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« December 2007 | Main | February 2008 »
January 2008
January 30, 2008
Dead Man Working
I’ve seen the dead working. That’s the first line of Bishop Paul’s February 2008 column for secular newspapers. It appears in The Morning Call, Allentown, on the first Saturday of every month. It usually appears also in six or seven additional papers at some point during the month. The combined circulation of papers that publish the column regularly is about 400,000. Some 120 columns have been published over the past eleven years. If your newspaper does not publish the column and you might consider speaking with the editor about that, please email Bill Lewellis. Download Dead Man Working below ... with three photos.
Click on images above to view larger photos.
Retreat for Christian Educators, Sunday School Teachers, Youth Workers & Adult Formation Leader
Movement - Massage - Manicures - Meditation - Music. May 2-4. Kirby Episcopal House, Mountain Top, PA. Retreat Leader: The Rev. Robyn Szoke. Register by April 1 to get your early bird discount. Download a brochure below.
Retreat for Christian Educators, Sunday School Teachers, Youth Workers & Adult Formation Leader
Movement - Massage - Manicures - Meditation - Music. May 2-4. Kirby Episcopal House, Mountain Top, PA. Retreat Leader: The Rev. Robyn Szoke. Register by April 1 to get your early bird discount. Download a brochure below.
January 29, 2008
Father Gerns named Canon Pastor to the Bishop
Bishop Paul named Father Andrew Gerns (rector, Trinity Church, Easton) Canon Pastor to the Bishop. He made the announcement during the January 27th celebration at Trinity of Canon Gerns' 25th anniversary of his ordination to priesthood. Download Bishop Paul's announcement below.
January 28, 2008
Sermons on Parish Websites
These are links to parish websites that include sermons. My list may be incomplete. Please send corrections/updates to Bill Lewellis.
January 27, 2008
Parish Websites and Newsletters
Updated March 27. If a link to a newsletter does not appear below the parish name, clicking on the name will take you to the parish website where the newsletter may (or may not) be available.
January 26, 2008
News, Commentary, Information
To keep up with Episcopal Church news and commentary, to track how our church is faring in news coverage across the country, even around the world, and to find useful info about the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion, you may find the following resources helpful:
(1) Episcopal Life Online offers the most up-to-date info about the news, people, life and mission of the Episcopal Church. Updated daily, even hourly.
(2) epiScope, a news blog of the Episcopal Church’s Communication Office, features the latest stories in the media about the Episcopal Church plus links to resources and comment from insiders. It provides us with the capacity to see ourselves as others see us. Updated daily.
(3) Episcopal Café includes four blog sites. "The Lead," is devoted to breaking news about the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. "Daily Episcopalian" is a blog of commentary. "Speaking to the Soul" features reflections, multimedia meditations, and excerpts from books on spirituality. The "Art Blog" comes from the Episcopal Church in the Visual Arts (ECVA).
(4) Anglicans Online, a comprehensive site for news, info, commentary and archives, updated weekly, usually late Sunday evenings.
(5) NewsLine, serving media representatives reporting on the mission and ministries of the Episcopal Church. Links to statistics, bios, photos, background information, and other resources. NewsLine is a service of the Communication Office at the Episcopal Church Center.
(6) InfoLine, located at the Episcopal Church Center. InfoLine can help you make connections to churchwide ministries, events and activities. Got a question? Ask it by email or by phone. InfoLine staff members will do their best to answer your questions.
(6) The newSpin blog: You are there. Many of the links pointed to within our newSpin newsletter take you to this newSpin blog, where you will find a lot of news, information and commentary that is fit to print but just doesn’t fit in Diocesan Life.
January 25, 2008
Ecumenical Lenten Services at St. Stephen's Pro Cathedral, Wilkes-Barre
Since the 1920’s, St. Stephen’s Episcopal Pro-Cathedral, 35 South Franklin Street, Wilkes-Barre PA 18701, has hosted the Downtown Wilkes-Barre Ecumenical Lenten Services held every Wednesday during Lent at 12 noon. The tradition continues this year with weekly worship preceded by ½-hour Organ Recitals at 11:30 a.m. and followed by a soup and sandwich lunch hosted by participating churches. Download the schedule below.
January 21, 2008
Jubilate, Lent through Easter
Hymnody for Lent to Easter7 (Feb. 6 to May 4, 2008), published by the Diocese of Bethlehem for
our diocesan community and
for free distribution to the world, may be downloaded below as an
Acrobat or MSWord file. Jubilate is a service of our Liturgy and Music Commission, specifically Canon Cliff Carr who has been doing this for more than 30 years. Download jubilate.Lent-Easter A 2008.doc Download jubilate.Lent-Easter A 2008.pdf
January 19, 2008
Lent/Easter home formation
A family packet of material for home study and worship from AWE: Children's Ministries may be downloaded below.
Download ffh_lent_to_pentecost_2008.pdf
How I can make a difference, by Halea Mulea
Haley Mulea is a nine-year-old fourth grader at Carbondale Area Middle School. She and her parents, Tony and Donna Mulea, and her grandmother, Ann Marie Rosencrans, are parishioners of St. James/St. George Church in Jermyn. Haley wrote a paper on "How I can make a difference." Her paper may be downloaded below.
A. Sapp's Fables
A book by the late Francis A. Sapp of Schuylkill County. Story by Kathy Burda.
Church school pageant in Sayre
Playing to a full house on Sunday, January 13, the church school students at the Church of the Redeemer, Sayre, held their annual seasonal pageant. Download the story and a photo below.
Diocesan Life.February 2008
Highlights include ...
Cover: (1) Missioners visit with Kajo Keji families, (2) Cathedral youth visit Grace Allentown
Page 2: Bishop Paul's sermon at the institution of Mother Laura Howell as rector of Trinity, Bethlehem.
Page 3: Good news from New Hope and a letter from Bishop Anthony
Page 4: Youth events, including Christophany, EYE 2008, the JrHigh Mission Trip and the youth campaign to raise $7,000 for the sisters and brothers in Kajo Keji.
Page 5: Arts on the Mountain, Trinity Mt. Pocono ... and continuation of stories from Page 1
Page 6: (1) Father Patrick Malloy's new book, (2) Diocesan Training for Ministry Conference, (3) Might you be an evangelism consultant?
Page 7: Diocesan Calendar, Cycles of Prayer
Back Cover: Dwelling in the word: reflections on the Ash Wednesday and the first three Sundays of Lent by Laura Drum, Jenifer Gamber,Bertrand Delanney and Barbara Caum.
Cathedral youth visit Grace Allentown
On January 13, 2008, the Feast of the Baptism of Our Lord, Bob Lynn and Jenifer Gamber, Rite 13 mentors at the Cathedral Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem, led a group of young people from their class to Grace Church in Allentown to experience a different style of worship. Download the story, with photos, below: An introduction by Jenifer Gamber and three reflections by Cathedral youth (Alan Mendez, Dave Brandt and Anna Thomas) on their time at Grace.
January 14, 2008
January 10, 2008
Diocesan Training for Ministry Conference
March 1, at St. Stephen’s Pro-Cathedral, Wilkes-Barre. Morning: Vestry, Lay
Eucharistic Visitors 1, Stewardship as a Way of Life, Planned Giving/St.
Matthew Society, and Celebrating the Eucharist. Afternoon: Lay
Eucharistic Visitors 2, Stewardship, Role of Treasurers, EYE, Parish
Communication. Download the brochure below. Registration deadline is
February 15.
Download 0801.Training for Ministry brochure.pdf
Might you be an Evangelism Consultant?
This is an invitation from the diocesan Evangelism Commission to consider prayerfully whether you would like to apply to receive training to be an evangelism consultant, to be able to assist local congregations plan and implement their evangelism ministry. The commission will train nine to twelve consultants on Saturday, April 19, (10:00 to 3:00) at Trinity Mount Pocono (lunch provided, no fee) and will then ask you to join with one of the current members of the commission to do a third round of Regional Evangelism Training Days on May 3, 10 or 17 at locations to be determined. From there, you would work with the commission and go out to parishes that request practical help in getting their evangelism ministry off the ground and help the commission plan future trainings and workshops. Donwload more information below.
Download 0801.Evangelism Consultants.Invitation.doc
January 07, 2008
Pray for Father Henry Pease
Please pray for Father Henry Pease, retired rector of St. Paul's, Montrose
January 04, 2008
Celebrating the Eucharist -- An Invitation
Grace Church, Allentown, will celebrate the publication of Grace rector Patrick Malloy’s new book, Celebrating the Eucharist (Church Publishing, 2008). A special celebration of the Eucharist will take place at Grace on Sunday, January 20, at 4:00 p.m. Barbara Crafton will preach. Clay Morris, liturgical officer of the office of liturgy and music of the Episcopal Church, and Frank Tedeschi, executive editor of Church Publishing will be in attendance. Eucharist will be followed by a reception including hors d’oeuvres, cocktails and dinner. You are invited. Download the invitation below.
Please RSVP by January 10 to Robert House, parish administrator, by email or at 610-435-0782. Leave a message in Bob's voice mail, extension 200, if you do not reach him directly.
In the preface of his book, Father Malloy writes: “Annie Dillard famously wrote that Sunday congregations are like children with chemistry sets mixing up batches of TNT. They are blind to the power they hold … For six years, the people of Grace Church in Allentown, Pennsylvania, have realized that they were dealing with explosives, and they have handled them carefully. They have worked to celebrate the Sunday Eucharist with as much authenticity as they can muster, recognizing what is at stake.”
More info below.
Download 080105.Celebrating the Eucharist.The story that wrote the book.pdf
Download 080120.Invitation.pdf
Find more info about the book here.
Gay Men's Reading Group -- The Velvet Rage
Grace Church, Allentown, will host a "Gay Men's Reading Group" off-site on four Wednesday in January, beginning January 9. Dinner with open conversation about the experience of growing up and living as a gay man in a predominantly straight society. The venue will be chosen in light of the size of the group. The featured book will be The Velvet Rage Overcoming the Pain of Growing Up Gay in a Straight Man's World by gay psychologist Alan Downs. To join or for more information: Father Patrick Malloy, rector, Grace Church, Allentown: email or 610-435-0782.
Continue reading "Gay Men's Reading Group -- The Velvet Rage" »
The Journey from Maintenance to Mission
Growth in stewardship ... Characteristics of giving. Download "The Journey" below.
Led by emotion
By Bishop Paul V. Marshall
The reason, it seems, people cannot converse rationally about certain subjects is that they aren't being rational at all.
A team led by Dr. Drew Westen at Emory University has demonstrated scientifically what most of us who work in professions involving values have long suspected. People do not approach key issues intellectually, but rather vote and act from their emotions.
In The Political Brain (2007) Westen tells how MRI technology waas used tot demonstrate that committed Democrats and Republicans alike do not go to the reasoning parts of the brain, but to its emotional center when responding to data that challenge theirj political allegiances.
His work demonstrates an emotionally biased pattern in people with fixed party identification when they respond to difficult issues: first is part loyalty, then feelings about the personalities of leaders, and last -- he says most people don't get this far -- their feelings about the issues. Finally, the part of the brain that senses reward (or a "fix") kicks in and the issues seems resolved without having actually been engaged...
Download all of Bishop Paul's column below.
Download 0801.Led by emotion.pdf
January 02, 2008
At the institution of Mother Laura Howell as rector of Trinity, Bethlehem
Donwload Bishop Paul Marshall's sermon below.
January 01, 2008
Parish Histories
Find below a list of parishes that have something of their history published online. The link, in some instances, is to a history page on the parish website; in other instances, the link is to the most recently published parish profile containing the history of the parish. If you do not find a link to the history of your parish below, please send the link to Bill Lewellis.
