Appeal for Emergency Relief for Refugees, Displaced and War Affected in Kosovo and the Balkans

The Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief is mounting a large scale response to the overwhelming needs of the refugees and affected people. We are working through ACT (Action by Churches Together) to provide funds for immediate relief assistance in areas of Albania, Macedonia, Kosovo, Montegegro, Serbia and other locations where refugees flee, displacement occurs or vulnerable persons are victims of the war, aggression, and ethnic cleansing. The church members of ACT hope to send at least US $4,000,000 to the area to provide life saving and life sustaining emergency relief. To deliver these services, ACT is working through various faith-based groups active in the Balkans, including International Orthodox Christian Charities, Church World Service, etc.

Because of the rapidly changing nature of this tragedy, we must be nimble and flexible. Therefore, we are collecting funds, rather than goods, at this time. We continue to monitor this situation and will issue further updates as warranted.

Contribution checks should be made payable to: Presiding BishopÆs Fund for World Relief and sent to:
PBFWR
P. O. Box 12043
Newark, NJ 07101

Credit card donations may be made by calling 1-800-334-7626, ext. 5129.

For the latest response by the Presiding Bishop's Fund for World Relief, check the web site at <http://www.pbfwr.org>

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The latest 'Letter to Deputies'
from Pamela P. Chinnis, House of Deputies President

Lent 1999

Dear Deputies and Alternates,

In other years my spring letter has been written during Eastertide, but I decided to communicate with you somewhat earlier this year, because of what you may read in the press or on the Internet about the recent House of Bishops' meeting. Some stories have given the impression that the bishops made a unilateral decision that the next General Convention would not vote on "certain divisive issues" (presumably these issues have to do with sexuality and implementing the canons regarding ordained women). Some of these reports may have been exaggerated, but I don't need to remind Deputies that Bishops cannot make decisions for our House, as we cannot make decisions for theirs. It is unfortunate that some accounts gave the impression that all the bishops had reached agreement about what could or could not be considered in Denver.

Here is my understanding of plans for Denver, based on deliberations at the Joint Standing Committee on Planning and Arrangements which met just before the bishops' meeting. Presiding Bishop Griswold has selected for the Denver Convention the theme of Jubilee, a wonderfully apt image for the millennial year gathering. The biblical concept of Jubilee includes setting people and things free from burdens and oppressions: slaves are freed, debts are forgiven, and the land lies fallow for a season. Building on that image, Bishop Griswold has proposed setting us free from the burden of some of our break-neck schedule during General Convention, providing "fallow time" for reflecting together on our identity, vocation and mission as a Church. This would give us a common framework for discussions about issues, and for whatever decisions we make about legislation submitted to the Convention.

Though streamlined in terms of schedule, the legislative process with its committee meetings and hearings will continue in accordance with the canons and rules. The hope is to breathe a new spirit into that process so that we may, as a church, find a way to handle with love the deep conflicts that have developed among some of us.

I see this as a natural development of the bible-sharing we have done in small groups each morning for the past several Conventions, and of the "Covenant for the Building of Community" from the Committee on the State of the Church which we adopted last time. It also fits with our efforts over several conventions to reduce the volume of legislation so that we can handle things more thoughtfully. The House of Deputies in Indianapolis and Philadelphia, from my vantage point, was a model of care, compassion and civility, but there is growing concern in some quarters that the sexuality issue could fracture the church. I pray that does not happen, but fear of it mustn't negate our responsibilities. I'm sure Deputies will come to Denver ready to work and to pray, to reflect together with the bishops about our common mission, and to carry out our canonical duties as a legislative body.

Enclosed for your information is a copy of my address to the last Executive Council, in Denver in February. In it you will find reports on several ecumenical gatherings I attended this winter: a National Council of Churches meeting in Chicago, the 8th Assembly of the World Council of Churches in Harare, Zimbabwe, and the Consultation on Church Union in St. Louis. The latter would like the Episcopal Church to join in the Covenant Ceremonies in 2002, but as Bishop Griswold told the Consultation, it is extremely unlikely such a recommendation would be brought to our General Convention unless there is dramatic progress in addressing our differing views of the episcopate.

In my Advent letter, I reported on the Anti-Hate program authorized by Executive Council in the wake of the murders of James Byrd and Matthew Shepard. Now we are confronted with yet another ghastly murder, of Billy Jack Gaither in Alabama -- bludgeoned and burned solely because he was gay. My friends, as people of conscience we must take action against murderous prejudice wherever it appears in our churches and communities, teaching tolerance to our children, preaching tolerance to our fellow Christians, and working for a society in which every person can know the freedom of the children of God, and the fundamental right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness guaranteed by our Constitution. Enclosed is the brand new "STOP HATE" brochure from the Peace and Justice Office at the Episcopal Church Center. It lists resources, including the church's new "Stop Hate" pin, which can support you in local activities to promote tolerance. The brochure is also included in an all-parish resource mailing, and I hope you will make sure that the appropriate persons in your diocese, and your congregation, receive
these resources and put them to good use. Please pray for those who have died, for those who have been convicted or charged with these crimes, and for all their families and communities. We must find a way for love to replace hate.

Most dioceses have now elected their deputies for Denver, in conformity with Canon I.1.4(a) which requires all deputies to be elected not later than a year prior to the next convention. Recommendations for Legislative Committee appointments will be received through October of this year, and I expect to announce Deputy appointments to those committees early in 2000. If current trends hold, we will have a slightly newer House than before: 43% of Deputies elected so far have not served before, compared with 39% in 1997. Women now hold 25% of the clerical seats, compared with 20% last time, and constitute 39% of all deputies, up from 36%. Regrettably, there appears to have been no change in the proportion of people of color in the House, still at 9% if current figures are complete. The biggest change is the way we are becoming a "wired" community. In 1997 only 19% had e-mail access, but that figure has risen to 53.3%, and I suppose will go even higher by the time we gather in July 2000. I am indebted to Deputy Crew of the Diocese of Newark for these statistics, along with the many other information services he provides. These include an electronic list through which anyone can reach e-mail accessible deputies or bishops, which he maintains while we seek to develop that capacity within the General Convention Office.

As I mentioned last time, some dioceses elect alternates at the same time as deputies, while others do so the following year. In addition, there is always a lag between elections and the official certification of deputies and alternates to the General Convention Office, which leads to up-dating the deputy database. Thus there may be some receiving this letter who have retired from service in your deputation. If so, I hope you will share a copy with your successor, and please accept my deep personal appreciation for your service to our House.

This letter was forwarded to an ecunet meeting, TEC, on the internet by
Pam Darling, Philadelphia (Diocese of PA) - pam.darling@ecunet.org
Special Assistant to the President, House of Deputies
WebMinister, General Convention of the Episcopal Church, USA
<< http://www.ecusa.anglican.org/governance/general-convention/ >>

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Prayer for a Parish Church

O God, make the door of this house wide enough to receive all who need human love and fellowship; narrow enough to shut out all envy, pride and strife. Make its threshold smooth enough to be no stumbling-block to children, nor to straying feet, but rugged and strong enough to turn back the tempter's power. God, make the door of this house the gateway to Thine eternal kingdom.

This prayer, from St. Stephen's Church, London, was used by the Rev. Robert H. Legnani at the Synod meeting last spring.

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Editor's Note

As I have put together these last two issues of The Grapevine, I have been struck by the amount of change facing this province. At the coming Synod meeting in May we will be electing new leaders for the province and making a decision about whether or not to have a provincial executive officer. Almost every diocese in the province has either just elected or is about to elect a new bishop. We have a new presiding bishop who is beginning to make changes in staff and program support that will have a large impact on the role of the province. I hope that all of the synod delegates will study the issues and the candidates for the various offices prayerfully, for these will be the leaders and the policies as we come into the new millennium.

Please remember that your news and your events cannot be published in The Grapevine unless I get them by the issue deadline. For the fall issue that will be September 10, 1999.
Jan



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