The Grapevine
Volume 9 Number 1
Winter 2002

When is it theologically ethnically and socially acceptable to divide an ordained person into many pieces?

Perhaps only in the circumstance of Total Common Ministry. On December 8, 2001, about two hundred people gathered in Cuba, New York, to commission eleven members of a Total Common Ministry Team and to ordain four of their members as Deacons. What a wonderful service it was – full of good congregational singing, lay readers and lay Litanist and a couple of young people who read the Scriptures. The preacher was a lay woman and I was privileged to do what Bishops do . . . . commission, ordain and celebrate the Eucharist.

Total Common Ministry exists for several reasons. One of the most significant is that God calls all of us in our Baptisms to specific ministries. Some of us take a lifetime to find out what those ministries are. Some, often with the help of others, discern their ministries more quickly. Total Common Ministry requires that people find their ministries and offer them to the receiving community. Another significant part of Total Common Ministry is the notion that all Christian communities have within themselves the resources to be the Church. In this sense, we divide the functions of the Priest and fill those functions with the ministries from the group of people. So instead of having one priest, the congregation has a group of people who are priests. One function of the Priest is the setting apart to consecrate the sacraments; for this function, the person is ordained.

The Diocese of Rochester is in the end stages of the training and education of its first team. We are at the beginning of watching it work. We will welcome, in the New Year, a Missioner, who is a seminary trained priest, and who, herself, will be a team member and mentor.

I am excited by the possibilities and ready for the journey. We are in for a great ride, as we try to be faithful to a God who asks, why not? Let's try! I call you to service.

Hoping we will find together that all priests are whole as they share their gifts and are upheld by the gifts of others.

The Rt. Rev. Jack McKelvey
President, Province II
Bishop, Diocese of Rochester

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Our Church has called us to a new vision of mission - one that involves both the quantity and quality of our congregations, growth in membership and in our spiritual lives. Province II will make a contribution to this vision by offering a day where members of our parishes can gather for fellowship and worship and learning in order to deepen and broaden our experience of parish ministry.

There will be workshops on a wide variety of topics, ranging from Christian education for all ages to worship to stewardship and evangelism. Concerned about the environment? Or social justice? Ever thought about a parish nurse ministry in your parish? Worried about the gender and orientation issues that seem to be taking such a toll on our Church? Interested in new and vital ways to do bible study? Like to have an exciting website for your church?…..

Come to Convocation. Over the period of a Saturday, there will be opportunities to explore some of the above issues, plus more. We will meet at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in downtown Albany. We continue to return to this point as central to the province and which offers convenient access by air, rail or car. The hotel is in the center of town and provides transportation from the airport and train station. They have also reserved a number of rooms for those who wish to stay overnight.

Our first venture as a reinvigorated provincial structure was to provide a gathering of diocesan and program network people at last year's convocation. This year, we are reaching out to our congregations, in a continuing attempt to be of service to God' s families in our part of the Church. If this proves successful, we will build upon it and consider such things as an overnight event.

Watch for special mailing in the very near future with more specifics and registration information. In the meantime, save May 11 for Convocation.

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Well Done, Good and Faithful Servant
Note: This article was compiled using information supplied by Fred Wibiralske, Stephen Lane, The Union of Black Episcopalians, Louie Crew, Driss Knickerbocker, Brother Thomas Mark Liotta, and Joan Cupo.

Gwendolyn G. Carter, Treasurer of the Synod of Province II and a member of the Synod for many years, died on Sunday, January 6, 2002 after a short illness. Mrs. Carter was an example of selfless commitment to the service of others.

She has served the Diocese of New York by fulfilling a wide variety of roles from assisting in the management of the Diocesan Convention, notably with her work on the Credentials Committee and the Convention Planning Committee. Gwen served as an alternate in the New York Deputation at the 71st (1994) and 72nd (1997) General Conventions and as a Deputy at the 73rd General Convention (2000). She was elected a Deputy to the 74th General Convention to be held in 2003.

Gwendolyn Carter was elected and recently completed her terms as a Trustee of the Cathedral Church of Saint John the Divine and a member of the Standing Committee, where she devoted many hours in interviewing prospective candidates to the ordained ministry. She was a trustee of the Diocese of New York, Treasurer of Province II Provincial Synod, Assistant Treasurer of the Episcopal Church Women of the Diocese.

She was involved in her parish church, Saint Andrews, Bronx, where she has been both Treasurer and Warden and an untiring advocate for young and old in her Bronx neighborhood. She was President of the New York Chapter of the Union of Black Episcopalians.

Gwendolyn G. Carter was awarded the Bishop's Cross for outstanding service to the Diocese of New York and the larger church by Bishop Richard F. Grein in June, 2001.

Gwen served as Treasurer for Province II since Walter Berberian stepped down as Treasurer, which was at least six or seven years ago. Before that she was a faithful attendee of Province gatherings from New York.

Gwen got the thankless task of trying to keep networks accountable to the national church funding policies. She had to account for grants and funds that passed through the provincial accounts. This was particularly daunting with JPIC. She was concerned for keeping a reasonable reserve without building an excess of cash. The Province is able to afford a Coordinator because of her careful management.

Gwen is survived by a daughter, Tanya DeShields, a niece, Karen Graham, two grandchildren, three great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made to your local cancer organization in Gwen's name.

Condolences may be sent to her daughter,
Tanya DeShields
3221 Carlswood Circle
Baltimore MD 21244_1380"
Let us remember her in our prayers.

Thanks be to God for her ministry among us.

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Notes from the Executive Coordinator

Gwen Carter, RIP
On Saturday, January 12, I went to the Cathedral of St. John the Divine to attend Gwen Carter's funeral. Gwen was a tremendous support to me during the all-too-brief time that we worked together and when I read in the service bulletin all the activities for the Church in which Gwen was involved, I was astounded. Not only did she serve the province as treasurer since 1996, but she had been a pillar of St. Andrew's in the Bronx, her cathedral and her diocese.

She would have loved the service: a Requiem Eucharist celebrated by the Rt. Rev. Don E. Taylor, vicar bishop for New York City, with music provided by her church choir (and I think others as well), a moving homily by the Rev. P. Allister Rawlins, and tributes paid by her family, the province, her parish, and the diocese. The music was glorious, the entire service a wonderful combination of traditional Episcopal liturgy and African-American music.

There were 200 - 300 attendees and many clergy, vested and otherwise, from the diocese and the province, all there to pay tribute: a sign of her contributions to the lives of so many people. She will be greatly missed.

A Treasurer for the Province
The death of Gwen Carter created a hole and a minor crisis for the leadership of the province. We had to get the records and checkbooks from Gwen's home and find a new treasurer. I am happy to say that the gap has been filled by Michael Francavelgia, the Administrator for the Diocese of Newark. Michael was appointed by Bishop McKelvey, the President of the province, after being elected by a majority of the Council. He will serve until Provincial Synod in 2003. I want to add my personal thank you to Michael for accepting this position on such short notice; not only will it make my life as coordinator easier, since we work in the same building, but I have seen Michael's administrative - and pastoral - gifts at close range and I know the province's finances are in competent hands.

Provincial Leadership Council
In December, the Provincial Leadership Council, that it, the presidents, vice-presidents and coordinators of eight of the nine provinces of the Episcopal Church met in New York City at the National Church headquarters. This was my second time to meet with this group (the first being last June in Salt Lake City). We meet to discuss what is happening in our different provinces, compare notes, share provincial plans, and discuss how we are fulfilling the mandate we received from General Convention to enrich our provincial ministries and further serve the greater Church.

I can say without reservation that I like and respect all my colleagues and cohorts who fill similar roles in our provinces. I come away from these gatherings refreshed and invigorated - and brimming with ideas for Province II. We also communicate via email regularly. It is my sense that our provincial ministries and programs are thriving and carrying forward the work of the greater Church.

In a later issue I will share in more detail what happens at our meetings. The major item to note here is that we have recommitted ourselves to a diocesan website design conference that had been organized by the national church office and the provincial leadership for last fall, but which was cancelled because of 9/11. We are still going to Denver, now scheduled for March 19 - 21. Please call me (973-430-9974) if you have questions about this - or anything else of a provincial nature.

Driss Knickerbocker

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