Diocesan News
Call for entries—The 4th annual Diocesan Communications Awards
This year's diocesan Excellence
in Communications Awards will be given at the 85th Convention, part 2, at Christ
Church, Greenville, October 26-27. These awards are designed to recognize
the hard work and showcase the communications achievements of congregations,
institutions, and organizations across the diocese There are several
categories that allow entrants to compete against entities of similar size. And
the prizes are great!
Entries must be postmarked no later than September 7. For entry forms and
specifications, click
here.
Diocese welcomes newest deacon Alfredo ("Fred") Gonzalez
By Marlise Guillerault
The announcement began: “God Willing, The Right Reverend Dorsey F. Henderson, Jr., Bishop of Upper South Carolina, Will Ordain Alfredo Pedro Gonzalez to the Sacred Order of Deacons, Thursday the 26th of July….”
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Alfredo ("Fred") Gonzalez, flanked by Bishops Henderson and Skilton following his ordination to the transitional diaconate (click to enlarge) |
On the last Thursday in July God was indeed willing and St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Columbia was filled with those who have already benefited from Fred Gonzalez’s sincere and heartfelt ministry. St. Mary’s was packed with family, friends and parishioners who have supported Gonzalez’s path toward the ordained ministry for a long time, along with the majority of those who have more recently begun attending the 12:30 Spanish-language Mass at St. Mary's. After three years of building a successful Hispanic congregation, it was appropriate that the ordination service be conducted in Spanish as well as English.
Remarking that he was the ninth Episcopal bishop from Cuba, the Right Reverend William Skilton, retired suffragan bishop from South Carolina, preached the sermon on servanthood in Spanish with English translation available. The service bulletin led the congregation through the liturgy, switching from one language to the other, and instructing in which language the next hymn would be sung.
Gonzalez’s wife Luisa, and his sister, Yadira Young, vested Gonzalez with his deacon stole as his mother, children and other family members watched from the first row. Behind them a dozen white-stoled priests and deacons watched, prayed, and remembered their own ordinations.
After the Holy Eucharist, following behind the banners of St. Mary’s and of Santa María, the congregation joined the Gonzalez family and the visiting clergy at the reception hosted by the Parish Life Ministry. The two bishops returned to the altar and waited for Gonzalez for a memorial photograph. The search for the diocese’s newest deacon found him in the chapel already ministering to and praying with one of his people.
Upper SC MDG sticker helps inspire the movement!
In
our last issue we gave you a heads-up that all Upper SC
households would be receiving an original MDG (Millennium
Development Goals) sticker
created by three geniuses from St. John's, Columbia: the Rev.
Mary Moore Roberson, associate rector, Brandon Templeton,
and Gordon Schell. The stickers will be coming your way in
October—special delivery by your congregational delegation to
Diocesan Convention, October 26-27.
Little did we know when we published that item that the St. John's sticker would capture national attention, but it did and is now featured on hats, t-shirts, mouse pads, and so much more MDG-abilila offered by Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation, the agency charged with resourcing the movement of spiritual transformation emerging around the MDGs in the Episcopal Church. You can see how the sticker has blossomed here.
The Millennium
Development Goals are a diocesan priority and a
priority of the Episcopal Church. We are proud of St. John's,
Columbia, for the commitment and vision that is sure to change
the world, not to mention make
them a household name! Visit our resource-full
MDG pages and
post to our MDG blog.
We want to hear from individuals, congregations, committees,
organizations, and institutions: What's up with you and the
MDGs?
Diocesan School for Ministry to offer additional courses beginning in the fall
New for fall 2007!
In response to requests from students, the Diocesan School for Ministry will be offering courses in addition to the usual two-year, twelve-course
core curriculum, beginning this fall.
Additional courses will be offered at one central site, at All Saints church in Clinton, on Saturdays that do not conflict with the core curriculum class meeting dates.
Additional courses for the fall session are "Modern Theology from 1800 to the present: Making our Way from the Reformation to Post-Modernism," taught by the Rev. Dr. Philip Whitehead and "Religions of the World," taught by the Rev. Clyde Ireland. These classes will meet on September 15, 29; October 13; November 10; and December 1 and 8. For winter term 2008 offerings will be "The Challenge of Culture in Understanding the Bible, or Don't Let Hermeneutics Throw You," taught by Dr. Whitehead, and "Homiletics (Hands-On)," taught by the Rev. Dr. Charles Foss (January 12, 26; February 9, 23; March 8, 29). Spring 2008 classes are still under construction.
Visit the School for Ministry Web page for curricula and registration information. Questions may be directed to the Rev. Bob Chiles, chair of the School for Ministry Committee, 803.736.0866, office; 803.665.5352, cell; FRChiles@aol.com.
ECW District Meetings scheduled for fall
Time to mark your calendar for those fall ECW District Meetings!
September 8 |
Eastern District |
Advent, Spartanburg |
September 16 |
Central District |
Good Shepherd, Columbia |
October 7 (Sun.) |
Northwest District |
St. Philip's, Greenville |
October 13 |
Western District |
St. Bartholomew's, N. Augusta |
Community of Hope program offers lay pastoral care training in Upper SC
In the mid 1990s, St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital in Houston, Texas, began a program to train pastoral care workers for churches and institutions. Called the Community of Hope, this program is based upon Benedictine spirituality. Over a period of 14 Saturdays, candidates become part of a circle of prayer, concern, and worship as they receive training in various aspects of pastoral care. This Christian community continues after their commissioning as lay chaplains. In this “Circle of Hope” they share in complete confidentiality events from ministry in their own congregations in order to improve their abilities as caregivers, as well as to continue in regular worship together.
On April 22, 2007 Bishop Henderson commissioned the first Community of Hope class for our diocese in a service at St. John’s in Columbia. Planning is under way for the 2007-2008 class to begin in September 2007. Classes will be held at three different locations: in Columbia, Greenville, and Rock Hill.
For information
and application materials contact:
Columbia Group: Margaret Jennings Todd,
maggiejenn@aol.com;
Greenville Group: The Rev. Kathryn Tiede Hottinger, 864.271.8773 ex.155 or Peggy
Parham, 864.242.5403,
mkparham@charter.net;
Rock Hill Group: Jim Welsh,
jimwelsh_2000@yahoo.com),
Gene and Sarah Meyer, Meyere@asme.org.
Follow this
link to learn more.
Diocesan Youth News
PYE 2007
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| The men of our PYE team hard at work in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi (click to enlarge). | Faith in God was alive and well in Bay St. Louis, Mississipi even after such a tragedy. | Upper SC'ers beat the heat with a little comic relief. |
Check out the story from Episcopal Life Online about PYE 2007.
Our diocesan team has returned safely from the 2007 Province IV Youth Event. The team traveled Bay St. Louis, Mississippi where they helped rebulid the homes and lives of those still affected by Hurricane Katrina. They brought back over 450 pictures, full hearts and a great sense of pride for our province. Check out the pictures of our team hard at work,and maybe a little bit of play on the Bay, by following this link.
Congratulations and thanks are in order for the youth and adults of our diocese who, through their mission work, made life that much easier for those people on the gulf coast still recovering from natural disaster.
Emily Adams – St. Alban’s, Lexington
Ryan Benitez – St. Bartholomew’s, North Augusta
Tabitha Billesbach – St. Alban’s, Lexington
Erin Hentschel – St. David’s, Columbia
The Rev’d Teddy Higgins – St. Paul’s in Batesburg
Austin Humbert – St. Alban’s, Lexington
Katharine Hunter – St. Alban’s, Lexington
Kayla Kasprsyk – St. David’s, Columbia
Michael Kleinfelder – St. Alban’s, Lexington
Kayla Massey – Holy Trinity, Clemson
Katelynn Monts – St. Alban’s, Lexington
Jackie Moore – St. David’s, Columbia
Katie Reilly – St. David’s, Columbia
Brad Thompson – St. Bartholomew’s, North Augusta
Jason Thompson – St. Bartholomew’s, North Augusta
Sue von Rautenkranz – Canon for Youth Ministry
Happening Ecuador
Well, it happened. What started out as just a conversation between The Rev. Canon Sue von Rautenkranz and missionary Cameron Graham, has now become an amazing reality. Our diocese sent a team of 10 youth and adults to Quito, Ecuador to participate in the first ever “Happening Ecuador”
Check out youthspace.edusc, the diocesan youth blog, for updates and pictures from our team in Ecuador. They have been blogging about their experiences and posting pictures since they left. The team returns to Charlotte July 2nd at 3:45ET. Please pray that the team returns safely from a spiritual journey they will never forget.
Claire Atkins – St. James, Greenville
Lisa Bailey – Trinity Cathedral, Columbia
John Bethell – St. Bartholomew’s, North Augusta
Anna Burns – Church of the Cross, Columbia
Kelly Caldwell – Christ Church, Greenville
Emily Horowitz – Redeemer, Greenville
Blakely Jarrett – Christ Church, Greenville
Caroline Langford – Grace Church, Anderson
Louise Rambo – St. Matthew’s, Spartanburg
Hope Spruell – St. Augustine of Canterbury, Aiken
Sue von Rautenkranz – Canon for Youth Ministry
Roll call for 2007 high school graduates
Each year we try to ease the transition of high school graduates into young adulthood by providing a packet which contains information about the many ways to connect with Christian communities and programs specifically created for young adults. But we need your help in sending out this information.
Please send the names and home addresses of your 2007 High School Graduates to Bethany Human, as soon as possible. Any format is acceptable - however an Excel spreadsheet would be preferred, especially for those with larger lists. This mailing is set to go out at the beginning of next week and your names would be greatly appreciated. Thanks to those who have already submitted their names and addresses.
Occasionally we come across opportunities, events, and information which occur between issues of youthspace, the diocesan youth newsletter, and send out email blasts to the youth and youth workers of the diocese. If you have anything you would like to submit for these email announcements, please contact Bethany Human. If you would like to subscribe to youthspace, please follow this link.