Youth Pilgrimage: Living, Praying, Working, Playing in El Salvador

by Chuck Stewart, St. James', Skaneateles
taken from the Diocese of Central New York Messanger

Nine young people from across the diocese gave up nine days of Christmas vacation for a new experience. None had ever been to El Salvador before; none had ever been to the third world. All, I believe, came back different people. The youth came from eight parishes from Barneveld to Johnson City to experience living, playing, working and praying with an equal number of youth from El Salvador . This was the second youth pilgrimage from Central New York to our companion diocese; the first was at Christmas of 1997 when a smaller group, all from the Syracuse area, made the trek. We go at Christmas because that is the only week when schools are on vacation in both countries.

The work was hard. We spend two days moving dirt— volcanic dirt is very hard and heavy we learned—at the Anglican Village of El Congo. This is the fourth Anglican Village built by the Diocese of El Salvador (with help from ERD) for people who have no adequate housing. Forty small houses are being built in an area hewn from jungle in the mountains.

The beach was warm. A few hours in the Pacific soothed the sore muscles from too much shoveling. It is truly a beautiful country even though the poverty is omnipresent. The weekend in the parishes was stressful. To really experience life in El Salvador we went by twos to stay with parish families around the country. Spending time with our host families, seeing the community, attending their Sunday services, and hanging out with the little kids opened our eyes. Not knowing the language, not having running water, and not having familiar food were the difficult part of the experience. We also learned that New Year's Eve is like the Fourth of July on steroids; fireworks are legal and were everywhere!

The history is intense. Archbishop Oscar Romero was unknown to most of our group. We were able to visit his tiny house and the chapel where he was assassinated in 1980. An English-speaking nun enlightened us on his life and work with and for the poor. The picture we took of our group in front of his mural makes it look as if he were there standing with us.

School was starting. The school year starts in mid January. Buying schools supplies stretches many a family budget since family income averages only $2000 a year. We delivered four large suitcases of school supplies to Bishop Barahona to be given to those most in need. These supplies came from all of our parishes. In addition, St James', Skaneateles, gave the bishop $2,400 for scholarships for high school and college.

New friends. New experiences. New insights. Changed lives in both North and South. A different way to celebrate the gift we rejoice in receiving every December 25.

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Black Bishops of the Episcopal Church Are Focus of New Poster, Booklet
(taken from the Diocese of Long Island Dominion, May 2005)

Bishop Walker and Bishop Martin are among the 37 black bishops featured in a new poster and booklet recently released by the Office of Black Ministries at the Episcopal Church Center. Also included in the poster and booklet are Bishop Henry B. Hucles, who died in 1989 and Bishops Herbert Thompson, Jr., and James H.Ottley, who have served in the Diocese of Long Island .

Through the past 130 years, there have been 37 black bishops consecrated in the Episcopal Church. In recognition of these leaders, the Office of Black Ministries has updated its Black Bishops of the Episcopal Church 1874-2004 wall poster and for the first time added a 37 page booklet containing biographical sketches of each bishop's contribution to the church and community.

A 38th bishop in this sequence will soon be consecrated now that Edward A. Gumbs was elected on January 29, bishop of the Virgin Islands.

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Does the death penalty penalize society?
From The Living Water, Diocese of Rochester 

On January 25, 2005, the New York State Assembly Standing Committee on Codes, Assembly Standing Committee on the Judiciary, and the Assembly Standing Committee on Corrections held an open hearing on the death penalty in Albany . Bishop Jack McKelvey was invited to give testimony, and was one of forty-two people slated to speak.

Carolyn Lumbard, Interviewer (CL)
What was going on at this hearing? Was it a general discussion of the death penalty?

Bishop McKelvey (JMcK)
No, it wasn't exactly that. The New York State Court of Appeals found one portion of the state's capital punishment law to be unconstitutional. So the question was this: do legislators try to fix it quickly, - and they are calling it the quick fix approach – or do they rewrite the statute completely, or do they leave it alone and it becomes inoperative as a law in the state? The testimony was about what to do and where to go with it.

CL: What was that unconstitutional portion of the law about?

JMcK: Understand I don't use the language of a lawyer, but the death penalty law as it is written says that if at the end a jury cannot decide to recommend the death penalty, then the prisoner will receive life with possibility of parole.

CL: What about life imprisonment without chance of parole?

JMcK: That is covered under a different statute, and someone would have to be tried from the beginning under that statute. But if a prosecutor goes for the death penalty, the statute does not offer the possibility of life without parole.

CL: What was your role at the hearing?

JMcK: I was the third person to testify and I had prepared a statement to read. It had five main points – five, because I only had ten minutes.

CL: That's a good place to begin, and we have more than ten minutes. What's the first reason?

JMcK: These are just the main reasons why I'm against the death penalty and why I believe it is a poor choice to accomplish what society hopes to receive from punishing convicted criminals. So, first, it increases victimization and violence rather than decreasing it.

CL: In what ways?

JMcK: I believe that killing, in the form of execution, has some of the attributes of the original crime. Humans take the life of another human. For instance, Bud Welch, the father of a girl killed in the Oklahoma City bombing, has actually spoken to Timothy McVeigh's father, Bill. Welch says that the death penalty only victimizes another family. It spreads the violence farther and farther. One woman at the hearing said that executions would only bring justice if her loved one could come back to her. Besides that, families of victims wait ten to fourteen years. Every time you start to heal a bit, something happens to open it up again. Then, after a decade or more, an execution churns up all that pain again. The death penalty is something that perpetuates and increases violence. It doesn't deter it.

CL: What's the second point?

JMcK: Most people are unaware of the cost to the state leading to the death penalty and the comparable cost of life imprisonment. It's really almost unbelievable, and I agree with Governor

John Engler of Michigan that it is very poor stewardship to exercise the death penalty. Engler was actually elected on the premise that he would spend the state's money more prudently, and refused to sign the death penalty into law for that reason.

CL: What are the costs?

JMcK: It actually costs us about $3.2 million from crime to execution. One of the other people testifying used that same number in his presentation. He is a former state Supreme Court judge in Florida . Actually, he said that figure is from 1988, so it could certainly be more now. The other number I have is $516,000 as the cost for life imprisonment. That's based on current longevity statistics.

CL: Your third reason?

JMcK: It is very important to give care and show concern for families and friends of murder victims. But it seems to me there is a difference in opinion, and not enough data, to indicate how helpful an execution is to the survivors, both in the short term and in the long term. Remember that process moving to execution can take more than a decade. Healing can't really begin until that time and the event has passed. It's almost impossible for survivors to find ways to grieve and rebuild a life for themselves. And then there is another death to think about. Reason four is short and simple. We make mistakes.

CL: That's not only made the news lately, but it's a favorite theme in crime dramas.

JMcK: I'll never forget the statement an Assistant Prosecutor made to me years ago. “We all know that we aren't perfect, so there are bound to be mistakes.” I said to him that was understandable, but what did he think about actually being the “mistake.” I believe that one mistake is too many.

CL: And what was the fifth concern?

JMcK: That's my concern for the kind of defense most of the accused get. Most of them are people who have no financial resources. They'll be assigned a public defender with more on his or her plate than we can imagine. There's no hope of a defense team – no investigators, psychologists, no clerks in law offices doing research, and no team of lawyers. Just a single overworked underpaid person. And no amount of commitment from a public defender can match what money can buy. And you better know that the prosecution has all of those team resources available for every case that comes forward.

The Rev. Carolyn Lumbard is the Canon for Congregational Development and Communications of the Diocese of Rochester

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Reconciliation
by Laurie Wozniak, Communication Officer, Diocese of Western New York
taken from the Diocese of Western New York web site < http://www.episcopalwny.org/>

I once thought I knew what reconciliation meant. Then I learned differently. Reconciliation isn't about people who hold different opinions talking and talking until one decides to agree with the other.

Reconciliation is about recognizing our own biases and prejudices. It's also about knowing something of another's pain. It's about respecting the other person's dignity. It'sabout seeing what there is to see of Jesus in one another. Reconciliation is about people who hold different opinions talking and talking and perhaps never agreeing, but intentionally deciding to love each other in Christ's name anyway.

Reconciliation should be our way of life. After all, it's all right there in our baptismal covenant. And it sounds good, doesn't it? But I've got to tell you, it isn't easy. Just when you think you've figured it out, you're likely to find yourself and your stubborn, and sometimes self-righteous, opinions getting in the way. It happens to all of us, no matter where we happen to fall on the continum of opinion on any given topic.

The Rev. Canon Brian Cox, co-leader of the reconciliation initiative launched by the Diocese of Los Angeles, has outline eight core values of reconciliation he believes reflect the principles taught by Jesus of Nazareth. They are:

I think God is calling us now as individuals, as congregations, as a diocese, as the Church, to reconcile, to reach out to those who think differently than we ourselves and to strive to understand something of their lives. We can do at least that much. Surely, God can, and will, take care of all the rest.

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