By Lucy Chumbley June 29, 2011 ( Volume 80 , No. 4 )

Bishop’s Appeal 2011 launched in May

 

The 2011 Bishop's Appeal, Bishop John Bryson Chane’s last, was launched in May to raise funds to support the work of the Diocese of Washington as it prepares to welcome its next bishop.

 

This year’s appeal, So That All May Be One – also the theme of Chane’s episcopacy – focuses on diversity in the diocese, raising up the mission and ministry of historic African-American, West African and Spanish-speaking congregations.

 

Funds from the appeal are a major source of the diocese’s operating budget, which supports congregations in variety of ways; from offering youth retreats, workshops and activities to supporting college chaplaincies; from fostering the exponential growth of the diocese’s Latino congregations to sustaining its ministry to the deaf; by offering guidance to parishes seeking a new rector and providing resources during times of transition; by supporting congregations that are struggling; by offering technical support for parish websites and communications through the edow.org website, this newspaper and the weekly Church House News e-mail bulletin; by supporting local ministries that care for the hungry and homeless and working with the diocese’s international partners in mission in South Africa, Jerusalem and Honduras, among many others.

 

“All of these things are made possible by your generosity and I am so grateful for your giving,” Chane said in an online video promoting the appeal. “I hope and pray as we elect a new bishop and we prepare to move forward with the ninth Bishop of Washington that these programs will be sustained by your generous, generous stewardship. Thank you all very much, and God bless you.”

 

You can watch the video and make a gift to the appeal at http://www.edow.org/giving/bishops-appeal. Gifts to the appeal also can be mailed to: 2011 Bishop’s Appeal, Episcopal Church House, Mount St. Alban, Washington, D.C., 20016.

 

St. Luke’s, Bladensburg to join Roman Catholic Church

The rector and parishioners of St. Luke's, Bladensburg announced June 6 that they will leave the Diocese of Washington and seek entry into the Roman Catholic Church.

The parish’s decision, made after a period of deep discernment, has the support of both Bishop John Bryson Chane and Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Catholic Archbishop of Washington.

“This was a transition achieved in a spirit of pastoral sensitivity and mutual respect,” Chane said. “I was glad to be able to meet the spiritual needs of the people and priest of St. Luke's in a way that respects the tradition and polity of both of our churches.”

St. Luke's is the first area church to take this step through an ordinariate, a structure authorized in 2009 by Pope Benedict XVI for former Anglican parishes seeking to enter the Catholic Church.

An ordinariate is a geographic region similar to a diocese, though typically national in scope. Ordinariate parishes are fully Catholic, while retaining aspects of their Anglican heritage and liturgical tradition. The first ordinariate was established in England in January 2011.

Until an ordinariate is established for the United States, St. Luke's, which has approximately 100 parishioners, will come under the care of the Archdiocese of Washington.

“The proposed ordinariate provides a path to unity, one that recognizes our shared beliefs on matters of faith while also recognizing and respecting the liturgical heritage of the Anglican Church," Wuerl said. He serves as the U.S. delegate of the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, which will handle requests for membership in a yet-to-be-formed U.S. ordinariate.

Under the terms of a letter of agreement signed with the Diocese of Washington, the congregation of St. Luke’s will lease its current church building at 4006 53rd Street, Bladensburg, and will continue to worship there. The agreement includes a purchase option after a period of three years.

The St. Luke’s congregation will begin preparations for reception into the Roman Catholic Church later this year, while the Rev. Mark Lewis, rector of St. Luke's, hopes to begin the process to be ordained a Roman Catholic priest.

“I am deeply grateful to Cardinal Wuerl and to Bishop Chane for their support throughout this discernment,” Lewis said. “We look forward to continuing to worship in the Anglican tradition, while at the same time being in full communion with the Holy See of Peter.”

The papal document authorizing the establishment of ordinariates, Anglicanorum coetibus, can be found at www.adw.org.

Wade called as dean of Christ Church Cathedral, Lexington, Ky.

 

The Rev. Carol Wade, former canon precentor at Washington National Cathedral, was called on June 26 as dean of Christ Church Cathedral in Lexington, Kentucky. She will begin her duties in September.

 

Christ Church Cathedral is the seat of the Diocese of Lexington, and serves 8,900 Episcopalians.

 

During her time at Washington National Cathedral, Wade oversaw around 1,800 services each year, designing worship for many high profile events, including the funeral of former President Gerald R. Ford, the investiture of Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, and the Inaugural Prayer Service for President Barack Obama. 

 

She has also served the Episcopal Church as chaplain to the House of Bishops, and was responsible for the vision and implementation of worship at the 76th General Convention of The Episcopal Church in Anaheim, California. 

 

“We at Washington National Cathedral continue to be grateful for the extraordinary gifts Carol Wade brought to our worship life,” said Dean Samuel T. Lloyd. “The depth of her understanding of liturgy and breadth of her creativity resulted in a steady stream of moving and profound services. We are delighted that she will remain engaged in cathedral ministry as she now moves to be dean of Christ Church Cathedral in Lexington, and send our prayers and best wishes to her and her new community.”

 

“I have had the opportunity and the distinct pleasure of serving with the Rev. Carol Wade ever since she came to Washington National Cathedral,” said Bishop John Bryson Chane. “Carol is a rare blend of being an exceptional pastor, an innovative liturgist and a solid preacher who has the ability to bring together these three gifts into a ministry of healing, corporate prayer and teaching.”

 

Wade will be the 22nd rector of Christ Church since the Rev. James Moore became its first rector in 1796. She will be the seventh dean, and the first female to serve as rector or dean of the parish. Christ Church served as the cathedral of the diocese from 1897 through 1933, when it reverted to parish status. It was restored to cathedral status in 1989. Wade follows the Rt. Rev. Morris K. Thompson, the sixth dean, who was elected Bishop of Louisiana, and interim dean the Rev. Larae Rutenbar who guided the cathedral during the transition period. 

 

Hannibal elected to National Association of Episcopal Schools governing board

 

The Rev. Preston B. Hannibal, the diocese’s canon for academic ministries, has been elected to the governing board of the National Association of Episcopal Schools, effective July 1.

 

“I am thrilled to welcome Preston to the governing board,” said Doreen S. Oleson,

incoming board president and head of school at St. Mark’s Episcopal School, Altadena, Ca. “By virtue of his current and past roles, he will offer a variety of important perspectives as the governing board considers the future direction of the association’s mission and ministry.”

 

Hannibal serves as the liaison between the Bishop’s office and the 21 schools associated with the Diocese of Washington. He also coordinates the Episcopal chaplains at nine university campus ministry sites and works with the diocese’s growing Young Adult Ministries’ program. For the past six years, chief among his responsibilities has been the founding and development of the Bishop John T. Walker School for Boys, serving low-income boys in Anacostia.

 

The National Association of Episcopal Schools is an independently incorporated, voluntary membership organization that supports, serves and advocates for the work and ministry of those who serve more than 1,200 Episcopal schools, early childhood education programs and school establishment efforts throughout the Episcopal Church.

 

Chartered in 1965, with historic roots dating to the 1930s, NAES is the only pre-collegiate educational association that is both national in scope and Episcopal in character. The Association advances Episcopal education and strengthens Episcopal schools through essential services, resources, conferences and networking opportunities on Episcopal school identity, leadership, and governance, and on the spiritual and professional development of school leaders.

 

Spanish-language magazine launched in December

A Spanish-language magazine serving the diocese’s Latino community was launched in December. The magazine is titled Surcano el Presente Trillando el Futuro, Preparing the Ground for the Future Harvest. Produced and edited by Araceli Ma, Latino Ministries assistant, the glossy tri-monthly publication is distributed to members of the diocese's seven Spanish-speaking congregations: San Juan, San Esteban y la Encarnacion, San Miguel y Todos los Angeles, San Mateo, Nuestro Salvador, La Ascensión and San Alban.

The magazine, which aims to build community, includes a report and photos from each Latino congregation. Its most recent issue, April-May-June 2011, included information on the nominees seeking election as the ninth Bishop of Washington. A new feature, Nuestros Niños, our children, was introduced in the same issue, along with a “crucigram” -- a crossword created by Armando Mosquera, a parishioner of San Alban.

The magazine can be found online at http://www.edow.org/ministries/diocesan/latinoministry/ revista

‘Walkabout Week’ draws hundreds

Hundreds of people from around the Diocese of Washington came out to meet the candidates for election during “Walkabout Week,” Transition Committee member Mathy Downing told the Diocesan Council at its June 9 meeting.

More than 250 people attended the first walkabout at St. Mary’s, Foggy Bottom on May 23, she said. Around 200 people came to the walkabout at Washington Episcopal School, while a further 75-plus watched online. Close to 100 seniors were present at the Collington walkabout on May 25, and more than 200 people – among them members of the Spanish-speaking congregations – turned out that evening for the bi-lingual walkabout at Ascension, Gaithersburg. A further 150 people turned out to hear the candidates speak at Christ Church, Chaptico on May 26 in the diocese’s Region 6. Additionally, a standing-room only crowd of clergy from the diocese packed into St. Alban’s Nourse Hall to hear the candidates speak.

“We thought it was a very positive week,” Downing said. “We put a lot of thought into it.”

“I would really like to compliment the committee, because all those experiences were phenomenal,” said the Rev. David Wacaster, a council member. “Thank you for your work. It was really well done and it was a great week.”

Herman Gloster, a council member from St. Mary’s, Foggy Bottom, remarked that he thought there has been closer to 300 people at the St. Mary’s walkabout.

“We can seat about 250 and we had standing room only,” he said. “People were really overwhelmed by the event itself. It was very pleasing to the congregation.”

Downing said that while the committee had not gone into the experience “totally blind” there had been no guidebook. “We’ll be putting a binder together so that the next time something like this happens there will be something in place that will be a guide,” she said.

During the week, the candidates also met with key groups of people in around the diocese, and had one-on-one time with Bishop John Bryson Chane. They were accommodated at the Savoy Suites near Washington National Cathedral and were transported by mini-bus to locations around the diocese.

In addition to fielding questions at the walkabouts, they toured the Bishop John T. Walker School, lunched with the Afro/Anglican clergy at Atonement, D.C., dined with the diocese’s Standing Committee, lunched with the Cathedral Foundation and Heads of Schools, were interviewed at Church House, dined at St. John’s, Olney and  lunched at Trinity, St. Mary’s City.

Their time in the diocese concluded with a Eucharist in the Church House chapel, with the Rev. Janice Robinson, chaplain to the Search/Transition Committees presiding.

Civil Rights activist speaks at dinner honoring Marshall

Civil Rights activist and attorney Vernon E. Jordan Jr. spoke to a sold-out audience at a May 17 celebratory dinner honoring the legacy of Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall at St. Augustine’s, D.C.

The dinner, held on the anniversary of the landmark 1954 Brown v. Board of Education ruling to desegregate schools, also featured veteran television news broadcaster Maureen Bunyan of ABC7/WJLA-TV as the evening’s mistress of ceremonies. Funds raised from the event will help the church continue its community outreach services.

Jordan spoke of how he first met Marshall, a long-time St. Augustine’s parishioner, while attending Howard University Law School, and was mentored and influenced by him throughout his law career.

The Diocese of Washington honors Marshall on May 17, which has been tentatively set by General Convention as the day to commemorate his life and ministry. Collect and readings for the day as proposed in Holy Women, Holy Men (the replacement of Lesser Feasts and Fasts) can be found edow.org in the liturgical resources section.