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A message from the bishop
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
 In the days following the mass murder in Connecticut I have had the opportunity to preach in several places, but not to address the diocese as a whole. I would like to say a few words to all of you now.
The loss of life from Sandy, devastating as that was, did not provoke the measure of anguish, frustration and loss of faith arising from the tragedy in Newtown. It is one thing to be assaulted by the forces of nature, but quite another to be assaulted by another human being. We can forgive God for placing us in a physical universe that sometimes unwittingly betrays us -- indeed, we can even give thanks for being given that world to cherish as our home. But it is much harder to forgive God for the violence human beings do to one another. Why does God permit it?
It is important, and may be comforting, to remember that Christianity has always had a level-headed understanding that we human beings are susceptible to evil and capable of doing terrible things. We are under no illusion about this. We know that we were made for connection with one another, but often deny that connection or, still worse, abuse it.
We also believe that God is angry when we hurt one another. Jesus himself exhibits anger when he observes exploitation of the poor and the weak. In all four Gospels he drives the extortionist money-changers out of the Temple (see especially John 2:13-16). Elsewhere he warns that anyone who harms a child will suffer for it (Matthew 18: 6-7 and parallels).
But God's anger is not the end of the story. What we are about to celebrate this Christmas is a rescue we could not have expected and may find hard to take. When the Eternal Word became one of us as Jesus of Nazareth, he chose to eradicate violence in the long-run by refusing to execute judgment in the short-run. In Christ, God made the apparent weakness of sacrificial love the basis for a powerful transformation of the human race. In Christ, God began to change us from a multiplicity of armed camps into the complex community we were meant to be. God did this by entering into our inescapable and often dangerous connection to one another, in order to redeem and heal that connection from within.
As disciples of Jesus, we are obligated to receive that healing and to bear it into the world, by embracing connection, not fleeing from it. We can do that because we know that the apparent weakness of love will always prove to be the true measure of strength. God comes to us in the weakness of the manger in Bethlehem. That weakness is made fully manifest when the baby Jesus in the manger becomes the adult Jesus dying on a cross. This is the connection-embracing love that leads to resurrection. Love must be true to itself, not resorting to hate, in order to bring about the new life that is its hidden store.
Work lies ahead for us as we address the conditions that have made gun violence increasingly prevalent in our society. But for now our work is to recommit ourselves to the conviction that light shines in the darkness, and the darkness cannot extinguish it. This is the fundamental choice we make as Christians. May this Christmas strengthen us in that choice, and bring us the serious joy that belongs to the children of light.
Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal darkness, in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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Join Bishop Breidenthal and other faith leaders this evening for a candlelight vigil in memory of the children and staff of Sandy Hook Elementary
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 Many Episcopal churches across the nation will be tolling their bells 28 times in remembrance of the dead in Newtown, CT this Friday morning at 9:30 a.m. EST. Please join in if you are able. |
Data needed for Strategic Planning  As a continuation of an exercise begun at diocesan convention, the Rev. Canon Jack Koepke, canon to the ordinary, asks each congregation to estimate the baselines for your congregation in relation to the goals identified in the Diocesan Strategic Plan. Each congregation is invited to offer an estimate of its 2012 numbers and percentages, so that information can be used to determine the base lines from which our diocesan goals will be set for the next three years. Please follow this link to offer your estimate of the numbers and the corresponding percentages, using your congregation's 2011 ASA as the basis for determining the percentage. A chart with each congregation's ASA is attached to the form for easy reference. Examples for a congregation with an ASA of 100: How many 20-40 year olds are in leadership? 7 What percentage of the congregation does this number represent? 7% How many people in the community are impacted by our congregation's ministry? 500 What percent of our congregation does this represent? 500% Remember, what is being asked for are best guess estimates for 2012. Please complete the form by January 7, 2013. Questions? Contact the Rev. canon Jack Koepke at jkoepke@diosohio.org or 800.582.1712. |
Presiding bishop's Christmas Message 2012: 'Discover the love of God poured into our world in human form'
The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness - on them light has shined. Isaiah 9:2
These words were spoken long ago to people living in anxiety, fear, and despair, people feeling bereft of security, safety, and any sense of God's presence. We hear them early on Christmas, forgetting that they were first spoken hundreds of years before the birth we celebrate. Human beings across this planet still yearn to know that a more gracious and divine reality is active and evident in our lives.
The birth we celebrate is meant for this world mired in darkness and fear, yet it also becomes easier to discover in a tiny voice crying in protest over being cold and wet and hungry. We hear that cry in the midst of war's ravages in Congo and Afghanistan, in the rubble of hurricane and earthquake, in the demeaning of chronic poverty, behind prison bars. That flickering of hope surges as the world turns to investigate this surprising new life, one heart at a time. The light grows as hearts catch fire with the same light that illumines the stars, pulsing hope and new life, even out of black holes.
Those who search in dark and despair, in dank dungeon and deep devastation, will find divine light given for the world. Light that will not be put out, so long as any creature remains to receive it, until and beyond the end of time. The darkness will never put it out.
The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. John 1:5
Go and look - and discover the love of God poured into our world in human form. Hope reigns abroad, in the cosmos and in human hearts. And rejoice, for a child of the light is born in our midst!
The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church |
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Upcoming Events
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Click here to see the diocesan calendar |
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Diocesan Cycle of Prayer
The duty of all Christians is to follow Christ; to come together week by week for corporate worship; and to work, pray, and give for the spread of the kingdom of God.
Our Diocesan Cycle of Prayer is listed both in a perpetual calendar and a Word document on the diocesan website and is updated frequently.
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Teleconference to build support for expanding Medicaid in Ohio
Thursday, Jan. 3, 10-11 a.m.
800.250.2600
Access code 9085471# Episcopalians are invited to this briefing by the Southern Ohio Medicaid Expansion Coalition. This coalition invites the faith community, consumers, health care providers, insurance companies and businesses to demonstrate to policymakers and the public broad stakeholder support for the historic expansion of Medicaid - affordable health coverage - to all Ohioans with low incomes. Diocesan convention passed a resolution on health care in 2008 that includes the following principles:
* Health care including mental health care should be available to all persons in the United States.
* This Convention will support measures that provide financial support for insurance coverage. By mid January, Governor Kasich will decide whether to include the Medicaid expansion in his budget. Therefore, stakeholders across Ohio are coming together, in each region of the state, to get some quick work done by mid-January, as the first step toward getting the legislature to adopt the expansion. Visit our public policy page for a "FAQ" sheet from UHCAN Ohio to answer questions about the Medicaid expansion. |
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Our campaign continues; get the latest bulletin insert
In honor of Bishop Ken and Mariann Price, the Diocese of Southern Ohio has launched a campaign to save lives: a gift of at least $18,000 to Episcopal Relief & Development's NetsforLife® Inspiration Fund. The goal is to raise at least $18,000 - one thousand for each year the Prices have been with us - which will be matched by the Procter Fund. Episcopal Relief & Development is offering a matching program until Dec. 31 -- that means your $25 donation could become $100!
Each net distributed by NetsforLife saves up to three lives -- and the nets cost about $12 each. For the matched amount of $100, 24 people's lives could be forever, immeasurably changed.
Our campaign will run through Advent, Christmas and Epiphany, ending Sunday, Feb. 10. A series of monthly bulletin inserts is available on the diocesan website on the Honor the Prices page. The latest addition to the series, for use December 16 and/or 23, is now posted online or can be downloaded here.
For more information visit http://www.diosohio.org/honortheprices.html. |
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News from around the diocese |
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Headlines from Episcopal News Service |
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Take a virtual tour around the diocese
The Diocese of Southern Ohio has launched an innovative, web-based tool for evangelism - a virtual, 360-degree tour of the nave/sanctuary of each of our congregations connected with Google Places. Several congregations and the Procter Center have been photographed and are online now--check them out at http://www.diosohio.org/google360tours.html.
Tour shoots are completed for 2012, but to get your congregation on the list for 2013 or for more information about Google virtual 360-degree tours, contact Julie Murray at jmurray@diosohio.org or 800.582.1712. |
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