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Church of the Saviour, Hanford and St. John's, Tulare
I have come to the Diocese after a long and interesting journey in the Church. I was raised in the Diocese of Utah, graduated the University of Utah (Go Utes!) and then worked for a large regional bank for 20 years before heading off to Seminary at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in 1988. I returned to Utah in 1991 and headed off for the Diocese of Los Angeles in 1995. I spent nine years there before heading off for the Diocese of Spokane where I retired in March of 2006 because of a full time permanent disability. I was resigned to the fact that my career with the Church had ended until a year ago when I realized that I just wasn't done with the Church just yet. And here I am.
I give you this brief history to illustrate that I have ministered in several different places and in my travels I have served with many Deacons. A few were blessings and several required much work on my part because they had not been well prepared for Diaconal Ministry. For example, in the Diocese of Utah when Otis Charles was bishop, we had more locally ordained priests and deacons than parishioners! Or so it seemed. Whenever Bishop Charles made a visitation some of us would place bets on how many locally ordained priests and deacons he would leave in his wake. These clergy had little or no formal training and were not prepared for the rigors of ordained ministry.
During the time when I was interviewing with Bishop David I learned that I would be working with three Deacons! My first thought, I must confess, was "This is just more work for me". Nothing could have been further from the truth. Teri Van Huss, Gail Bernthal, and Nancy Key were not just a delight to work with but truly life savers. This is my first experience being priest-in-charge of two congregations and I soon learned that without the ministry of three very professional Deacons my job would be very difficult in deed. For example, on Sunday morning I celebrate at Church of the Saviour at 9:00 AM, greet people at the door as they leave, rush to sacristy at 10:15 to remove vestments, jump in my car at 10:30 and arrive at St. John's at 10:55, vest and begin the 11:00 service on time. This schedule would not be possible if it were not for the fact that a very well trained and dedicated Deacon has made sure everything is in order when I arrive. In addition, each of them is well prepared to prepare and deliver sermons, and to lead worship when I am away. In summation, this Diocese has the best trained Deacons I have ever had the pleasure 0f serving with.
I hope this Diocese is very proud of her Deacon's and appreciates the many, many hours of work and study that each one of them has invested in being professional clergy in service to the church and to world.
The Rev. Dr. John E. Day
Priest-in-Charge The Episcopal Church of the Saviour, Hanford St. John's, Tulare
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The Rev. Norman P. Van Walterop
April 24, 2016
St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Modesto
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Congratulations go to The Rev. Gail Bernthal!
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The Rev. Gail Bernthal with Bishop David Rice
The Rev. Gail Bernthal was ordained to the Sacred Order of Priests Saturday, April 23, 2016 by Bishop David Rice at The Church of the Saviour, Hanford. It was a beautiful service. Gail is the second woman priest ordained in The Diocese of San Joaquin. The Rev. Suzy Ward, with Bishop David and Gail was the first woman ordained as priest in our diocese.
A very special day for all. Congratulations Gail!
The Rev. Suzy Ward and The Rev Gail Bernthal
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Office Volunteer Thank you Luncheon,
St. Paul's, Modesto
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April 27, 2016 was Administrative Professional's Day or as others call it Secretary's Day. At St. Paul's, Modesto it was Office Volunteer Day! Office Manager, Allison Cox (pictured far right on sofa) hosted a special luncheon for the office volunteers of St. Paul's. She prepared an elegant meal which included salmon, vegetables, red potatoes, boiled eggs, salad, dill cucumbers, fruit dessert and champagne. It was heavenly!
St. Paul's, Modesto is fortunate to have these parishioners who are Called to be.... in the office and serving the parish and the community. Allison and her office volunteers also help with special projects and needs of our Diocese and their help is invaluable!
With many thanks to Allison and her volunteers!
Ellen Meyer, Administrator
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Spring Tea- St. Paul's, Modesto
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For more information click here |
Central Deanery Meeting
June 11,11am
Holy Family, Fresno
Deacon Nancy Key will be sharing highlights and showing slides of her recent Spanish Immersion pilgrimage with the Diocese of Los Angeles to the Anglican Diocese of Cuernavaca. She will include information on opportunities for others from the Diocese of San Joaquin to participate in future Spanish Immersion pilgrimages.
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Diocesan Council and Standing Committee Joint Meeting/ lunch, Saturday, April 30, 11am, Holy Family, Fresno
Standing Committee Meeting, Saturday, April 30, 1pm, Holy Family, Fresno
Diocesan Council Meeting, Saturday, April 30,1pm, Holy Family, Fresno
Central Deanery Clericus, Thursday, May 18, 5:30pm, Holy Family, Fresno
Northern Deanery Meeting, Saturday, May 21, 10am, St. Francis, Turlock
Central Deanery Meeting, Saturday, June 11, 11am, Holy Family, Fresno
57th Diocesan Annual Convention, October 28-29, ECCO
Evergreen Conference Center, Oakhurst
Advent Clergy Retreat, December 6-8, St. Anthony, Three Rivers
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The Friday Reflection will be taking a holiday next Friday,
May 6, 2016
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EDSJ
School for Deacons
"A Center for Learning"
I was consecrated bishop in June 2008, soon thereafter (a month and a few days) Tracy and I attended the Lambeth Conference at the University of Kent (UK). It was an absolutely wonderful way to begin one's episcopacy; equally it was a gift for Tracy to share the experience. Lambeth 08 was a major multimedia event and this was evident in the interviews given each day by bishops and spouses to the vast number of media outlets covering the conference. One of the most memorable interviews was from one of the African Bishops. This particular bishop was attending his fourth conference. As Lambeth is traditionally every 10 years, you do the math; he had been bishop for at least forty years. In this interview, the bishop was asked what he enjoyed most about being bishop and what he enjoyed most regarding the conference. He responded, "I am a learner. I love to learn. And I learn from everyone. Being bishop has afforded me the extraordinary opportunity to learn. And each time I have come here I have learned more. Lambeth has been a place where I have learned."
I have been reading The Fifth Discipline: The Art & Practice of the Learning Organization by Peter M. Senge. It is a rather thick tome. This is not a quantitative remark, it is simply an acknowledgement that Senge doesn't use ecclesial language (not church-speak). He uses business and systems and organizational rhetoric which perhaps makes it not easily applicable for the church. But I think it is and must be applicable. I believe exploring ways to become a "learning community" must be a well-defined and intentionally pursued priority for the church. Said another, I am completely and utterly convinced that for the church to be sustainable moreover vibrant, we must become far more serious about training, formation, continuing education, namely, becoming a "learning community."
Last year we launched the EDSJ's School for Deacons. The impetus for this school was to provide diocesan (local) training, formation, continuing education (forming a learning community) for postulants and candidates for the Holy Order of Deacon. Our own early learning has been that our school provides an extraordinary opportunity for not only deacons-in-waiting but for anyone, clergy and laity alike to be a learner.
So, sisters and brothers of the EDSJ, I commend to you our School for Deacons: A Center for Learning. If you would like to take a course in Old Testament or Church History or Theology, framed differently, if you are interested in becoming and continuing the path of a learner, to participate in a Learning Community, then I believe we have, as I said, an extraordinary opportunity for you.
If you are interested in exploring this possibility I would encourage you to have a conversation with your Rector or Priest-in-Charge and to contact Ellen Meyer, Michele Racusin or myself.
Eastertide blessings
+David
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For Clergy, Wardens, Treasurers
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Annual Peer Audits are to be done by June 30, 2016. Please fill out form included in the Annual Congregation Management Review Binder and send to the Diocesan office with confirmation of intent of audit.
Fr. Paul Colbert is available to do the required peer audit. Contact him at pcolbert@diosanjoaquin.org Kudos
go to Holy Trinity, Madera and St. Paul's, Modesto for having their audits completed and to St. John the Evangelist for having their peer audit scheduled.
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Safeguarding God's Children
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Safeguarding God's Children!
Please review your Safeguarding God's Children program in your parish. Are all volunteers working with children current with the training or have gone through the program?
Please contact Stephanie Gilmer, Diocesan Coordinator at mzgilmer@att.net.
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University of
Central Oklahoma
Click here for more information |
The Five Marks of Mission
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The Five Marks of Mission
Click here for poster to post
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TAKING ORDERS NOW!
Send your donations to The Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin, 1528 Oakdale Road, Modesto, CA 95355. Please write Yellow Bags in the memo line.
Thank you.
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Announcements, Stories of the Bag, Missional Days, Five Marks of Missions articles, and special events articles can be submitted to the Diocesan Office at: emeyer@diosanjoaquin.org
All submissions are due Tuesday for the following Friday Reflection.
Submission requirements:
pictures -JPEG format
articles- word document
linked documents- PDF
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