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Province II Presents - Anglican Communion
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Lambeth Reflections
More than 800 Anglican and Episcopal bishops from around the world are headed to Canterbury, England for the Lambeth Conference, which begins on July 16.
 You and all members of Province II are
warmly invited to head to Trinity Cathedral in Trenton, NJ on
Saturday, October 4, for Lambeth Reflections scheduled from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The featured keynote speakers will be:
The Rt. Rev. Chilton Knudsen, Bishop of Maine
Only eleven of the 800+ bishops to attend the 1998 Lambeth Conference were women. Bishop Knudsen was one of them.
Since then, the number has inched up, but female bishops in attendance
this year will still find themselves in the minority. You can watch a
video now in which she discusses Lambeth and follow her second
experience in the coming days through her Letters from Lambeth blog.
The Rt. Rev. Bill Love, Bishop of Albany
 In his Convention Address to the Diocese of Albany in early June, Bishop Love stated, ". . . in our attempt to make up for past injustices, I believe some in the
Church are going too far to the other extreme, by embracing and
encouraging people in a lifestyle which, I believe God through Holy
Scripture has spoken against." In addition to attending the Lambeth Conference, Bishop Love also went to the Global Anglican Future Conference held in Jerusalem this past June. This conference gathered many of the bishops who have opted to boycott Lambeth.
The Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson, Bishop of New Hampshire
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan
Williams, declined to invite Robinson to the Lambeth Conference fearing his presence as an openly
gay man living in a committed relationship would further inflame
controversy within the Communion around the issue of homosexuality.
Even though Robinson was not invited, some bishops from Africa and the
Global South are boycotting the conference because American bishops who
consented to his election will be present. Robinson, however, will be blogging from England throughout the conference as he seeks unofficial opportunities to interact with all bishops.
The Rev. Gordon Graham, Anglican Priest
 Lending comments on the wider Anglican perspective will be the Rev. Gordon Graham, currently the Henry Luce III Professor of Philosophy and the Arts at Princeton Theological Seminary. Previously, Graham
was Regius Professor of Philosophy at
the University of Aberdeen in Scotland for many years. He has published many books and articles in
aesthetics, moral and political philosophy and applied ethics. His most recent book, The Re-enchantment of the World, explores the
role of art and religion as sources of meaning in today's world.
Bishops from dioceses around Province II will also be on hand to offer their comments and insights.
Lambeth Reflections is scheduled from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Registration is $20 per person. For more information or to register, contact Charles Perfater by email at chperfater@ comcast.net or call him at 609-494-7944.
Scroll down to the end of this issue for resources you can use to stay in touch with the Lambeth Conference as it progresses in the coming two weeks.
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| Province II Presents: Stewardship
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Congregational Consulting:
Mentoring in the Real World
 Based on the success of last year's Stewardship Conference, Terry Parsons, Stewardship Officer on the Episcopal Church Center staff, has been asked to offer a follow up event on August 1 in Binghamton, NY for those trained last year. New folks from any Province II congregation are invited to attend on August 2 to begin their training.
For more information or to register, contact Charles Perfater by email at chperfater@comcast.net or call him at 609-494-7944.
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Province II Profiles
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Fr. Matthew Pioneers YouTube Ministry
 Perhaps you already know him, the
Rev. Matthew Moretz, curate of Christ's Church in Rye, NY. Just three years out of
seminary, this 29-year-old priest has entranced an army of
YouTube* viewers with his ongoing, self-produced video series Father Matthew Presents.
*YouTube is a website that enables anyone and everyone to upload videos for all the world to see.
"When I graduated from seminary there was nothing Episcopal of any quality on YouTube. I decided that part of my ministry was to change that."
 And change it he has. Today, the Father Matthew Presents library consists of 49 videos on topics ranging from the Sacraments to Ascension to the Millennium Development Goals to Scripture, Tradition and Reason. "I want to do things that are instructive and that will help the church, he says.
 When he came across an internet site called The Blasphemy Challenge, which encourages people to denounce the Holy Spirit, he felt compelled to respond. The resulting video is far and away his most popular piece, so far viewed more than 53,300 times. One titled Diversity in Faith comes in second with 9,518 views. But even his least popular piece has been seen by nearly 900 viewers.
You might be surprised to learn that 40% fall in the 40 to 50 age range. Two-thirds of his viewers are male, an interesting statistic given that the majority of church-goers are female.
Moretz is convinced the church must have a multifaceted presence on the web. "The internet is here to stay. It won't replace radio and TV, but it is going to exist right alongside them."
Though the web has been demonized by many, the medium itself is not wrong. It's all in how you use it. Burgeoning social networking sites, such
blogs, YouTube, Facebook and the new Google Friend Connect, are
burgeoning opportunities for spreading news, even The Good News.
 Moretz receives a steady stream of letters and calls from around the world, many of which he says start with, "I've got a problem with God." The videos, however, haven't resulted in people flocking to his church. Moretz says he never envisioned it that way. Rather, he sees his internet ministry as preparing the way. "Someone who never dream of walking into an Episcopal Church, might feel very comfortable viewing my videos. Afterwards, because in a sense, they've met me, they might feel a bit more comfortable with the idea of church."
It is a ministry of greeting, of hospitality and of teaching, and it's part of his job description. "It's analogous to being on a diocesan committee or writing a book. It's something done alongside my parish ministry," he explains. "Of course, the parish comes first, but the videos are not unexpected. I work on them during the downtime that naturally occurs in the parish ministry cycle."
He find the greatest challenges have been time and technology. He writes shoots the videos himself, with each 2 to 3 minute video taking at least eight hours to produce. He learned lighting techniques the hard way, by making a lot of mistakes first and self-schooled himself on the editing software needed to finalize works.
"It's not a ministry that everyone is going to want to do. Not everyone has the skill set," he says. "This is just one option on the buffet. And there are many ways to do it."
 Trinity Cathedral in Phoenix, AZ now contracts with a young videographer to produce its highly stylized and evocative videos. Other dioceses and churches are also beginning to view social networking and video sites as a way of ministering to their community and the world.
As for Fr. Matthew Moretz, he's happy to find he is no longer alone.
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| New in Prov II
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 We welcome the Rt. Rev. Price Singh who became Bishop of Rochester last May.
Ross Wisnewski, from the Diocese of Newark, is now the convener of Province II's Stewardship Network. Feel free to contact him at rosswisnewski@yahoo.com or by phone at 973-219-3424.
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Member Mission Leadership Institute
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 The Rev. A. Wayne Schwab took all he learned during 37 years as a parish priest and as a staff member at Episcopal Church, as well as research funded by Trinity Church Grants and developed Member Mission.
 Member Mission assumes that the primary agents of God's mission in today's world are the laity in their daily places - their homes, their work, their local community, the wider world, their leisure, their spiritual health, and their church's life and its outreach. His book, When the Members are the Missionaries, has received enthusiastic reviews, and a companion workbook is due out this fall.
On October 6-11 the first ever Member Mission Leadership Institute will be held at the Spiritual Life Center in Greenwich, New York. Between dinner on October 6 and breakfast on October 11, attendees will learn a wholly new way for their congregations and all of their members to understand mission and what it means to be "on mission"
and leave better equipped to lead their congregations to embrace more fully what it really means to live as a Christian every day.
Registration, which includes lodgings and all meals is $100 per person. In addition, up to half of your travel cost will be paid by Member Mission, and scholarships are available.
Space is limited. Register by September 15, 2008.
For complete information visit www.membermission.org or call 518-561-1184.
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| Lambeth Resources
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Province II Views
Blogging Bishops: The Rt. Rev. Zache Duracin, Bishop of Haiti in Province II is one of eight bishops enlisted to share responsibility for a daily Lambeth blog.
Listenings at Lambeth: A blog by Canon Diane Porter, who is accompanying Bishop Orris Walker of Long Island.
Bishop Blogging: As Bishop of the American Churches in Europe, The Rt. Rev. Pierre Whalon can be expected to offer some unique insights.
News Reports
Daily Accounts: Reports penned by various bishops, will be released each day throughout the Lambeth Conference.
Episcopal Cafe: Daily reports by church journalist Jim
Naughton, Diocese of Washington.
Episcopal Life Online: Extensive reporting from Lambeth is
planned.
The Lambeth Conference: The official conference website.
Blogs by Other Bishops:
The Rt. Rev. Wayne Smith, Diocese of Missouri
The Rt. Rev. Porter Taylor, Diocese of Western North Carolina
The Rt. Rev. George Packard, Bishop for Chaplaincies TEC
The Rt. Rev. Thomas Ely, Diocese of Vermont
The Rt. Revs. Eugene T. Sutton and John L. Rabb, Diocese of Maryland
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