newSpin 120123

The newSpin newsletter, Jan. 23, 2012
By Bill Lewellis
Published Monday, occasionally also on Thursday

TopSpin
• Shelters at Cathedral and St. Andrew's seek volunteers ... [Craig Updegrove, St. Andrew's] For the fourth straight year, Bethlehem area places of worship including a couple Episcopal churches (Cathedral Church of the Nativity and St. Andrew's) are sheltering the area homeless at night. This winter season, the mission started in the beginning of December and runs until the end of March. This week we have seen a large increase of new guests. Last night we housed 34 people! If previous years were any indication, as the winter progresses, these numbers will continue to grow. Through the New Hope campaign funding, we have been able to hire 2 part time coordinators to help coordinate each site. However, many of these sites could use additional help. More here,

• More on volunteers to help shelter homeless ... [Express-Times,Jan 2] The Rev. Scott Allen was told it wouldn’t work. He and other Bethlehem-area religious leaders just couldn’t open their churches to the homeless in the winter without strict rules and structure. But on Friday, Allen’s St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church once again hosted a group of homeless men for the fourth winter running. “It has worked, and it has helped people who may have been dead by now,” Allen said. The program started during a cold spell in January 2009. A group of Bethlehem church leaders were concerned about the welfare of the city’s homeless as temperatures weren’t climbing out of the teens for several days. St. Andrew’s and Cathedral Church of the Nativity first offered to open their doors and soon they had lined up a total of seven churches to house the homeless every night of the week during the winter. The group has grown to a dozen churches, with men and women housed at separate churches most nights. Many churches have participated all four years and for the few that have dropped out, a replacement is usually found quickly, Allen said. More here.

• Renewal Assembly IV ... will focus on empowering leaders in our parishes and is designed to help vestry members in particular and those interested in leadership and taking an active role in parish vitality. Saturday, February 11, at seven locations around the diocese, 9 to 3. More here. Register here where you will also find more info.

• The need doesn't stop ... [Beth Reid, Grace Allentown] In December our food pantry again assisted more than 300 families. In early January, Grace parishioner and retired community health nurse David Moyer gave free flu shots to any pantry clients who wanted them. Neighbors who need food and who meet the income requirements register with our pantry and may come once every four weeks. Some people come every month, others only occasionally. Some people have been coming for years. Every week, we see new faces.

• What can the Episcopal Church learn from Kodak's bankruptcy? ... [Episcopal Café] In 1996, Kodak was the fourth most valuable brand in the world behind only Disney, Coca-Cola and McDonald's. Last week it filed for bankruptcy. Here.

• Two regional events will mark Week of Prayer for Christian Unity ... [Canon Maria Tjeltveit] In the north, on Wednesday, January 25, there will be an Ecumenical Celebration of God’s Word, on Wednesday, January 25, at 12:10 p.m. at St. Peter’s Cathedral, in Scranton. The Rt. Rev, John Mack, Bishop Ordinary of the Central Diocese of the Polish National Church, will be the preacher. In the south, the Lehigh County Conference of Churches will have a service celebrating the Week of Prayer for Christian Unity on Sunday, January 29, 4:00 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church, Allentown. The Rt. Rev. John Barres, Bishop of the Diocese of Allentown, will be the preacher. The service will include an anointing with oil, and Bishop John Croneberger is planning to be present to represent our diocese and participate in this liturgical action.

DioBethSpin  
• Diocesan Training Day ... Find all the info you need, here. The annual Diocesan Training Day is now open for online registration. The event, held Saturday, March 24 at St. Stephen's Pro-Cathedral in Wilkes-Barre will feature twelve workshops from a variety of ministries.

• Mediator Allentown will celebrate 100th re-birthday ... [WFMZ.com, Frank Whelan] Some institutions have 100th birthdays, 200th birthdays and even 250th birthdays. But Allentown’s Episcopal Church of the Mediator at West Park and Turner Street is one of those few organizations that will be celebrating its100th re-birthday. Much more here, with photos. This celebration of Mediator's moving to its current location was highlighted Monday, Jan. 16, on WFMZ, Channel 69’s 5:00 p.m. newscast, on History’s Headlines with Frank Whelan. 

• Anne's 50th ... [Canon Anne Kitch] I am turning 50 this spring and I am inviting you to celebrate with me.I am throwing a party called.50 desks in 50 days. More here.

• Send mission stories to ENS ... Don't hesitate to send well-written stories about your parish or regional missions to Episcopal News Service. Here are ENS submission guidelines. Send me a copy for the newSpin blog. :-)

• Bishop's School, Spring 2012 ... The courses for the spring session of Bishop's School are: (1) New Testament - taught by The Reverend Daniel Gunn - AM session. (2) Ethics and Moral Theology - taught by The Reverend John Heffner - PM session. At St. Stephen' Wilkes-Barre. Begins January 28. More here.

• At St. Stephen's Pro-Cathedral Wilkes-Barre ... Music in February. Here.

• Renewal Assembly IV ... See above, under TopSpin.

• newSpin terminology ... There is a newSpin blog and a newSpin newsletter.  The newsletter is accessible (1) As a post on the newSpin blog where anyone can pull it down. (2) As a note that is pushed to members of Bakery. (3) As a note pushed to some 1,000 addresses on the newSpiin list on ChurchPost.

• 2012 Cycles of Prayer ... For the Diocese of Bethlehem, the Anglican Communion and our companion Diocese of Kajo Keji in Sudan. Here.

• Calendar of Diocesan Events ... Updated Jan. 10. Here.

• Weekly Parish eNewsletters ... I publish links to the weekly electronic newsletters of the Cathedral Church of the Nativity, Grace Allentown, Prince of Peace Dallas, Trinity Easton and St. Anne's Trexlertown because these seem to me to be attractive, newsy, helpful and user friendly. The Cathedral's newsletter is created with ChurchPost that, through a diocesan contract, is available free to all parishes. There may be other weekly electronic newsletters, besides these five, that might be looked at. Please let me know. Cathedral, Jan. 20, here. Grace Allentown, Jan. 19, here. Trinity Easton, Jan. 20, here. Prince of Peace Dallas, Jan. 21, here. St. Anne's Trexlertown, here, click on "Weekly Calendar."

• Episcopal News Weekly bulletin inserts ... Download inserts 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 on the right hand side. You are welcome to subscribe to any or all of these. "Bakery" is our diocesan interactive list.

TaleSpin
• Defining “Evangelical” and Other Unsolved Mysteries … [Sojourners, Cathleen Falsani] Are we really that difficult to comprehend? Yes. Not a monolith. Here. 

TailSpin
• Can a bad economy save your marriage ... [Miller-McCune] Spouses who blame the economy for their woes, rather than pointing the finger at their partner, are more likely to be satisfied with their marriages. Here.

• Quick, name the largest Americsn brewer … [AdAge.com] You may be surprised. Here.

Pray   
• The Daily Office ... with the Mission St. Clare. Now available for iPhone and iPad.

• With The Book of Common Prayer ... Here.

 • For our young men and women who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan, and for their families ... Check the newSpin blog for an update. Better still, at the "Get Connected" box on the right side of our diocesan website, fill in your name and email address, and click on "My Groups." In the next window, check "Pray for." Then, you will receive the weekly update by email.

• Praying the News is a blog by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat. Here.

Resources
• Congregations under stress ... The Congregational Resource Guide shares a number of perspectives on dealing with congregations under stress. Here. [h/t Charles Cesaretti]

• In-Formation in Bethlehem, January 2012 ... Canon Anne Kitch's monthly newsletter of lifelong Christian formation resources. Here.

Episcopal/Anglican
• Bill Tully leaves St. Bart's NYC ... [NYTimes] His reinvention of a dying church with ratty old wooden pews is emblemized by the 900 brand-new chairs — bought by parishioners for $900 apiece, engraved plaques included — arrayed in the exquisite mosaic, marble and stained-glass sanctuary. With a congregation of nearly 3,400, up from a foundering flock of just a few hundred when he took over in 1994, the Rev. William MacDonald Tully, 65, is retiring from active duty at St. Bartholomew’s Episcopal Church on Park Avenue and 50th Street. More here.

• An interview with Winnie Vargese: 'I complicate the picture a bit' ... [Mid Day] Winnie Varghese is the 39 year-old priest in charge of the St Mark's Church in-the-Bowery, an Episcopal church that is the oldest site of continuous religious practice in New York. It is also renowned for having supported a vibrant arts and cultural life in the city -- Khalil Gibran was appointed a member of the St Mark's arts committee in 1919; the rock and roll band Patti Smith group was founded after the musician took part in a St Mark's Poetry Project in 1971. Varghese, an out lesbian, was in India to attend a first-of-its-kind meeting of members of the Church of North India, the diocese of Derby in England, and the diocese of New York -- to which she belongs -- that was conducted in an effort to understand the specific cultural, political and social issues that affect each diocese. An eight-member team of each diocese had week-long meetings in New York City and Derby, before they visited Mumbai and Bengaluru. "This model is being tested as a new approach to facing topics on which we hold different positions in different parts of the communion," explains Varghese. In her free time, Varghese also met members of the Indian queer community. More here.

• Episcopal Church new website ... complete transformation and redesign, launched December 28, efficient and user friendly. Read about it here. ... Episcopal News Service ... ENS blog ... Episcopal Church on Facebook ... Episcopal Church on YouTube ... Anglican Communion website ... Anglican Communion News Service. ... Anglican Communion News Service on Facebook.

Moravian
• Moravian Church in North America website.  Moravian Church Northern Province website.  Moravian Theological Seminary website.

Evangelical Lutheran 
• NEPA Synod E-News ... Jan. 20, here.  NEPA Synod website ... Here.  ELCA website ... Here.  ELCA News Service ... Here.  ELCA's blogs may be found here. See especially "Web and Multimedia Development."

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
• Literary pilgrimages to the homes of Catholic authors ... [America] “Should I take off my shoes?” she asked. Mr. Amason laughed, “Well, no; I don’t take mine off.” So the woman stepped inside, shoes and all, and looked around with reverence. Then she turned to Mr. Amason and said, “I’m Catholic because of Flannery O’Connor.” The woman was one of the more than 5,000 visitors who come through the door of Andalusia each year. And while not every visitor arrives with a conversion story, many feel a similar pull to O’Connor’s home after reading her work. The home has been open to the public since 2004, but visitors started arriving long before that. Enthusiastic readers and curious passers-by often jumped the fence that surrounded the property and wandered the grounds, said Mr. Amason. Opening the house to the public allowed for more legitimate—and informative—visits to the home, which now offers tours to a global cast of individuals ranging from senior citizens in book clubs to teenagers covered in piercings and tattoos. O’Connor’s writing speaks to them all. “At least once a year,” said Mr. Amason, “we watch people weep while standing at the corner of Flannery O’Connor’s bedroom.” A particularly burly man once stood over the guestbook with tears streaming down his face. “He said, ‘I’m crying like a baby; this is embarrassing, but it’s so meaningful,’” Mr. Amason recalled. “I told him it happens all the time.” More here. [h/t Leadership Education at Duke Divinity]

• Jesuit-run University of Scranton flouts Bishop, invitesj pro-abortion speaker ... [CNN[ Here. 

• 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.

Opinion/Commentary
• The Ministerial Exception ... [WaPo and Sightings and RNS] Martin Marty comments on the recent Supreme Court decision (Hosanna-Tabor Evangelical Lutheran Church and School v. E.E.O.C.") that add a "ministerial exception" to a national vocabulary and code which makes another exception in religious matters, alongside "tax exemption for the churches." Here. Washington Post story here. Some say the ruling is the court’s most important decision on religious freedom in decades. Others, like columnist Tom Ehrich, say “it's time for religion to lose its special treatment in the Constitution and in tax codes. Not because religion has ceased to matter, but because it matters more than ever in our increasingly unethical society, and the special treatment ends up hurting both religion and state.”

Media/Films/DVD/TV/Books/Music/Tech
• Election 2012 ... That’s the NYTimes app that offers “news, opinion, polls and live election night results from The Times and other top sources around the Web ... the best csampaign coverage anywhere, all in one app.” More here.

• Music at Trinity Wall Street ... [NYTimes] With the new year, the church’s hard-charging music program seems to have hit a serious speed bump. More here.

WordSpin
• The Daily Office from MissionStClare. Now available for iPhone and iPad.

• The Lectionary Page ...  Here. This is a new URL. Update your bookmarks or favorites.

• The Lectionary ... Here.

• Oremus Bible Browser ... Here.

• Revised Common Lectionary ... Vanderbilt. 

Be there 
Jan. 28: Bishop's School begins. More here.

Feb. 11: Renewal Assembly 4, seven locations, 9 to 3. Register here.

Feb. 19: Celebration of New Ministry, Christ Church Stroudsburg
The Rev. Doug Moyer as rector, 4:00 p.m.

Feb. 19: Arts on the Mountain ... At Trinity Mt. Pocono, Feb. 19. Here.

March 2: An Evening with C.S. Lewis at Trinity Easton. Here.

March 5: Financial Sanity Seminar At Trinity Easton, Four Mondays, 7 to 8:30 p.m., March 5 to 26. More here.

March 9-11: Nativity Cathedral's 10th annual retreat for Episcopal women, here.

March 24: Diocesan Training Day, St. Stephen's Pro-Cathedral, Wilkes-Barre 9:00 to 3:00.

March 29: Chrism Mass, Cathedral Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem 11:00 a.m.

April 13: Ordination, Nativity Cathedral Bethlehem, 7:00 p.m.

April 20-22: Christophany Retreat, grades 6-12, at Pocono Plateau Retreat, Cresco.

May 3-6: Icon Workshop with Peter Pearson at Cathedral.  More info here.

May 16: Episcopal Church Women Annual Meeting, Kirby House 9:00 to 2:30.
Program:  Prefer Nothing to Christ: Benedictine Wisdom for the Christian Life.
The Rev. Laura Thomas Howell

May 20: St. Matthew's Society Gathering, Lehigh Country Club, Allentown 3:00 p.m.

June 1-3: Vocare Retreat for Young Adults, Kirkridge Retreat Center.

June 16: Renewal Assembly 5, various locations.

June 30: Bishop's Day with Kids

July 5-12: 77th General Convention of the Episcopal Church, Indianapolis.

July 28: Bishop's Day with Kids

Summer: Senior High Mission Trip. Dates and destination TBA.

Sept. 20: New Hope 5th Anniversary

Sept. 25: Pre-Convention Meeting, St. Albans, Sinking Spring 7:00 p.m.
Sept. 27: Pre-Convention Meeting, Church of the Epiphany, Clarks Summit 7:00 p.m.
Oct. 2: Pre-Convention Meeting, Nativity, Bethlehem 7:00 p.m.
Oct. 5-6: Diocesan Convention at Good Shepherd Scranton

Nov. 11: Joint Eucharist with United Methodists
Asbury UMC, Allentown, 4:00 P.M. Bishop Paul to preach.

Follow
• The Diocese of Bethlehem on Twitter and Facebook ... http://twitter.com/#!/Diobeth ... https://www.facebook.com/DioceseOfBethlehem
• Kat Lehman on Twitter ... http://twitter.com/#!/KatLehman

Additional sources of news/info/commentary
• Religion News Service Daily Roundup ... here.
• Faith in Public Life ... here.
• Episcopal/Anglican
 (1) The Episcopal Church
 (2) Episcopal News Service
 (3) Episcopal Café
 (4) AngicansOnline.
 (5) AnglicansOnline News Centre.

*************

You are reading the newSpin newsletter. The newSpin blog, which includes the newsletter and other items, is available here. When the newsletter is completed on Mondays and occasionally, more often than not, on Thursdays as well, it is published immediately to the blog and on Bakery and on a ChurchPost list of some 1,000 addresses. Many recipients forward it to many more. Bakery and the blog are interactive. The ChurchPost list is not. 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. Regarding items about your parish or agency as well as feedback on any other items ... 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]