The Grapevine
Fall 2004
Volume 11 Number 3
Grab a Partner
The Provincial Leadership Council Province II
Gathering: A Celebration of Ministries
Environmental Action in Province II
Groundbreaking
A Gem in the Finger Lakes
Youth Ministry grows in Province II
The Convocation of American Churches in Europe
Knitters?
EPF Celebrating 65 Years of Peacemaking
New Resources Available
Officers of Province II – 2005 Quick Reference
News From the United Thank Offering Committee
Coming Events
Editor's Note
Grab a Partner
We are beginning a new congregational church year. New ideas, new hopes, new possibilities, new concerns, and new opportunities to serve God in God's world.
I think at this time of the year, specifically, that we cannot go it alone these days. The world is too complex, the issues too broad and encompassing. The biblical writer was correct, “the harvest is plentiful and the laborers are few.” Few, that is, if we see the harvest only in terms of what I can do. Yet, suppose we think more broadly and ask the question, “What can we do together?” Imagine what team work can mean. Consider how partnerships can enhance the yield and how more can be accomplished.
In the early part of September, Bishop Barbara Harris was given the Elizabeth Blackwell Award at Hobart and William Smith Colleges . An award, which acknowledges greatness and pioneering among women. It is the highest award offered by Hobart and William Smith Colleges . As a Trustee of those institutions, I was proud to have been involved in her selection for the award. In Bishop Harris' address, she, too noted that partnerships are the name of the game in our world today. Church to church, church and civic organizations, church and government agencies, churches and other institutions which reach out to help heal some of the wounds of the world.
I think the networks that Province II and other provinces offer is one way to engage in partnerships. Even among dioceses, we can become too parochial. I hope this year, we will explore more broadly how the work of the church can be enhanced by joining hands together.
I close with part of a benediction given to me and described as a Franciscan blessing, which I used at the Hobart and William Smith Colleges Convocation in September. It provides food for thought in the world in which we live.
May God bless you with a restless discomfort about easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships, so that you may seek truth boldly and live deep within your heart.
May God bless you with holy anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may tirelessly work for justice, freedom, and peace among all people.
May God bless you with the gift of tears to shed with those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.
May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you really CAN make a difference in this world, so that you are able, with God's grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.
The Rt. Rev. Jack M. McKelvey
President, Province II
The Provincial Leadership Council
The work of the nine provinces in conjunction with the national church is coordinated, to the degree necessary, through The Provincial Leadership Council (PLC). This body is composed of the Presidents, Vice Presidents and Executive Coordinators of all of our provinces, as well as the Director of Missions of the Episcopal Church Center. It meets twice annually, in December in NYC and in one of the provinces in June. These meetings are extremely well-attended and produce considerable substantive results.
On the semi-annual agenda are issues of national import that involve implementation by the provinces and their dioceses. Usually these issues derive from decisions made at General Convention or by Executive Council. The PLC meets, with some regularity, with the Program Staff of the ECC to learn of their priorities and programmatic activities, and to determine how the provinces can assist. Of crucial import is the fact that the portion of the national budget that is approved to be shared as operating funds with the provinces is distributed via determinations made by the PLC.
At its meeting in June, the PLC updated its “by-laws”, called the Burlington-Chesapeake Document, to make it as applicable as possible to prevailing conditions. The document outlines the responsibilities of the Province, the PLC, and the PLC relationships with the ECC Program Staff and the Executive Council.
Also, at the June meeting, in a skillfully facilitated workshop, the PLC brainstormed options for program and operational priorities that will become part of the future planning and output of its members.
Subsequent to each of the day and a half meetings of the PLC, the Executive Coordinators of the nine provinces meet for an additional day to deal with matters directly related to the fulfillment of their assigned roles.
CH Perfater
Province II Executive Coordinator
Province II Gathering: A Celebration of Ministries
Be sure to mark Friday and Saturday, May 13 and 14, 2005, for a special Province II gathering entitled Celebrate, Discover & Connect: Using Province II as a Resource for Your Ministry. Clergy and laity from all corners of Province II will gather to share and to witness the many thriving and varied ministries which are occurring.
At the moment, a design team comprised of representatives from all the domestic dioceses of Province II and the national church are busy finalizing the agenda. Martha Gardner ( Newark ) and the Rev. Petero Sabune ( New York ) are co-chairing the team. Members of the design team are: Jerry Carroll (Albany), the Rev. Carolyn Eklund (New Jersey), Neva Rae Fox (New York), Peter Hausman (New Jersey), the Rev. Stephen Lane (Rochester), Kathleen McDaniel (Central New York), Terry Parsons (National Episcopal Church), Diane Porter (Long Island), Carmen Seufert (Western New York) and Chuck Perfater (Province II Executive Coordinator).
The goal of the two day conference is to learn and grow while we share and have fun. The gathering will kick off at noon on Friday and will conclude on Saturday afternoon. The event will be held at the Century House in Latham (just outside of Albany , NY ).
Future articles and e-mails will announce details as they are finalized. Be sure to check the web site: www.province2.org.
Neva Rae Fox
Director of Communications
Episcopal Diocese of New York
1047 Amsterdam Ave. , NY , NY 10025
212-316-7520 F: 212-316-7532
E-mail: NRFox@dioceseny.org
Pager: 917-956-2468
Environmental Action in Province II
The environmental representative for Province II is the Rev. Fletcher Harper , Executive Director of GreenFaith, an interfaith environmental coalition based in New Jersey . He is also a member of the executive committee of the Episcopal Ecological Network (eenonline.org) – if you have any questions about environmental resources available through the Network, contact him at revfharper@greenfaith.org or 609-394-1090. The Network makes a starter-kit CD available to help congregations launch an environmental ministry. The CD is available through the EEN website.
If you are a member of a Province II diocese and have an interest in environmental issues, please contact Fletcher. He and EEN are building a network of diocesan and congregational-level environmental activists in the church, and he will speak with you about opportunities for building this ministry in the Province.
Harper reports that there are a number of environmental initiatives happening in Province 2 Episcopal churches in New Jersey thanks to programs offered by GreenFaith. All Saints-Lakewood, St. Mark's-Teaneck, Christ Church-New Brunswick, Redeemer-Morristown and the Diocese of Newark have received detailed energy audits providing them with recommendations that will reduce their energy usage by up to 20%, saving them money and preventing air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Messiah-Chester, St. Mark's-Basking Ridge, Christ-Teaneck, and Good Shepherd-Wantage are all participating in GreenFaith's Lighting the Way program and will be receiving solar energy systems at no up-front cost. Finally, in the past year GreenFaith has offered two environmental health and justice tours – one in Newark and one in Paterson – to educate religious leaders and community residents about environmental health hazards in these communities. The Newark Tour led to GreenFaith working with the Natural Resources Defense Council and two other local environmental groups to pressure the US Environmental Protection Agency into agreeing to create a study and clean-up plan for Newark Bay , one of the most contaminated bodies of water in the country.
For information on GreenFaith's programs, go to www.greenfaith.org or call Rev. Harper at 609-394-1090.
The Rev. Fletcher Harper, Executive Director, Partners for Environmental Quality
204 West State Street
Trenton , NJ 08608
609-394-1090
609-394-2199 - fax
www.peqnj.org