June 30, 2016 - Issue 311

Happening Next Week

Monday, 7/4

Office Closed for July 4th

Wednesday, 7/6

5:30 p.m. Holy Eucharist, Church

6:30 p.m. Bible Workbench, Parlor

Saturday, 7/9

8:50 - 9:50 a.m. Jail Ministry, Durham Co. Jail

Summer Formation

Sundays 10:00 a.m.

Adult Formation, Library

During the summer months, we encourage discussion-based learning, facilitated by clergy and ministry representatives.

July 3rd: Spiritual Practices: Exercise, led by the Rev. Jonah Kendall

July 10th: Faith and Healing: Dr. Harold Koenig, Director of the Center on Spirituality, Theology and Health at Duke Medical Center will speak and lead a discussion on faith and health. This program is presented by the St. Philip's Health and Wholeness Ministry.

Children's Summer Sunday School, Gathering Room

This summer, we will be offering Summer Sunday School for our younger members. Children ages 4-12 are invited to join in a lectionary-based curriculum, crafts, and activities. Our youth are invited and encouraged to assist with the Summer Sunday School. For more information, contact Jared Grant: jared@stphilipsdurham.org.

Wednesdays 6:30 p.m.

Weekly - Bible Workbench: Each session is led by a member of the group using materials from the Bible Workbench program for a broad and inclusive discussion that is always interesting, informative, and often non-traditional. It's great preparation for the coming Sunday and all are welcome. Meets in the Parlor.

Letter to the Episcopal Church
From Presiding Bishop, President of House of Deputies

Jesus tells us to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves

[June 28, 2016] Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop and Primate Michael Curry and President of the House of Deputies the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings have written the following letter to the Episcopal Church.

June 28, 2016

Dear People of God in the Episcopal Church:

We all know that some things in holy Scripture can be confusing, hard to understand, or open to various ways of understanding. But some essential teachings are clear and incontrovertible. Jesus tells us to love God and love our neighbor as ourselves, and he tells us over and over again not to be afraid (Matthew 10:31, Mark 5:36, Luke 8:50, John 14:27).

There's no confusion about what Jesus is telling us, but it often requires courage to embody it in the real world. Again and again, we become afraid, and mired in that fear, we turn against Jesus and one another.

This age-old cycle of fear and hatred plays out again and again in our broken world, in sickening and shocking events like the massacre targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in Orlando, but also in the rules we make and the laws we pass. Most recently, we've seen fear at work in North Carolina, a state dear to both of our hearts, where a law called the "Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act" has decimated the civil rights and God-given dignity of transgender people and, by extension, drastically curtailed protections against discrimination for women, people of color, and many others. We are thankful for the prayerful and pastoral public leadershipof the North Carolina bishops on this law, which is known as House Bill 2.

North Carolina is not the only place where fear has gotten the better of us. Lawmakers in other jurisdictions have also threatened to introduce legislation that would have us believe that protecting the rights of transgender people-even a right as basic as going to the bathroom-somehow puts the rest of us at risk.

This is not the first time that the segregation of bathrooms and public facilities has been used to discriminate unjustly against minority groups. And just as in our painful racial past, it is even being claimed that the "bathroom bills," as they are sometimes called, ensure the safety of women and children-the same reason so often given to justify Jim Crow racial segregation.

But we believe that, as the New Testament says, "perfect love casts out fear." On June 10, the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church stood against fear and for God's love by passing a resolution that reaffirms the Episcopal Church's support of local, state and federal laws that prevent discrimination based on gender identity or gender expression and voices our opposition to all legislation that seeks to deny the God-given dignity, the legal equality, and the civil rights of transgender people.

The need is urgent, because laws like the one in North Carolina prey on some of the most vulnerable people in our communities-some of the very same people who were targeted in the Orlando attack. In a 2011 survey, 78 percent of transgender people said that they had been bullied or harassed in childhood; 41 percent said they had attempted suicide; 35 percent had been assaulted, and 12 percent had suffered a sexual assault. Almost half of transgender people who responded to the survey said they had suffered job discrimination, and almost a fifth had lost housing or been denied health care due to their gender identity or expression.

In keeping with Executive Council's resolution, we are sending a letter to the governor and members of the North Carolina General Assembly calling on them to repeal the "Public Facilities Privacy & Security Act." When legislation that discriminates against transgender people arises in other places, we will also voice our opposition and ask Episcopalians to join us. We will also support legislation, like a bill recently passed in the Massachusetts state legislature, that prevents discrimination of all kinds based on gender identity or gender expression.

As Christians, we bear a particular responsibility to speak out in these situations, because attempts to deny transgender people their dignity and humanity as children of God are too often being made in the name of God. This way of fear is not the way of Jesus Christ, and at these times, we have the opportunity to demonstrate our belief that Christianity is not a way of judgment, but a way of following Jesus in casting out fear.

In the face of the violence and injustice we see all around us, what can we do? We can start by choosing to get to know one another. TransEpiscopal, an organization of transgender Episcopalians and their allies, has posted on their website a video called "Voices of Witness: Out of the Box" that can help you get to know some transgender Episcopalians and hear their stories. Integrity USA, which produced the video, and the Chicago Consultation are two other organizations working for the full inclusion of LGBT people in the church. Their websites also have online materials that you can use to learn more about the stories of transgender Christians and our church's long journey to understand that they are children of God and created in God's image.

When we are born anew through baptism, we promise to respect the dignity of every human being. Today, transgender people and, indeed, the entire LGBT community, need us to keep that promise. By doing so, we can bear witness to the world that Jesus has shown us another way-the way of love.

Faithfully,

The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry The Rev. Gay Clark Jennings
Presiding Bishop and Primate President, House of Deputies

On the web:

Letter to the Episcopal Church From Presiding Bishop, President of House of Deputies

Women's Book Group

The Women's Book Group will meet at the home of Anne Parks (104 S. Hassel St., Hillsborough) on Monday, July 11th, 7:00 p.m. to discuss The Zookeeper's Wife, by Diane Ackerman. All women are welcome to attend.

Please contact Kimberly Israel (kac15228@yahoo.com) for more information.

St. Philip's and UMD Collaborative

Most needed items currently:

pasta, red sauce, peanut butter, canned chicken, deodorant, razors, and new socks and underwear for men, women, and children.

Upcoming Opportunities:

Thursday, July 7th, 9:00 - 11:30 a.m. Food & Clothing Pantry Volunteer Opportunity

Thursday, August 4th, 9:00 - 11:30 a.m. Food & Clothing Pantry Volunteer Opportunity

Saturday, August 6th, 10:30 a.m. - 1:00 pm. Community Kitchen Volunteer Opportunity

For more information or to get involved contact Lauren Goslin (laurenckgoslin@gmail.com).

Pantry volunteering - contact Anne Pilgrim (annempilgrim@gmail.com).

Kitchen volunteering - contact Cecily Petersen (ckv.stphilips@gmail.com).

Annual Pauli Murray Commemoration

Join with others in Durham to celebrate the life and legacy of Pauli Murray--historian, attorney, poet, activist, teacher and first African American woman ordained as an Episcopal priest on Thursday, July 7th

at 7:00 p.m. The service will be held at St. Titus' Episcopal Church (400 Moline St., Durham).

The Rev. Dr. Murray worked throughout her life to address injustice, to give voice to the unheard, to educate, and to promote reconciliation between races and economic classes. She worshiped and was confirmed at St. Titus' in Durham.

Music will be provided by the Pauli Murray Celebration Choir. Anyone interested in singing with this choir should contact the director, Brad Croushorn (bradcroushorn@gmail.com).

Church Periodical Club: One Book at a Time

The Church Periodical Club is thankful for those that contributed to the

national fund to help people all over the world. You were very gracious and we are grateful. Every little bit helps.

Thanks for raising $172.00.

Contact Pam Denning (pdenning8@aol.com) or Mina Hampton (minah3177@frontier.com).

Emergency Contact Information

As part of St. Philip's emergency preparedness plan we are asking parishioners to submit your emergency contact information to the parish office (name and phone numbers). It will be entered into your confidential profile in our database and will not be published or given out.

Please contact Janice Glasser with your information (janice@stphilipsdurham.org; 919-682-5708).

Facility Reservations

Anyone using a room during or after business hours is expected to complete a facility use agreement. This avoids conflicts and helps with logistics. Please be advised certain reservations may require fees. We can calculate those and let you know right after submitting the form.

Forms are available through the church office and on the church website (www.stphilipsdurham.org) under the calendar tab. Please contact Janice Glasser (janice@stphilipsdurham.org) if you have questions.

Privacy Notice

The information contained in St. Philip's directory is not for public distribution. Please refrain from using the directory for mass emails such as fundraising, campaigning, and business promotion.

In This Issue

Happening Next Week

Summer Formation

Letter to Episcopal Church

Women's Book Group

UMD Collaborative

Pauli Murray Commemoration

Church Periodical Club

Emergency Contacts

Facility Reservations

Privacy Notice

Worship Schedule

Sunday

8:00 a.m.
Eucharist, Side Chapel

9:00 a.m.
Eucharist, Parish Hall

10:00 a.m.

Formation Classes for All Ages

11:00 a.m.
Holy Eucharist with Choir, Church

Wednesday Schedule

5:00 p.m.

Prayer, Side Chapel

5:30 p.m.

Holy Eucharist

6:30 p.m.

Bible Workbench

Bulletin & Epistle Deadline

Announcements for the Sunday bulletin and electronic Epistle are due by Tuesday at 5:00 p.m. Please submit them in paragraph form to janice@stphilipsdurham.org