Journey's Community offers a spiritual voyage Urban Caucus to be held in Baltimore Task Force on Health Care Celebrate St. Mary's Outreach Center News From The Claggett Center

 December 2003-January 2004        Diocese of Maryland Home Page        Previous Issue

   

“Building on Faith for the Future” – The Capital Campaign takes shape

By JOHN KLINE

Everyday, sometimes several times a day, somebody asks you to buy something, subscribe to something or give to something. We have the technology to identify our calls, zap away the telemarketers and spam out the pop-up ads because it’s become overwhelming and an assault on our privacy.

The struggling economy hasn’t helped, and we carefully and microscopically examine every financial decision or commitment we make. There are so many needs, each one more worthy than the next, that what little resources we have to dedicate are painfully and meticulously chosen based on relevance in our lives.

On the flip side of the coin, businesses are hurting and not-for-profits are floundering. It has become a vicious cycle. The more we avoid these groups, the harder they try.

The dining room at the Bishop Claggett Center will be rebuilt with funds raised from the capital campaign

As Episcopalians of the Diocese of Maryland, we have a relationship with God, an affiliation to the Anglican Communion, a connection to our Diocese and a bond with our individual parishes. Our spiritual journey is multi-faceted and embraces every definition of giving. Of course, our immediate loyalty rests with our home parishes and the community in which we live, but the health and survival of our parishes rests on the strength and well being of our Diocese.

Earlier this year, the Diocese officially announced the public phase of its capital campaign, Building on Faith for the Future. This $4 million campaign has already raised, in its quiet phase, close to $2 million. “With a strong advanced giving base, the Building on Faith for the Future Campaign has moved into the Parishes,” said co-chair, Marty Hill. “It is in this grass roots congregation giving that the goal will be met. Now that the gates have been opened to all of our parishes we are challenged to make quick work of the remaining balance on our goal. Campaign volunteers will be working closely with vestries this fall to support their individual efforts.”

Several parishes have already recognized the importance of this campaign and in their own capacity have risen to the challenge of meeting its goals.

Earlier this year, St. Margaret’s Church in Annapolis made a significant donation to the campaign from their endowment fund. St. Timothy’s Church in Frederick gave two times their yearly allocation to the Diocese. Thus far, 11 parishes have either given or pledged, and 32 members of Clergy and 77 lay contributors have stepped up to the plate. In the words one anonymous donor, “the funds from this campaign will provide greater resources for parishes of our Diocese, provide us with a state-of-the-art conference center and spread the news that will build our Church.”

Building on Faith for the Future is about fulfilling a vision, a three pronged trinity that will touch the lives and spirits of each member of the Diocese both tangibly and intangibly.

 

 The majority of the funds raised through the campaign will renew and expand the Bishop Claggett Center as a place of Christian formation, spiritual renewal and sharing. Development will begin in the fall with the building of a new dining facility and conversion of the existing bank barn to accommodate year round meeting space. As funding allows, construction of a new adult lodge will begin, and long range plans include the expansion of the existing adult lodge, a Chapel, four new youth cabins, an indoor recreation facility, replacement of the pool, expansion of the camping facilities and a ropes course.

The second prong of the campaign is to plant several new congregations, with the cooperation of existing parishes, in the next five years. An ever-changing, ever-growing population requires an adaptable, mission-driven Church to identify areas of rapid growth and unique ministry needs.The money raised will be designated primarily for land acquisition and capital needs.

Under the direction of the Rev. James Ransom, rector of Trinity Church in Towson, the New Starts committee has already purchased one parcel of land and will need at least three more to meet its goals.

The final prong is social outreach. All donors to the Campaign have the option of designating up to 10% of their specific gift to work with and among the poor and needy. It’s an ambitious undertaking, but not an impossible one.

But it will only happen if each member of the Diocese commits to making it happen.

For more information, call John Kline, Director of Financial

Development and Communications at 410.467.1399.

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Bishop speaks on homosexuality and the Bible
By DON SCHROEDER

Since returning from the 74th General Convention of the American Episcopal Church in Minneapolis, Bishop Ihloff has been committed to reaching out and speaking to parishes on the issue of Homosexuality and Biblical Morality. This is part of an ongoing Diocesan effort to help address the concerns Episcopalians are experiencing over the election of the Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, Bishop of New Hampshire.

One of the meetings was held at St. Anne’s Parish Hall in Annapolis with an attendance of over 150 lay people and clergy from St. Anne’s and neighboring churches.

A handout was distributed listing 11 scriptures that are frequently quoted concerning homosexuality. Bibles were also handed out so that the audience could follow the Bishop in reading the passages. He prefixed his comments by pointing out the importance of being cognizant of the cultural environment that existed at the time when the Bible was written, some 20 centuries ago. The Bishop cited several examples of the

relations that existed between men and women in ancient times. In the time of Paul, for example, women were often treated brutally and unfairly, and slavery was accepted.

There are, he noted, “certain issues in the Bible that we, as a society, do not follow today because of our modern moral values.”

During the question and answer period, a number of views were expressed. Bishop Ihloff said he hoped that both the conservatives and liberals on this issue would coexist in the Church, agree to disagree, and  continue to do God’s work together.

The forum was well received and many in attendance thought it was a good step in starting to address the pain of this issue.

 

 

Bishop Ihloff addresses audience at St. Anne’s,

Annapolis on the issue of homosexuality and the Bible.

  

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Baltimore County and the Church of the Ascension recognize a remarkable woman

By CINDY TIPTON MAINOLFI

It has been quite a year for Emma Wetzelberger. A year ago, she asked to meet Cindy Tipton Mainolfi, deacon-in-charge of the Church of the Ascension in Middle River. As a result of this meeting, she began her journey with Ascension and a new chapter of her life.

In their conversation, she told Cindy how angry she had been. Four years earlier, Emma was diagnosed with leukemia. She was told she only had a 1% chance of survival and about nine months to live. Emma said, “I was angry with everyone and I was angry with God. I could no longer pray. I was sick all the time from the medicine I had to take; I was afraid I wouldn’t be there for my husband, Rick, who is a quadriplegic. I knew I needed help and I knew that Cindy had not given up on me.”

During their visit, Emma and Cindy prayed and Cindy told Emma about some of the church’s needs. Ascension has an average attendance of around 35 people, but with a substantial emphasis on outreach. “It was getting close to Thanksgiving and I knew we needed help with the holiday outreach,” said Cindy. “Emma was telling me she wanted help from God and that she wanted to help the church, so I decided to take her up on her offer. In previous years we had supplied Thanksgiving dinner to as many as 12 families and I knew that this year we needed someone to organize things. Emma seemed excited about the prospect but to tell you the truth, I didn’t know if she was really well enough to take on the project. I soon

found out that Emma is the lady who never gives up.”

That day, Emma committed herself to outreach for Ascension. During Thanksgiving and Christmas of 2002, Ascension helped 46 families with food and gifts for the holidays.

“Ascension is a real community,” said Cindy,“ It is on the peninsular of Wilson Point and is like a small village. Little did I realize that Emma knew everyone in that village and they knew and respected her. Emma tapped into all of her sources and they responded.”

During and after the holidays, Emma didn’t stop. She worked with the children of the neighborhood, gave parties and had special outings for them. She coordinated the collection and distribution of morale packages for our troops deployed overseas. She helped with Vacation Bible School and started the church’s food pantry. She started a special drive under the deacon’s discretionary fund to help the Baltimore County Police with children in need of emergency aid. She continued her delivery of meals on wheels. She helped coordinate two of Ascension’s most successful fundraisers, a community yard sale and an “all-donation” Bingo.

This summer things started coming together for Emma. She was selected to receive the Baltimore County “Volunteer Service Award”. Presented at an awards ceremony by the County Executive, James Smith, he said, “Mrs.Wetzelberger’s volunteer service is of that rare and remarkable spirit which only grows stronger in the face of adversity. As the primary caregiver of her husband and a woman determined in her fight against leukemia, Mrs. Wetzelberger already raises to heroic levels as a person whose personal struggle and brave dealings inspire all those who know her. However, most people recall Mrs. Wetzelberger’s

heroism in the context of her volunteer service to her church and neighborhood.

Maintaining the food pantry, fundraising for youth programs and helping organize a discretionary fund for needy children are but a few of the many charitable ways in which she serves as a member of the Church of the Ascension. Meanwhile, within her neighborhood she is active in assisting the elderly and people with disabilities by helping with cleaning, repairs and as a caregiver and health advocate. Baltimore County commends her for her generous community spirit, devotion and extraordinary volunteer work, and wishes her the best in all her future endeavors.”

That same week, Emma received word from her doctors that she no longer carried the chromosome for her leukemia and would not need the medicine that had made her so ill for so long.

Emma says that she often thinks back to the day when Cindy came to see her. “I will never forget that afternoon. Cindy said to me ‘Emma, I give you your wings. You can fly as high as you want.’ I am flying now and I intend to continue. And never stop praying, I am living proof that prayers are answered.”

 

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Journeys Community offers a spiritual voyage

For the past five years, the Rev. Dr. Harry Brunett has been examining ways in which the Episcopal Church could appeal to the growing number of people of all ages who are searching for a spiritual dimension and purpose in their lives, but have been unable to find it in the traditional church. His doctoral thesis, A Seeker Ministry for the 21st Century was a requirement for his Doctor of Ministry in Advanced Studies in Congregational Development from Seabury-Western Theological

 

There is no event so commonplace but that God is present within it, always hidden, always leaving room to recognize him or not recognize him, but all the more fascinating because of that, all the more compelling and haunting ... If I were called upon to state in a few words the essence of everything I was trying to say both as a novelist and as a preacher, it would be something like this: Listen to your life. See it for the fathomless mystery that it is, in the boredom and pain

of it, no less than in the excitement and gladness. Touch, taste, smell your way to the holy and hidden heart of it because in the last analysis all moments are key moments, and life itself is grace.”
Frederick Buechner from his book of

meditations, Listening to Your Life.

Seminary. His thesis became both his inspiration and blueprint in the development of this ministry,  Journeys Community. Says Brunett, “Frederick Buechner’s words (see insert) have captured the essence of how I see contemporary spirituality in one’s relationship with God.”

Journeys Community is a fellowship of men and women who share the common desire to explore their spirituality on an individual basis and in their connection with others. Many of those who respond to this ministry have tried a variety of spiritual and religious experiences and found them to be unfulfilling, often because they seem to offer pre-determined answers rather than assistance in exploring the questions. This ministry attracts many people who have never been exposed to the church or who have not found traditional forms of worship to be helpful in their journey.

The planning for Journeys Community began in 1999 with the development of a prototype service targeted at selected groups of spiritual seekers. Market research and focus groups were pivotal in finalizing the components, and in September of 2001, Journeys Community held its first service. Based in Howard County, Journeys Community has an active database of 85 people who have attended the services. Services are held every Sunday with an average attendance of 25 to 40 people.

 

The Diocese of Maryland has supported Journeys Community for the past three years. The Mission Strategy Committee of the Diocese, in its report to Diocesan Convention in 2002, recommended the development and implementation of seeker ministries as one of the mission priorities of the Diocese

designed to reach those the church does not currently  serve.

This begins a series of articles on Journeys Community. For more information, visit their website at

www.journeyscommunity.org . or email the Rev. Dr. Harry Brunett at journeyscommunity@mris.com .

 

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Focus on World Hunger

By BETSY VANAUKER

For the fourth year, Episcopal Relief and Development Sunday will be held on Advent 2, December 7, 2003.This year, the focus is World Hunger with the theme Every Day Counts.

Packets of information were sent to each parish during the last week of October, with bulletin inserts, liturgical sources and other information to help people understand how they can help end world hunger.

If your parish cannot observe ERD Sunday on Advent 2, the information can be used on a Sunday of your choosing.

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Advent is a time for moving beyond our fears

ihloff.jpg (9705 bytes)Fear is everywhere. It is part and parcel of our daily lives and the evening news. The escalation of terrorism, of uncertain airport security, of daily attacks on our troops in Iraq, of the uncertainty of our economic recovery is the substance behind the headlines. Many of us have more personal fears as well: fear of job loss, fear for personal safety, fear of serious illness.

Within our Church are fears: that we may divide over issues of human sexuality, that our divisions will weaken us financially, that personal friendships will remain strained, that we might loose the healthy tension which exists among people who disagree but love one another profoundly. Fear is on every side, and fear can become debilitating.

Advent is a special, reflective time in which the Church invites our members to be especially vigilant. Where is God breaking through the mundane things of this world, even our fears, to lead us into deeper faith? Advent is a reminder that the most important time is now! We can learn from the past, but we cannot remold it. We can worry about the future, but most of our fears concerning it are never realized. Now is the only time over which you and I exercise some control. Now is the time in which God’s Spirit is moving and the only time in which we can experience the Spirit’s presence to guide, strengthen, challenge and renew us. Being vigilant in the present moment makes all the difference. How important it is for us to be invested in the present moment, to be truly aware and watchful! My favorite cartoon from the New Yorker appeared about twenty-five years ago: two Buddhist monks are seated in the lotus position next to each other; the young monk has apparently asked a question, and the old monk with a slight frown answers,“Nothing happens next, this is it.”

I am mindful that the Lord Jesus often said to his disciples,“Fear not,” and that St. Paul reminds us,“Love casts out fear.” If we can let love rule our relationships and give greater direction to our lives, we will find that fears subside and no longer have the power to impede our progress. Love opens our eyes to opportunities in the present moment. Faith compensates for fear. Our faith reminds us that God is here in the moment and for all time. God is very near, and God will never abandon us. Faith helps us put fears in their proper place; that is, we may not be free from fear, but faith enables us to move forward, to be hopeful, and to experience God even in the face of trouble. Hope also combats fear. Hope reminds us that

this is God’s world, God’s Church, and each of us is God’s child—it all doesn’t depend on me alone. Hope enables us to pick ourselves up and follow our stars, like the Magi of old.

“Faith, hope, love—these three last,” Paul reminds us in I Corinthians 13.

May Advent be a time for increased faith and hope, and especially a time of increased charity among us. May it be a time devoted to seeing Christ’s presence in every moment, in every face, standing above every fear. May Advent be a time to move beyond fears to deeper commitments, renewed faith and sacrificial love!

 

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Bishop of Maryland

 

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“Bishops by ballot” in the Episcopal Church

By KINGSLEY SMITH, HISTORIOGRAPHER

In the debates about the election of the Rt. Rev.V. Gene Robinson, Bishop of New Hampshire, no one questioned the constitutionality of the process. It was done by a full quorum of delegates, voting (as always in such elections) separately by orders, until the ballot, in which he received a majority vote

of both the clergy and laity.

It is worth remembering where this process came from. When the American colonies declared independence from George III, the Anglican churches were cut off from both the authority and the support of the mother Church of England. They had priests and prayer books and property but no bishop.

Some clergy and lay people were Tories (“Loyalists,” that is) but many were patriots. A faithful remnant was determined to establish a continuing church and began meeting, first in Chestertown, Maryland in 1780, then in other states, and finally in Philadelphia in 1789 to organize the Protestant Episcopal Church.

They intended to retain their Anglican doctrines and worship (see the Preface to the current Prayer Book, pp. 9-11), but they felt that having bishops appointed by the Crown was, in the words of an anonymous writer to the Virginia Gazette in 1778,“one of the many encroachments of power upon the just rights of the

people.”

William White, rector of Christ Church, Philadelphia and chaplain to the Continental Congress, wrote The Case of the Episcopal Church Considered in 1782 in which he argued that the “power of electing a superior order of ministers ought to be in the clergy and laity together, they being interested in the choice.”

 “In England,” he adds, “the civil authority appoints the bishops, which was a usurpation of the Crown at the Norman Conquest. The primitive churches were generally supplied by popular elections; even in the City of Rome, the privilege of electing a bishop continued with the people to the tenth or eleventh century.”

White and some others had wondered if it might be necessary to remake the church with priests exercising the Episcopal authority to confirm and ordain, but eventually rejected that.

The first Episcopal election was held in Connecticut in 1783 when the clergy voted to send Samuel Seabury to Britain for consecration. The next was in Maryland where the clergy elected William Smith in 1783 and then by the laity in 1784. Smith withdrew the next year so Seabury, consecrated in Scotland in 1784, was the first American bishop - and the only one not voted on by the laity. From then on every bishop was  elected in a vote by orders as each diocese was formed That is how our Church found the formula for giving bishops the apostolic authority they need without denying the work of the Spirit through the whole

body of Christ’s people. They have, as Frederick Mills wrote in “Bishops by Ballot” (New York, 1978),“mitre without sceptre…in every way more democratic than their English counterparts.”

Whatever our opinions about particular bishops, we can be grateful for the system that creates them. White was right, we all are “interested in the choice.”

 

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In view of the cross: telling human stories for the interfaith community: An interview with Kathleen Norris

By ANNE CARSON

On a balmy afternoon last fall, I interviewed award-winning poet and New York Times best-selling author, Kathleen Norris, in the spacious lounge of the College of Preachers at Washington National Cathedral. She had been chosen to participate in an interfaith forum and would be speaking from the Christian’s view point in a panel with three other keynoters who were representing the Muslim, Jewish and

Agnostic perspectives as the Four Faces of Faith.

As she spoke, I marveled at how ideal she was to represent the Christian voice in an interfaith gathering. Living in such a crucial time in our history when people of different faiths are at war, her words were magnified in their poignancy and importance. Her service for many years as an oblate at a Benedictine monastery in North Dakota had clothed her with humility and grace, and her down-home warmth and easy wit filled the Gothic space and made me feel as if we had been friends for years. Ms. Norris’ widely popular book, Amazing Grace, had been written to address and transpose, through personal stories, words in the Christian lexicon that had most troubled her. And her spiritual journey, built on the familiar human struggle from despair to faith, was one of universal appeal.

What follows is her indomitable witness to a realistic Christian faith based on the solid ground of human stories lived in view of the cross.

In what ways can Christians more graciously embody Christ incarnate, Christ with us, without appearing spiritually elite or fundamentalist, as they participate in interfaith dialogue?

KN: “We need to be able to articulate our own faith and say what Jesus Christ means to us. I was trying to do that in Amazing Grace. We should feel free to use the language of our faith but be willing to articulate it. When I was growing up and spending time with my Grandmother Norris, who was devout but fairly intolerant, her religious language was crazy to me. She would write these letters that had nothing human in them. They were all “Jesus this” and “Christ that.” It was like hearing a code. When I was six years old, she told me on Good Friday that I should be grateful that Jesus had died for my sins. Now a six-year-old has no comprehension of that at all. I wrote Amazing Grace partially because I had to come to terms with the language that had haunted me as a child.” “In church, we use the language of our faith community but it does not have to be offputting. Christian Fundamentalists are deeply suspicious of anything imaginative. They think of other faiths as polluting and don’t want interfaith dialogue.”

 

How can the Christian openly and authentically bear witness to Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God, in a manner that would shine forth as an offering to other faiths?

KN: “The way I conceive of doing that is talking about the cross and death. Everyone suffers death. That is such a common bond. For the Christian, God wanted such a relationship with us, He was willing to suffer death. But God participates in human suffering.

That is what I love about Christianity. The cross is central for me. Life is the focus of Christianity, realistically lived in the face of death.”

What can other faith traditions, such as Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist and Native American, teach Christians about the Messiah? (In Amazing Grace, you refer to Basketball Coach Phil Jackson’s book, Sacred Hoops, in which he writes that his Buddhist practice has led to a new understanding of his Christian heritage.)

KN: “I am from Hawaii, which is a melting pot of cultures, so I grew up with an awareness of interfaith dialogue. We all had friends who were of different faiths.” “If I am reading a prayer from another tradition, it gives me another way of looking at my own tradition. I have a Jewish editor and I am grateful to her because she forces me to articulate in a deeper way what my religion means to me. Religion is universal, a human need like water. I am always seeing the meaning of life through the lens of religion.”

Do you see this movement toward interfaith global spirituality as a sign of a new holiness?

KN: “Certainly new hope. The twentieth century has seen fundamentalists in every religion, and they are exclusive. And when people are willing to do anything in the name of their God, it gets very scary. It’s bizarre, like the desire to bring on Armageddon. The interfaith dialogue is very healthy. It gives me hope for this planet. Hawaii has this great phrase, “talk story.” That is essential for humans to do and so healthy at this time when there is so much violence and tension and so much is centered a round religion. Interfaith

dialogue and saner voices give me hope.”

How can Christians convey to others of different faiths a more redeeming “Road to Emmaus” theology, as illustrated by Jesus’ disciples in Luke, Chapter 24, when they exclaimed, “Were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us along the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”

KN: “We can do that by relating our experiences with the Bible and by being willing to talk from the heart so that it is not so intellectual. That’s why I like to tell stories; they are so grounded in human experience.”

Kathleen Norris is engaged in spiritual inquiry. She speaks and writes not as a theologian but as a literary person and a storyteller. Norris seeks to remove the patina of abstraction from religious words by telling stories about them, and by grounding them in the world in which we live. Exploring the spiritual life, her work is at once intimate and historical, rich in poetry and meditations, brimming with exasperation and reverence, deeply grounded in both nature and spirit, sometimes funny, often provocative, and always important. She is best-selling author of The Cloister Walk, Dakota, and Amazing Grace.

  

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Church Club fall meeting blends fellowship with learning

By VIRGINIA KLINE

 

The Very Reverend Van Gardner, Dean of the Cathedral

There was a chill in the air but the mood was warm and welcoming as over 70 members of the Church Club and their guests gathered for an evening of good food, fellowship and education. The evening began with a fascinating tour of Clover Hill, the Ihloff ’s residence, led by James T. Wollon, Jr., a prominent Maryland preservationist architect. Nancy Ihloff supplemented historical information,

and graciously shared stories about some of their personal belongings from their many travels.

The evening continued in the undercroft of the Cathedral where guests enjoyed a cornucopia of foods blessed by the Rt. Rev. John Rabb, Bishop Suffragan. Old acquaintances were renewed and new friends  made. The buzz of interesting conversation ceased only when guest speaker, the Very Reverend Van Gardner, Dean of the Cathedral, rose to speak. His subject matter, “Communities of Reconciliation”

proved both provocative and stimulating as he examined what reconciliation means to us and how we, in the Anglican Community, can mend divisions of the Church through reconciliation.

The Church Club is a social organization of the laity which gathers twice a year in the spirit of Christian hospitality. “It is a wonderful gathering of committed men and women who wish to serve the church and enjoy one another’s friendship,” says the Rt. Rev. John Rabb, Bishop Suffragan. Membership is open to any baptized lay member of an Episcopal church in the Maryland Diocese. Member dues are $60.00 a year which includes the spring and fall dinners.

Guest tickets are $25.00.

For information on the Church Club, call Dolly Chin at

410.889.2884 or email at msd.threechins@verizon.net.

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24th Episcopal Assembly Urban Caucus to be held in Baltimore

What is God doing in the world? What is Jesus “up to” in the Church? The Minneapolis General Convention made it clear that the Episcopal Church is “inclusive.” What is it that we are to be included in? What is the “new community” that the Spirit is building in the Episcopal Church and the wider Christian family in the USA? What prophetic word does the Church have to speak to the cities of America and the world? What is the critical context of the work of the Episcopal Urban Caucus in the new global economy? What do we have to say today about racism, poverty and militarism?

The Episcopal Urban Caucus does not deliver the “answers” to its members or anyone else. Following Jesus of Nazareth, we ask the questions that make the leaders of the Church and State sit up and take notice. In “the new community” that is our emerging Church, we ask the questions that help us undertake “the mission of God” (/missio Dei//) in the world where God is already acting to establish justice and peace.

Some things are clear:

Racism is not dead but metastasizing, taking new and more virulent forms as “the new majority” threatens the wielders of power across the planet.

The role of young people, in the Caucus as in the Church at large, is being recognized, and a new generation is rising among us. Economic justice and community organizing are more critical than ever,

and Baltimore offers us strong examples of work in classic urban arenas.

The most powerful nation in the world is imposing its will upon others through military power, and the poor in America are paying the price of war and recession while the rich get richer through tax cuts and reduction of human services.

It is clear now that peace is not one value among many but the essential requirement for the survival of the human community.

New wine is fermenting, old wineskins are bursting, and the Spirit is calling us, with others, into new relationships of resistance to war and repression and solidarity with the poor and oppressed.             

The 2004 Urban Caucus Assembly will be held in Baltimore, February 18-21, 2004. Help us shape both the style and agenda of the Caucus as we focus our common mind on urban ministry, and a Church to work together in a world that craves a new community to lead God’s people in their struggles for justice, peace, and the integrity of creation. Site visits, workshops, worship, banquet and networking will give us tools and inspiration to serve the world in God’s name.

The Assembly Eucharist will be celebrated at the Cathedral of the Incarnation on Thursday, February 19 beginning at 6 p.m. and is open to everyone. Bishop Ihloff will preside and The Rev. Floyd “Butch” Gamarra will preach. The banquet is on Friday evening at the Sheraton Baltimore North in Towson and Bishop Gayle Harris is the speaker. Contact Mary Miller (see below) for ticket information; the deadline for banquet ticket purchase is February 1, 2004.

REGISTERATION IS OPEN NOW! The Assembly will be held at the Sheraton Baltimore North in Towson, Maryland, Wednesday, February 18 through Saturday, February 21, 2004. Reservations received by Friday, January 16, 2004, will be at the early-bird rate of $250. Registrations received after that date will pay the full price of $300. Hotel reservations single, double or triple are $89 plus tax; telephone the hotel directly at 1- 800-433-7619.

For registration forms or more information contact: Episcopal Urban Caucus website                    www.episcopalurbancaucus.org OR Mary Miller maryh.miller@verizon.net , 410.783.1847 OR EUC, PO Box 2247, New London, CT 06320, Phone  860.437.8890, email stfrancishouse@mindspring.com .

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Glory to God: Peace and good news

By KINGSLEY SMITH, HISTORIOGRAPHER

In the 47 years since Bishop Powell ordained me, I have witnessed many changes in our church. These changes were misunderstood and resisted but over time became accepted and welcomed. In the 1950s we seriously debated whether black children and white children could attend conferences at the Bishop Claggett Center at the same time. In the 1960s we stopped treating remarriage after divorce as a bar to leadership positions by clergy. In the 1970s we decided that we could use contemporary as well as traditional language in our worship—and ordain women as well as men. In the 1990s we accepted the validity of Lutheran orders for pastors serving Episcopal churches. And in the memory of some of us elders, those “who had laid hands violently upon themselves” could not be buried in our cemeteries, and in many parishes only people confirmed by a bishop could receive communion.

From 1692 to 1776, you had to be an Anglican to be a full citizen of the Colony of Maryland (although everybody had to pay taxes to support our churches). And so it goes, back through the Protestant Reformation to the apostolic Church, which proclaimed the greatest new news of all:

Gentiles were as welcome to receive the blessings of God as Jews were! Now the Church has taken another step on the path toward accepting gay and lesbian people. Of course this is new and painful to those of us who find our security in tradition.  But scripture, experience and reason suggest that growing pains may be part of God’s plan. The gospel leads to unexpected consequences, and God is always full of surprises.

 

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Message from Bishop Rabb

Bridging the Gap

rabb.jpg (13621 bytes)One does not have to read very much to recognize that great gaps exist in society, in the world and in the church. The events in the Episcopal Church revolving around the election, consent and consecration of the Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson as Bishop Coadjutor of New Hampshire have created deep divisions in our church. Yet, if I read it correctly, there are also widening gaps between rich and  poor, the generations, in politics, among races and ethnic communities, and even within families. Writing in 2000, Robert Putnam in his excellent book, “Bowling Alone,” notes with great clarity that the decline of social capital is being manifested in our society in many ways and never in our best interest. There is no doubt that we are much more a culture of “I” instead of “We” or “Us.”

Where does this leave the church? Putnam calls upon churches, along with other volunteer organizations, to aid in regaining the social capital. For us, as disciples of Christ, it  is a matter of theology. Jesus spent much of his ministry bridging the gaps by inviting people previously excluded to be with him. In John 17:21 Jesus proclaims that “all may be one.” The unity to which Jesus speaks is community in the Body of Christ, and not unanimity. The great mistake of our times in regard to community is that we think it means those with whom I always agree and who are like me. It is, in fact, unity in and through Christ Jesus, which often means, in the words of our Primate, the Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold, III, that we are in “solidarities not of our own choosing.” For us as Christians we must reach across all gaps and divides in order to live as God wishes. Paul  speaks of the Body of Christ, which sadly often becomes merely a church organization chart or a functional breakdown of roles. The Body of Christ is a new creation that manifests God’s desire that we live interdependently. Further, the saving grace of Christ Jesus is that the new creation is now possible.

Jesus in his own ministry spends time being present with those who differ from him.

In John 4 he goes to the well of Jacob which for a Galilean is unheard of, as their worship was to be centered in Jerusalem. Jesus not only sits with the Samaritan woman but drinks of the water from the well. It may be hard for us to imagine what this means, but he has bridged what was an unbridgeable chasm between Jews and Samaritans. When she confronts him and tells him this should not be, he tells her that beyond what separates Jews and Samaritans, the locus of their worship is the deeper reality of what unites them, that we shall worship God in spirit and in truth. The truth for Jesus is that we see ourselves as we really are, others as they really are and, most importantly of all, God for whom God is. To speak of relating in truth to one another is critical. I am indebted to the Very Rev. Van Gardner, Dean of the Cathedral, for his words at the Church Club on October 29 noting that we must learn to meet in truth. He called on us to see the work of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission in South Africa. The call to which Van speaks, and which is Jesus’ call, is that we will face one another truthfully, willing to forgive and be forgiven, willing to be reconciled and willing to embrace one another.

In truth, we acknowledge hurts and hopes, dispel prejudices and oppression and face our own limitations and finitude. Most of all, we face that we need one another and we need God. We cannot and do not  overlook our differences, but ask what is the greater truth to which God is calling us.

We too often are “bowling alone,” and worse, we are contemptuous and angry at the other. For Christians, community is not an option but a mandate. For God is calling upon us to reveal how it is to be that “all may be one.”

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Bishop Suffragan of Maryland

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From Bishop Rabb

How to advocate for the homeless: an experience of trial and error

By THE REV. ADRIEN DAWSON, TRINITY EPISCOPAL CHURCH

This summer, I met a woman with two children who was seeking financial  assistance because she was homeless. I gave her the standard line, “I’m sorry but we donate all our funds and food to the Assistance Center of Towson Churches, ACTC.” She told me she had already been there.

Something in me wanted to know more, so I asked her to explain her situation to me.

She had applied for section 8 housing and had found a house through a realtor. The house happened to be in Baltimore City but she had begun her process in Baltimore County. The paperwork had been transferred from county to city and she was waiting for the HUD inspection to occur. The inspection was all that stood in the way of her moving into the house.

I decided to change my policy about giving money and wrote a check for one night at the motel. She was grateful and I didn’t think any more about it until a few weeks later when she came to my door again.

She explained that she was still waiting for the inspection. Every morning she called her realtor and asked about the inspection and every morning the realtor told her that the department of housing had not done it. She had been waiting ten weeks.

We called her realtor to see what she could find out. Then came the devastating news - the department of housing claimed to have lost her paperwork.

She told me how she had got a local pastor to take in her son, an 18 year old with mental handicaps on a third grade level, so that she and her daughter could stay at the women’s shelter. But after awhile, the pastor couldn’t keep him any more and she had to come out of the shelter and back into the motel with both of her children. It was then I decided to become her advocate.

I began by calling the county and asking about the transfer of paperwork. I then got all the important names at the city and a general information phone number. I made phone calls, only to get an endless series of menu options to be finally dumped into a voice mailbox. Once I got a live person on the phone but when I asked him to transfer me to a person and not a voicemail, he hung up on me. I also sent emails and faxes to the department of housing. My tone was not congenial and I laid the blame for this family’s continuing state of homelessness at their feet.

Unbelievably, I got no response. No phone calls. No email. No faxes. Then, I called the Baltimore Sun. An eager reporter took down my information and said he’d love to cover the story. I told the department of housing that I had contacted the Sun.

No response.

I called the mayor’s office and after about ten transfers I ended up talking to a staff person in the office of the Executive Director of Housing of Baltimore City. She was very helpful, took down all the information and said she would contact the people working on the home inspection, which would hopefully push things through. Still, no response.

By this time I was sending my nasty-grams by email, fax and snail mail just to make sure they couldn’t lose my correspondence. I sent a final message detailing all the people I had contacted in my pursuit of a home inspection and threatened to contact Channel 11 news for an “11 on your side” segment. An hour and a half later there came a response.

Her information had been located and forwarded to an inspector for an inspection the next day. No apology, just one sentence.

This entire process of advocacy took me about three weeks.

I share this experience because there are many more homeless people out there struggling to get by while they wait on a system that cannot help them. The homeless population is growing and there are many people who could be helped if only they had someone to advocate for them. The next time a homeless person asks you for money, ask yourself if you also have the time to sit down and listen to their story.

Maybe there is a way you could be an advocate for them.

 

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The Episcopal Ministry at Johns Hopkins Hospital

By ALLISON SNOW-JONES

A little over a year ago, I was carrying 50 pounds of whitewater kayak and gear up mountains  without even breathing hard. Within a matter of weeks, I developed an unusual pain in my left side and some other symptoms for which I sought medical advice. Six months later, I was diagnosed with non-

Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (NHL), a cancer of the immune system. Being a health researcher by profession, I  did a little research into the etiology of the disease and learned that NHL has no lifestyle-related risk factors, except perhaps having grown up on a farm where pesticide exposure may be high. This means that all the exercise and good nutrition and no smoking that had characterized my life for the past 50 some years had little effect on preventing this disease. I also learned that NHL has one of the fastest rates of increase of all cancers in the US. And I learned that NHL is one of the “curable” cancers; that is, many people survive it and go on to live full and healthy lives. I also learned that many don’t.

I sought treatment at Johns Hopkins Medical Center where I had obtained my PhD more than ten years earlier. As a member of the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Baltimore, I sought spiritual guidance and support from Van Gardner, as well as my friends M.G. Dudley and Fran Brown. Jan Hammill, who was standing in for Van while he was on Sabbatical, also provided a sympathetic ear, prayer and comfort. In addition to sending me frequent emails, notes of support and daily prayers, they also put me in touch with the Reverend Tammy Wooliver who serves as Episcopal chaplain at Johns Hopkins.

 

“It wasn’t so much that I

stopped believing in God; I

guess I just stopped trusting

Him. I’ve always believed that

God will do what is best for

me. I just could not reconcile

myself to the thought that what

might be best for me would be

to die at the age of 54, even

though many people do and

many die younger.”

Tammy and I first met as I was lying in pre-op waiting for the surgical procedure that would remove lymph nodes from my abdomen for biopsy. I was terrified because it was major surgery requiring a nine inch incision and some interesting slicing and dicing near important arteries and nerves. I shared my fears with Tammy who provided sympathy, prayer and literally held my hand until I was wheeled away.

Three weeks after the diagnosis was confirmed, I was back in the hospital for my first treatment. Tammy was there, willing to listen to me whine and vent anger. She offered comfort, solace, prayer, understanding, communion and evidence of the kind of steadfast faith I wish I could possess.

Over the next six months and seven treatments, Tammy was there every time save one, when she was on vacation. When I shared my crumbling faith in God with her, she appeared armed with books by others who had also questioned and found their way back to God.

Tammy, along with my family and friends, became my lifeline to God during this incredibly unpleasant time. It wasn’t so much that I stopped believing in God; I guess I just stopped trusting Him. I’ve always believed that God will do what is best for me. I just could not reconcile myself to the thought that what might be best for me would be to die at the age of 54, even though many people do and many die younger. I’m afraid I became wary of God, and my relationship with Him became brittle.

Facing a possible early demise caused me to question many things I had taken for granted about my Christian faith. It was absolutely no comfort to think that I would enter into the kingdom of Heaven. I came to realize that I believe I am firmly in the kingdom of God here on Earth. I felt an overpowering sense of how good life is here, right where we are.

Last April when it seemed like touch and go whether I would make it through the treatment, I remember wracking my brains to come up with something I could offer God that would tilt the “scale” in my favor. I suppose everyone in the same situation thinks about things they could offer God to persuade Him to spare them. I came up completely empty-handed. Every time I’d think of something, I’d realize that there were a million other humans out there who have done more and will do

more than I ever could. The best I could come up with was to promise God that I would never take his creation for granted, that I would sit gratefully for at least a few minutes every day and simply admire the day He had given us.

And now I sit typing this for Maryland Church News, nearly two months past my last of eight treatments.

No tumor, no enlarged lymph nodes – an apparent complete response to treatment. During the six months I was being treated, my cousin, Dan Jones, died of heart failure while being treated for NHL; my friend Lucille Hamet’s husband, Harry, died while being treated for NHL; a woman related by marriage to another of my cousins, died of NHL; and certainly many more that I don’t know about.

I’m no theologian. I don’t know how to make sense of something that seems senseless. But I can tell you that God’s love manifested through the love and caring of friends, family, and “angelic” strangers.

Tammy Wooliver was one of the angelic strangers, now a friend, who brought comfort, understanding, spiritual guidance and unconditional acceptance as I struggled to keep the faith and stay alive. And for that, I am eternally grateful to Tammy, to God and to the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland.

Alison Snow Jones is an Assistant Professor at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, a member of the Cathedral of the Incarnation in Baltimore and an avid whitewater kayaker.

The Episcopal Ministry is supported by funds raised from the Episcopal Appeal.

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Associate members for new Task Force on Health Care needed

By THE REV.TAMMYWOOLIVER ANDWAYNE C. SPIGGLE, M.D.,TASK FORCE CO-CHAIRS

Aletter by Bishop Rabb to clergy throughout the Diocese calls for each parish to recruit one or more members to serve as associates of a Task Force on Health Care  recently created by the Diocesan Council. The Council has identified four general objectives: (1) identify and network parish and diocesan programs and ministries (parish nurses, hospital chaplains, wellness programs); (2) assist in setting up needed programs and ministries; (3) educate the Diocese, and its parishes on critical issues facing health care (hospital consolidation, end of life issues, etc.); and (4) assist the Diocese, its people and parishes to

advocate on matters critical to health care.

At its first meeting on June 21, 2003, task force members agreed that in order to carry out these objectives, an active grass roots presence on the parish level is essential. Associates to the task force will be encouraged to attend all meetings and contribute to its work. This is an opportunity for interested church

members to communicate successful programs ongoing in their parishes and to learn from the experiences of others.

The mission of the task force is to advocate for health care as an essential component of human life and dignity which is our Christian duty grounded in our Baptismal Covenant (Book of Common Prayer, pages 304 and 305) and therefore to encourage and work to ensure that every person has the right to and reality

of adequate health care.

This is an exciting opportunity to promote health ministry in the Episcopal Church at the local and diocesan levels, and to live out Jesus’ command to heal and make whole in body and in spirit.

Interested? If so, ask your priest to submit your name to Bishop Rabb.

More information about the Task Force on Health Care will soon be available on the Diocesan web site or you may contact the Bishop’s office at 800-443-1399.

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Where are the Health Ministries in this Diocese?

By PAT HALL

OK, where are you? We know you are out there, we hear about the good work you are doing. We hear about others of you that are looking for information and help in getting started. Please stand up and identify yourselves!!!

Health Ministries are cropping up all over the country in most, if not all of the mainline Christian churches and in some Jewish congregations. The work of the health minister is shaped by the doctrine and policy of his or her denomination. This is no different in the Episcopal Church. However, we have been a little slower than some in providing support and direction for our churches and parishioners who wish to create and maintain a health ministry. But that is changing….

Founded in 1996, the National Episcopal Health Ministries’ (NEHM) mission is “to promote health ministry in Episcopal congregations, assisting them to reclaim the Gospel imperative to health and wholeness.” It is a grassroots ministry that was developed for and by health ministers and parish nurses in Episcopal congregations.

I recently accepted the role of Diocesan Liaison to NEHM. I report to Carol Sullivan, the parish nurse at St. Anne’s, Annapolis, who is also the Province Three Representative to NEHM. My initial goals are to promote health ministry in the Diocese and to create a network of people interested in and/or working in health ministry. At this point NEHM is technically a ministry of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in  Indianapolis and is supported by their Endowment for Mission and Ministry.

However, it is hoped that NEHM will eventually become separately incorporated.

I am also a member of the newly created Diocesan Health Care Task Force spearheaded by Bishop Rabb. NEHM and the Task Force are two of the efforts in the Diocese addressing the health and well being of our parishioners and the communities in which they live.

If you wish to learn more about NEHM and its resources, please contact Pat Hall at 410.956.5120 or at pshall@comcast.net , or Carol Sullivan at 410.827.6907 or at songofjoy@dmv.com .

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HIPAA and the Church

By The Rev. Tammy Wooliver, Episcopal Chaplain, The Johns Hopkins Hospital

By now you have no doubt heard of or received information from your medical clinicians about HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) dealing with patient privacy and security

issues. Basically this deals with any information regarding a person’s health record. A person’s health care information has traditionally been thought of as belonging to the health care provider, but the new  regulations challenge this assumption. According to the HIPAA regulations, the use and disclosure of your health information is within your control. You are now required to consent with your health care providers as to how and when your health information is disclosed to another party. You have to express permission for use or disclosure of the information as spelled out in the regulations before your provider can share any information, hence the reason for signing agreements on how, who and under what circumstances providers use or disclose your health information.

How then do these regulations affect church communities? Primarily, no one can gain access to health information regarding an individual, such as hospital information, without direct permission from the  person.

For instance, at Johns Hopkins Hospital, clergy may have access to the patient’s location (i.e., building and room) as long as the patient agrees, usually upon admission, to be in the facility directory. Any other  information cannot be disclosed without the permission of the patient, such as checking with the nurse on a patient’s status. Therefore, doctors, nurses and even chaplains cannot share information if the patient has not given permission.

I have also been called by churches inquiring about such things such as prayer requests, such as the kinds

which are said on Sunday mornings or that might be listed in a newsletter. At this time, HIPAA regulations

apply only to those institutions considered to be health care providers. The church, through the eyes of  legislation, does not yet fall under this category. Of course the church is about healing work and each community has its own norm around dealing with the pastoral concerns of parishioners. Perhaps with the rise of privacy concerns and HIPAA regulations, this is a good time to reevaluate community practices around how a person’s health information is shared with the community. My own practice is to get permission from the person before disclosing health information and be clear about what they want shared. In light of HIPAA regulations, it is also important to let people know in the community, particularly clergy, when a health crisis arises so that you can receive spiritual care and support from your community without possible delay.

Pastoral Care Committees might also begin actively educating their communities on these important developments. Some suggestions for consideration; have a guest speaker from the community, a lawyer or hospital representative, come and speak about privacy laws and issues; create a written pastoral policy so that people know and have information about how your community deals with pastoral concerns; create a small card that people can carry with them to be given to health care providers in the case of emergency that asks for your clergy to be called or that you want them to have access to important health care information. These are just a few ideas to ponder and perhaps other ideas will surface as you begin to talk with one another about how to stay connected with people during a health care crisis.

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Come one, come all!

Celebrate St. Mary’s Outreach Center

By MELISSA ROEN TIMMERMAN

Have you noticed the recent flurry of activity happening at St. Mary’s? You may have witnessed new signs, new people, new gardens, new fences and much coming and going at the old church. St. Mary’s is coming to life before your very eyes. The Diocese of Maryland and St. David’s Church in Roland Park have partnered to reopen St. Mary’s Church as St. Mary’s Outreach Center. The vision of this partnership is to respond to the needs of the community, working with the people of Hampden to build a vibrant, empowering ministry of God’s presence both in service and worship.

Episcopal Housing Corporation, the Nearly New Shop of St. David’s Church, Union Memorial and the G.I.F.T.S. Program of Episcopal Community Services of Maryland are up and running strong adding much to the vision of the center. St. Mary’s is planning a myriad of other services from art classes to youth entertainment and self-help resources to prayer services.

Baltimore Shakespeare Festival is one of the programs presently working with and out of St. Mary’s. It is amazing to watch a theater come to life, honoring and enhancing the integrity of the worship space at the same time. During the month of October, BSF presented the play Othello. Almost 2000 people came through the doors of SMOC to enjoy this Shakespearian classic. More than one third of those that attended were high school students from 12 area high schools.

In celebration of St. Mary’s Outreach Center, on December 27, 2003 at 2:00 p.m., Bishop John Rabb will visit the center and begin the afternoon with a Eucharist.

Immediately following, the BSF will be giving a command performance of A Dickens of a Carol by Kimberley Lynne. Tickets for the play can be obtained by calling Casey Davis of BSF at 410.837.4143. Proceeds from the day will benefit St. Mary’s Outreach Center and the Baltimore Shakespeare Festival.

If you would like to know more or be a part of St. Mary’s future, contact Melissa Roen Timmerman, Director, at 410.366.3106 or at St. Mary’s Outreach Center, 3900 Roland Avenue, Baltimore,Maryland 21211.

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New videos in the Resource Center
Trinity Institute: Shaping Holy Lives - (34th National Conference)

A five-video series with the following

titles:

The Archbishop of Canterbury – Opening Sermon - Rowan Williams

Holy Realism: Living Life as it Matters - Kathleen Norris

Only Connect: Contemplation and Non- Violence - Laurence Freeman,

A Choice Between Impossibles: Ancient Answers to Contemporary

•Questions - Joan Chittister

God’s Workshop - Rowan Williams Closing Panel Discussion with the four speakers.

 

Revelation: God’s Dream, Our Challenge

A six-video series from Ecufilm. The topics

include:

• Does Revelation Matter?

• Problems and Riddles

• How Healthy Is Your Church?

• Evil Is Real But Love Is Stronger

• The Empire Exposed

• The World Made New

 

The Complete Guide To Godly Play

Training videos for fall, winter and spring

 

The Discovery Series:

A Christian Journey

A comprehensive series that helps participants explore baptism, confirmation, spiritual

gifts, discipleship and worship, and provides an overview of the faith, history and beliefs that bring people together as Christians. A production of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas. All four videos are available.

 

The Ten Commandments:

A Foundation for Life Today

This video contains ten six-minute discussion starters, one for each of the Ten Commandments.This is a youth-video series hosted by Walter Wangerin, Jr.

Will our Faith have Children?

Video and study guide from Ministries with Young People, the Episcopal Church

Center.

New Curriculum Samples

Christ’s Own Forever:

Preparation for Baptism

A leader guide and parent/godparent journal

from Living the Good News.

The Way of Blessedness

Leader guide and participant’s book from the Companions in Christ, small group ministry series.

The Resource Center is open on Wednesday and Thursday from 10:00 a.m.

until 4:00 p.m., and on Tuesday afternoons from 1:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m., and by

appointment. They can be reached at resource@ang-md.org , or by phone at 410.467.1399 or 800.443.1399. Materials will gladly be sent by request.

 

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Christian Formation committee announces new study

In January, the diocesan adult Christian Formation committee will have available to all churches an exciting new study using the book Encountering Jesus by Anthony J. Gittins, CSSp. The committee has written a series of guidelines and study questions to be used with this book. A copy of the book will soon be made available to each congregation. We encourage each church to consider using this curriculum as a

Lenten study, or as a study in the fall.

For further information, contact the Resource Center at resource@ang-md.org.