newSpin, the newsletter
June 17, 2013
Bill Lewellis
Published on Monday
TopSpin
Adam Bond named missioner for communication... [Archdeacon Stringfellow] Adam Bond has accepted Bishop Paul's invitation to join the Bishop's Staff as Missioner for Communication in the Diocese. His duties include working closely with the Bishop, assisting Kat Lehman with content on the Diocesan website, creating and publishing electronic communication, publishing updates on social media platforms, leading and moderating conversations in social media, and reporting on Diocesan events. He takes up these and other duties today [June 12], and I am delighted to welcome him to this position. I know that you will uphold and support him in this ministry. He is a parishioner and member of the vestry of St Stephen's Church in Whitehall. Find background on Adam Bond here.
• A homily on the occasion of the Blessing of a Lifelong Covenant ... [Daniel C. Gunn, rector, St. Stephen's Pro-Cathedral, Wilkes-Barre] For Matthew C. Thomas-Malani and Tony Brooks. Saturday, June 15. Read it here. "I believe," said Father Gunn, "this was the first time this liturgy was used in the diocese."
• The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to issue two rulings this
month on the fiercely debated moral question of same-sex marriage ... [ReligionLink] and
religious voices on both sides of the issue are weighing in on what
could become pivotal decisions in the court’s — and the nation’s —
history. Read on.
• Francis and Justin meet in Rome
... [The ABC's website via Episcopal Café] The two leaders agreed that the fruits of this dialogue and relationship
have the potential to empower Christians around the world to
demonstrate the love of Christ.
The Archbishop and the Pope agreed on the need to build an economic
system which promotes "the common good" to help those suffering in
poverty. Here. [h/t Andrew Gerns]
• DioLight ... Seventh issue. "Since
returning from my sabbatical," Archdeacon Stringfellow writes, "I have revisited the Anglican Communion’s
Five Marks of Mission, those authenticating signs that any community of
faith is following Jesus by ministering as Jesus ministers." Back issues are available here: first issue, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth.
In their first meeting, Archbishop Justin and Pope Francis both spoke this morning of the bonds of "friendship" and "love" between the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion.
The two leaders agreed that the fruits of this dialogue and relationship have the potential to empower Christians around the world to demonstrate the love of Christ.
The Archbishop and the Pope agreed on the need to build an economic system which promotes "the common good" to help those suffering in poverty.
- See more at: http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/articles.php/5076/archbishop-justin-meets-pope-francis-in-rome#sthash.PtJe0IwU.dpufIn their first meeting, Archbishop Justin and Pope Francis both spoke this morning of the bonds of "friendship" and "love" between the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion.
The two leaders agreed that the fruits of this dialogue and relationship have the potential to empower Christians around the world to demonstrate the love of Christ.
The Archbishop and the Pope agreed on the need to build an economic system which promotes "the common good" to help those suffering in poverty.
- See more at: http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/articles.php/5076/archbishop-justin-meets-pope-francis-in-rome#sthash.PtJe0IwU.dpufIn their first meeting, Archbishop Justin and Pope Francis both spoke this morning of the bonds of "friendship" and "love" between the Roman Catholic Church and the Anglican Communion.
The two leaders agreed that the fruits of this dialogue and relationship have the potential to empower Christians around the world to demonstrate the love of Christ.
The Archbishop and the Pope agreed on the need to build an economic system which promotes "the common good" to help those suffering in poverty.
- See more at: http://www.archbishopofcanterbury.org/articles.php/5076/archbishop-justin-meets-pope-francis-in-rome#sthash.PtJe0IwU.dpuf• Commemoration of Copernicus and Kepler ... Sister Helena Barrett+, OSB, preached this sermon on the commemoration
of Nicolaus Copernicus & Johannes Kepler at the DioBeth Clergy Day on May 23.
• Anglican Communion News Service launches new website ... [Episcopal Café] The news service of the Anglican Communion has today launched its first ever purpose-built news website. Story here. Website here.
• The Book of Common Prayer ... every edition from 1549 to 1979. Here.
• Prayers and Thanksgivings from the BCP ... Here.
• The Daily Office ... can be read online in Rite I, Rite II or the New Zealand Prayer Book versions. At Mission St. Clare.
• Holy Women, Holy Men ... Download Holy Women, Holy Men as a .pdf file.
• Speaking to the Soul ... An Episcopal Café blog. Sermons, reflections, multimedia meditations and excerpts from books on spirituality. Here.
DioBethSpin
• Three to be ordained priests ... Bishop Paul will ordain Foster Mays, Andrew Reinholz and Kimberly Reinholz to the Sacred Order of Priests in Christ's One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. Sunday, June 30, at 4:00 p.m., at the Church of the Mediator, 1620 Turner Street, Allentown.
• Sermon by Archdeacon Stringfellow ... June 16 at St. James Dundaff. An excerpt: As a priest, I see people every day who are stuck, stuck on themselves, stuck in a grief that lasts too long, stuck in a destructive relationship or behavior, stuck in a corrosive sin, stuck in a poor diet, stuck in failing to realize the basic thing about themselves that everyone around already knows, stuck in a way of living that holds them back. And in walks Jesus, as a teacher and a miracle-worker, to tell us all a story and to be that story himself in his flesh and blood. And that story is this. However we are stuck, God wants to release us. However we need to change to live fully and completely, God is there to help us along the way. However dysfunctional we, our families, or our friends are, and there’s plenty of that around, there is a way forward. David sees it. The woman of the city sees it. Maybe the Pharisee sees it. But do we? Read it all here.
• DioLight ... Seventh issue. "Since
returning from my sabbatical," Archdeacon Stringfellow writes, "I have revisited the Anglican Communion’s
Five Marks of Mission, those authenticating signs that any community of
faith is following Jesus by ministering as Jesus ministers." Back issues are available here: first issue, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth.
• In-Formation in Bethlehem ... Canon Anne Kitch's monthly newsletter on lifelong Christian formation, June.
• As we enter the summer storm season [Father John Major, Interim representative for Episcopal Relief & Development for the Diocese of Bethlehem] I'd like to introduce this newsletter as a new resource to you in preparing your churches, congregations and family to weather and respond to disasters. Here.
• Resolutions for Diocesan Convention ... Deadline to submit resolutions is August 5. Here.
• Bishop's School, Fall 2013 ... Here.
• When in our Music God is Glorified ... July 14, a Lovefeast and Song Service of Christian Unity. Here.
• Diocesan level events ... Here and Here.
• DioBeth Website ... newSpin Blog ... Re:Create blog for youth and young adults ... Twitter.DioBeth ... Twitter.Kat Lehman ... Facebook.DioBeth ... Flickr, search under dio_beth
• Public news and info lists ... At the Diobeth website,
enter your name and email in the "Get Connected" box. You
are welcome to subscribe to
any or all of
these. "Bakery" is
our diocesan interactive
list.
ParishSpin
• Tunkhannock ... Archdeacon Stringfellow will install the Rev. Lou Divis as rector of St. Peter's Tunkhannock on Sunday, June 23, at 4:00 p.m.
• St. Matthew's Stevensville ... Repairs, resoration, photo. Here.
• Sweet Voices: Music to Benefit the Trinity Soup Kitchen ... [Laura Howell] will be presented on Sunday, June 23,
at Trinity Episcopal Church, 44 E. Market Street, Bethlehem. The 4:00
pm concert features Bethlehem Folksinger Anne Hills and includes her
friends Bethlehem singer-songwriter Bonnie O’Donnell and Philadelphia
performer Denise Moser. Tickets are $20.00, available by calling
610-867-4741 X 308. A donor
will match, dollar for dollar, all the ticket sales. A reception will
follow the concert. Hills is one of the better-known players in the
contemporary music scene, for her exquisite voice, perceptive
songwriting and gift for collaborating with other musicians including
Cindy Mangsen, Steve Gillette, Priscilla Herdman, David Roth and Tom
Paxton. Tom Paxton says, “Anne Hills is such an exquisite singer that
it’s understandable that people might be swept up in the pure beauty of
her voice and thereby overlook her writing. That would be a mistake. For
me, Anne’s writing, in songs like ‘Follow That Road’ and many others,
is as direct, melodic and deep as any work being done today. She is
quite simply one of my absolute favorite songwriters.” Hear more from
Anne at: www.annehills.com or www.myspace.com/annehills.
• The 'Race Street Run' in Jim Thorpe ... [Father John Wagner]
For those of you who are still “fleet of foot” and in reasonable
physical shape, St. Mark’s and St. John’s, Jim Thorpe, will be hosting
our eighth annual “Race Street Run” on Saturday, July 6.
Registration will be from 7:00 a.m. until 8:15 a.m. in the Tolman
House, directly across Race Street from the church. Contestants in the
4-mile run will start at 8:30 a.m., while those who opt for the 15K run,
will start at 8:45 a.m. Refreshments, awards and random drawing will
be held in the church immediately following the completion of each race.
Registrations are $20 through June 28th, and $25 from June 29th through
the day of the event. The first two hundred registrants will receive a
tee-shirt. For further information, e-mail
racedirector@racestreetrun.org, or visit our event website at
www.racestreetrun.org. If you don’t desire to participate, but would
like to offer your help with this event, please use the e-mail address
above.
• Calendar of events in our parishes ... Here.
• The Christian Century reviews Speaking Faithfully ... Here.
• Announce your presence with authority ... [Episcopal Café, Jim Naughton] Here.
Rest in peace
• Our young men and women who died recently in Afghanistan and for their families ... Here ... Pray also
for the fallen heroes also of our coalition partners, and for the
citizens of Afghanistan who have died, unnamed and unknown to us, and
for those who mourn ... and for the end to this endless war.
Episcopal/Anglican (beyond DioBeth)
• New bishop-elect of the Diocese of NJ is ready to lead ... [NJ.com] Here.
• State high court won't reconsider decision againts Falls Church Anglican ... [ENS] In a one-sentence order issued June 14, the Virginia Supreme Court denied a request from The Falls Church Anglican to rehear its earlier decision reaffirming a circuit court ruling that returned The Falls Church property to loyal Episcopalians to use for the mission of the Diocese of Virginia and the Episcopal Church. Read on.
• United Thank Offering awards $1.5 million for Episcopal, Anglican mission and ministry ... [ENS] Here.
• Around the Episcopal Church ... Here.
• Episcopal Church Website ... ENS blog ... Episcopal Web Radio ... Episcopal Church on Facebook ... YouTube ... Twitter ... foursquare ... and Linked-In ...
• Anglican Communion Website ... News Service. ... and News Service on Facebook.
Employment Opportunities
• Lehigh County Conference of Churches seeks Ecumenical Director Full-Time Position ... Does your call from God include a ministry focused on • Building relationships with congregations and pastors; • Listening to their dreams for community ministry and linking them up with community partners that can bring those dreams to reality; • Extending the opportunity to people to volunteer their time, talent and treasure to making a difference in individuals and the community’s life; • Being an advocate for those in greatest need among us. If this is the passion that drives you, have 5 years experience working with congregations and volunteers, work best in a team setting, are not afraid to ask for money, time or talents to be used in God’s work, then email your resume to tsmith@lehighchurches.org or go online www.lehighchurches.org and make application for the Ecumenical Director position of the LCCC. Equal Opportunity Employer.
• Lehigh County Conference of Churches accepting resumes of candidates for the full-time position of Accounting Assistant ... The Assistant will support the Accounting Manager in performing accounting functions, filing and documentation. Qualifications: One or two years of bookkeeping experience and aptitude for math. Have Basic computer knowledge of Microsoft Word and Excel. QuickBooks experience preferred. Please send resume and 3 references to LCCC, 534 Chew Street, Allentown, PA 18102 or e-mail to tsmith@lehighchurches.org. EOE
• Episcopal Positions (NYC/DC) ... Here.
TaleSpin
• Kennedy's finest moment ... [NYTimes Op-Ed, Peniel E. Joseph ] June 11, 1963, may not be a widely recognized date these days, but it
might have been the single most important day in civil rights history. That morning, Gov. George Wallace, in an effort to block the integration
of the University of Alabama, made his futile “stand at the schoolhouse
door.” That evening, Boston N.A.A.C.P. leaders engaged in their first
public confrontation with Louise Day Hicks, the chairwoman of the Boston
School Committee, over de facto public school segregation, beginning a
decade-long struggle that would boil over into spectacular violence
during the early 1970s. And just after midnight in Jackson, Miss., a
white segregationist murdered the civil rights leader Medgar Evers. But the most important event was one that almost didn’t happen: a
hastily arranged speech that evening by President John F. Kennedy. Read on.
• A gay man finds a sixth sense declining with age ... [NYTimes, Fred A. Bernstein]
It’s natural to want to know who is part of your tribe, especially if
your tribe is small, occasionally invisible and more than occasionally
oppressed. Read on.
• These children are our future: Shameful statistics ... [NYTimes Op-Ed, Charles Blow] Now that high school graduation season is winding down, it’s worth
taking a moment to remember that in the sea of flowing gowns lurk some
unsettling statistical realities. On many measures of childhood
well-being, the last decade in the United States has been one of
stagnation. We remain an outlier in many ways among developed countries. Read on.
• The Failure of Atheism ... [The Spectator, via Episcopal Café] Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks says that the West is suffering for its loss
of faith and unless we rediscover religion, our civilization is in
peril. Read on. [h/t Andrew Gerns]
• A rabbi, a priest and a minister walked into a bar ... [HuffPost, Bryan Berghoef] ... and a genuine discussion about beer and faith broke out. Maybe not the punch line you were looking for, but when Rabbi Eli Freedman, Father Kirk Berlenbach, and Rev. Bryan Berghoef took the stage at Fergie's Pub in Philadelphia, it was no joke. Read on.
• How much inequality is too much inequality? ... [Why Poverty, via Episcopal Café] 740 Park Ave, New York City, is home to some of the wealthiest Americans. Across the Harlem River, 10 minutes to the north, is the other Park Avenue in South Bronx, where more than half the population needs food stamps and children are 20 times more likely to be killed. Read on. [h/t Jim Naughton]
HeadSpin
• I know what you think of me ... [NYTimes] Years ago a friend of mine had a dream about a strange invention; a
staircase you could descend deep underground, in which you heard
recordings of all the things anyone had ever said about you, both good
and bad. The catch was, you had to pass through all the worst things
people had said before you could get to the highest compliments at the
very bottom. There is no way I would ever make it more than two and a
half steps down such a staircase, but I understand its terrible logic:
if we want the rewards of being loved we have to submit to the
mortifying ordeal of being known. Read it all.
• NEPA Synod website ... Here.
• ELCA website ... Here.
• ELCA News Service ... Here.
• ELCA's blogs may be found here. See especially "Web and Multimedia Development."
Moravian
• Moravian Church in North America website.
• Moravian Church Northern Province website.
• Moravian Theological Seminary website.
United Methodist
• Communication newsletter (tips and tools) Here.
• UMC website Here.
• News Service Here.
• Communication Resources ... Start here.
• Eastern PA Conference website Here. Facebook Here. Bishop Peggy Johnson's blog Here.
Roman Catholic
• 'Catholic McCarthyism' threatens bishops' anti-poverty campaign ... [RNS] Conservative activists are threatening the social justice mission of the
Catholic Church just when the country needs it most, a new report
charges, by attacking the church’s flagship anti-poverty program with
21st-century style “Catholic McCarthyism.” The report, released Tuesday (June 11), says the Catholic Campaign for Human Development
is hamstrung by conservative purists who make it impossible for the
church to join with other programs or agencies to combat the systematic
causes of poverty. Read on. [Bill] From its 1970 beginning, the CCHD continues to be one of the most popular national ingatherings because of its non-institutional and broadly ecumenical (even secular) anti-poverty purpose. In some areas of the country, however, e.g., the Diocese of Allentown, people hardly know of the CCHD because, from its early days, the late Allentown Bishop Joseph McShea did not allow the ingathering to take place within the five counties of that diocese.
• Archdiocese of Philadelphia grappling with pensions for clergy
... [Philadelphia Inquirer] A pension fund for priests cited as a priority in a $200 million
fund-raising campaign by the Archdiocese of Philadelphia has fallen
precariously short of money, and church officials want parishes and
retired clergy to help cover the shortfall. In meetings this spring, Archbishop Charles J. Chaput told priests
the plan had been underfunded, poorly managed, and was spent on rising
health-care costs for clergy, according to three priests who attended or
were briefed on the talks. Chaput said the fund needed $90 million to
be solvent but had less than $4.5 million, they said. Read on.
• Diocese of Allentown ... Here.
• Diocese of Scranton ... Here.
• United States Conference of Catholic Bishops ... Here.
• Catholic News Service ... Here.
The Vatican
• Francis' first 100 days ... [RNS, Alessandro Speciale] When Pope
Benedict XVI shocked the world in February in becoming the first pope to
resign in 600 years, he left behind a Roman Catholic Church weakened by
scandals, beset by infighting and suffering from a general sense of
isolation from the modern world. Three months after the election of Argentine Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio as Pope Francis, much of the gloom seems to have lifted. St. Peter’s Square is again a magnet for legions of pilgrims, and the
communications problems that dogged Benedict’s papacy have receded.
Francis’ simpler, direct style, together with his focus on the poor and
the marginalized, has captivated the world. Read on.
• John and Francis: Two of a kind ... [The Tablet] From the moment of his introduction to the world as Pope Francis, Jorge
Mario Bergoglio has resembled Angelo Giuseppe Roncalli, or Pope John
XXIII, more than any other Pope since Pope John’s death 50 years ago.
The first resemblance is that both were 76 when elected. Roncalli’s
electors wanted a short-term compromise candidate. He turned 77 less
than a month after his election, reigning barely another 54 months
before succumbing to cancer; yet, the much beloved Pope John
unquestionably changed the lives of Catholics and of countless others. Read on.
• Mother Tekla: Popessa ... [NCR, Jason Berry] If the leadership of American nuns is the vanguard of a progressive
spirit up against the Vatican, Mother Tekla Famiglietti is a throwback
to the past: an orthodox leader who learned the rules of the game and
wields power in the all-male world of the Roman Curia. The 75-year-old head of an international order and a staunch
traditionalist, the Italian-born Mother Tekla has, for more than three
decades, built a power base with considerable financial prowess. Read on.
• The Pope and the 'Gay Lobby' ... [NYTimes, Op-Ed, Francis Clines] The presence of gay prelates at the Vatican has long been considered an open secret. Now it’s not a secret at all. Read on. Also, see John Allen's column on NCR. Also, The Pope Gay Panic, by Frank Bruni at the NYTimes.
• Vatican website ... Here.
• Vatican Information Service blog ... Here.
• Vatican News/Info Portal ... Here.
HealthSpin
• Some of my best friends are germs ... [NYTimes Magazine, Michael Pollan] I can tell you the exact date that I began to think of myself in the
first-person plural — as a superorganism, that is, rather than a plain
old individual human being. It happened on March 7. That’s when I opened
my e-mail to find a huge, processor-choking file of charts and raw data
from a laboratory located at the BioFrontiers Institute at the University of Colorado, Boulder. As part of a new citizen-science initiative called the American Gut project,
the lab sequenced my microbiome — that is, the genes not of “me,”
exactly, but of the several hundred microbial species with whom I share
this body. These bacteria, which number around 100 trillion, are living
(and dying) right now on the surface of my skin, on my tongue and deep
in the coils of my intestines, where the largest contingent of them will
be found, a pound or two of microbes together forming a vast, largely
uncharted interior wilderness that scientists are just beginning to map. Read on.
• Resources for caregivers ... Here.
• Medline Plus ... Here.
• WebMD ... Here.
• Alzheimers.gov ... For people helping people with Alzheimers. Here.
Media/Films/DVD/TV/Books/Music/Tech
• Old Boots ... [Bill]
"This book of poems," John Reynolds writes, "is my way of reflecting on
my life so far and what iies ahead." Reynolds' new book, subtitled
"Reflections on Coming to the Last Bend in the Road," is available
through Amazon
where you are invited to peek inside to read a few pages. Click on
"First Pages" and read the poem titled "Old Boots." Careful. You will
want more. I do. Often enough, an insight is coming upon something said
by another and saying, "Aha, I knew that." You will experience that when
reading the poems of John Reynolds. You may also say, "but I could
never have brought it to life so well." John Reynolds lives in New
Milford with his partner Charles Cesarretti.
• Free eBooks by Project Gutenberg ... Here.
• Free Audiobooks from LibriVox ... Here.
• Free Audiobooks and eBooks ... Here and Here.
• Google Books ... Millions of books you can preview or read free. Here.
• The Online Books Page ... from UPenn. Here.
• More free eBooks and Audiobooks ... [Techlicious] Here.
Resources
• In-Formation in Bethlehem ... June issue here.
• Insights into Religion ... Here.
• Forward Movement ... May News.
• The Alban Institute ... Here.
• ECF Vital Practices ... Here.
• Faith in Public Life ... Here.
• Religion&Ethics News Weekly (PBS) ... Here.
• The Chalice, a publication created by Joan DeAcetis for older adults and caretakers. Download issues here.
• Weekly Bulletin Inserts from the Episcopal Church ... Here.
• Episcopal Web Radio ... Here.
• Updated Episcopal Church canons and constitution ... Here.
Additional sources for news/info/commentary
• Religion News Service Daily Roundup ... here.
• National Catholic Reporter ... here.
• Back issues of the newSpin newsletter ... here.
• Episcopal/Anglican
(1) The Episcopal Church
(2) Episcopal News Service
(3) Episcopal Café
(4) AngicansOnline.
(5) AnglicansOnline News Centre.
• Daily Office ... Lectionary Page ... Lectionary ... Oremus Bible Browser ... Revised Common Lectionary
*************
Comments are welcome at the newSpin blog.
Click there on the title of the current newsletter. Comment below. As
soon as the
newsletter is completed, usually on
Monday, it is uploaded to the
blog and posted on Bakery and on a
ChurchPost list of some 1,200
addresses. Many recipients often
forward it to others. The
newsletter comes, of
course, with some spin
from the editor.
The views expressed,
implied or inferred in items
or links contained
in the newsletter
or the blog do not represent
the official view
of the Diocese of
Bethlehem unless
expressed by or forwarded
from the Bishop or the
Archdeacon as an
official communication. If
you're wondering why you
haven't seen something related
to your parish or
agency here, it's probably
because no one has sent
relevant info. If you think something about
your parish or agency merits
inclusion, send email to Bill.
Bill Lewellis, Diocese of Bethlehem, retired
Communication Minister/Editor (1986-2010), Canon Theologian (1998)
Blog , Email (c)610-393-1833
Be attentive. Be intelligent. Be reasonable. Be responsible.
Be in Love. And, if necessary, change. [Bernard Lonergan]
