New campus missioner announced By Melodie Woerman Editor, The Harvest

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1 Inside The Harvest From the Bishop Bishop Dean Wolfe offers his thoughts on Presiding Bishop-elect Katharine Jefferts Schori and says all Episcopalians need her to be successful in her role as primate of the Episcopal Church. Page 2 150th anniver ersar sary St. Paul s, Leavenworth, the oldest parish in the Diocese of Kansas, prepares to celebrate the 150th anniversary of its founding, which took place Dec. 10, Page 4 Bishop Barbara Harris Bishop Barbara Harris, who became the first woman bishop in the Anglican Communion when she was consecrated in 1989, called the Episcopal Church Women to work for justice when she addressed their annual gathering in Wichita. Page 4 Service in Ken enya Deacon and doctor Steve Segebrecht treated hundreds of patients during a recent mission trip to Kenya, but the people he saw wanted prayers and a cross as much as they wanted medical help. Page 5 Diocesan convention The Episcopal Diocese of Kansas will meet for the 147th time when clergy and lay delegates gather in convention in Overland Park Oct Pages 6-7 Fare arewell ell to Connie Coburn Connie Coburn, a woman who pioneered leadership in the Diocese of Kansas, died in August. She was one of two women deputies to General Convention from Kansas in 1970, the first time women could serve. Page 9 Youth peer minister ters s named Nine new peer ministers have been named. They join 11 returning high school students to serve as leaders in the diocesan youth program. Page 9 Inves estiture on the web eb The service of investiture, when Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori becomes the 26th presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, will be webcast live from Washington National Cathedral on Nov. 4. Page 10 No agreement on ALPO A meeting of bishops from a variety of theological perspectives ended without an agreement on the matter of alternative primatial oversight. Page 11 New campus missioner announced T he first of two people set to lead an innovative model for campus ministry in the diocese has been hired by Bishop Dean Wolfe. The Rev. Craig Loya, 29, has been named Campus Missioner, with his ministry in the diocese to begin Jan. 15. Bishop Wolfe said, I believe Craig will be a substantial addition to the diocesan staff. He is an outstanding young priest who has a passion for ministry with and to young adults. Of the many fine candidates we met, Craig grasped the innovative model for campus ministry we envision. He is enthusiastic about building a model here in Kansas that we believe will be useful to dioceses across the church. The Rev. Craig Loya will be Campus Missioner for the diocese beginning in Loya will have primary responsibility for ministry at Kansas State University in Manhattan with special oversight of the new peer ministry program set to begin there. He also will share responsibility with a second campus missioner for establishing ministry on university campuses throughout the diocese without an active Episcopal presence. Loya currently is serving as interim for two small parishes in the Diocese of Massachusetts. He also has been an interim assistant at a larger urban parish in Massachusetts, and he served four mission congregations on the Rosebud Reservation in South Dakota. He was ordained by the Bishop of South Dakota in See Missioner, page 3 ESS readies for battle over its building E piscopal Social Services is in a fight for its life. No one disputes that the agency provides vital services to the poor and disadvantaged in Wichita. Their ministry has drawn praise from civic and church leaders across the community. They routinely receive thousands of dollars in grants from private foundations and government entities. But all that may come to a halt if they can t find a new building. ESS s current structure, which it has occupied since 1988, stands smack in the middle of an area to be demolished for construction of a 15,000-seat sports and entertainment arena being built by Sedgwick County. The agency is willing to move, but the amount they were offered for their building is less than half what they need to relocate. So now ESS finds itself in court, where it will make the case for the money it needs for a place where it can keep going. On Sept. 8 it was sued by Sedgwick County, along with a handful of other property owners, in the first lawsuit designed to bring this matter to a close. Day y in court The dispute arises over adequate compensation for ESS s building. The county has offered $500,000 for the 12,500- square foot facility, which is less than the $671,250 the county assigned it last year in a tax valuation. And ESS Executive Director Sandra Lyon says the cost to buy Photo by Melodie Woerman Executive Director Sandra Lyon spoke to more than 300 people who attended a rally in support of Episcopal Social Services Sept. 9 at its building in downtown Wichita. Behind her are Jake Petersen of radio station KFDI-FM (left) and Deacon Allen Ohlstein, chair of the Outreach Committee for the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas. a new building and remodel it for the agency s purposes likely will run closer to $1.3 million. The county commission has said it can t offer more than the appraised value for any of the 29 pieces of property in the arena district. Three owners so far have agreed to the offered price, including a bar across the street from ESS with a history of police calls for drug and alcohol violations. The county is paying $915,000 for that 13,900-square foot property. See ESS, page 3 Convention set to celebrate diocesan life F Because the parties can t agree on a price, state law requires that the matter now go before the district court, where a judge ultimately will decide on a purchase price. Lyon said she learned of the lawsuit against ESS in a meeting with a member of the Sedgwick County Commission on Sept. 8. He told us they were doing us a favor by suing us first, she said. or the 147th time, lay delegates and clergy from parishes of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas will gather in convention, this time at the Overland Park Marriott hotel Oct They will elect members to diocesan bodies, adopt a budget and consider other aspects of diocesan life. There will be time to learn about ministries and visit exhibit booths. There will be a series of Saturday workshops open to everyone in the diocese to offer information on the topics of outreach, evangelism, stewardship and ministry to young adults. There even is a special hymn that will debut at the convention Eucharist on Saturday, written just for this gathering using the meeting s theme, Run with perseverance the race that is before us, that comes from Hebrews 12:1. More information on convention is printed on pages 6 and 7 of this issue.

2 2 The Harvest September/October 2006 Publisher: The Right Reverend Dean E. Wolfe, Bishop Editor: Melodie Woerman A member of Episcopal News Service and Episcopal Communicators, The Harvest is published six times a year by the Office of Communications of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas: February, April, June, August, October and December. Stories, letters and photos are welcome. They will be used on a space-available basis and are subject to editing. Send all material (preferably in electronic format or by ) to: Melodie Woerman, editor The Harvest 835 SW Polk Street Topeka, KS phone: fax: mwoerman@episcopal-ks.org Send address changes to: Receptionist 835 SW Polk Street, Topeka, KS addresschange@episcopal-ks.org Upcoming deadlines: November/December issue: Nov. 15, 2006 January/February issue: Jan. 15, 2007 Subscription rate: $1.50 annually Third class mailing Permit No. 601, Topeka, Kansas POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Episcopal Diocese of Kansas 835 SW Polk Street Topeka, KS The Anglican Communion A global community of 70 million Anglicans in 38 member churches/provinces in more than 160 countries. Archbishop of Canterbury The Most Reverend and Right Honorable Rowan Williams Lambeth Palace, London WE1 7JU, United Kingdom Episcopal seat: Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury, England The Episcopal Church A community of more than 2.4 million members in 111 dioceses in the Americas and abroad. Presiding Bishop The Most Reverend Frank T. Griswold 815 Second Avenue, New York, NY Episcopal seat: Washington National Cathedral, Washington, D.C. The Episcopal Diocese of Kansas A community of more than 12,000 members in 50 congregations and campus missions and three diocesan institutions in eastern Kansas. Bishop The Right Reverend Dean E. Wolfe 835 SW Polk Street, Topeka, KS Episcopal seat: Grace Episcopal Cathedral, Topeka From the Bishop The Right Reverend Dean E. Wolfe Our new presiding bishop S ometimes I find it difficult to know what to address in this column. Most of my passion for ministry has to do with what is going on in the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas. I spend some part of every day encouraging the ministry of lay leaders, deacons and priests in the growing of congregations. We have had some time to catch our collective breath following the 2006 General Convention of the Episcopal Church. As summer turns into fall it may be appropriate to reflect on something that happened that continues to have an impact on the Church. A few bishops have used the election of the Rt. Rev. Katherine Jefferts Schori as Presiding Bishop (the first woman ever elected to this position) as an excuse to seek alternative primatial oversight from the Archbishop of Canterbury. I must say I haven t found their claim It has nothing to do with her being a woman. to be completely convincing. We have elected 11 Presiding Bishops since 1926 (John Murray Gardner was the first Presiding Bishop chosen in this manner), and the one thing the holders of this office share in common is a remarkable diversity of leadership style, personal piety, liturgical preference, political inclination and theological orientation. What unites these 10 men and one woman is their startling variety and their deep commitment to a united Episcopal Church. It would be more honest for many of these bishops to say, I want to leverage my power in the most effective way possible, and, by ignoring Bishop Jefferts Schori s election by her peers, I believe I will get more of what I want over time. No bett tter leader I will not be looking across any ocean to find suitable leadership for our Church. I do not believe the Archbishop of Canterbury or any other bishop would be a better leader of the Episcopal Church. It is difficult to form a precise analogy, but I wonder, for example, what would happen in Kansas if we said we didn t like the person who had just been duly elected President of the United States? What would happen if we disagreed with some of his or her positions on the issues of the day, and we were now seeking to be ruled by the President of Peru or Uganda? Other states would see us as ridiculous, and our focus on the ordinary affairs of this state would be completely distracted by such a gambit. Katharine Jefferts Schori was elected Presiding Bishop unambiguously. She was elected over some of the most capable bishops in the church. I did not think a bishop from a smaller diocese would be elected, and I did not think the House of Bishops would elect a woman to serve as Presiding Bishop at this point in our history. I have felt a little like the Apostle Thomas, who wasn t with the other disciples when the risen Christ appeared to them and said he only would believe it when he saw Jesus in person. I was unable to participate in the election because of my father s illness and subsequent death. But after talking to several bishops, I have to conclude that something of the Spirit took place there. Many bishops, from a wide range of theological perspectives, have commented about how Spirit-filled that election was and how Goddriven the day felt to them. What do I know about the Presiding Bishopelect? She evidences a life of prayer. In conversation she is thoughtful and deep. She is smart, with a Ph.D. in marine biology, and is articulate in expressing the fundamentals of All of us who call ourselves Episcopalians need her to be successful in her leadership of this Church. If she were to fail, it would be our failure as well, and failure is not an option. the faith. After her presentation to the spring meeting of the House of Bishops, a number of bishops who didn t know much about her spoke glowingly of her articulate and creative presentation. She is thoughtful. When I first was elected Bishop of Kansas, Katharine invited me to preach at her diocesan convention. Although I wasn t able to accept the invitation because it coincided with our own convention, I thought the invitation was a warm gesture to a new member of the House of Bishops. So perhaps it should not have surprised me to find her in attendance at my father s funeral in Ohio immediately after she had been elected. That act of pastoral care made a remarkable impression on me and on my family and also on the many members of the Kansas deputation who were attending. She has a sense of humor. Katharine possesses a sense of Christian joy that serves as a resource for her on the journey. The Presiding Bishop-elect will need our prayers. She is being called upon to gather an increasingly splintered Body of Christ. All of us who call ourselves Episcopalians need her to be successful in her leadership of this Church. If she were to fail, it would be our failure as well, and failure is not an option. Some people may be wondering with a theologically progressive Presiding Bishop if there is a place for them. The PB-elect has come from a theologically diverse diocese and has gone to great lengths to make room for people of various theological perspectives to dwell together in unity. I have every confidence our new Presiding Bishop will exhibit a great deal of grace under fire and will prepare a table where there is room for everyone at the feast.

3 Loya is a graduate of Hastings College in Hastings, Neb., and Berkeley Divinity School at Yale in Connecticut. While in seminary he met his wife, Melissa Tubbs Loya. Both are natives of Nebraska he grew up in North Platte and she in Lincoln. He joked that when they finally met in class, Melissa said, Oh, you re the other person with a Nebraska license plate in the parking lot. Faith grew w on campus Loya said his passion for ministry with college students comes in part from his own experience. He became an Episcopalian while in college after having grown up nominally Lutheran. I have always felt a call to campus ministry, he said. I am a Christian and priest because of September/October 2006 The Harvest 3 Missioner: Model will help students create community continued from page 1 The Rev. Craig Loya (right), the new Campus Missioner for the diocese, and his wife, Melissa Tubbs Loya. my experience as a student at Hastings College and the relationship with my peers and the chaplain. It was so important in my own formation and my own sense of vocation. Loya said the new way the Diocese of Kansas is looking at working with college students is the right approach. It s the right questions for the church to be asking how to build community, how to train leaders. He noted the particulars of his work will evolve as the new approach gets underway and will involve collaboration with the second Campus Missioner once that person is in the field, too. A lot is still up in the air, Loya said, but we will be doing something that hasn t been done before. A lot of what we will be doing will be local ministry development but with the campus as the local ministry. The emphasis is on mission, not chaplaincy, on doing ministry that sustains itself. We will be equipping students to create Christian community themselves and creating future leaders for the church, lay and ordained. Loya said he and Melissa are very excited to be returning to the Midwest to be closer to their families. He said he was thrilled to be joining a diocese with so much potential. Bishop Wolfe has real vision for the diocese and is a great leader, he said. Soccer fanatic He said a move to Kansas means he can root for his favorite boyhood baseball team but noted, I may be one of the few people in the country really looking forward to being a Kansas City Royals fan again. He describes himself as a soccer fanatic, with season tickets to the New England Revolution of Major League Soccer. He said he would enjoy watching the Kansas City Wizards play. The couple s dog, Abe, a Collie mix, will join the couple in their move. ESS: Rally urges county commission to meet agency s needs continued from page 1 The ESS Board of Directors has hired attorneys and is waiting for an independent appraiser to give his report on the building s value. A hearing then will take place, likely in the next two months. ESS will appear before three panelists selected by the judge, who will hear testimony from the agency and the county before recommending a price to the judge, who will decide on a final offer to the agency. Legal options after that, such as appeals, could be used if the amount still won t get ESS into a new building, Lyon said. She hopes it doesn t come to that. In addition to the legal front, Lyon and her board have become real estate scouts, searching for property in the downtown area that could meet its needs. She said finding a new location is a challenge, given the shortage of suitable buildings in the area. They want to remain downtown, she said, because that s where most of their clients live. They also need ready access to the city buses, since so few clients own cars, and they need a parking lot big enough to accommodate the nearly 100 volunteers who serve there. Lyon said she is starting to wonder how ESS can manage to make this transition happen. They need both a building to buy and the money to buy it, and right now both seem a long way off. She said she hopes parishes and members across the diocese will remember Episcopal Social Services in their prayers. If we are praying for a miracle, she said, we need everyone s prayers. Hundreds rally in support A rally for ESS took place Sept. 9 at the agency s front door, organized by Bishop Dean Wolfe and lay and clergy leaders of the Above: Bishop Dean Wolfe (far right) addresses the rally, as some participants and members of the media look on. Right: More than 300 people join the rally to show their support for ESS s ministry. Photos by Melodie Woerman Southwest Convocation. More than 300 people filled the sidewalk and spilled into the adjoining street to show their support for what the agency provides to Wichita s poor. Bishop Wolfe said it was wrong for the county to displace such a vital institution and not make provisions for the agency to continue. We will not rest, we will not be satisfied, until this wrong is put right, he said to cheers from the crowd. He said the county had failed to value the work the agency does in serving Wichita s poor and homeless, calling them the most vulnerable members of society. He urged those attending to contact members of the commission in support of the agency. What we do here does make a difference, he said. The Rev. Steven Mues, rector of the Combined Ministry of St. Alban s and St. Stephen s in Wichita, fired up the crowd when he chastised the county for comparing the ESS building to a warehouse in its appraisal process. This is not a warehouse, he said. It is a recycling center, a recycling center for human beings, providing the resources so those who have been cast aside and scratched and damaged and hurt by life can find resources to help them reclaim life and become new beings. Some good news ws ESS has received some good news that buoys spirits in the midst of its legal battle, Lyon said. The agency received word in early October that it would receive $10,000 worth of consulting services, thanks to the Wichita Community Foundation. It will be used to help ESS develop strategic plans for its future ministry. The grant, Lyon said, helps us focus on the future. ESS at a glance Episcopal Social Services opened on Jan. 6, It was founded with money given by members of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas through the Venture in Mission capital campaign. Lay and clergy members of the Southwest Convocation helped plan ESS and hired the first director. It also obtained ESS s first building near St. John s. It was named Venture House in honor of the program that helped create it. The agency moved to its current location in Last year it served 7,900 clients in 39,000 visits. Programs offered Employment center: Provides employment counseling, resume services and computer access for job seekers. Food assistance: Provides about 19,000 free hot lunches a year; distributes emergency food baskets to people who need temporary assistance. Representative payee program: Volunteers manage rent, utilities, bills and other financial matters for 140 people who are unable to handle their own affairs because of mental illness, disability or other problems. Support for children: Responding to referrals from the court, the program works with non-custodial parents who are unable to pay child support because of unemployment, lack of education or other issues. Teen intervention program: A six-week counseling program that annually serves 250 to 300 nonviolent offenders who are referred by courts and the district attorney s office.

4 4 The Harvest September/October 2006 Bishop Harris energizes ECW annual meeting Be the wounded, loving hands of Jesus, Harris says T hose attending the Episcopal Church Women annual meeting were challenged by the first woman Episcopal bishop to work for justice and peace in order to live out the promises of the baptismal covenant. Bishop Barbara Harris, former suffragan bishop of Massachusetts, was the keynote speaker at the annual ECW gathering Oct. 7 at St. James, Wichita. Continuing Jesus struggle She reminded her listeners that Jesus defined his own ministry by quoting from Isaiah s powerful description of the reign of God: to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord s favor (Luke 4:18-19). This, she said, is what is called for in the promises of the baptismal covenant to seek and serve Christ in all persons and to strive for justice and peace among all people. The struggle for justice and peace is always the task for Christians, she said. Our struggle is a continuation of the struggle of Jesus in the desert, in the garden, on the cross. Our goal is his the kingdom Leavenworth parish readies for 150th anniversary S t. Paul s, Leavenworth, the first parish organized in what would become the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas, will celebrate the 150th anniversary of its founding with special celebrations in November and December. Those will culminate with services the weekend of Dec. 10 the actual anniversary date with Bishop Dean Wolfe attending. Past members of the congregation also are invited to return for what the parish is calling a homecoming weekend. Before statehood Ministry by the Episcopal Church in what then was Kansas Territory took place under the direction of Bishop Jackson Kemper, the first missionary bishop selected by the Episcopal Church. He was sent in 1835 to what then was called the Northwest, with responsibility for what became Indiana, Wisconsin, Minne- Bishop Harris called on Kansas women to be agents of change for good. of God, justice and dignity for every human being, and peace among all nations. She said the objective for Christians is to become the wounded, loving hands of Jesus in this world. Accomplishing that requires Scriptural ears and Gospel eyes, she said, which will lead to developing the mind of Christ. She drew chuckles when she acknowledged, All this action is tiring, and she said it can be difficult to seek the face of Christ in those with whom we don t agree. That s when you stand with your face to the wind, as it were. It s not easy. I don t pretend that it s easy. A danger for Christians, Bishop Harris said, is that we can lose the sense of zeal that marked Jesus ministry. We need to recapture the sense of being part of Jesus movement instead of being part of an institution, she said. Doing so leads to the peace that passes all understanding, but she noted, We may also realize it is more important to be loving than to be right. While Bishop Harris was fiery in delivering her twopart address, things really got energized when she began to answer questions from the more than 90 people attending the event. She said she was glad the authority for the church that used to rest just with Anniversary events St. Paul s, Leavenworth, has a variety of events planned to celebrate the founding of the parish on Dec. 10, 1856: Nov. 12, 4 p.m. Choral Evensong featuring the Youth Choristers of Grace Cathedral, Topeka. Reception following. Dec Homecoming Weekend Dec. 9, 5:30 p.m. Holy Eucharist with Bishop Dean Wolfe celebrating. Dinner following using recipes from the parish s anniversary cookbook. Dec. 10, 9:30 a.m. Holy Eucharist with organ concert. Reception following. Dec. 10, 1-7 p.m. St. Paul s will be on the Leavenworth Vintage Homes tour. sota, Iowa, Missouri, Kansas and Nebraska. The Rev. Hiram Stone responded to Bishop Kemper s appeal for missionaries to the west and arrived in Leavenworth from Connecticut on Nov. 24, Only two weeks later, with the help of 20 parishioners, he had founded the first permanent Episcopal church in Kansas, named St. Paul s because of the financial bishops is becoming more dispersed. support given it by St. Paul s, New Haven. Conn. The congregation s first building was completed in 1858 and consecrated by Bishop Kemper. After a few years of decline and resurgence, a new church building was begun at the corner of Seventh and Seneca. Services took place in its partially completed interior in 1864, with the building completed in It Above: The building that houses the congregation of St. Paul s, Leavenworth, was constructed in the late 19th century. Right: The Rev. Hiram Stone founded St. Paul s, Leavenworth, on Dec. 10, continues in use today. More information on the parish s anniversary events is available by calling or ing Photos by Melodie Woerman Bishop Barbara Harris helps members of the Episcopal Church Women warm up for her speech by leading them in song and accompanying the group on the piano. Thank God we have a bicameral house in General Convention so decisionmaking is shared, she said. She drew applause when she suggested adding a third part to that legislative body. I d love to see Triennial become a third house at General Convention, she said, referring to the national women s meeting that takes place at the same time as General Convention. I think that would be wonderful, to have the majority of the members of the church be voting members of General Convention. Can you see how a vote in General Convention by Triennial could turn this church upside down? When asked what advice she would give to Presiding Bishop-elect Katharine Jefferts Schori, Bishop Harris offered the words given to her when she was elected a bishop Never forget that the power behind you is greater than the task ahead of you. Bishop Wolf olfe challenges, too In remarks to the assembly earlier in the day, Bishop Dean Wolfe challenged members of the ECW to greater activity. When he asked how many in the room were younger than he is at age 50, only a few hands went up. If we are not careful, he said, this group will slowly start laying their burden down before the next group is here to pick it up. The election of a woman as the next presiding bishop also is an occasion to get more people involved. I wouldn t want any woman in any of our parishes to miss one moment of this, he said. Don t let them miss out on what is possibly the most Spirit-filled time this church has seen in a long time.

5 September/October 2006 The Harvest 5 Into Africa Kansans heal bodies, touch souls in Kenya Zane Wilemon cleans the ear of a child in the village of Maai Mahiu, Kenya, during a recent medical mission to Africa. Wilemon, a seminarian at the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas, has founded a non-profit agency that works in Kenya and has established a trade school, community center, library and medical help to three areas in the country. Wilemon is a member of Trinity, Lawrence. S eventeen people from Kansas spent 10 days in September reaching out to people in need in Kenya. They traveled under the auspices of Comfort the Children International, a non-profit organization founded three years ago by Kansas seminarian Zane Wilemon. Half were involved in service to the community, and the other half provided medical services to an area that is lucky to see a doctor one day a month. A cross and some prayers An hour and a half outside Nairobi sits the community of Maai Mahiu. It s situated on what is known as the AIDS Highway, a major trade route between Nairobi, Kenya, and Kampala, Uganda. Half the city s citizens are infected with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. Because medical care is scarce, the arrival of doctors from Kansas was a major event, according to Deacon Steve Segebrecht, an otolaryngologist from Trinity, Lawrence, who participated in his second medical mission to Kenya this year. Medical personnel on this trip including an internist, two optometrists and two pharmacists in addition to Segebrecht saw hundreds of patients during their stay. Some conditions were easy to treat. Segebrecht described a woman who came in unable to hear. A quick cleaning of her ears fixed that. Others, including children with cleft palates or other severe conditions, were referred to a hospital in Nairobi that could treat them. But the group did more than provide physical healing. They offered a white cross necklace and prayers to every patient. Segebrecht said no one turned down their offer. One day, as night fell, several dozen people were left standing outside when it became too late to see additional patients. But they wouldn t leave, Segebrecht said. He asked his translator, a student at the local Kenyan seminary, to explain they would have to return the next day. The man reported back that the people understood they couldn t see a doctor but really only wanted a cross and prayers. Segebrecht saw that they got both. Built on relationships Wilemon started his organization in 2003 after spending time teaching in Kenya after his college graduation. The needs he saw touched him so much that he wanted to find a larger way to help. Through contacts there he started the organization and based it in relationships rather than any formal structure. We offer a bridge to relationships, he said. People share their talents and resources. Wilemon, who is 29, said the group already has built a trade school, community center and library in Maai Mahiu. More than 100 students now attend the Left: Deacon Steve Segebrecht of Trinity, Lawrence, who alsi is an otolaryngologist, prays with patients in a clinic in rural Kenya. The man next to Segebrecht wears the traditional dress of a Maasai warrior. Above: A boy wears a cross necklace he received from the medical team. school, learning a variety of trades including sewing, knitting, cosmetology, tailoring and carpentry, along with computer skills. The library is the only one in Kenya outside a metropolitan area and is filled with donated books. The School of Architecture at the University of Kansas has begun a partnership with the University of Nairobi to develop other community centers to meet the needs of Kenya s rural population. And Wilemon said another medical mission to Kenya set for 2008 already has 80 people signed up. More information on Comfort the Children is available from Wilemon at zanehwilemon@hotmail.com. Story by Melodie Woerman Photos by Steve Segebrecht and Zane Wilemon

6 6 The Harvest September/October 2006 Diocesan Convention Budget t points to active year of ministry Bishop Dean Wolfe says the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas is ready for an active, exciting year of new ministry, and the proposed budget that will make it possible does it with good news for parishes no increase in the rate of apportionment. The 2007 budget does show an increase in income from apportionments of almost $88,000, but diocesan Comptroller Jay Currie says that is due to an increase in parish income. That s a sign of parish health, he said, that also is seen in increases in parish membership and average Sunday attendance figures reported on the 2005 parochial reports. Income increases also will come from a $75,000 anonymous gift to help support the salaries of the campus missioners and additional money from diocesan investment income than has been used in the past. Currie said the diocesan Finance Committee, the group charged with developing the proposed budget for the Council of Trustees, looked at why various endowment funds were created. They found, in some cases, that investment income that was being rolled back into the endowments actually was available for specific ministry needs funded by the budget. That money is being funneled into the 2007 budget in two main areas campus ministry program needs and support for the clergy intern program. Investment income, as it has in the past, also is used to support the diocesan staff responsible for stewardship and development. clergy internship program, which helps place recent seminary graduates from the diocese in Kansas parishes. There will be three people graduating from seminary in the spring of Personnel costs account for the bulk of the increase in the mission management line item, which covers staff salaries, benefits and costs of running the diocesan office. Most employees will see a 3.5 percent cost-of-living raise. There also are more employees budgeted during 2007 two campus missioners and a church planter among the clergy, and a full-time director of stewardship and development on the lay side. The diocesan director of communications also is moving from part-time to full-time, with the accompanying expense for benefits. With more employees on the road comes an increase in insurance costs for diocesan-owned automobiles, too. Employee health insurance sees another steep increase this year, averaging between 7.4 and 8 percent, depending on the plan involved. Those costs are set by the insurance provider, although the diocese is taking steps that might begin to stem that tide. Increased program costs Expense increases fall into three main areas campus ministry, seminarian support and the diocesan mission management. Bishop Wolfe already has announced the hiring of the first of two campus missioners, the Rev. Craig Loya, and once the second person is in place the program will expand beyond what has been offered by the diocese in the past for its college-aged young adults, Currie said. The $37,250 program increase, which is mostly offset by designated investment income, will Health insurance change support the needs of the two Convention will consider a missioners and their work on the proposed change to diocesan canons to make participation in the five Regents campuses in the diocese and the other universities, diocesan health insurance plan colleges and community colleges mandatory for all clergy and lay within the boundaries of the diocese. This proposal was recom- employees in the diocese. The seminarian support line mended by a health insurance task item includes an increase in the force appointed by the bishop after last year s convention to see what the diocese could do to help hold down health insurance premiums. That body, chaired by David Wetzler of St. Michael s, Mission, noted the potential damaging impact the diocese could suffer if parishes began to shop for employee health insurance on their own. The negative impact of losing large parishes from the overall group would devastate the group s experience and would lead to higher prices for everyone else, the task force said in the written report it submitted to the Council of Trustees in June. Wetzler offered the Trustees one alarming statistic in the past three years the diocese received $336,795 more in claims than it paid in premiums. If parishes with younger, healthier employees took them out of the insurance pool, he said that trend would only get worse. In addition, few insurance companies would be interested in bidding on the diocesan group if they had to pay $1.25 in claims for every $1 in premiums received, Wetzler said. That, in essence, locks the diocese into the plans offered by the Medical Trust of the Episcopal Church. Wetzler s task force did recommend to the Council of Trustees that the diocese ask the Medical Trust for more options that might slow the rate of premium increases. The task force s report has been forwarded by the Council of Trustees to the national Executive Council for consideration. Items to note... Saturday events ents open to all hile lay delegates and clergy will finish their business W sessions on Friday afternoon, the important work of convention continues on Saturday with the convention Eucharist and workshops designed to help parishes in their ministry. The Eucharist will take place at 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Oct. 21 in the convention plenary room at the Overland Park Marriott hotel. That will be followed by workshops at 10 a.m. on: stewardship, outreach, ministry to young adults, and evangelism. There is no charge to attend these events, but preregistration with the diocesan office ( ) for workshops is requested to plan adequate seating. Thursda sday night event ent to aid Kansas School of Ministry onvention-goers have been invited to a special C fundraiser for the Kansas School of Ministry the night before convention. Candlelight Dessert with Bishop Dean Wolfe is set for 9-10 p.m. at the Overland Park Marriott, site of convention. Tickets are $50 per person and will include dessert and beverages. Bishop Wolfe also will speak at the event. KSM is taking a year s break to secure a more stable funding base and to better determine how it will continue to provide quality educational offerings to clergy and laity in the diocese. More information about the event is available from Char De- Witt, diocesan director of stewardship and development, at or cdewitt@episcopal-ks.org. Special hymn commissioned for use at convention hymn commissioned for the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas Awill have its debut during diocesan convention. It reflects the theme for this year s gathering, Run with perseverance the race that is set before us, from Hebrews 12:1. The text of the hymn was written by Patricia Clark, a graduate of the Episcopal Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas, and now an adjunct instructor in religious studies at St. Edward s College in Austin. She discovered a gift for hymn writing while in seminary and has had hymns published in Wonder, Love and Praise (a Hymnal supplement) and other music resources. She set the Kansas hymn to the tune Austria, (Hymn 522 in the Hymnal), although it can be used with other tunes with the same meter. It will be sung for the first time during the morning worship on Friday, Oct. 20 and will be repeated during the convention Eucharist Saturday, Oct. 21 at 8:30 a.m. Wor orship to infuse convention with times of prayer C onvention participants will have five opportunities for worship before and during diocesan convention. Worship on Thursday and Friday nights will take place in the meditation room near the convention hall at the Marriott. Worship times will be: Thursday, Oct. 19, 8:30 p.m. - Worship in the meditation room, Friday, Oct. 20, 8:30 a.m. - Morning Prayer in the plenary room, Friday, Oct. 20, 12 noon - Noonday prayers in the plenary room, Friday, Oct. 20, following the banquet - Worship in the meditation room, and Saturday, Oct. 21, 8:30 a.m. - Convention Eucharist in the plenary room.

7 September/October 2006 The Harvest 7 At-large members s of the Council of Trust rustees ees Elections Members s of the Ecclesiastical Trial rial Court The Council of Trustees is the governing body for the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas between conventions. It oversees all matters relating to programs and finance and functions as the canonical Standing Committee for approving candidates for ordination and the election of bishops. Membership consists of six at-large members elected by diocesan convention (half lay, half clergy) and two members elected by each of the four convocation boards and ratified by diocesan convention (half lay, half clergy). Clergy: Vote for 1 (three year term) The Rev. Carol Meredith Priest in Charge, St. Andrew s, Derby, and Associate Priest, Good Shepherd, Wichita Former curate at St. John s, Wichita and deacon at Good Shepherd, Wichita. Member of the Commission on Ministry and the Liturgy, Arts and Music Committee. Member of the board of directors for Episcopal Social Services, Wichita. Involved in disaster planning for the diocese. Former staff chaplain at Wichita s Wesley Medical Center. Laity: Vote for 1 (three year term) Lisa Adams Member, St. Michael s, Mission Past president of the Northeast Convocation, convention and convocation delegate and former Northeast Convocation representative for the ECW. Member of the Daughters of the King. Active volunteer at St. Michael s. Former member of Grace Cathedral, Topeka; St. Christopher s, Wichita; and St. James, Wichita. Linda Brown, Ph.D. Member, St. Paul s, Leavenworth Serves as Eucharistic Minister and Eucharistic Visitor. Former member of the vestry and chair of the leadership development committee. Former special education teacher and member of the faculty at Purdue University and the University of Texas, Austin. Has a Ph.D. from K-State and a theology degree from St. Paul s School of Theology in Kansas City, Mo. Currently is staff chaplain and coordinator of patient care at Truman Medical Center in Kansas City, Mo. The Rev. Nicolette Papanek Interim Rector, St. John s, Wichita Former interim rector at St. Thomas, Overland Park, and former curate at Good Shepherd, Wichita. Member of Communications Committee and Congregational Development Committee. Has served as a consultant to parishes in the areas of vision and ministry, advertising, evangelism and congregational development. Ray Call Member, St. Andrew s, Emporia Former member of the vestry, senior warden and delegate. Member of two search committees and chair of the bicentennial celebration in Retired editor of the Emporia Gazette. Larry Wiggins Member, St. Michael s, Mission Former member of the vestry, senior warden, stewardship chair, long range planning chair, usher and Sunday school teacher. Has worked with the diocesan campus ministry and currently is a delegate. Is active with Alpha and attended the first Kansas City Cursillo. Proposed rules of debate The following standing rules are proposed for adoption for all items that will come before the convention: As much as possible, speakers will be called in alternating order of their positions on the issue under discussion. Speakers are limited to two minutes, although they may answer questions and have an additional two minutes to speak to amendments. People standing at a microphone when motions to call the question or cut off debate by some other procedure are made will be permitted to speak before the motion is voted on. Items on the consent calendars will be voted on as a block. A request from three people will remove an item from a consent calendar and open it for debate and its own vote. The Ecclesiastical Trial Court, as provided in national and diocesan canons, serves in the event a priest or deacon is subject to discipline or trial for removal from office for certain offenses specified in the canons. An ecclesiastical trial last took place in the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas in the 1970s, but a trial court must be in place and ready to hear cases, should the need arise. The court includes four priests or deacons and three lay persons. Clergy: Vote for 4 (three year term) The Very Rev. Steve Lipscomb Dean, Grace Cathedral, Topeka Former member of the Council of Trustees, member and chaplain for the Task Force for Funding the Mission of the Diocese, member and former chair of the Congregational Development Committee. Chair of the Transition Committee at the time of Bishop Wolfe s election in Deacon Patricia Murphy Deacon, St. Paul s, Kansas City Also serves as parttime administrative assistant for the parish. Former member of the diocesan Nominations Committee and Stewardship Committee. Serves as liaison from St. Paul s to the Anti- Hunger Network and is chair of HELP 317, an ecumenical group supporting food needs in Wyandotte County. Formerly was a casualty-property underwriter for several national and international companies. Laity: Vote for 3 (three year term) Linda Brown, Ph.D. Member, St. Paul s, Leavenworth Serves as Eucharistic Minister and Eucharistic Visitor. Former member of the vestry and chair of the leadership development committee. Former special education teacher and member of the faculty at Purdue University and the University of Texas, Austin. Has a Ph.D. from K-State and a theology degree from St. Paul s School of Theology in Kansas City, Mo. Currently is staff chaplain and coordinator of patient care at Truman Medical Center in Kansas City, Mo. Jenny Harder Member, St. Andrew s, Emporia Member of the worship committee, acolyte mentor and involved in the youth program. Former member of the search committee, altar guild, parish life committee and nursery leader. Is a lifelong member of St. Andrew s. Currently is director of the National Teachers Hall of Fame at Emporia State University. Deacon Allen Ohlstein Deacon, St. Paul s, Leavenworth Director of the Episcopal Anti-Hunger Network coordinated by Episcopal Community Services. Former lay reader, Eucharistic Minister and Visitor, vestry member, junior warden and chair of community outreach. Currently serves as a Jubilee site visitor for the Episcopal Church. Retired officer with the United States Army. The Rev. Steven Mues Rector, Combined Ministry of St. Alban s and St. Stephen s, Wichita Member of the board of Episcopal Social Services in Wichita. Former president and CEO of St. Jude s Ranch for Children in Boulder, Nev., a residential care facility for abandoned and abused children. Also was rector of St. Luke s, Rochester, Minn. for 14 years. Joseph A. Mitchell Member, Church of the Covenant, Junction City Alternate delegate to convention, lector, Eucharistic minister and visitor, Sunday school teacher, volunteer at Episcopal Social Services-Venture House, vestry member and junior warden, youth group leader, choir leader, Stephen s minister, participant in Cursillo and Alpha. Involved with Habitat for Humanity and Disabled American Veterans. Bob Skaggs Member, St. Michael s, Mission Member of the Council of Trustees and chair of the finance committee and the search committee for campus ministries. Former member of the diocesan task force for campus ministry and the Task Force for Funding the Ministry of the Diocese. Former member of the vestry and senior warden at St. Francis, Stilwell. Retired Marine Corps officer.

8 8 The Harvest September/October 2006 Around the diocese St. John s, Abilene started a process of re-visioning and planning on Sept. 10, beginning with clarifying the parish s vision and mission and then moving to planning, culminating in a mutual covenant for the future. Trinity, Arkansas City saw its Trinity Treasures resale and gift shop celebrate its first anniversary Sept. 14. Proceeds from the shop have provided needed appliances for the parish hall kitchen and even paid one month s electric bill for the church. Trinity, Atchison members Drew Tapley and Dusty Parker currently are serving with the US armed forces in Iraq. Parker returned to Atchison briefly in March for the baptism of his newborn daughter. Grace, Chanute is hosting a concert by Episcopal musician Fran McKendree on Oct. 30. The concert will benefit two Chanute agencies, Fire Escape and Safe House. Tickets are $8 for adults and $5 for students and can be ordered by calling the parish office, McKendree was the musician at least year s diocesan convention. St. Paul s, Clay Center observed Labor Day during services Sept. 3, when members were asked to bring a photo or object that represents their work and ministry in the world. St. Paul s, Coffeyville has been studying its yearlong worship schedule and has made some changes to better serve the parish and its changing demographics. Input came from the vestry, worship committee and other parish leaders. St. Andrew s, Derby included a sign-up sheet in its newsletter to allow members to indicate the ministries they want to be part of in the coming year. The full-page sheet included everything from being part of the phone prayer chain to helping with outreach needs. St. Martins, Edwardsville hosted a two-night Vacation Church School this summer, with 12 children participating in a variety of activities that included making bird feeders and table decorations for the bishop s visit to the parish. Trinity, El Dorado Outreach Committee recently distributed more than $2,000 in grants to four area organizations: the local Habitat for Humanity, Episcopal Social Services, the El Dorado Safe House and a local children s advocacy center. The committee is chaired by Deacon Jane Ware. St. Andrew s, Emporia participated in the city s Great American Flea Market Sept. 9. Parish members helped stock the booth with items, and the Rev. Kelley Lackey prepared brochures to tell shoppers about the parish. Epiphany, Independence is getting ready for its craft fair and cookie market on Dec. 2. Members were asked to volunteer their time and their homemade cookies. A handmade quilt also will be available for raffle that day. St. Timothy s, Iola has begun construction of its new building addition, which will provide an office, two classrooms and two accessible restrooms. The parish hall will be renovated, and a parking lot will be added. Covenant, Junction City celebrated its 148th anniversary with Covenant Sunday Sept. 24. The parish also thanked member Charles Neale for his 51 years of ministry, and said good-bye to Col. Kenneth Sampson, the outgoing Fort Riley Installation Chaplain, as he headed to Washington, D.C. St. Paul s, Kansas City ECW met on Sept. 19 to continue the Wichitan s book describes spiritual journey V irginia Winters, a member of St. John s, Wichita, has written a book that describes her spiritual journey. Things I Have Told You shares her intimate personal story that focuses on healing, beginning with healing through mind-overmatter, to the healing of the human spirit and finally to the ultimate experience of healing, the Holy Spirit. Winters has studied and worked with Richard Foster and others noted in the field of spiritual direction and has many years experience in the ministry of spiritual healing. She is the founder of Poustinia in the Marketplace, a healing ministry in Wichita. The book is available from local booksellers and also from Amazon.com. The list price is $ Kansans named to national commissions B onnie Anderson, president of the House of Deputies, has appointed three lay people from the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas to serve on national boards for the next three years. They are: Frank Connizzo, to the Standing Commission on Small Congregations, Char DeWitt, to the Standing Commission on Stewardship and Development, and Sarah Knoll-Williams, to the Standing Commission on Health. Connizzo is a member of St. Paul s, Manhattan, and is a six-time deputy to General Convention. He is a returning member to this Standing Commission. DeWitt is the new director of stewardship and development for the diocese. She previously worked for the Episcopal Church Foundation. group s ministry of making lap robes for those who might need them. They are looking at expanding their stitching ministry to include prayer bead bracelets and Anglican rosaries. St. Margaret s, Lawrence contemplative outreach group conducted a morning silent retreat Sept. 30 at a center in Kansas City. Participants joined in several periods of centering prayer, concluding with discussion. Trinity, Lawrence welcomed member Carol Hurlbut as the new coordinator of the Trinity food pantry. She is a case manager for the Salvation Army. The interfaith pantry housed at Trinity serves about 150 people each month. St. Paul s, Leavenworth Happy Booksters group met in October to discuss the new book by former Secretary of State and Episcopalian Madeleine Albright, The Mighty and the Almighty. St. Paul s, Manhattan observes the second Saturday of each month with a special time of fellowship and learning. After coffee and conversation, presentations focus on a variety of topics. In September, participants heard from the president of the local school board. October will explore breast cancer awareness month. St. Michael s, Mission is preparing for its annual book sale in October by asking members for donations of books. Proceeds from the sale of gently used books and magazines support the parish library. St. Matthew s, Newton raised more than $2,000 from its Gigantic Indoor/Outdoor Benefit Sale, with the proceeds going to the parish s representative payee program. St. Aidan s, Olathe hosted a family camp-out in the parish yard Sept. 30. Activities included games, contests and a campfire complete with songs and stories. Grace, Ottawa hosted its annual Blessing of the Animals Oct. 8 at the Franklin County Fairgrounds. Children of the parish helped Deacon John Heckert with the event. St. Thomas, Overland Park has refurbished stained glass windows from a former building so they once again can grace the parish. The panels will be mounted in wall cabinets in the nave and will be backlit so their colors shine. St. John s, Parsons former rector the Rev. Richard McCandless presented a retreat on centering prayer Aug. 19, including two videos on prayer featured the late Father Basil Pennington. St. Peter s, Pittsburg handed out free bottles of water with a special label advertising the parish during the city s Little Balkans Day festival over the Labor Day weekend. Epiphany, Sedan hosted a talk for all parishioners by diocesan Director of Stewardship and Development Char DeWitt Sept. 20. The event also included a potluck dinner. St. Luke s, Shawnee has hired Christina Waggoner as youth group leader for students in grades 6 through 12. Waggoner, a sophomore at the University of Kansas, was a diocesan summer youth ministry intern. Grace Cathedral, Topeka collected more than $1,100 Aug. 20 to benefit a family in Sri Lanka. The money will go for job skills training and business start-up costs. The parish became connected with the Fernando family through the organization World Vision. St. David s, Topeka staged a dinner theatre performance of Knoll-Williams is a seminarian at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, Calif. She is a three-time General Convention deputy. Anderson has named 135 people to serve on the church s official agencies and boards, from a pool of 500 suggested names. Standing Commissions include lay people, clergy and bishops appointed by the executive officers of the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops. Members work on specific topics for three years. The commissions make recommendations to General Convention in the form of proposed resolutions. They, along with the other appointed committees, agencies and boards of the Episcopal Church, also receive resolutions from General Convention and determine methods for their implementation before the next convention. Malice in the Palace Sept. 30. The musical production of the story of Esther featured parishioners in a variety of roles. A period-inspired dinner preceded the play. St. Luke s, Wamego is offering a puppy class for pet owners in the community. The weekly training class is for young puppies and offers obedience training. Besides offering time for humananimal interaction, the program is designed to make the parish an active presence in Wamego. Combined Ministry of St. Alban s and St. Stephen s, Wichita has begun an outreach effort to the nearby Price-Harris Communications Magnet School, with a special ministry to its staff. The first effort was to provide a salad lunch for the staff of 55 people on Sept. 18. Good Shepherd, Wichita hosted Episcopalians from the Native American Lakota tribe this summer. The group spent the night in the parish hall and performed songs and dances in native dress between services that day. St. James, Wichita distributed more than $7,000 in outreach funds raised at its annual Old English tea. Beneficiaries were Episcopal Social Services and a variety of other groups that help the poor, hungry and children in the community. St. John s, Wichita hosted a blood drive in the parish parlor Aug. 27. The American Red Cross handled the collections of blood, which was in short supply over the summer. Grace, Winfield celebrated the American Folk Song Mass Sept. 10. This is the third yearly celebration of the service on the Sunday before the start of the popular Walnut Valley Festival, for folk and bluegrass fans. The mass was written by the Rev. Ian Mitchell.

9 People September/October 2006 The Harvest 9 Coburn was a pioneer for women in the diocese C onnie Coburn, one of the first women to serve as a deputy to General Convention in the Episcopal Church, died Aug. 20. She was 77. Coburn, whose given name was Etta Mae but always was known as Connie, had been a member of St. Paul s, Kansas City, since 1957 and retained her membership there even though she had lived in recent years in her childhood hometown of Kiowa. Clergy news Deacon Monte Giddings has been named by Bishop Dean Wolfe as archdeacon for the Northeast and Northwest Convocations. He currently serves as deacon at St. Michael s, Mission, where he has been instrumental in developing men s ministries. He is a partner in Gliem and Giddings, an insurance firm in Overland Park. Giddings serves as chair of the diocesan Higher Education Committee and is also the diocesan risk manager. She is best remembered for her role as a pioneer in the movement for women s inclusion in leadership in the Episcopal Church. She was one of two women deputies from the Diocese of Kansas to General Convention in 1970, the first year that body allowed women to serve. She also was the first woman Connie Coburn Choir members from Grace Cathedral, Topeka, attended a training event in Wilkes- Barre, Penn., in late July, sponsored by the Royal School of Church Music. Participants included (from left): front row, Cyndi Langston, Anna Hamilton, Samantha Vosburgh, Katie Burk and Maggie Burk; back row, Sally Burk, Sam Langston, Robert Hamilton, cathedral choirmaster Steve Burk, course clinician Andrew Lumsden and Bill Stelzner. Cathedral choir members attend prestigious music school T en choir members from Grace Cathedral, Topeka, participated in a prestigious Royal School of Church Music training course in late July in Wilkes-Barre, Penn. For the six youth choristers and four adults, it was an intense week of singing. Choral Evensong was sung every night, as well as a Festal Choral Eucharist on Sunday morning and a Choral Evensong on Sunday night. The 150-voice choir performed many noted works, such as Mozart s Coronation Mass in C and George Dyson s Magnificat and Nunc dimittis in D. The choir was under the direction of Andrew Lumsden of Winchester Cathedral, Winchester, England. Maggie Burk, youth chorister and six-year camp veteran, said that Lumsden was exceedingly funny and really knowledgeable. I enjoyed every moment working under him. Participants also enjoyed activities such as rock climbing and bowling, along with a tour of the organ at St. Stephen s Pro- Cathedral, the host church. He has a particular interest, along with the bishop, in identifying new candidates for the diaconate. Giddings succeeds Deacon Suzi Drury, who resigned as archdeacon to prepare for her upcoming wedding. The Rev. Gary Gilbertson has been named interim rector of St. Michael s, Mission, beginning Sept. 17. He is the former dean of in the diocese to be elected to the diocesan Board of Trustees and went on to serve three terms on that body. She was selected by Bishop Richard Grein to head the diocese s Venture in Mission fundraising campaign in the early 1980s. That effort resulted in money to create Venture House (now Episcopal Social Services) Youth peer ministers named N ine young people have been added to the ranks of peer ministers to help lead the diocesan youth program during the coming school year. They join 11 youth who are returning for another year. Peer ministers are senior high school students who will act as leaders for other youth in the diocesan program. They receive training for ministry during two leadership retreats during the year and function as leaders at diocesan youth events and worship services. They also are expected to develop a practice of personal daily devotion for spiritual growth. Peer ministers are selected through an application and interview process and serve until they graduate from high school. In announcing the young people selected for the coming year, diocesan Youth Coordinator Chad Senuta said, This is a crucial part of diocesan youth ministry. The peer ministry program gives our youth an opportunity to serve as leaders and learn more deeply what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ. Senuta said that peer ministers routinely remain active in ministry in the Episcopal Church after high school. Many former peer ministers actively volunteer in their parish, diocesan youth programs, in campus ministry and in parish youth ministry. Some have even gone on to seminary. Peer ministry is a wonderful training ground for students and gives them an opportunity to take a big step forward in their faith journey. Gethsemane Cathedral in Fargo, N.D. and was interim at St. Andrew s, Kansas City, Mo., from , among other ministries in his 30-year career. Gilbertson, 68, has transferred his canonical residency to this diocese. The Rev. Oliver Lee has resigned as associate rector of Trinity, Lawrence, effective Sept. 18. He remains canonically resident in this diocese. in Wichita, renovate and repair areas of Camp Wood, remodeled the old bishop s residence into the Bethany Place Conference Center and other local projects. She also was a former president of the diocesan Episcopal Church Women and twice served as treasurer. She helped establish the ECW endowment fund and served both as its president and treasurer. She received the Bishop s Vision Award from Bishop William Smalley in She also spent many years in The Rev. Michael Munro has been appointed by Bishop Dean Wolfe as the new chair of the diocesan Commission on Ministry. Munro is the rector of St. Paul s, Leavenworth, and currently is a member of the Commission. COM oversees the ordination process in the diocese. Deacon Sally Wilcox is continuing her recovery after recent cancer surgery at the University of Kansas Medical Center. the field of education and retired as principal of an elementary school in Kansas City, Kan. She was an active member of her community, including service as chair of the Kansas City, Kan. United Way and as a precinct official at polling places on election day. She is survived by her son Foster, two brothers, an aunt and several nieces and nephews. Memorial contributions were designated for the Children in Need Foundation, P.O. Box 32381, Phoenix, AZ peer ministers Phil Anderson, St. Margaret s, Lawrence Anna Archibald, Ascension, Neodesha * Katie Burk, Grace Cathedral, Topeka * Maggie Burk, Grace Cathedral, Topeka Lauren Burt, St. Margaret s, Lawrence * Sarah Brower, St. Michael s, Mission Caitlin Canaday, St. Michael s, Mission Josh Carolan, St. Michael s, Mission * Spencer Collett, St. Michael s, Mission Sean Connelly, Good Shepherd, Wichita * Hannah Clayton, St. James, Wichita * Samantha Freeman, St. Michael s, Mission * Doug Fye, St. Thomas, Overland Park Chase Harder, St. Andrew s, Emporia Sophie Hilleary, St. Michael s, Mission Joel Layton, St. Thomas, Overland Park * Jarrett Lockard, Grace Cathedral, Topeka Michelle Martin, St. Thomas, Overland Park * Elisha McCallum, St. Luke s, Shawnee David McGuire, Grace Cathedral, Topeka * new peer ministers Letters Dimissory have been sent for the Rev. Jo Ann Ford to the Diocese of Colorado, for the Rev. David With to the Diocese of West Missouri, and for the Rev. Rob Lord to the Diocese of Central Florida, transferring their canonical residency. Letters Dimissory have been received for the Rev. Craig Loya, new Campus Missioner for the diocese, from the Diocese of South Dakota.

10 10 The Harvest September/October 2006 National and international news Anglican news briefs Episcopal News Service Former Filipino primate stabbed to death Bishop Alberto Ramento of Tarlac in the Philippines, former Prime Bishop of the Philippine Independent Church (the Iglesia Filipina Independiente), was found stabbed to death at his rectory on the morning of Oct. 3. Initial police reports said he may have been killed by robbers, but the current Prime Bishop, Godofredo J. David, said he thinks the killing was politically motivated. Ramento had been an outspoken critic of the Philippine government and a leading advocate for peace and human rights in the country. San Joaquin to consider break with Episcopal Church The Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin s Dec. 1-2 convention will be asked to consider constitutional amendments that would place the Diocese of San Joaquin in an ideal position to be part of any ecclesiastical structure that the Archbishop of Canterbury and Primates might design, according to a statement posted on the diocese s web site. The changes include, among other things, striking references to the Episcopal Church, its canons and its General Convention, and changing the qualifications for certain office holders from communicant(s) in good standing to voting member(s) of a Parish or Mission. Under the canons of the Episcopal Church, dioceses are designated and recognized by the General Convention. Ugandan lay woman named UN Observer Hellen Grace Wangusa, the United Nations Africa coordinator of the Millennium Development Goals, has been named the next Anglican Observer at the United Nations. She will begin her work as Anglican Observer in January 2007, based at the Episcopal Church Center in New York. She succeeds Archdeacon Taimalelagi Fagamalama Tuatagaloa-Leota, who retired in July. Tutu biography tells of Canterbury consideration A newly released biography of Archbishop Desmond Tutu says the retired South African prelate was considered for appointment as Archbishop of Canterbury in The book, Rabble Rouser for Peace, was written by John Allen, Tutu s former press secretary. In it Tutu also says he has been saddened by the Anglican Church s position on the ordination of gay priests and is critical of former South African president F.W. de Klerk for his failure to more fully admit accountability for apartheid atrocities. Primates dispute Kigali communiqué Two Anglican primates from the Global South have raised concerns about the lack of adequate consultation regarding the contents of a communiqué issued after a group of Global South Anglican leaders met in Kigali, Rwanda, Sept The archbishops of Cape Town and of the Philippines said they had not endorsed the statement that said, among other things, that an unspecified number of primates present at the meeting would not be able to recognize Jefferts Schori as a Primate at the table with us at the next Anglican primates meeting, set for February 2007 in Tanzania. Amish tragedy prompts Episcopal response Episcopal Relief and Development is providing emergency assistance to support families affected by the Oct. 2 tragedy when five students were killed and five others hospitalized following a shooting at an Amish schoolhouse in Bart Township, Penn. The Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania is providing supportive care personnel for emotional and trauma needs through Mennonite Disaster Services. The funds will also support an interfaith effort to help families of children injured in the tragedy. Delegates sought for UN Commission Women interested in participating in the 51st United Nations Commission on the Status of Women as part of the Episcopal Church s delegation are invited to apply by Nov. 15 to the Episcopal Church s Office of Women s Ministries. The commission will meet Feb. 26 to March 9, 2007, at the United Nations headquarters in New York City. The theme for 2007 is The elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against the girl child. The commission was established by the United Nation s Economic and Social Council in 1946 to promote women s rights in political, economic, civil, social and educational fields. PB-elect ready to take office Episcopal News Service I n the weeks before she formally takes office as the Episcopal Church s 26th Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori will complete her work as bishop of the Diocese of Nevada while also entering more fully into the national and international ministry to which she has been elected. Jefferts Schori officially becomes the 26th Presiding Bishop and Pastor of the Episcopal Church on Nov. 1, and her formal Investiture will occur Saturday, Nov. 4, in Washington National Cathedral. Her final day in the Nevada bishop s office will be Oct. 25. She will depart having been thanked by the Diocesan Convention for her five years of ministry as bishop. Since becoming Presiding Bishop-elect on June 18, Jefferts Schori has also made a point of visiting each of the Nevada diocese congregations. It is important for me to leave Nevada well, she said, noting her awareness of the fact that the diocese s two previous bishops have died in office. Before arriving for meetings at Presiding Bishop-elect Katharine Jefferts Schori the Episcopal Church Center in New York on Oct. 30, Jefferts Schori and Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold will travel to London where the two have accepted an invitation extended some months ago to meet with Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. At Lambeth Palace, the Archbishop s official residence in London, Griswold will introduce Jefferts Schori to Williams for the first time. The morning meeting at Lambeth Palace will occur the week prior to the beginning of Jefferts Schori s nine-year term as Presiding Bishop. She will also become one of the Anglican Communion s 38 Primates, or principal leaders. Before the Investiture at Washington National Cathedral, Jefferts Schori will complete various media interviews, including taping for a segment of NBC s Today Show, set to air Friday morning, Nov. 3, nationwide. Today Show co-host Meredith Vieira is scheduled to conduct the interview, to be taped at New York s General Theological Seminary. Pasadena church challenges IRS summons Episcopal News Service T he Rev. J. Edwin Bacon, rector of All Saints Church, Pasadena, Calif., announced Sept. 21 that he will not turn over parish records to Internal Revenue Service auditors, paving the way for a court hearing on allegations the church engaged in political campaigning. We are here not for ourselves alone but to defend the freedom of pulpits in faith communities throughout our land, said Bacon, who was flanked by a sea of Muslim, Jewish and Christian supporters, parishioners and Los Angeles-area clergy, among them the Rev. George Regas, whose antiwar sermon sparked the IRS audit of the 3,500- member congregation. All Saints Senior Warden Bob Long s announcement that the congregation s 26-member vestry voted unanimously to challenge the IRS brought more than a hundred parishioners and others gathered at the Pasadena church to their feet in hearty approval and sustained applause. All Saints has nothing to hide from the IRS, Long said. We came to this decision because we believe that these summonses intolerably infringe upon our Constitutional rights, and the IRS regulations that embody those principles namely, the First Amendment rights of this church to speak and worship freely rights that are indispensable to this church and to faith communities throughout our great country. He cautioned that the decision does not mean that All Saints will not provide the government with the information it legitimately deserves, but that we have a moral responsibility to ensure the IRS s request for information is, in fact, legitimate. Solidarity memberships Members of both Jewish and Muslim faith communities announced they have become solidarity members of the 3,500-member Pasadena parish and as such, will help contribute toward legal costs. Bacon, who said that telephone calls, s and PB s service to be on the web The service of investiture for Presiding Bishopelect Katharine Jefferts Schori will be broadcast in a live webcast beginning just before 10 a.m. Central time on Saturday, Nov. 4 from the Washington National Cathedral, Washington, D.C. It can be seen at letters in support of the congregation have been overwhelming, added that the vestry had officially voted in the new solidarity membership status. No matter what religion someone is or if they have any concerns about religion, they are welcome to become a solidarity member of All Saints Church and may contribute any amount that is meaningful to them. How would Jesus vote? The IRS had notified the church on June 9, 2005, of its investigation into whether or not the church had violated its tax-exempt status by engaging in political campaigning after Regas preached Oct. 31, two days before the 2004 Presidential election. Regas prefaced criticism about both Senator John Kerry and President George W. Bush by saying, I don t intend to tell you how to vote. He also criticized the Iraq War, and Bush economic, abortion and other social policies and urged parishioners, to vote all your values. Bring a sensitive conscience to that ballot box. Church attorneys had asked that the agency s request for parish documents be reissued as a summons. On Sept. 15, the IRS served the church with a summons requesting 17 requirements that information, documents and testimony regarding All Saints relationship with Regas be made available by Sept. 29. The request included such 2004 documents as parish articles of incorporation, bylaws, policies regarding political campaign intervention, newsletters, vestry meeting minutes and financial and other information pertaining to Regas association with the parish, including web pages if his sermon was posted prior to the Nov. 2 election date. After Bacon s refusal, the matter will probably be referred to the U.S. Department of Justice and then, perhaps to the U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. Bacon has called the audit politically motivated and an intrusion into the church s right to the free exercise of religion. He questioned the IRS compliance with its own procedural safeguards to protect churches from unnecessary and intrusive audits.

11 Episcopal News Service D espite honest and frank conversations, a group of bishops with differing perspectives, meeting in New York Sept , was unable to reach an agreement on how to meet the needs of eight dioceses that have asked for oversight with a primate other than the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church. We re hoping to call another meeting later this fall to continue to wrestle with the issues, Presiding Bishop-elect Katharine Jefferts Schori said after the meeting concluded, adding that there is a general commitment among those present at this week s meeting to attend a subsequent meeting. It has occurred to me that it might be helpful to expand the group slightly so that it s not too large but includes the variety of perspectives that exist, Jefferts Schori added. Fruitful exchanges Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold and Jefferts Schori both said after the meeting ended that the conversations that took place were valuable. According to some of the participants, it was for them the most fruitful exchange they ve been able to have, Griswold said. Jefferts Schori called them open and frank, sometimes challenging conversations, but very healthy ones. A statement issued at the close of the meeting said that the bishops had confronted the depth of the conflicts they face and although they could not come to consensus on a common plan to move forward to meet the needs of the dioceses that issued the appeal for Alternate Primatial Oversight... the level of openness and charity in this conference allow us to pledge to hold one another in prayer and to work together until we have reached the solution God holds out for us. Williams responded shortly after the statement was released, calling it a posi- September/October 2006 The Harvest 11 Primatial over ersight meeting ends without agreement tive sign that these difficult conversations have been taking place in a frank and honest way. Williams identified the openness and charity of the discussions as signs of hope for the future. Griswold said that the sessions grounding in prayer and Scripture reading helped the group see what it held in common and created the spirit, the environment, in which frankness could occur. Diver ersity sity of opinions evident Jefferts Schori said that the sessions helped her begin to get a sense of the diversity of the context in which this church functions, that there are diverse perceptions and that diocesan landscapes are not uniform. Griswold echoed that understanding, noting the sessions showed the diversity that exists even among people who are sometimes characterized as of the same mind. The meeting was called after the bishops and standing committees in eight dioceses requested oversight from a primate other than the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, citing actions of the 2003 and 2006 General Conventions. The dioceses are Central Florida (Orlando-based), Dallas, Fort Worth, Pittsburgh, South Carolina, Springfield (Illinois), San Joaquin (California) and Quincy (Illinois). None of the dioceses conventions have ratified the requests. Bishops Peter Lee of Virginia (top) and John Lipscomb of Southwest Florida were coconvenors of the meeting. The constitution of the Anglican Consultative Council, the Anglican Communion s main policy-making body, makes no provisions for alternative primatial oversight. Neither do the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church. Griswold said after the end of the meeting that the use of the term alternative primatial oversight itself was discussed. There was some disagreement as to whether it was appropriate even to use that term, he said. There was some reluctance to use that terminology. The meeting was called after Kearon noted that the Archbishop of Canterbury, though symbolic head of the Anglican Communion, has no direct authority over the internal life of the Provinces that make up the Communion, Griswold noted in an Aug. 22 statement. Kearon s point, Griswold said, was that such requests needed to be discussed and a resolution be sought within the Episcopal Church itself. The great value in this meeting was the ability to have face-to-face conversations with people who frequently are caricatured by others, Jefferts Schori said after the meeting. Communicating on the Internet about such issues relieves us of the incarnate necessity of engaging our neighbors. She said that the meeting was an attempt to provide ministry and pastoral care Participating bishops Peter Lee, Virginia (co-convenor) John Lipscomb, Southwest Florida (co-convenor) Robert Duncan, Pittsburgh Dorsey Henderson, Upper South Carolina Jack Iker, Fort Worth Robert O Neill, Colorado Edward Salmon, South Carolina Mark Sisk, New York James Stanton, Dallas Presiding Bishop Frank Griswold Presiding Bishop-elect Katharine Jefferts Schori Also participating was Canon Kenneth Kearon, secretary general of the Anglican Consultative Council, who facilitated the meeting at the request of Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams. for all parts of the Episcopal Church. Griswold said that the meeting is part of the larger context of the Anglican Communion. While we were having our conversation, we were part of larger processes going on, the assessment of our response to the Windsor Report, [and] the unfolding of the covenant process, he said. We now have a global perspective. We now understand ourselves in relationship to an Anglican community that is far more complex and diverse than even our own Episcopal Church. Meanwhile, Griswold said, the church continues to attend to its mission while also seeking to draw the diversity of opinions together and break down some of the walls of suspicion and mistrust that seriously hinder, no matter what perspectives we may hold. Gathering of ordained women calls for healing, inclusion Episcopal News Service E The Rev. Carter Heyward, one of the first women ordained in the Episcopal Church, addresses the Imagine conference. ENS photo xpansive visions of what the Episcopal Church might become echoed through an Oct. 3 discussion at the Imagine: Claiming & Empowering Ordained Women s Leadership conference. Themes heard in those visions were inclusion, healing and hope for the world, ministering outside of a hierarchical system while transforming that system, and overcoming obstacles and fears. The session was part of the first churchwide gathering of ordained women in the 32 years since women were admitted to the orders of priest and bishop. The conference, which also includes some lay presenters, took place at the Kanuga Conference Center in Hendersonville, N.C. Presenters at the session included House of Deputies president Bonnie Anderson; retired Episcopal Divinity School professor Carter Heyward; Episcopal Church Black Ministries Missioner Angela Ifill; and Dean Tracey Lind of Trinity Cathedral in Cleveland. Presiding Bishop-elect Katharine Jefferts Schori responded to the presentations. Heyward told the gathering that the priesthood of all believers is a call to help one another. The church doesn t exist for itself, we all know that. We re here in the world, for the world. The church is here to be a voice of justice-making... of compassion, of peace, of reconciliation, she said. Lind, who has been asked to stand for election as a bishop, said her struggles with discerning that call raised some larger questions about women s ministry, especially in the episcopate. With all due respect to my sister bishops in the room, I wonder if the episcopal office is a good and healthy setting in which to do ministry, she said. I worry that it s becoming increasingly isolated. I wonder, does the episcopal office itself, like the rest of the church, need to be transformed? Anderson said she hopes to lead a church where all people are valued and gifts are given freely for mission. The church that I hope to lead reweaves the web of life, she said. We are reweaving at this time and in this place now. All orders of ministry must be valued in the transformed church, both lay and ordained, she said. And there is no hierarchy, only gifts, she said. And we all have gifts to use. Anderson said the church is often tempted to get winning mixed up with being hopeful. The latter is possible, bringing a life of joy and peace no matter what the results, she said. The former is an illusion and it brings only disappointment, disagreement and an absence of joy. Ifill said women must remember those who have come before them so that we remember the power with which we have been endowed when feeling intimidated, fearful or ridiculed. God has a special purpose for us women, Ifill said. Women s voices are a gift to the church and to the world to be used even as we despair, even as we feel weary, even as we feel maybe not much has changed. But God is in it all. God s power is greater than we can ever begin to imagine. Jefferts Schori told the gathering that there is no greater gift in anxious times than to not be reactive. She praised those people who are changing the world s sense of the church. People of faith need to tell the world that Jesus is representative of the God of compassion and mercy, that rules will not save us, that laws will not save us, but that relationship with God will save us. Conference inspires Kansas priest T he most amazing and freeing thing about the conference for me was that all these ordained women and leaders gathered together as women of God to worship, laugh and learn from each other s wisdom. The invitation was extended to imagine new dreams for ourselves and the Episcopal church, and imagine and dream we did! The Episcopal Church is blessed to have so many women serving as clergy women who are excited about God s call in their lives, committed to the church and the spread of the gospel and who are willing to offer their gifts and talents in as many ways as God and we can imagine. I came away with new developing friendships, a greater appreciation for my sister priests who have gone before me and an excitement about those of all ages who are entering this ministry. The Rev. Carol Meredith St. Andrew s, Derby, and Good Shepherd, Wichita

12 12 The Harvest September/October 2006 Reflections on faith and life Sharing the Good News Reac eaching the 20s - 30s generation It has been said that churches are better at preserving the past than planning for the future. Twenty-something Lindsay Lunnum polled her friends and put her two cents in regarding this question: What ways can the church reconcile itself to younger generations, from whose masses the church will find its future leaders? She filed this top-ten list in response. By Lindsay Lunnum 1. Young adults are coming to church seeking relationship and belonging. The first step in reaching out to young people is to create an atmosphere that allows them to feel welcome. Don t leave hospitality to young-adult newcomers to the young adults in your parish. Everyone appreciates a genuine welcome. 2. No one type of worship suits all young adults any more than one type fits other groups in the church. Don t assume that we need alternative worship services. Many of us are drawn to the Episcopal Church by the mystery and sanctuary that traditional liturgies offer. 3. Authenticity matters. Many young adults are skeptical of organized religion and associate smarmy televangelists with Christianity. Be authentic. Don t try to be hip to be attractive. We are compelled to join a community because of how it lives. 4. Many of us are ready to become leaders in the church (some of us already are). Churches can be mentoring communities for young leaders Twenty-something Lindsay Lunnum polled her friends and put her two cents in regarding this question: What ways can the church reconcile itself to younger generations, from whose masses the church will find its future leaders? She filed this topten list in response. if they learn to balance teaching and listening, advising and collaborating. 5. When young adults come with ideas for the community, don t make things complicated. Simply receive them. The bureaucracy of getting things done in the church can be alienating to young adults. 6. Even young adults who don t identify themselves with a particular faith or denomination take their spiritual lives seriously and are looking to be engaged. In return, churches must be open to being engaged by their questions, their challenges and their gifts. 7. Be relevant. While politicians are busy pointing fingers and congratulating themselves, the church ladies are quilting blankets for orphans and holding bake sales to raise money for whatever needs to be done. Young adults often seek out churches that address issues of social justice and provide relief relief during our personal private tragedies and the nation s public ones. 8. Young adults are often very transitory, moving about for school and work. This is a recipe for lonely living. Does your community have ways to plug new people into community events, especially with others their age? 9. Take a look at the programs your parish offers. Are they geared to families with young children? Make an effort to schedule events and prayer groups at times and for purposes that will work in the frenetic lives of young adults. 10. Your web site is as important as your church s exterior. Before we decide to visit your community, we ll probably check it out online first from the safety of our home, school or office. And if we don t get a sense of who you are or find the pertinent information quickly and easily, we are less likely to join you person. Lindsay Lunnum is a firstyear seminarian and has been active in young adult ministry in several parishes in the Diocese of New York. Reprinted by permission from Trinity News, the magazine of Trinity Parish, New York. Diocesan Calendar November 2006 December Liturgy, Arts and Music committee meeting, Grace Cathedral, Topeka 4 Installation of Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, Washington National Cathedral, Washington, D.C. (ticket required) Youth Commission meeting 7 Presbyter Gathering, Spiritual Life Center, Wichita (through Nov. 9) 11 Southwest convocation board meeting, St. Andrew s, Derby 13 Council of Trustees retreat, The Barn, Valley Falls (through Nov. 14) 17 Community Life Committee meeting 19 Bishop Wolfe at St. James, Wichita 23 Diocesan office closed for Thanksgiving 24 Diocesan office closed 3 Bishop Wolfe at Trinity, Atchison 5 Congregational Development Committee meeting, Grace Cathedral, Topeka 9 Northwest convocation board meeting 10 Bishop Wolfe at St. Paul s, Kansas City 12 Fresh Start, Bethany Place Conference Center 17 Bishop Wolfe at St. Thomas, Overland Park 22 Diocesan office closed 25 Diocesan office closed 26 Diocesan office closed The diocesan calendar also is available on the web site of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas. To view it online, go to: Is your parish or church organization planning an event to which others in the diocese will be invited? If so, please make certain the event is on the diocesan calendar. Send the information to: receptionist@episcopal-ks.org or call Non-Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Permit No.601 Topeka, KS The mission of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas is to gather, equip and send disciples of Jesus Christ to witness to God s reconciling love. The Episcopal Diocese of Kansas 835 S.W. Polk Street Topeka, KS ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED