FALL 2007 Vol. 55- No. 2

By Bill McCollThe Diocese of Newark is inviting the wardens, property

managers and treasurers of all churches to attend a specialprogram on the changing dynamics of managing church prop-erties in the 21st century.

The Congregational Ad-ministration Conference on Oct.13 at St. Elizabeth’s in Ridgewood will focus on how admin-istrative tasks are an important part of God’s work in the world.

“Too often the church gets caught in the false dichotomyof management versus ministry,” said Canon R. Carter Echols,who is helping organize the conference. “Effective adminis-tration is simply being the best possible stewards of all thatGod has given us.”

It is important to remember that the word “administra-tion” comes from the Latin “to minister or serve,” said Echols,diocesan canon to the ordinary and diocesan congregationaldevelopment director.

The idea for the conference came out of the diocese’straditional Warden’s Day gathering last May, where, she said,“we had a very successful fellowship and information ses-sion” on property management.

The daylong gathering in October will offer four “tracks”titled Stewardship of Property, Legal Stewardship of Congre-gations, Stewardship of Personnel and Financial Stewardship.Each will be composed of three workshops that run for anhour and 15 minutes.

Among the instructors is Patrice Henderson, propertychair for St. Andrew and Holy Communion in South Orange,who is giving a presentation called “Everything you wantedto know about space use.” The information being provided isnecessary for all churches today, she said.

“Once upon a time, a smile and a handshake was enough,”she said. “Since we live in such a litigious society, it’s be-come more important to have proper contracts. You don’twant to put the church at risk.”

Participants will really benefit by taking part in the con-ference, Henderson said. “It’s shared resources, specificallyfor churches with limited resources. Once people know theyare not alone, that takes a lot of the angst out.”

One of those who know about the angst of administra-tion is Pat Roth, senior warden at St. Luke’s in Phillipsburg.For the past three years, Roth and other members of the con-gregation have had to handle many of those duties as St. Luke’ssearched for a new rector. “I did a lot of it as warden becauseI had to,” she said. “I had a crash course.”

Offering such information in the upcoming Congrega-tional Ad-Ministration Conference is a great idea, especiallyfor churches in transition, Roth said. “I think that would be afantastic session. There are probably so many other congre-gations in our shoes.”

Roth said she clearly remembered the excitement gener-ated by a short property-management discussion at the 2006Wardens Day.

“There was a small part, which just wasn’t enough,” shesaid. “Everyone wanted to hear more.”

Teaching lay members how to be church managers is avital service that the diocese can offer, she said. “It’s just asimportant as seminars on stewardship and trying to build yourcongregation.”

For more information and to register for the Congrega-tional Ad-ministration Conference, visit the diocesan websiteat www.dioceseofnewark.org or call 973-430-9900.

Bill McColl is a member of All Saints, Leonia.

New vision for‘Wardens Day’

Christians are called to serve in a variety of ways – per-haps as a member of a vestry, as a Sunday school teacher oryouth group leader, as a Bible study facilitator, as a choir mem-ber or as a parish administrator.

Myriad positions on the diocesan level need people aswell. In other words: Your diocese needs you!

Each year at this time, the Diocesan Nominations Com-mittee seeks candidates for various elected offices. Serviceon a diocesan committee is ministry to the wider church andcan be a fulfilling experience.

A qualified candidate is a communicant in good standingwho for the previous year has been faithful in corporate wor-ship (unless prevented for good cause) and in working, pray-ing and giving for the spread of the kingdom of God. Quali-fied candidates also have completed or arranged to completeanti-racism training as approved by the bishop after consulta-tion with the Mission to Dismantle Racism.

This year, the following committees are seeking candi-dates. Elections will be held at the 134th Annual Conventionof the Episcopal Diocese of Newark on Jan. 25-26 at the HiltonHotel, Parsippany.

ACTS/VIM Board: 4 lay and 3 clergy members to at-tend 4 meetings a year and make 2 or 3 site visits to grantrequesters.

Constitutions and Canons Committee: 10 members,lay or clergy, to review the diocesan Constitutions and Can-ons and recommend amendments and /or report on amend-ments proposed by others. This committee also reviews reso-lutions for canonical consistency and legality.

Diocesan Review Committee: 1 lay and 1 clergy mem-ber to oversee matters of clergy discipline under Title IV ofthe Canons of the Episcopal Church.

Ecclesiastical Court: 2 clergy and 1 lay member to serveas judges in the event of a trial of this court, which functionsat the time of presentment and trial of a priest or deacon in thediocese as described in Canons 17 and 18.

General Convention Deputies and Alternates: 4 clergydeputies, 4 clergy alternates, 4 lay deputies and 4 lay alter-nates to represent the diocese at General Convention in July2009.

Standing Committee: 1 clergy and 1 lay member for theClass of 2012. The committee is the bishop’s council of ad-vice and the ecclesiastical authority when no bishop is incharge. It also oversees the approval of leasing and sale deci-sions of parish properties; votes on ordination candidates; andvotes to approve the election of bishops in other dioceses.

Trinity & St. Philip’s Cathedral Chapter: 1 clergy and1 lay member to assist with regulating, managing and admin-istering temporal affairs of the cathedral.

Secretary of Convention: a communicant in good stand-ing. The secretary of Convention also serves as a secretary of

Consider joining a diocesan committee

Presiding Bishop KatharineJefferts Schori, Bishop MarkBeckwith and David Rynick,lead trainer for the House ofBishops Coaching Network,will lead the 2007 DiocesanClergy Conference, which willfocus on worship.

The conference will be heldOct. 29-31 at the Shawnee Innin Shawnee, Pa.

Beckwith will discuss theintention of worship and itscentral place in our lives. On Oct. 30, Jefferts Schori will offerher wisdom and experience in this area. Rynick, who is a cer-tified coach and for three years has trained veteran bishops tocoach new bishops, will facilitate participants’ interactions,speak about the spirituality of hospitality and explore withinterested clergy the development of a coaching networkamong diocesan clergy.

Clergy can register online at http://dioceseofnewark.org/Registrations/2007ClergyConference-Registration.htm.Contact Canon R. Carter Echols for more information at 973-430-9907 or cechols@dioceseofnewark.org.

Clergy Conference SetSee “Convention” page 7

Back to schoolHeeding the call of Morris County’s Office of Temporary Assistance, the parishioners of St. Gregory’s, Parsippany, onceagain collected backpacks and school supplies for needy children. On Sept. 9, the congregation held its annual “Blessing ofthe backpacks,” encouraging children to bring their own backpacks and lunchboxes to receive a special blessing for the newschool year.

More Inside:House of Bishops ....................... page 3Mission trips .......................... pages 4-5

Jefferts Schori

2 THE VOICE FALL 2007

FROM OUR BISHOP

Sitting at the kitchen table,contemplating God’s abundance

Sentados a la mesa de la cocina, contemplando la abundancia de Dios

One of the first stewardship sermons Iever heard was one that I didn’t listen to. Butmy wife did.

It was 1982, and I was a newly marriedassociate rector at St. Peter’s, Morristown. Inhis sermon, the rector, David Hegg, talkedabout the discipline of proportionate giving,which involves adding up the amount of yourcharitable giving for the year, figuring out whatpercentage that number is of your total incomeand then making a conscious decision to in-crease that percentage each year— with a 10percent tithe as a goal.

I didn’t want to do that, and so I didn’tpay attention. I figured that my decision tobecome a priest meant that I was entering intoa vocation of giving, and so I shouldn’t bepressed to give any more. Besides which, thefinancial sacrifice I made by choosing the or-dained ministry — over some more-lucrativeprofessions I also had considered, put me in aposition of not being able to give much, ifanything.

But my wife Marilyn paid attention, andshe dragged me to the kitchen table one nightso that we could together figure out what wegave to God’s work in the world (which in-cluded the church, our colleges and some fa-

vorite charities). It wasn’t much — about onepercent.

After some discussion, she eagerly — andI reluctantly — decided to increase our giv-ing to two percent the next year. We also de-cided that our first financial decision each yearwould be how much we were going to giveaway, and that the tithe would be our goal.

That sermon, and the subsequent kitchentable discussion, served as catalysts for oneof the seismic spiritual shifts in my life. Whenmy wife and I increased our giving — andmade it our primary financial decision, I foundmyself to be less resentful over what I didn’thave (and wouldn’t earn) and more gratefulfor what I was able to give freely. It was amove from scarcity to abundance — and asmy family and I have continued to increaseour giving level to the tithe, I have found my-self less a hostage to economics (which bydefinition is the science of scarcity) and moreavailable to the wonder of God’s abundance.

This is the season of financial steward-ship. As we get ready for the rather dauntingtask of asking parishioners to make financialpledges to fund the mission and ministry ofthe church, a strong case can be made for thechurch’s need to receive.

Each of our parishes has visions and pri-orities, buildings and staff, programs and bills— all of which need our attention and sup-port. Our substantial financial support. Andas each of our parishes begins to engage in itsannual end-of-the-year reality check – other-wise known as the creation of next year’s bud-get – it has been my experience that a grow-ing anxiety over scarcity often can overtakeopportunity, and a congregation’s need to re-ceive can become an unpleasant process ofexerting pressure for people to pony up.

But I think Christian stewardship reallycomes down to our need to give — not as aneconomic necessity, but as a spiritual disci-pline. It’s a discipline that involves some arith-metic, discussion and debate at the kitchentable — and an opportunity to move moredeeply into the abundance of the living God.

For more than 20 years, the Diocese ofNewark has invited its congregations to con-sider their own stewardship as a discipline ofneeding to give by increasing their percent-age of giving each year to the diocese – with a25 percent tithe as a goal. Leaders gather atthe vestry table, do the arithmetic – and pledgea percentage to the diocese by the first of De-cember.

At the Diocesan Council table, a similardiscussion is held. And for more than 20 years,the council has decided to pledge 25 percentof its income to the national church – as a dis-cipline of its need to give. (That percentagewas reduced in 2007, but with the expecta-tion that, in future, it would be brought backup to the 25 percent level.)

This year, the diocesan Stewardship Com-mission has created a stewardship day forclergy (and other leaders who can attend) onTuesday, Dec. 4, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., dur-ing which decisions made at the vestry tablewill be presented on the Lord’s table andblessed as signs of our commitment to the liv-

ing Christ. The commission and I are orga-nizing a day for learning about the spiritualdiscipline of giving – and how we can become,as individuals – and as parish and diocesanleaders – more faithful and efficient stewardsof our abundance.

One of the pleasant surprises in my newrole as bishop is the discovery of how com-mitted parishioners and congregations havebeen to the discipline of giving. Several yearsago, St. Paul’s Church in Englewood receiveda sizable bequest from the estate of a long-time parishioner. The vestry tithed 10 percentof that gift to the diocese – for the purpose ofsupporting initiatives in congregational devel-opment.

Other congregations have responded insimilar fashion over the years: All Saints,Hoboken; St. Peter’s, Clifton; St. Agnes andSt. Paul’s, East Orange; Atonement, FairLawn; Christ Church, Teaneck; Grace Church,Westwood. And more and more people havejoined a growing movement of faithful stew-ards – from every income level – who aremaking provisions in their wills to bequeath aportion of their estates (10, 25, sometimes 50percent) to institutions, including their church,that are committed to doing God’s work inthe world.

Exercising our need to give – by freelysharing the money we have – is one criticallyimportant way that we can be co-creators ofGod’s unfolding creation. Money directed toour most important commitments nourishesour souls – and our world.

I invite you to gather with God at the table.Peace,

Translated by Rod Perez-VegaUno de los primeros sermones sobre

mayordomía que oí, fue un sermón al que nole preste mucha atención. Pero mi esposa silo hizo.

Fue en 1982, y yo era el recién casadopárroco asociado en la Iglesia Episcopal deSan Pedro en Morristown. En su sermón, elpárroco, David Hegg, habló acerca de ladisciplina de ofrenda proporcional, la cualimplica calcular el monto total de donacionesa entes caritativos durante el transcurso de unaño, calcular el porcentaje del total del ingresoanual que dicha cifra representa y luego tomarla decisión intencional de aumentar eseporcentaje cada año – teniendo el diez porciento como meta.

Yo no quería hacer eso, así que no presteatención. Yo creía que mi decisión deconvertirme en sacerdote significaba que habíaentrado a una vocación de entrega, así que,no debía ser presionado a dar más. Además,el sacrificio financiero que había realizado alescoger el ministerio del sacerdocio – porencima de otras profesiones mas lucrativas quetambién había considerado – me ponía en unaposición donde no podía dar mucho, si es quedaba algo.

Pero mi esposa Marilyn presto atención,y una noche me haló hasta la mesa de la cocinapara que juntos estimáramos lo que dábamospara el trabajo de Dios en el mundo (queincluía la iglesia, nuestras universidades yalgunas de nuestras organizaciones caritativasfavoritas). No era mucho – cerca del uno porciento.

Después de conversar un rato, ella conpasión – y yo con renuencia – decidimosaumentar nuestras ofrendas a dos por cientopara el año siguiente. También decidimos quela primera decisión financiera que tomaríamoscada año seria cuanto íbamos a dar, y que eldiezmo seria nuestra meta.

Aquel sermón, y la conversación a lamesa de la cocina que le siguió, sirvieron comocatalizadores para uno los cambios sísmicosde mi vida espiritual. Cuando mi esposa y yoaumentamos nuestras ofrendas - y lasconvertimos en nuestra decisión financieraprimordial, deje de sentir resentimiento por loque no tenia (y lo que no iba a ganar) ycomencé a dar gracias por lo que podía darcon mayor libertad. Fue un movimiento de laescasez a la abundancia –y a medida que mifamilia y yo continuamos aumentando nuestronivel de ofrendas hacia el diezmo, encontréque ya no era tanto un prisionero de laeconomía (la cual por definición es la cienciade la escasez) y estaba más dispuesto amaravillarme en la abundancia de Dios.

Esta, es la temporada de mayordomíafinanciera. A medida que nos preparamos parala difícil tarea de pedirles a los miembros denuestras parroquias que hagan compromisosfinancieros para financiar el ministerio y lamisión de la iglesia, es posible presentar uncaso claro y sólido a favor de la necesidad derecibir que tiene la iglesia.

Cada una de nuestras parroquias tienevisiones y prioridades, edificaciones y per-sonal, programas y cuentas que pagar –todoesto requiere nuestra atención y sostén. Y, amedida que cada una de nuestras parroquiascomienza a involucrarse en la tradicional –verificación de la realidad al fin del año –también conocido como la preparación delpresupuesto para el año próximo – es miexperiencia, que el nerviosismo sobre laescasez de recursos abruma a lasoportunidades, y la necesidad que tiene laparroquia de recibir se convierte en unadesagradable presión para que la gente semanifieste financieramente o como se dice enalgunos países “se bajen de la mula”.

Pero yo creo que la mayordomía cristianatiene que ver primordialmente con nuestra

necesidad de dar –no como una necesidadeconómica, sino más bien como una disciplinaespiritual. Es una disciplina que requiere algode aritmética, discusión y debate sentados ala mesa de la cocina – y es una oportunidadpara explorar a más profundidad laabundancia del Dios vivo.

Por más de veinte años, la Diócesis deNewark ha invitado a las parroquias aconsiderar su propia mayordomía como unadisciplina en la necesidad de dar, aumentandoel porcentaje del monto que le dan a la diócesiscada año –con un diezmo del veinticinco porciento como objetivo. Los líderes se sientanante la mesa de la junta parroquial, hacen loscálculos – y, prometen un porcentaje de susingresos a la diócesis antes del primero deDiciembre.

Ante la mesa de la Junta Diocesana ocurreun proceso similar. Y por mas de veinte años,la junta ha decidido prometer el veinticincopor ciento de sus ingresos a la iglesia nacional– como una muestra de su disciplina de en lanecesidad de dar. (Ese porcentaje se redujodurante el presente año, pero con la expectativade que en el futuro, seria llevado de nuevo alnivel del veinticinco por ciento.)

Este año la Comisión Diocesana deMayordomía ha creado un día de mayordomíapara el clero (y otros lideres que puedan asistir)el día Martes, 4 de Diciembre, de 10 a.m. a 2pm., durante el cual las decisiones tomadaspor las Juntas Parroquiales serán presentadasante la Mesa del Señor y bendecidas comosímbolos de nuestro compromiso con el Cristovivo. La comisión y yo estamos planificandoun día para aprender sobre la disciplinaespiritual de dar –y, como podemosconvertirnos, como individuos- y comoparroquias y lideres diocesanos – enmayordomos mas fieles y eficaces de nuestraabundancia.

Una de las agradables sorpresas en mi

nuevo rol de obispo ha sido descubrir el gradode compromiso que tanto congregacionescomo parroquias demuestran hacia ladisciplina de dar. Hace unos cuantos años, laIglesia de San Pablo en Englewood, recibióun fondo considerable del patrimonio de unantiguo miembro de la congregación. La JuntaParroquial comprometió el diez por ciento deesa donación a la diócesis – a ser utilizadoparar sostener iniciativas de desarrollocongregacional.

Durante los años otras congregacioneshan actuado de forma similar: La Iglesia deTodos los Santos, en Hoboken; Iglesia de SanPedro en Clifton; Santa Agnes y San Pablo,East Orange; Iglesia de la Expiación, FairLawn; Iglesia de Cristo en Teaneck; Iglesiade Gracia, Westwood. Y cada vez mas perso-nas – de diferentes niveles de ingresos - seunen al creciente movimiento de fielesmayordomos comprometidos a hacer eltrabajo de Dios en el mundo, que estánhaciendo disposiciones en sus testamentospara crear fondos benéficos (del diez,veinticinco y a veces hasta del cincuenta porciento) de sus patrimonios para beneficiar ainstituciones, incluyendo su iglesia.

Ejercitar nuestra necesidad de dar –compartiendo el dinero que tenemos demanera abierta – es una de las formasimportantes y criticas en las que podemosconvertirnos en agentes de la creación enexpansión de Dios. El dinero que dedicamosa nuestros compromisos más importantesnutre nuestras almas – y nuestro mundo.

Los invito a sentarnos con Dios a la mesa.Paz,

FALL 2007 THE VOICE 3

THE WIDER CHURCH

By Anne AgostinTo prepare for the quiet anticipation of

Advent, laity and clergy are invited to partici-pate in a retreat facilitated by Bishop MarkBeckwith from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Nov. 3 at ChristChurch, Pompton Plains.

The diocesan Christian Formation Com-mission is sponsoring the event, EverydayChristians – When Sunday Isn’t Enough, tomake people aware that spirituality and spiri-tual development are an integral part of ourongoing formation as Christians, said the Rev.Ronnie Stout-Kopp, event co-chair and asso-ciate at Church of the Good Shepard, Mid-land Park.

“Soul work is absolutely essential to ourChristian journey,” she said, adding she hopedpeople would leave the retreat more groundedand centered coming into Advent.

Retreats are an important practice of re-moving oneself from the everyday patterns oflife and becoming quiet in order to make one-self available to the movement of the Spirit,said the Rev. Laurie Matarazzo, event co-chairand assistant at Calvary Church, Summit.

Beckwith frequently partakes in quietretreats as part of his own spiritual practice.

“The Nov. 3rd retreat day provides theChristian Formation Commission an oppor-

tunity to support individual and corporatespiritual practices, and to showcase a varietyof those practices – verbal, physical, aestheticand silent – for people’s benefit and learning,”he said. “Centering in and on the Divine Mys-tery is not only holy work, but healthy living– not just for ourselves, but for others as well.”

The day will include talks by Beckwithabout his own spiritual practices and storiesof Advent. Kathy Coffey of Church of theAtonement, Fair Lawn, will talk about Taizeand what it means to her. She also will leadparticipants in several chants.

There will be opportunities throughoutthe day for silent, contemplative retreat andmeditation, with space available for conduct-ing meaningful conversation for any partici-pants who are less comfortable with silence.Two priests will be available for those seek-ing one-on-one conversation with clergy.

Breakfast and lunch will be served, andthe day will end with a Eucharist.

A donation of $15 per participant is re-quested. Reservations will be limited. Formore information and to register, contact KittyKawecki at 973-430-9902 orkkawecki@dioceseofnewark.org.

Anne Agostin is a member of St. Peter’s,Morristown.

Bishop to facilitate retreat

By Jerry HamesWhen Episcopal bishops gathered in New

Orleans from Sept. 20-25, they faced a deci-sion they knew would affect their church’srelationship with the worldwide AnglicanCommunion for years to come.

It was yet another step in the tension-satu-rated communion that sometimes has de-scended into a war of words by polarizing fac-tions in meetings and on the Internet sinceGeneral Convention in 2003 approved theconsecration of V. Gene Robinson, an openlygay bishop in the Diocese of New Hampshire.

At the top of the bishops’ agenda was adirective issued by the primates of the Angli-can Communion last February that the churchstop consecrating openly gay and lesbian bish-ops and that it ban the blessing of same-gen-der unions or risk a diminished status in theAnglican Communion by being relegated tosome kind of associate member without vote.The deadline the primates set was Sept. 30.

One year ago, members of the both theEpiscopal Church and the Anglican Churchof Canada voluntarily relinquished their rightto voice and vote at the Anglican Consulta-tive Council and sat among the observers atthe council’s meeting in Nottingham, England,as a temporary move to attempt to keep each

House of Bishops debates primates’ directiveof the communion’s 38 provinces at the table.

[Some gay unions have been blessed inthe Canadian church, although it has no openlygay bishops.]

Meeting with CanterburyInterviews in the weeks before the New

Orleans meeting gave little indication as towhat the bishops would decide. Bishop MarkBeckwith said he was reluctant to say any-thing before the meeting.

“We are looking forward to having theopportunity to engage with the archbishop ofCanterbury on an open, honest and respectfullevel,” he said.

It was the first time Archbishop RowanWilliams had met with any Episcopal deci-sion-making body, although he has visited theUnited States for parish fund-raisers and mostrecently for a summer retreat.

One major hurdle for Episcopal bishopsand church legislators is to explain the differ-ence in their church’s polity to others in thecommunion. Unlike bishops in more-hierar-chical provinces – such as in African coun-tries where the sole responsibility of electingnew bishops resides with the House of Bish-ops — bishops here cannot legislate on be-half of the church. Authority is shared among

bishops, clergy and laity, both in the electionof new bishops and at General Convention,where policy and church doctrine are debatedand decided.

Last year, bishops and deputies at Gen-eral Convention, acknowledging deep divi-sions within the church, as well as the com-munion, over the question of the full churchparticipation of gays and lesbians, called upondioceses to restrain from electing bishops“whose manner of life presents a challenge tothe wider church.”

General Convention also agreed to enterinto a process to create with the communion’sother provinces an “unequivocal commoncovenant” and expressed its commitment tointerdependence in the Anglican Communion.

Diocesan responsesAbout 35 dioceses formally responded to

questions in a study document to assist Epis-copal bishops in preparing a response to theprimates’ demands. The bishops received cop-ies of those responses when they met in NewOrleans.

Alabama Bishop Henry Parsley, chair ofthe House of Bishops Theology Committee,which released a 15-page Communion Mat-ters: A Study Document for the Episcopal

Church in June, said he did not want to saymuch about the content of dioceses’ responsesin advance.

But he said: “Across the board, [people]say the communion is enormously valuableto them for all kinds of reasons: shared minis-try, catholicity, our Christian heritage, the ap-ostolic succession and the English episcopate,diocesan companionships, multicultural diver-sity, all sorts of things.”

“People [say] that one of the great giftswe have is that our tradition gives us a way tobe different and yet share one table; to havediversity of views but worship together in thespirit of the Elizabethan Settlement [which]has given us a commitment to breadth andinclusivity, and unity in diversity that is awonderful theme in our heritage. That seemedto resonate with people.”

The House of Bishops was meeting as TheVoice went to press. For more information,see the news links on the diocesan website athttp://www.dioceseofnewark.org/am/voxonline.shtml or visit Episcopal Life Onlineat http://www.episcopalchurch.org/elife/.

Jerry Hames is former editor of Episco-pal Life. He lives in the Diocese of New Jer-sey.

Time capsuleSt. John’s Memorial Episcopal Church, Ramsey, concluded its year-long centennial com-memoration by creating a time capsule. It included mementoes such as photographs fromrecent events, letters from church school students, a book of the church’s history documentedby Doris Latham, music by the organist and choir, some of the Quilters Guild’s handiworkand samples from last year’s Holiday Fair. Pictured with the capsule, scheduled for reopen-ing in 25 years, are Ron Roshong and celebration co-leaders Emily and Jeff Kittross.

Advertising in The VoiceThe Voice is happy to place ads that arecamera-ready or have been digitally pre-pared. Ads can be e-mailed or mailed tothe editorial office.

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About The VoiceThe Voice (ISSN-02272) is the official pe-riodical of the Diocese of Newark of theEpiscopal Church, U.S.A. Member Epis-copal News Service and Episcopal Com-municators.

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Williams electedUBE presidentBy Sharon Sheridan

The Very Rev. C. David Williams sayshe was surprised when the Union of BlackEpiscopalians elected him for a three-year termas president at its annual meeting and confer-ence in Houston in July. But it comes at a goodtime for him as a veteran of the civil rightsera, with shades of those days reappearing inAmerican society, he says, citing a recent ra-cially charged conflict among students inJena, La., as an example.

In an organization somewhat “settled inits ways,” he says, his job is “to kind of shakethem up and let them see that the race is notwon.” Anyone believing the country is fullyintegrated should look at Jena, he says. “Theyought to take a look at what’s happening withthe economic structure of this nation and who’ssuffering the most.”

“The other most important thing for meas president is to help the national church seethat partnership, true partnership with theUnion of Black Episcopalians, is a necessarything,” says Williams, dean and rector of Trin-ity and St. Philip’s Cathedral in Newark. “Ithink we make excellent partners, and I thinkit’s time for the church to recognize that.”

“We are assaulted, not only from within,but from without in terms of the politics of theAnglican Communion,” he says. “I’m present-ing a voice … that can be heard clearly aboutwhere we stand as black people in the churchon certain issues. They’re now accepting thevoices of people [who] are outsiders, likeArchbishop Peter Akinola in Africa. … Notall African-Americans feel as he does, and thatvoice has to be heard.”

Williams says he was buoyed by the pres-ence at the convention of Presiding BishopKatharine Jefferts Schori and House of Depu-ties President Bonnie Anderson, both of whomurged UBE members to “speak through ourown voices.”

“And, by golly, I intend to speak,” he says.Williams succeeds the Rev. Nelson

Pinder, who increased UBE membership,added chapters and began a partnership withthe Episcopal Church Foundation to assist andempower UBE to develop financial, informa-tional and leadership resources for its missionand ministry. UBE assists ECF in connectingwith multicultural Episcopal congregationsand in developing leadership resource tools.

4 THE VOICE FALL 2007

MISSION TRIPS

By Alessandro TaorminaI traveled to India waiting and watching

for incredible things. When I finally arrived,I was not disappointed.

India holds many unique and extraordi-nary sights, sounds and experiences. We firstarrived in Delhi, where your first impressionis chaos. Driving consists of primarilyhonking to tell the car, or auto rickshaw, toget out of your way. Driving this way seemedinsane, but as I traveled deeper and deeper intoIndia, I found that it also was very effective.

Money drives everything and everyone,creating very aggressive “wallas” and, for thatmatter, beggars. These people make up thebulk of India within the cities, so if you arewhite and walking in India, expect to denymany inquiries for charity and patronage.

Diverse species of animals, from goatsto monkeys, roamed the streets and the roof-tops. As our car drove from place to place, wesaw herds of water buffalo, goats and cowsstroll by with herders at the front and back.

Agra was our first destination of choice,

Fascinating sights, new friends in Indiaand this housed the jewel of India, the TajMahal. The solid-white marble memorial oflove recently was elected the No. 1 wonder ofthe world, and its tremendous beauty can onlybe understood in person.

Next up was Jaipur, which is a very West-ernized city. Overall this is my favorite cityfrom India that I experienced, partially becauseof the organization, but also because we re-ceived the best massages of our lives.

We then returned to Delhi as our last des-tination before heading south to the school,and there we experienced the bazaars, whichseemed like they were taken directly out ofAladdin. Haggling was the norm, and thereyou could buy anything that fit into your hand.But remember, always undercut the walla byone quarter of what he wants. And then ig-nore his whining. (It always works — just askmy traveling companion, Danielle.)

We then traveled to South India, where weprimarily remained around Chennai, visiting theRev. Ernest Selvadurai with his church and fam-ily. We met many wonderful friends in South

India and found how nice it is to have friends in aforeign country. The hospitality is amazing inIndia, and you never leave a friend’s house with-out a stuffed stomach.

The culmination of our trip was visitingSt. Peter’s English Secondary School. As thehonored guests of the school for our compan-ionship, we got a sneak peek at the beautifulschool before it was publicly unveiled.

It is a beautiful thing, and it will be a greatplace for many children to receive a fantasticeducation. It looked so fantastic that wedubbed it the “St. Peter’s Mahal.”

The name definitely fit, especially withdecorative lights on at night. Our only hope isthat the children who go there can use thisschool as a stepping stone towards success forKothapallimitta and for themselves in theworld.

Overall, India was a wonderful place, andI definitely would like to go back there again.

Alessandro Taormina is a member of St.Peter’s, Morristown, and a junior at the Col-lege of New Jersey.

For some members of the diocese, sum-mer vacation meant more than family excur-sions or fun in the sun. It provided an oppor-tunity to serve others through mission tripsaround the country and abroad. On thesepages, and on the diocesan website at http://w w w. d i o c e s e o f n e w a r k . o r g / a m /voxonline.shtml, we highlight reflections andphotographs from some of this year’s missionexperiences. These trips include:

Visiting Belize. Twenty-one people youngerthan 18 and 14 adults trekked to a remote moun-tain village near the Guatemalan border to builda playground for the young children there and torefurbish and paint the community center. Theplayground was designed by an architect whoattends St. Paul’s, Chatham, which has been send-ing toys, clothing and first-aid supplies to the vil-lage for two years. Barbara Conroy, St. Paul’sparish nurse, and several of her assistants alsoheld a wellness clinic in the community centerand visited the homes of 10 elderly people un-able to make the short journey to the clinic.

Visiting India. On Aug. 4, more than1,000 people gathered for the dedication ofthe new St. Peter’s English Medium Schoolbuilding in Kothapallimitta, India, a villageabout three hours outside of Chennai (formerlycalled Madras). Those gathered included com-panions from the United States: five peoplefrom St. Alban’s, Oakland, and eight from St.Peter’s, Morristown. Along with the local

church in Kothapallimitta, these churcheshelped to conceive and build this primaryschool. The school provides education forthose children previously known as “untouch-ables,” who otherwise would not be affordedan education. Also attending the ceremonywere the bishop of Madras, the state ministerof law and education, local clergy, governmentofficials and other dignitaries.

Visiting Panama. Diocesan YouthMissioner Kaileen Alston led four youthfrom four congregations and one parishyouth minister to visit our companion dio-cese of Panama.

Visiting Western New York. Senior highyouth group members from Christ EpiscopalChurch in Bloomfield/Glen Ridge traveled inJuly to Perry, N.Y., where they combined withlocal youth from several rural churches. Thegroup included the Rev. Anne Koehler, PamelaAnazodo, Michael Anazodo, Janel Ramirez,MeKenya Ramirez, Rita Taste, Eddy Ndichie,Emeka Ndichie, Adaobi Ndichie and AureliaGood.

The group volunteered with VIVE INC.,a nonprofit organization in Buffalo dedicatedto helping refugees seeking protection inCanada or the United States, by providingchild care, helping make and serve meals, andcleaning hallways, dormitories and the out-side of the building. In Rochester, the volun-teers organized supplies, checked products for

safety and loaded pallets of food at the FoodBank International warehouse. Group mem-bers also helped a local church run a commu-nity family carnival, visited residents in a nurs-ing home, toured a dairy farm, learned aboutrural poverty and why it isn’t very differentfrom city poverty, and assisted a local churchwith a yard sale.

Visiting West Virginia. The youth groupof St. Mary’s, Belvidere, traveled toHedgesville, W.Va., in June on a trip spon-sored through Team Effort and supported bythe church’s outreach program. The youthtackled outdoor cleanup at a youth home andat the homes of people in need of support.

Also in June, ten youth and three adultsfrom Grace, Madison, volunteered at the Al-most Heaven Habitat for Humanity workgroup in Franklin, W.Va.

Visiting Virginia. Three adults and sevenyouth from St. Peter’s, Essex Fells, rehabili-tated homes in Virginia through Group WorkCamps.

Earlier in the year, diocesan membersvolunteered on two mission trips to New Or-leans. The Rev. Joanne O’Neill, deacon atChurch of the Atonement in Tenafly, partici-pated in a mission trip involving 19 deaconsfrom around the country in helping to rebuildthe city. And ten teens and four adult leadersfrom Calvary, Summit, helped with post-Hur-ricane Katrina cleanup in April.

Serving our neighbors

Above, children celebrate the opening of their new primary school in Kothapallimitta, India. Right, a youthfrom St. Mary’s, Belvidere, helps out in West Virginia.

Above, youth groupmembers fromChrist Church inBloomfield/GlenRidge visitWestern NewYork.

Left,wellBeliztranin In

FALL 2007 THE VOICE 5

MISSION TRIPS

By Kaileen T. AlstonSummer is a time for growth and adven-

ture. So, in the spirit of broadening our hori-zons, I led a group of four youth, Lily Byerly(All Saints’, Leonia), Janelle Grant (St. Paul’s,Paterson), Helen Hoxie (St. Stephen’s,Millburn) and Ashlee Saro (House of Prayer,Newark), and one other youth minister (TimWong of St. Paul’s, Chatham) on a trip to ourcompanion diocese of Panama.

We departed from Newark Airport withgreat anticipation and varying levels of Span-ish proficiency. But we returned as a strength-ened community with Panamanian slang andmemories and relationships to last a lifetime.

When we arrived in Panama, we werealmost overwhelmed by the cadre of 20 or soyoung people and adults who welcomed us atthe airport. They received us like family whohad been eagerly anticipated. From then on,we laughed and learned with our new friends.The youth and adults who spoke Englishreadily translated for us, and we quickly be-came more comfortable speaking en español.

We spent part of our visit at a programcalled Raíces (Spanish for “Roots”) at the di-

Panama reflections: Stretching ourboundaries and spreading our wings

ocesan camp in Santa Clara. In true Episco-pal fashion, the retreat had three foci: religion,culture and tradition. The youth and adultsexplored the ways in which these aspects in-fluence our lives through discussion, arts andcrafts, dance, music and Bible study.

Bishop Julio Murray Thompson waspresent for the entire four-day camp session.He led a workshop on the first night and en-joyed fellowship with the youth. Other clergyand lay adults also were instrumental in nur-turing the youth’s leadership skills and spiri-tual depth. Like our diocesan youth ministry,theirs is clearly a fun, dynamic and support-ive community.

I was so proud of how eager our youthwere to learn from and share with our com-panions. We all began to understand Spanishmore. Helen’s athletic prowess and fun-lov-ing nature were on full display when the groupplayed good, old-fashioned camp games.

Very quickly, nerves turned to laughter andnew names became easier to pronounce. Ourgroup developed strategies to cope with the in-tense heat and humidity, and Lily emerged as ourdefender against insects at camp.

Tim developed a wonderful friendshipwith a young man named Eric from the Dio-cese of El Salvador. Interestingly, Tim doesn’tspeak Spanish, and Eric only had been study-ing English for four months. Nevertheless,they enunciated and gestured their waythrough meals and walks across the camp andwere often seen laughing appreciatively ateach others’ efforts.

On our last full day in Panama, their di-ocesan youth director, Reyito, and some of thePanamanian youth took us to the Panama Ca-nal and a shopping mall. Janelle especiallyenjoyed being able to engage in the age-oldJersey pastime of shopping, and by thenAshlee was cracking jokes in Spanglish.

I’m sure youth from our diocese will visitPanama again soon. They’ll laugh, sweat,explore and grow just as we did. In the mean-time, I thank God for our companion relation-ship and the opportunities that we had toweave our bonds tighter. Until we meet again,I wish for our Panamanian la bendición deDiós (God’s blessing).

Kaileen T. Alston is diocesan youthmissioner.

By Elizabeth KaetonWe’ve been doing Summer Youth Mis-

sion Trips for four years at St. Paul’s. From allreports, this trip to Belize was very, very dif-ferent. With 21 people younger than 18 yearsold, it was one of the largest groups. It wasthe first time, however, so many adults alsomade the journey: 14, to be exact.

Thirty-five people were deeply engagedin service to the community of San Antonio, aremote village nestled among rolling hills offorests lush with mahogany, ancient Mayanruins and deep, mysterious stalactite caves nearthe Guatemalan border. We built a playground,painted a community center and held aWellness and Dental Clinic.

We were challenged to be creativelyadaptive when our American drills burned outunder the hard Belizean mahogany wood. Thecareful American architectural plans for theplayground had to be adapted, necessitatingyoung men and women, boys and girls, North

Playing, praying andproblem-solving in Belize

and Central Americans to problem-solve to-gether.

The state doctor assigned to San Anto-nio was delayed by emergencies in BelizeCity, so we concentrated our efforts on pre-vention and early intervention. The clinicwas packed every day with people, whichgave rise to the opportunity for some of ourkids to learn how to take blood pressures,check temperatures and pulses, and treatwhat seemed like an epidemic of warts. To-gether with some of our young people, wevisited the sick and dying in their homes.

We also made time to play “Americanfootball” every day at 3 p.m. with the youngvillage boys. In short, we formed communitywith each other and with the community ofSan Antonio, sharing experiences that willshape and form and forever change the waywe view the world – each other’s and God’s.

The Rev. Elizabeth Kaeton is rector of St.Paul’s, Chatham.

Clockwise from left, the newSt. Peter’s English SecondarySchool in India; having funin Belize; and testing thecontrols at the PanamaCanal museum.

Children in Belize “throw a brick” for the Diocese of Newark in the “Brick City” ofNewark and, right, 1-month-old Vivien undergoes her wellness visit at the clinic in Belize.Vivien’s mother and brother Gideon, 2, are in the background.

Left, missioners from the Diocese ofNewark dance with friends on their lastevening in Panama.

, a boy receives alness checkup inize. Right, trying outnsportation via camelndia.

6 THE VOICE FALL 2007

DIOCESAN NEWS

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process will be used for both learning in greaterdepth about the subjects and determining ap-propriate actions for specific locations.

The $25 fee will cover conference costs,coffee and pastries, lunch and a copy of theBeijing Circles manual. For more information,contact Martha Gardner atmgardner25@att.net, Ellen Sloan atsloan@gts.edu, Pat Yankus atpyankus43@msn.net or Marge Christie atmrg713@optonline.net.

Grants deadline Oct. 12Oct.12 is the deadline for applications for

grants from Episcopal Response to AIDS, anonprofit organization whose mission is tosupport, foster and financially enable HIV/AIDS ministries affiliated with Episcopal faithcommunities in the greater New York area.ERA is staffed by a volunteer board of direc-tors, all of whom belong to Episcopal parishesfrom the dioceses of Newark, Long Island andNew York. ERA anticipates awarding up to$30,000 for 2008. Guidelines for grant pro-posals and applications can be downloaded atwww.erany.org.

Special-needs worshipChrist Church, Budd Lake, has inaugu-

rated All God’s Children, a nondenominationalChristian worship service designed to appealto children of all ages, with a particular wel-come for those with autism, PDD-NOS,ADHD, ADD, Down syndrome or other de-velopmental or physical challenges.

A brief fellowship session following eachservice offers parents a chance to share infor-mation. The services will be held the first Sun-day of each month from 9-9:30 a.m. at thewheelchair-accessible church.

For details, call 973-347-1866 or e-mailrbonker@post.harvard.edu.

Selected for pilot projectEight congregations in the Diocese of

Newark were among 30 nationwide selectedto participate in the Where Two or Three AreGathered pilot project of the Office of Con-gregational Development at the EpiscopalChurch Center in New York. This project of-fers information and training to smaller con-gregations interested in growing by adding anew worship service.

Those selected from the diocese were:Trinity, Bayonne; Christ Church, Budd Lake;Holy Trinity, Hillsdale; St. John’s, Union City;St. Luke’s, Hawarth; St. Luke’s, Hope; Incar-nation, Jersey City; and Holy Spirit, Verona.St. John’s, Elizabeth, in the Diocese of NewJersey also was invited.

Historic church receives grantThe 100-year-old Church of the Epiphany,

Orange, recently received a $37,000 grant fromNew Jersey Historic Trust. The church is work-ing with architects Eric Holtermann & MargaretNewman of Holt · Morgan · Russell Architectsto place Epiphany on the National Register ofHistoric Places and to develop a master rehabili-tation plan that will be a vestry resource and strat-egy map for future capital-improvement projects.

Healing ministry workshopSt. George’s in Maplewood will host a

day of reflection, learning and prayer in heal-ing traditions on Oct. 20. The day will includea keynote address and workshops and prayergroups led by people experienced in variousprayer traditions – from Christian anointingand laying on of hands to therapeutic touchand reiki. Workshops will be offered on prayerstyles and on starting a healing ministry inchurches.

Snacks will be provided, but attendees areencouraged to bring their own lunches. Indi-

Interim canon appointedThe Rev. Denise Haines has joined the

diocesan staff as interim canon for mission andministry.

Haines was assistant rector and priest-in-charge of St. Paul’s, Chatham, from 1977-83and diocesan canon for mission and ministryfrom 1983-89, serving as deployment officerand working with urban churches and clergy.She retired two years ago after 16 years work-ing in hospital chaplaincy and as a clinicalpastoral education supervisor, most recentlyas director of education and community out-reach at HealthCare Chaplaincy in New York.

Haines’ responsibilities include being thestaff person for Fresh Start, the Clergy Compen-sation Commission and Jersey City Area Minis-try and providing senior staff support for prop-erty management. She shares the clergy and con-gregation transition process with Canon R. CarterEchols and will supervise some staff.

Initially, Haines will work three-quarterstime, said Bishop Mark Beckwith in announc-ing her appointment. “The plan is to have herwork with us until the end of June 2008 – atwhich time I will have greater clarity as to whata permanent position will involve.”

“Denise brings a wealth of wisdom andexperience to this interim position,” he said.“She will offer valuable insight and uniquegifts to our life during this period of transi-tion.”

Pebble in My Shoe ticketsTickets are available for the New Jersey

debut of A Pebble in My Shoe: The Life andTimes of John Shelby Spong and a receptionfollowing the performance at the BickfordTheater at the Morris Museum in MorrisTownship at 3 p.m. Nov. 10.

Written and directed by Colin Cox, theshow is based on Spong’s autobiography HereI Stand: My Struggle for a Christianity ofIntegrity, Love and Equality. It stars StephanWolfert, Dawn Stern and Mike Peebler.

Will & Company first produced the showat the Los Angeles Theatre Center as part ofEdgeFest 2005. Since then, it has toured na-tionwide and was the 2006 GLAAD awardnominee for outstanding theater in Los Ange-les. Friends of Jack Spong is sponsoring theNew Jersey performance.

“I am grateful that several leaders in thediocese have taken the initiative to bring theproduction of A Pebble in My Shoe to the Dio-cese of Newark,” said Bishop Mark Beckwith,honorary chair of the event. “Nov. 11 will bea wonderful opportunity to honor the witnessand legacy of our eighth bishop — the Rt. Rev.John Shelby Spong – who continues to sharehis wisdom and passion to the wider churchand beyond.”

Tickets cost $35 and are available throughthe theater box office, 973-971-3706. For moreinformation, contact Pauline Wang at 973-267-6886, ext. 102, or pfw888@gmail.com.

Girls at Risk conferenceState of Emergency: Our Girls at Risk, a

conference sponsored by the Women’s Com-mission, Episcopal Church Women and YouthMinistries, has been postponed until thespring of 2008.

This is a follow-up to the commission’s Kill-ing Us Softly video presentation (which reviewsthe images of women in advertising) and followscommission members’ viewing of the exhibit andphotography book Girl Culture. The book de-picts today’s societal trends emphasizing appear-ance, sex and clothes as the most important com-ponents of a young girl’s life.

Conference planners hope to inspire par-ticipants to use the speakers’ insights on health,education and violence to provide morewholesome outlets for girls in their congrega-tions and communities. The Beijing Circle

Save the date…Saturday, November 10, 2007 9 am – 3 pm

Celebrating Creative Congregations Mini-Event Celebrating Creative Congregations Mini-Event

Panel of people who have retooled systems.

Workshops – The stages of member growth.

Closing gathering for a celebration of learnings and commissioning by Bishop Mark Beckwith

St. Mark’s Episcopal Church 118 Chadwick Road

Teaneck, New Jersey

For more information and a brochure, contact Kitty Kawecki 973-430-9902

kkawecki@dioceseofnewark.org

Sponsored by the Church Growth and Evangelism Commission

Diocesan roundup

Home buildersTeen teens and three adult leaders from Grace, Madison, loaded hammers and sunblock intotwo vans and headed for West Virginia to build homes for Habitat for Humanity. They packedtheir lunches every night, worshiped together twice daily and learned the finer points ofspreading concrete in the pouring rain. They also donated $1,500 they raised through a carwash, pasta dinner and coffee sales to help give four families new homes.

See “Roundup” page 7

FALL 2007 THE VOICE 7

DIOCESAN NEWS

SHORT COURSESJanuary 2008 � All Are Welcome

Experience high-quality theological education at our park-like campus inNew York City. Courses may be taken individually for audit or credit, or aspart of a degree or certificate program.

Registration deadline : 3 weeks prior to start of class.For more information visit our website: www.gts.edu/ccsepiphanyterm.asp

To register, please contact James Murphy at murphy@gts.edu or by phone at 888-487-5649 x461. Housing available at the Desmond Tutu Center.

TheGeneral

Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church

175 Ninth Avenue (at 20th Street) New York, NY 10011(212) 243-5150 www.gts.edu

JANUARY 7 – 11

ContemplativePractice &ReligiousReflection inBuddhism andChristianity

The Rev. Dr. James JonesLearn the theory andpractice of Christianand Buddhist meditations and spiritual disciplinesand how they could beintegrated to enhanceour Christian life and theology.

JANUARY 14 – 18

Temple of the Spirit:the Body & Prayer

The Rev. Nancy RothExperience the integration of bodyand spirit which canenrich our Christianfaith through physicalspiritual exercises, reflections on scripture,theology and personalexperience.

JANUARY 21 – 25

Imaginationof the MedievalChurch:Art, Poetry &Spirituality500 – 1500

The Rev. Dr. Clair McPhersonExplore medieval spirituality throughthe theology, poetry,visual arts & architec-ture of the MiddleAges, with insightsfrom St. Gregory, St.Anselm, St. Bernard & Peter Abelard.

viduals may attend the whole day or part of itas their time allows. A $10 donation is re-quested. RSVPs are encouraged but not re-quired.

For more information, call 973-762-1319or visit www.stgeorges-maplewood.org.

Interfaith programs offeredAn Interfaith Women’s Tea sponsored by

Interweave and the Ecumenical and Inter-re-ligious Commission will be held at the rec-tory of Atonement, Tenafly, from 3-5 p.m. Oct.28. A Christian-Muslim Forum will be held at7 p.m. Oct. 29 at the Islamic Center of Passaic,featuring speakers the Rev. Bob Morris of In-terweave and Imam Hendi, Muslim chaplainat Georgetown University. For information oneither event, contact the Rev. Lynne BleichWeber at lynne.weber@verizon.net or 201-568-1763.

U2charist to aid schoolSt. Luke’s, Montclair, will host a U2charist

at 7 p.m. Oct. 27 to benefit the Hogar de Niñas

The summer brought the Rev. J. BarringtonBates as rector for Annunciation, Oradell, fromChurch of the Ascension in New York and tran-sitional deacons Nick Lannon from Trinity Epis-copal School for Ministry as assistant at GraceVan Vorst, Jersey City, and Nathanael DavidLeRud and Megan Sanders, both from Gen-eral Theological Seminary, as curate at ChristChurch in Ridgewood and assistant at St. Peter’s,Essex Fells, respectively.

Three congregations welcomed interimclergy over the summer. The Rev. DianeRhodes went to St. Andrew’s, HarringtonPark. St. Peter’s, Morristown, welcomed theRev. Robert Shearer from the Diocese ofNew Jersey. And the Rev. C. Leslie Smith

Clergy comings and goingsreturned to the diocese after 18 years to serveat Christ Church, Short Hills.

The Rev. Edgar Guttierez-Duarte leftSt. Paul’s, Paterson, to become rector of St.Luke/San Lucias, Chelsea, in the Diocese ofMassachusetts. The Rev. Eric Hinds left St.Peter’s, Mountain Lakes, to become rector ofSt. Matthew’s Church, San Mateo, Calif. TheRev. Jill McNish became priest-in-charge atTrinity Church, Swedesboro. The Rev. AllisonRead’s last Sunday as priest associate at ChristChurch, Short Hills, was June 24.

This fall, The Rev. E. Michael Allen be-comes rector at Epiphany, Allendale, afterserving in several parishes in the Diocese ofNew York. The Rev. Christopher Bishop, a

ConventionContinued from page 1

Diocesan Council, gives notice of all conven-tions, takes minutes of convention proceed-ings, preserves convention journals andrecords, attests to the public acts of the con-vention and performs other services as pre-scribed by the canons or the convention.

Treasurer & Assistant Treasurer: com-municants in good standing to submit a state-ment of diocesan accounts to each annual con-vention. The assistant performs duties as as-signed by the treasurer.

Additional nomination informationand forms are available at

www.dioceseofnewark.org/convention or bycontacting Nominations Committee ChairNaomi Horsky at 973-827-5085 orhorskyn@wpunj.edu; Vice Chair IssieCherevko at issiecher@yahoo.com; orSecretary of Convention MichaelFrancaviglia at 973-430-9919 ormfrancaviglia@dioceseofnewark.org.

The committee seeks diversity in theslates of candidates with regard to race, age(16+), gender, sexual orientation, physical dis-abilities, economic backgrounds and theologi-cal viewpoints.

Don’t let The Voice go silent!In each issue, The Voice reports on the news and ministries of

our diocese. We chronicle the actions of convention, church leadersand diocesan committees and commissions. We spread the wordabout the many activities of our congregations, large and small, andtheir faithful members. We provide a forum for listening to diversevoices across the diocese.

In short, our mission is to give voice to the voices of the Dioceseof Newark.

But The Voice needs your support. With rising printing costs andcontinued diocesan budget challenges, contributions from readerscan help ensure that we continue to publish on a regular basis.

If you value The Voice as an important resource, make your voiceheard. Please make a contribution in the envelope provided, or senda check payable to The Voice to Episcopal Diocese of Newark,attn.: The Voice, 31 Mulberry St., Newark, NJ 07102.

(Girls’ School) founded 75 years ago by the Epis-copal Church in response to the growing num-ber of children orphaned during the building ofthe Panama Canal. The Episcopal Diocese ofPanama runs the school, which houses 22 girls,ages 8 to 16, who have no parents or come fromfamilies that cannot care for them. About half areKuna, the indigenous people of the island. With-out such schools, many girls fall into prostitu-tion, which is legal in Panama.

St. Luke’s; Christ Church, Bloomfield/Glen Ridge; Grace, Nutley; St. James’, Up-per Montclair; and St. John’s, Montclair, aresponsoring this service. For information, call973-744-0270.

Alternative gift fair plannedSt. Stephen’s in Millburn will host an

Alternative Gift Fair from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Oct.13. Individuals from local, national and inter-national charitable organizations will repre-sent health, environment, children, povertyand homelessness programs. Shoppers canmake donations to the charities in people’snames as gifts.

For more information, contact DeaconLynn Czarniecki at czarniecki@optonline.net.

RoundupContinued from page 6

recent graduate of the Lutheran Seminary inPhiladelphia and the Virginia TheologicalSeminary, becomes the new associate andchaplain to the day school at All Saints’,Hoboken. The Rev. Susan Butler becomesthe interim priest at St. Peter’s, MountainLakes, having just finished at Epiphany,Allendale.

The Rev. Michael Gerhardt has ac-cepted a new full-time position as chaplainresident at Westchester Medical Center inValhalla, N.Y., and the Rev. Kendra McIn-tosh is coming from the Diocese of New Yorkto serve as rector of St. Thomas, Lyndhurst.

The Rev. Tom Mathews leaves Grace,Madison, to become rector at St. Luke’s,

Phillipsburg. The Rev. Thomas Murphy, arecent graduate of General Theological Semi-nary, becomes curate at Grace, Madison. TheRev. Margaret Otterburn returns to the dio-cese from Minnesota to serve as rector atMessiah in Chester. And the Rev. Willie Smithis rector at Trinity, Cliffside Park, after serv-ing two years as the congregation’s priest-in-charge.

The Rev. Richard Anderson has beencalled to serve as the interim priest for St.Andrew’s, Lincoln Park, in addition to serv-ing as interim for Church of the Transfigura-tion, Towaco. In August, the vestries of thetwo congregations unanimously voted to yoketheir ministries.

Mission crewVolunteers from St. Peter’s, Essex Fells, helped rehabilitate homes in Virginia this summer.

DIOCESAN MINISTRIES

31 Mulberry StreetNewark, NJ 07102

FALL 2007

Developing urban opportunities and hopeBy Jim Murphy

While mainstream media often reflect a negative view oflife in Newark and other urban areas, diocesan organizationssuch as Episcopal Community Development work diligentlyto improve the lives of the people who live there.

“ECD is yet another remarkably creative and effectiveministry in the Diocese of Newark,” said Bishop MarkBeckwith. “When I was rector of Christ Church, Hackensack(1985-1993), [diocesan Treasurer] John Zinn brought togethera group of clergy and laypeople to create an entity that wouldrespond to the needs of low-income housing. Using fundsthat had long before been designated for redevelopment, welaunched Episcopal Community Development.

“I don’t think any of us could have imagined the impactthat ECD has had over the past 15 years. Well over 100 owner-occupied units have been built, which have not only providedopportunities for ownership for families, but the buildingprojects have served as catalysts for the transformation ofneighborhoods. The quality of support provided by the staffof ECD to prospective clients and residents of ECD units iswell-recognized.”

ECD’s stated mission is “to provide community devel-opment in disadvantaged communities throughout the sevennorthern counties of New Jersey through technical assistance,housing-development services, direct housing construction,neighborhood planning and targeted youth development.”

Founded in 1991 in response to the Episcopal Church’smandate for a unique and localized response to the call foreconomic justice, ECD initially focused on developing andcoordinating affordable rental housing. Toward that end, itsupported various local initiatives in Paterson, Jersey City andNewark.

Starting with the Samaritan Project, which rehabilitatedthree city-owned houses in Newark in 1997, the organizationhas focused on promoting home ownership and revitalizingneighborhoods through building and renovating properties forlow-income buyers. More recently, ECD also has sought to

provide support and guidance for community developmentand planning for housing, recreation and common facilities toserve all constituencies, including those with special needs.

ECD can contribute to an urban community’s “holisticsolution by looking beyond just its buildings and fences,”explained Executive Director Gerard Haizel.

While city bureaucracies once presented roadblocks forprojects, in recent years ECD has been able to work moreeffectively with local government officials, who see the long-term benefits for their communities, Haizel said. Today, theministry’s greatest challenge is acquiring properties becauseof the increased speculative real estate boom in Newark, ac-cording to Haizel and ECD Director of Development JackieRoss. They also cited ongoing difficulty in securing the fundsto continue operating throughout their housing projects. Itcan take up to two years from property acquisition throughpre-development to the simultaneous construction and searchfor a buyer.

One of ECD’s most successful programs is the First-timeHomebuyer Education Program, which is available free toanyone interested.

After ECD began focusing on encouraging the purchaseof homes in the late 1990s, it became apparent that many buy-ers required guidance and training as they prepared to buy ahome, Ross said. Directed by Patricia Hawkins, the educationprogram offers classes covering topics such as understandingand maintaining budgets (before and after a home purchase),the basics of mortgages, credit and insurance, preventativemaintenance and legal issues.

Hawkins’ efforts also helped ECD to become a HUDcertified-counseling agency in 2006. Over the past seven years,ECD has trained more than 500 individuals. Amonghomebuyers who went through the program and also boughtan ECD property, there have been no foreclosures, notedHawkins.

Other ECD endeavors include a mobile lead-testing andeducation program symbolized by the character of Leadie

Eddie and the program YouthBuild.Founded in 2003, YouthBuild was the first program of its

kind in Newark. Working primarily with young men re-enter-ing society after incarceration or probation, it trains youthsages16 to 24 in the many skills of the construction industry.

YouthBuild now is an independent ministry, but ECDmaintains a close relationship with the organization and itsgraduates. Many participants receive their on-the-job train-ing in ECD projects.

To learn more about ECD’s programs or how to get in-volved in its ministries, contact Gerard Haizel at 973-430-9986.

Jim Murphy is a member of St. Peter’s, Morristown.

The Role Clarification Task Force will hold a hearingNov. 6 to present a draft of a proposed canon on the role of thediocesan Trustees of the Episcopal Fund and Diocesan Prop-erties and to receive feedback before the draft is presented tothe Committee on Constitutions and Canons for action at the2008 diocesan convention. All are welcome at the hearing,which begins at 7:30 p.m. at Church of the Saviour, Denville.

Bishop Mark Beckwith appointed the task force in re-sponse to a 2007 convention resolution. The task force is com-posed of representatives from various diocesan entities withshared leadership responsibility for the diocese, includingBeckwith; the Rev. Elizabeth Kaeton and Patrice Hendersonfrom the Standing Committee; the Rev. Beverly Huck, formerStanding Committee member; Carol Taylor and the Rev. PaulOlsson from Diocesan Council; John Garde and Carlotta Buddfrom the trustees; Howard Mackey from the Diocesan Invest-

ment Trust; and Chancellor Diane Sammons.Led by outside facilitator Del Glover, the task force re-

viewed the structure and governance work of groups repre-sented; heard ways members would like to see the groupscollaborate with the Bishop’s Office; discussed the by-laws,national and local canons, and state statutes that empower thesegroups; and analyzed where these documents are silent on aparticular subject, raising questions about the diocesan prac-tice. Members also shared historical information about the dio-cese and discussed conflicts between groups, Olsson reports.“To date, the RCTF meetings can be credited with educatingmembers of the team on diocesan history and protocols, andbringing into the dialogue the DIT, which traditionally had noregular working relationship with the other groups.”

The draft will be available for review before Nov. 6 athttp://www.dioceseofnewark.org/am/voxonline.shtml.

Nov. 6 hearing on proposed canon

Batter up!Bishop Jack Croneberger took the mound for a “no-rules-allowed”softball game on Aug. 24, when the softball field in his name wasdedicated at Cross Roads Camp and Retreat Center.

ECD rehabilitated this house in partnership with YouthBuildNewark in 2006.