Diocese to Offer Its First-ever Live Stream of Convention Eucharist

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1 November 1, 2016 Diocese to Offer Its First-ever Live Stream of Convention Eucharist When the 184th Diocesan Convention takes place this week, all members and friends of the Episcopal Church in Vermont will have an opportunity to experience the Eucharist live online. New this year, the Diocese will be broadcasting the service, featuring the Rev. Becca Stevens, on a beta version of YouTube's free streaming platform: Live Stream of Diocesan Convention Eucharist Saturday, November 5th at 8:30 AM Jerusalem Peacebuilders Obtains Diocesan Grant for High School Leadership Program In an effort to develop leadership and peace education programs for Israeli and Palestinian youth, the Episcopal Church in Vermont recently awarded Jerusalem Peacebuilders a $2,000 grant from the diocese s Alleluia Fund. The funds will cover a portion of the costs associated with administering and implementing a high school program in Jerusalem. In January 2016, JPB piloted a semester-long leadership course for 11 th and 12 th graders at the Sts. Tarkmanchatz Armenian School in Jerusalem s Old City. Based on the initial program s success, JPB has been invited to facilitate a new iteration of the program this winter. Designed to empower and prepare teens for leadership and peacebuilding in their communities and in the

2 The Mountain November 1, world, the program engages participants through traditional and experiential learning, dialogue, field trips, service-projects and recreation. Spanning over ten units, the program s curriculum includes topics such as history, intercultural communication, social justice, conflict resolution, and interfaith understanding, as well as the inclusion of several guest educators and speakers from key people-to-people peacebuilding organizations operating in the region. Upon successful completion of the program, graduates have the opportunity to apply for scholarships to attend JPB s summer leadership and servicelearning programs in the United States next summer. JPB Assistant Director Jack said, Not only will this grant help support the success of this pioneering program, but it will also contribute to the success of these young people later in life. By providing an experience that is educational, creative, challenging and fun, the potential for these teens to graduate from the program feeling transformed and empowered to pursue positive social change in their society is significantly increased. Young Adult Service Corps Now Accepting Applications for Placements Young adults (21-30 years old) have an opportunity to transform their own lives while engaging mission and ministry in the Anglican Communion by joining the Young Adult Service Corps. Now, applications are available for placements in the Young Adult Service Corps, commonly known as YASC. Currently YASCers are serving throughout the Anglican Communion, working alongside partners in administration, agriculture, communication, development, and education. They are serving in Brazil, Costa Rica, England, France, Haiti, Hong Kong, Japan, Jerusalem, Panama, Philippines, and South Africa. Among possible placements for are Brazil, Costa Rica, Ecuador, England, France, Ghana, Haiti, Honduras, Hong Kong, Japan, Jerusalem, Mexico, Panama, Philippines, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, and Tanzania. The Young Adult Service Corps offers young adults the opportunity to live out their faith in new ways and different contexts, commented Elizabeth Boe, Episcopal Church Global Networking Officer. They commit to spending a year learning from and working, living, and praying with other Episcopal and Anglican communities around the world. The application for a placement with additional information and instructions is available here The application deadline is Friday, January 6, The Rev David Copley, Team Leader Global Partnerships, noted, "YASC builds on the foundation of faith, knowledge, education, and experience that young adults bring with them when they serve and offers opportunities to be challenged and transformed by being fully present in another part of God s world. Missionary service is first and foremost an act of faith and a way of being Church.

3 The Mountain November 1, For more information contact Grace Flint, Staff Officer for YASC Programming, at gflint@episcopalchurch.org YASC blogs available at Meet the YASCers in this video here Study of Marriage Task Force Seeks Relationship Stories The Pastoral Subcommittee of the Task Force on the Study of Marriage recently issued a survey on relationships to collect stories about committed relationships, both same gender and opposite gender. It was originally sent to all bishops, deputies, and alternates deputies. Last month the Task Force reviewed the many submitted stories, and has decided to distribute it more broadly. The Rt. Rev. Thomas C. Ely, a member of the Task Force along with the Rev. Deacon Stannard Baker, has invited all members of the Episcopal Church in Vermont to participate in this survey: (Available in Spanish) The current edition includes an additional question from the Ecclesial Subcommittee of the Task Force. Those who have completed a previous version of the survey are asked to respond only to question 15. Additional information can be found on the documents tab at the web page of the Task Force on the Study of Marriage on the General Convention website. The site contains links to the following: the GC2015 Blue book report, which includes data on current relationship trends taken from work completed in the last Triennium (Essay 7); the enabling resolution, A037; a document on Framing Stories for those who may wish to conduct small group meetings to gather stories; and a web link to a piece by Garrison Keillor that presents current relationship data in song and verse.

4 The Mountain November 1, Foundation Gift Adds Janet McKenzie Painting to Cathedral Collection Thanks to a generous gift from David McCord and Stephen Hendrickson s family foundation, the Cathedral Church of St. Paul has purchased a painting by Janet McKenzie entitled, Mary and Jesus With the Papel Picado. The painting has been part of the exhibit in honor of Eadie and Chuck Templin that has been on display at the Cathedral this fall. This comes after numerous people have expressed interest in having an image of the feminine face of the holy and also a person/people of color to join the icons already part of the Cathedral s permanent collection: Christ in Majesty; the Crucifixion; and St. Paul. Whereas the Cathedral does not want or plan to fill its walls with a permanent collection nor does the Cathedral have room for proper storage of art work, explained the Very Rev. Jeanne Finan, the Cathedral community is committed to changing displays of art, and this seems like the perfect painting to add to the pieces that already hang at the Cathedral on an on-going basis. She continued, We are very grateful to David and Stephen for their generous gift offer and for their enthusiasm for this painting. We are also honored to have this painting by Vermont artist Janet McKenzie here at the Cathedral. Reflections To submit a Reflection for consideration, please send an to: communications@dioceseofvermont.org Peace By Jane Lee Wolfe Jane Lee Wolfe is a parishioner of St. James-Woodstock, Vt. and Director of Bog Chapel, Inc., an educational not-for-profit organization that focuses on the spiritual health and spiritual fitness of human beings, from youth through old age. I get very tired of the peace thing. I mean, who really believes in peace? Who really is committed to it? Everybody seems to jump off the bus at some point: phooey with peace, enough already; what else can we talk about. I get discouraged. I know that peace is the most essential ingredient to human survival. But there s no context in which you can mention this without it sounding like, well, a nice thought but not really relevant to the conversation. Jane believes in peace. Great. Next?

5 The Mountain November 1, I know that there s not going to be any peaceful coexistence of human beings unless individuals and communities know how to be peaceful in themselves and live that peace in the presence of others. Most people seem to believe that peace depends on the other person/people being peaceful and hopefully seeing things the way you do. This is bogus. You have to learn to be peaceful in the midst of people so different from you that it s hard to believe you re the same species. Peace is about life, not way of life. This is very difficult for many people to accept. Peace is about survival, survival for all of us. Peace is not about your preferred values, preferences, income level, access to goods and services. Peace is about all of us living well. With enough; enough to sustain all of us. Doesn t sound very interesting, does it? Sounds like work, sounds like loss of this and that, sounds dreary and not worth it. Peace is work; peace is loss of this and that, peace can be dreary. But if you believe that peace is essential to survival, if not for your then for people you care about down the road, maybe it s worth getting into. Why should you believe peace is essential? Well, a whole lot of important people have believed it to be essential; but moving along, what so far is working to keep the human race alive? War? Trashing the planet - from sea to sky? Having everything your way? Being rich? Are you safe in who you are, how you live, what you want for you, your family and your friends? Maybe other people? Not really is the honest answer for most. So. Peace. What is peace, that you should invest any of your life on earth in such a thing? For starters, peace is real. It is held in the air you breathe, or better put, peace holds the air you breathe. You breathe peace in and out. You cannot live without it, just the way you cannot live without air. Start using the word peace for air. You ll experience the intimacy and closeness of it all. Your life is invested in peace, the way it is invested in air. The commitment must be the same. If you live where there is very dirty air, you must take precautions for the air you breathe to be clean. If you live where there is no peace, you must take precautions to see that the peace you breathe is clean. The good news is that peace comes with a filter. You don t have to wear a mask or stay inside. You can walk among the human race, among creation. If your most important job is to breathe, your most important job is peace. When you breathe peace and commit to this understanding, you become peace. Your interest in anger subsides; your willingness to adjust your lifestyle so that all others are included becomes active and real. Your move from too much to enough begins; your move from too little to enough begins too. You are alive, you are slow, you are peace. What will the world look life as you live your peace? Beautiful, holy and enough.

6 The Mountain November 1, Breaking Down Walls By Sylvia Knight The following is a reflection from Sylvia Knight, Earth Care Coordinator at St. Paul's Cathedral, Burlington. On Saturday October 1 st, I was among about fifteen people gathered at St. Paul's Cathedral for a conversation with Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove of Rutba House in North Carolina about Christian community and racial justice. He is director of School for Conversion, which "works for beloved communities that unlearn habits of social division. We do this by experimenting in a way of life that meets Jesus in the neighbor and the stranger, making surprising friendships possible." ( Jonathan spoke of the Highlander School in Tennessee where civil rights and labor leaders learn from each other about community organizing and connections between labor and race issues. He spoke of the reconstruction needed in us as the church, and in the world as God's Creation. How are we to be Christians in public? Jonathan told us about the economic systems (plantations and slavery) that dominated the land of southern Virginia, North Carolina and other southern states in the 18th and 19th centuries and the Church's acceptance of that system. October 1 was the day for a planned action in Burlington to protest the arrest and detention by Immigration, Customs and Enforcement (ICE) of Miguel Alcudia, the second leader in the farmworker justice movement in Vermont to be arrested. I shared this news with those gathered at St. Paul's as we approached 12 noon, the time of the rally. Jonathan responded by saying, "It sounds as if that is where we should be!" He and six others joined the energetic march around the center of Burlington to show solidarity, then returned to the workshop at St. Paul's. Thanks to all who shared in this action! I stayed with the roughly 150 people gathered in front of the Federal Building on Elmwood Avenue to listen. Members of the farmworker community (Migrant Justice--MJ) and of the local chapter of Black Lives Matter spoke about their personal experiences of racism, ICE arrests, and police power in Vermont. They expressed pain of police killings of neighbors with mental illness in Vermont and black people elsewhere in our country. They spoke of their experiences of racial bias undergirding the dairy economy of Vermont. Another member of MJ's governing board and co-worker at the same dairy farm, Victor Diaz had been arrested by ICE in April He told us of his experience on September 22 when his friend Miguel was followed from the farm and arrested while driving to the bank to deposit his paycheck. Victor followed them to Vergennes and asked why Miguel was being arrested. The ICE agent--the same one who had arrested Victor in April--was verbally abusive to him as he arrested Miguel, also a member of MJ's governing board. ICE told Miguel that they would soon be arresting another member of this council. (Miguel was finally released on October 14 without bail.) Why would ICE target farmworkers in the VT dairy industry who stand up for human dignity, for decent working and living conditions? Is ICE acting as an instrument of oppression, keeping farmworkers in fear, urging them to be satisfied with oppression or else get arrested? Victor, Miguel and his co-workers are our neighbors, hardworking, contributing to our economy, and courageous enough to face oppressive legal and economic systems. I see Victor, Miguel and their colleagues and allies chiseling away at walls that separate God's

7 The Mountain November 1, people, that keep some in de-facto slavery while others reap the goods. (Visit to learn more of their work.) I am reminded of the passage: "Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?" (Is 43:19) One might say I have been steeped in the Episcopal Church from birth, having been marked as Christ's own forever by my grandfather, a priest, one of several family members ordained or dedicated to service in the Church. My experience over 70+ years has taught me about my privileged status and leads me to synthesize my love of God's Creation with my love for and solidarity with God's people who struggle for basic dignity and justice, As a church member I have worked as Earth Care Coordinator at St. Paul's Cathedral in Burlington for over 10 years. You can contact me at sknight@gmavt.net. - Sylvia Sylvia Knight Burlington, VT One might say I have been steeped in the Episcopal Church from birth, having been marked as Christ's own forever by my grandfather, a priest, one of several family members ordained or dedicated to service in the Church. My experience over 70+ years has taught me about my privileged status and leads me to synthesize my love of God's Creation with my love for and solidarity with God's people who struggle for basic dignity and justice, As a church member I have worked as Earth Care Coordinator at St. Paul's Cathedral in Burlington for over 10 years. You can contact me at sknight@gmavt.net. - Sylvia Did You Know: The Feast of All Saints Many scholars think that the commemoration of all the saints at the beginning of November began in Ireland, spread from there to England, and then to the continent of Europe. By the ninth century the festival was observed throughout the Western Church. Even so, the desire of faithful people to express the intercommunion of the living and the dead seems to have been part of the piety of believers from the very beginning of Christianity. The deaths of the early martyrs fueled the conviction that Christians were one with those who had led lives of grace and crowned them with heroic deaths. By the year 270 reference is found to the observance of a festival of all martyrs. In Eastern Churches observances of all the saints appear in the fourth and fifth centuries. In the Book of Common Prayer, All Saints Day is considered a Principal Feast, which means it takes precedence over any other day or observance that conflicts with it. The feast is also one of the four days recommended for the administration of Holy Baptism. Reprinted from News from St. Paul s Episcopal Church, Wells, Vermont

8 The Mountain November 1, In Case You Missed It They Finished the Hike! From September 21 to October 14, Tim Heath-Swanson and the Rev. Rick Swanson hiked 273 miles of Vermont's Long Trail, raising $8, for the TrailBlazer Scholarship Fund at Laraway School! Bishop s Visitation Schedule Here's a look at the Bishop's upcoming visits. Please contact the church directly to confirm the service times: Sunday, November 20 St. Peter's - Lyndonville, Vt. Wednesday, November 30 Gethsemane - Proctorsville, Vt. Sunday, December 4

9 The Mountain November 1, Jerusalem Gathering Bristol, Vt. Sunday, December 11 St. Mary s, Northfield Upcoming Events, Reminders and Announcements View upcoming parish and diocesan events in the full calendar Diocesan Convention November 4 & 5 Taking place November 4 & 5, 2016 at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Burlington, VT. Stay tuned for further announcements including registration information! 2016 Rock Point Advent Retreat December 2 and 3 The retreat will be held at the Bishop Booth Conference Center and led by Fr. Justin Lanier, rector of St. Peter's Episcopal Church-Bennington, Vt. This will be a silent retreat. Next: Taize Evening Prayer Sunday, January 7:00 PM The Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Burlington. Download the flyer for additional dates. Diocesan Council Report: October 19, Bishop's Report to Diocesan Council October 19, The Mountain is sent twice monthly. If you have questions, would like your news or event to be included in the next issue, or have a change of address or phone number, us. The next two editions of The Mountain will publish on or around Nov. 15 and Dec. 1. Please submit content at least 48 hours in advance.