have new seeds inside to start the cycle again.

Seeds can be like those a gardener picks from a catalog - promises of a glorious garden to come after planting. Or a seed can be an irritant like a grain of sand in an oyster which is the seed of a pearl. In either case, with cultivation, the seeds bear fruit that lasts and enriches our life.

Three projects relating to the diocesan emphasis on reaching out to young people were shared with us as examples of seeds bearing fruit.

• Holy Spirit in Mattapan and St. John's in Westwood have created a vibrant partnership which grew out of the friendship between their rectors and has culminated in a number of joint mission trips and other efforts in Central America. (Learn more about mission trips...)
  
• After three teen suicides shook the town of Chatham, St. Christopher's in Chatham responded by creating a way to reach out to the teens of the community: a meals program where teens cook, package, send, deliver & serve meals to older members of the community. This has turned into an ecumenical town-wide program and is now expanding into free monthly dinners at the church honoring different parts of the community.(Read more at St. Christopher's website)
• St Stephen's in the South End of Boston and St Anne's-in-the-Fields in Lincoln have partnered in developing a safe and nurturing place for urban kids in the summer.
  Called 'B-SAFE' (Bishop's Summer Academic & Fun Enrichment), the program has grown to include 100 kids at St Stephen's and a new satellite location at St. Mary's in Dorchester. (Learn more...)

Convention Update

We all piled into Bob's station wagon. Andy P. rode in the jump seat with all the knapsacks. A Good Sport!

After a brisk walk from Park Street through the Public Garden, we got to Trinity Church in time to register before our luncheon gatherings. Andy R disappeared to join the DYC gang. (We next saw him when the DYC was introduced during the convention: Andy is Much Taller than all the rest of the kids, so we could easily identify him!) Bob & Ellie went to a gathering with folks who are working in Katrina relief. Kate, Andy & Helen went to hear the head of Episcopal Relief & Development, Dr. Robert Radtke.

ERD's focus is international relief and development as well as domestic disaster response. Their mandate is from Matthew 25:37-40. Radtke had become interested in working for the organization after seeing its effectiveness in response to the Tsunami relief. Little did he know that six weeks after taking over at ERD, there would be a domestic disaster: Hurricane Katrina! (Visit the ERD website...)

At the end of 2004, there were 2,563 churches involved with supporting ERD. At the end of 2005, there were over 5000 churches involved. The number of donors at the end of 2004 was about 23,000. A year later there were 90,000. And there was a jump in donations, both designated and otherwise, from $10 million in 2004 to about $37 million for 2005. Parishes and individuals in our diocese gave one million dollars last year.

The projects in which they are partners are currently in 32 countries. The preferred method of partnering is with other parts of the Anglican Communion, and in this country with the local dioceses. The alternative is the ecumenical Church World Service. Their criteria for partnerships and helping are people over property, helping those in the greatest need first. These projects fall in three categories:

1. Emergency relief, rehabilitation and sustainable development
2. Healthcare
   
3. Entrenched Poverty
   

After our luncheons, we convened in the Trinity Church sanctuary. After dispensing preliminary business, Bishop Shaw spoke to us about the scriptural passage chosen for this convention John 15:12-17. The father of one of our delegates had been known for saying, 'Avoid being the first speaker after lunch!' in reference to post-prandial sleepiness often experienced by audiences. Bishop Shaw wanted us to join in meditation with him on the biblical verses. We witnessed some nodding off, but not really among our delegation!! Shaw postulated the formation of the Book of John as possibly being via discussion groups in small early Christian communities. The other point we heard was about discovering the divine in the daily work of living: Because of Jesus Christ we are each 'a dwelling place for the divine.'

On to the resolutions...We discuss them on Friday and vote on them on Saturday.

The 2007 budget received some negative feedback. The hot issue is the cut in the budget for the assistant for youth ministry. There is a new emphasis on college ministry in the budget, but it is at the price of diocesan support of our youth. Three members of the DYC (Diocesan Youth Council) spoke to this point. The other topic of interest was the change in the assessment formula used to figure out each parish's contribution to our life as one diocese and, through that diocese, as part of the Episcopal Church USA. Some parishes feel there is disparity in the application of the new formula for parishes of different sizes, but it appears to be a thorough intent at increasing the equity of application across all parishes. Hand in hand with the assessments being a way to support the diocese is a funded program of congregational grants which can be used to support parish programs. It was presented to us that by applying for grants, a poorer parish could offset the program monies lost to assessments through the congregational development grants.

Other resolutions did not engender much discussion until we got to the marriage resolutions. The three resolutions were considered in order. We can study the separation of civil and religious (church & state) aspects of marriage; we can request General Convention to authorize the use of rites in the Book of Common Prayer for Celebration & Blessing of (Civil) Marriage in jurisdictions where same-sex couples may legally marry; and we can consider urging our legislature to defeat the proposed constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriages. Discussion brought out that we are considering a separation of church and state functions in one resolution while another suggests an action that could be considered the opposite of that. We will see what happens tomorrow at the discussion and voting.

The day ended with Evening Prayer. We reconvene for Holy Eucharist tomorrow at 8:30 a.m.

Guest Speaker coming Sunday 22 October, 11:00 a.m. Service

Join us for worship this Sunday at 11:00 a.m. when we will be joined by Rebecca Alden. Becky is a special needs teacher with the Harwich School system, a Disaster Response Team Member for the American Red Cross, and lay leader and former warden at St. David’s Church, S. Yarmouth. Currently a Diocesan Council Representative for the Cape and Islands Deanery, Becky has also served three times as an alternate and two times as one of our diocesan deputies to General (National) Convention (most recently at this summer’s triennial in Columbus, Ohio). With the historic investiture of our new Presiding Bishop, The Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, on November 4 and our own Diocesan Convention this coming weekend, Becky brings to us a very timely perspective.