The newSpin Newsletter, October 15, 2012
By Bill Lewellis
Published weekly, on Monday
TopSpin
• Transformed by New Hope ... [Sermon by Charlie Barebo at Diocesan Convention] Five years ago, we embarked on a remarkable journey that has
seen us through some of the most turbulent times Americans have seen in three
generations. We had a vision that we would follow Christ, literally. We would
raise money, millions in fact, and give it all away. Read on.
• Episcopal House Allentown seeks Executive Director
... Nonprofit senior building consisting of 210 apartments in Allentown
is looking for an experienced Executive Director. Requirements:
Knowledge of HUD guidelines and procedures, Bachelor's degree, and
finance, personnel and property management experience. Fundraising
experience preferred. Competitive salary and benefits package offered.
Please email resume to dfrankenfield@episcopalhouse.com
• Presiding bishop writes to presidential candidates on Israeli-Palestinian conflict ... [ENS] Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori has written to the presidential candidates, urging President Barack Obama and the Hon. Mitt Romney “to use the debate forum to articulate strong support for a just and peaceful resolution to the Arab-Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as well as a clear plan for how you would work to support that goal in the next four years.” Read on.
• A picture of generosity ... [John Major and Janine Ungvarsky] This
is a picture of generosity on the part of so many of you from the
parishes throughout the diocese. This is what it looks like when you
put 1080 pairs of socks for everyone from infants through adults and 380
t-shirts of all sizes and colors into one place. We even found a
package of underwear and two pairs of children's tights in the bounty
donated through the ECW collection at last week's convention--that's
nearly 1,500 articles of clothing that we will have on hand in St.
George's Regional Disaster Recovery & Outreach Center for
distribution to those in need. As you can see, your response to this
collection exceeded all expectations and estimates and more bins will be
needed to store everything.
• I Am That Child, by Elizabeth Geitz ... This article about Elizabeth Geitz' book, I Am That Child, was in A&U Magazine, America's AIDS Magazine. The book has consistently been in the Top 10 in African Studies on Amazon since publication in February 2012.
• Voter ID: You can't make these things up
... You will be asked for a photo ID by a poll worker at the Nov. 6 presidential election, but you won't need one to cast your vote. You will need one at the election after that.
DioBethSpin
• Disaster preparedness and response plans ... [John Major and Janine Ungvarsky] The next
training for will be held on October 27 at St. George's Regional
Disaster Recovery & Outreach Center in Nanticoke, from 10 a.m. to 2
p.m. The day includes Noon Prayer and lunch. Parishes are asked to
send two representatives, who will be provided with instructions and
resources to help the parish create its own customized preparedness
plan. More here.
• Registration open for Renewal Assembly VI ... November 17, 9:00 to 2:00. Seven host sites across the Diocese: Christ Church, Towanda; Church of the Epiphany, Clarks Summit/Glenburn;
Trinity Church, West Pittston; St. Marks, Moscow; Christ Church,
Reading, St. Anne's, Trexletown; and Church of the Mediator, Allentown. All registrants will be assigned to the most appropriate location. A
light lunch will be available ("free will" offering will be collected to
defray local costs). Registration closes on November 12. Register here. For
more information contact Fr. Charles Cesaretti at
charles.cesaretti@yahoo.com.
• Diocesan Life ... The September/October issue is online 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.
• West Bangor and Wind Gap ... Bishop Paul has the Rev. Joel Atkinson as priest-in-charge at West Bangor and Wind Gap.
• $7,000 New Hope grant for baby supplies ... Grace Church Allentown received a $7,000 New Hope grant for baby supplies for food pantry clients. Libby House wrote the grant application with help from Monica Lewellis.
• Becca Stevens will speak at the Cathedral ... [Cathedral's weekly enewsletter] We welcome the Rev. Becca Stevens, fantastic speaker, social entrepreneur, and Episcopal priest, to the Lehigh Valley for our firs Hurd Lecture on Church and Society, which will honor the lifelong work of Priscilla toPayne Hurd. The Rev. Stevens will preside and preach at the 5 p.m. Eucharist and then present a talk on her work at 6 p.m. A reception will follow in Sayre Hall. Stevens is the founder of Magdalene House and Thistle farms in Tennessee, two non-profit organizations dedicated to helping women escape poverty, addiction, and life on the streets. Read more about Becca's work here.
• Weekend of faith and justice ... [Cathedral's weekly enewsletter] The Cathedral Church of the Nativity of Bethlehem will partner with the First Presbyterian Church of Allentown for a weekend of events centered around faith and justice. Look for posters and flyers around the Cathedral and at www.nativitycathedral.org for more information.
• Trip to Rhode Island for ordination to episcopacy of Father Nick Knisely ... [Mother Laura Howell] We have now completed arrangements for hiring a bus to attend Fr. Nick Knisely's consecration as 13th Bishop of Rhode Island in Newport, November 16-17. Bus tickets are $150 per person. In addition, Fr. Cliff Carr, who is from RI, will take us on a tour of some of the historic sites he knows so well. Make your own hotel reservations at the Newport Mariott by calling @1 (800) 228-9290 or (401) 849-1000 on or before Friday, October 26. The total cost of the room with tax is $134.47. Be sure to identify yourself as part of the “Ordination of Bishop Nicholas Knisely Room Block” group. Group code: ORDORDA. There are only 17 seats left for this great event, so if you have an interest in joining us, please send me a note: laura@trinitybeth.org.
• Note to parishes ... Post news summaries and links on Bakery or send them to Bill.
• Calendar of Events ... Here.
Episcopal/Anglican (beyond DioBeth)
• Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori has written to the
presidential candidates, urging President Barack Obama and the Hon. Mitt
Romney “to use the debate forum to articulate strong support for a just
and peaceful resolution to the Arab-Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as
well as a clear plan for how you would work to support that goal in the
next four years." Read on.
• Pennsylvania Bishop Charles Bennison says he will retire at year’s end ... [Mary Frances Schjonberg, Episcopal News Service] Diocese of Pennsylvania Bishop Charles Bennison told the diocese Oct. 9 that he would retire from office at the end of the year. Bennison said in a letter to the diocese that the Rev. Ledlie I. Laughlin, president of the diocesan Standing Committee, told him that the committee wanted to elect a provisional bishop rather than either have Bennison call for the election of a coadjutor or have the diocese elect a diocesan who would be consecrated on the day of his retirement. Read on.
• Court grants two Los Angeles properties to diocese, Episcopal Church ... [The Episcopal News, Los Angeles] Final Judgments in favor of the Diocese of Los Angeles and the Episcopal Church in cases regarding Long Beach and North Hollywood property disputes have been entered by the Orange County Superior Court. Read on.
• Presiding Bishop's sermon at Executive Council's opening Eucharist ... Oct. 15, St. Theresa of Avila. Read it here.
• Episcopal News Weekly bulletin inserts ... Download inserts here.
• Episcopal Church Website ... ENS blog ... Episcopal Church on Facebook ... Episcopal Church on YouTube ... Anglican Communion website ... Anglican Communion News Service. ... Anglican Communion News Service on Facebook.
TaleSpin
• Proof of Heaven: A doctor's experience with the afterlife ... [Newsweek] As a neurosurgeon, I did not believe in the phenomenon of near-death
experiences. I grew up in a scientific world, the son of a neurosurgeon.
I followed my father’s path and became an academic neurosurgeon,
teaching at Harvard Medical School and other universities. I understand
what happens to the brain when people are near death, and I had always
believed there were good scientific explanations for the heavenly
out-of-body journeys described by those who narrowly escaped death. Read on.
Be attentive: (1) The author is a neurosurgeon, Harvard, (2) To his story, (3) To my prejudgments, (4) The author is promoting his book. Be Intelligent: (1) What's my hunch? (2) Are there alternative explanations? (3) Is the author simply promoting his book? Be reasonable: (1) Is my understanding correct? (2) What is the best explanation? (3) Is this true, false, probable, certain? Be responsible: (1) Is this worthwhile? (2) Does it have anything to do with my daily life as a Christian? (3) What am I going to do as a result of my judgment about my understanding of what I have been attentive to?
TailSpin
• Episcopal smackdown in SF ... [RNS, Mark Silk] I'd
say it's time for Andrus and company to man up and announce the
establishment of an ordinariate for U.S. Catholics who want to become
Episcopalians. Last January, you'll recall, the pope announced
a U.S. ordinariate for Episcopalians who want to become Catholics but
would like to retain some of their own liturgical and other traditions. If what's sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander, the new
Episcopalians would be able to retain some of their Roman traditions. Of
course, the pope thing would have to go. On the other hand, priests and
bishops would now have the opportunity to marry, including (in some
jurisdictions) members of the same sex. The pope's ordinariate is headquartered in Houston. Where better to locate the Episcopalians' than in San Francisco? More here.
• 'Cynical fear mongering' from the American Family Association ... [Episcopal Café, NYTimes] The American Family Association apparently believes that telling
people not to beat up gay and lesbian children is morally wrong. The AFA is urging parents around the country to keep their children
home from school on October 30, when many schools will participate in
"Mix It Up at Lunch Day", when students are encouraged to spend time
with kids they usually don't talk to. Read on.
• Nobody gets into heaven ... without a reference letter from the poor. Photo here.
[h/t JoAnn Lumley]
• Man Arrested for Accepting a Good Deal at Car Dealership ... [Time] A
customer is suing a Chevrolet dealership after it mistakenly sold him a
car for $5,600 less than it should have--and then had him arrested for
theft. Read on.
Evangelical Lutheran
• 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
• UMC website Here. News Service Here. Communication Resources Start here. Communication newsletter (tips and tools) Here. Eastern PA Conference website Here. Facebook Here. Bishop Peggy Johnson's blog Here.
Roman Catholic
• Diocese of Allentown ... Here. Diocese of Scranton ... Here. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops ... Here. Catholic News Service ... Here. Vatican website ... Here. Vatican Information Service blog ... Here. Vatican News/Info Portal ... Here.
Health
• Medline Plus ... Here.
• WebMD ... Here.
• Alzheimers.gov ... For the people helping people with Alzheimers. Here.
Calendar of Events/Diocese of Bethlehem ... Here.
Calendar of Events/The Episcopal Church ... Here.
Resources
• In-Formation in Bethlehem ... October issue of Canon Kitch's newsletter of lifelong Christian formation resources.
• Holy Women, Holy Men ... Download Holy Women, Holy Men as a .pdf file.
• Congregational Resource Guide ... Here.
• ECF Vital Practices ... Here.
• Faith in Public Life ... Here.
• The Book of Common Prayer ... every edition from 1549 to 1979. Here.
• The Daily Office ... can be read online in Rite I, Rite II or the New Zealand Prayer Book versions. At Mission St. Clare.
• The Chalice, a publication of DioBeth's Lifelong Christian Formation Committee created by Joan DeAcetis for older adults and caretakers. Download issues 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.
• Religion&Politics fit for polite company ... Religion & Politics
is an online news journal, dedicated to the two topics thought unfit
for polite company. It is a project of the John C. Danforth Center
on Religion & Politics at Washington University in St.
Louis. Here.
• Daily Office ... Lectionary Page ... Lectionary ... Oremus Bible Browser ... Revised Common Lectionary
*************
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The views expressed,
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the official view
of the Diocese of
Bethlehem unless
expressed by or forwarded
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Archdeacon as an
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you're wondering why you
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inclusion here, 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]
