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E-news takes a summer break and returns in September.
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Coming Up
Jun 19: Bishop Election Listening Event: Charles River Deanery, St. Paul's Church, Brookline, 7 p.m. Jun 19: Bishop Election Clergy Listening Event: Christ Church, Plymouth, 7 p.m. Jun 20: Spiritual Spa Day, Adelynrood, Byfield, 9 a.m. Jun 20: Bishop Election Clergy Listening Event: Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston, 5:30 p.m. Jun 20: Bishop Election Listening Event: North Shore Deanery, Christ Church, South Hamilton, 6:30 p.m. Jun 20: Bishop Election Listening Event: Mt Hope-Buzzards Bay Deanery, Grace Church, New Bedford, 7 p.m. Jun 22: Ordination Service, Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston, 10:30 a.m. Jun 23: Bishop Election Listening Event: Cape & Islands Deanery, St. Mary's Church, Barnstable, 2 p.m. Jun 24: Bishop Election Listening Event: Merrimack Valley Deanery, Grace Church, Lawrence, 7 p.m. Jun 25: Bishop Election Listening Event: Mystic Valley Deanery, St. Paul's Church, Malden, 7 p.m. Jun 25: Bishop Election Listening Event: Neponset River Deanery, Trinity Church, Canton, 7 p.m. Jun 26: Be the Change Kenya Forum, St. Peter's Church, Cambridge, 6 p.m. Jun 26: Bishop Election Listening Event: South Shore Deanery, St. Andrew's Church, Hanover, 7 p.m. Jun 26: Bishop Election Clergy Listening Event: Trinity Church, Topsfield, 7 p.m. Jun 27: Quiet Day, Adelynrood, Byfield, 9 a.m. Jun 27-30: Family Camp 2013, Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center, Greenfield, NH Jun 27: Bishop Election Listening Event (Spanish-language): St. Luke's/San Lucas, Chelsea, 6 p.m. Jun 27: Bishop Election Listening Event: Alewife Deanery, Church of Our Redeemer, Lexington, 7 p.m. Jun 30-July 6: Summer Camp Week 1, Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center, Greenfield, NH Jun 30: Bishop Election Listening Event: Taunton River Deanery, St. Mark's Church, Foxborough, 3 p.m. Jul 4-6: Lobster Lunch, Church Tours and Organ Recital, St. Michael's Church, Marblehead/ Marblehead Festival of the Arts Jul 5: Choir of Christ's College, Cambridge Concert, Church of St. John the Evangelist, Boston, 7:30 p.m. Jul 6: Art & Spirit Charitable Auction, Church of St. Mary of the Harbor, Provincetown, 7 p.m. Jul 7-13: Summer Camp Week 2, Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center, Greenfield, NH Jul 14-20: Summer Camp Week 3, Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center, Greenfield, NH Jul 18: "Parables of Luke" Retreat Day, Adelynrood, Byfield, 9 a.m. Jul 21-27: Summer Camp Week 4, Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center, Greenfield, NH Jul 26: "Grace is Insidious" Weekend, Adelynrood, Byfield, 4:00pm Jul 27: Angelica Center for Spiritual Living 2013 Speakers Series, Church of the Holy Spirit, Orleans, 2 p.m. Jul 28-Aug 3: Summer Camp Week 5, Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center, Greenfield, NH Sep 14: Safe Church Training, St. Mary's Church, Barnstable, 8:30 a.m. Sep 14: Diocesan Council, location TBD, 9 a.m. Sep 17: Diocesan Clergy Day, Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center, Greenfield, NH Sep 28: Fall Resource Day, Roxbury Community College, Boston, 9 a.m. Sep 28: Safe Church Training, St. Mark's Church, Foxborough, 8:30 a.m.
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Bishop Shaw is happy to be back at work
 | Bishop Tom Shaw (far right) was back to work on May 29 for a celebration for retiring staff member Suzette Phillips (left), pictured with retired bishops suffragan Bud Cederholm and Barbara C. Harris.
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Bishop M. Thomas Shaw, SSJE began six weeks of radiation and chemotherapy treatments on June 13 and reports both that he's "off to a good start" and
"couldn't be happier with the doctors I've got...I've felt the attentiveness of Christ through the nurses and other caregivers," according to a series of e-mails over recent weeks to clergy and diocesan leadership.
Shaw underwent surgery on May 17 to remove a mass on his brain that proved to be cancerous. He expects his treatments to be completed by the end of July, and after a break in August, will have more tests and an update on his progress.
He also reports that Bishop Gayle E. Harris, who underwent surgery of her own on May 31, is recuperating, "well tended by family and friends and continues to gain strength."
"Thank you, again, for your prayers for Bishop Gayle, for the staff and for me and my community. Please know how much it means to all of us," he said. |
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May march moves B-PEACE into summer
 Episcopalians numbering 650-plus made a witness against gun violence by walking the Mother's Day Walk for Peace in Dorchester, a benefit for the Louis D. Brown Peace Institute. They represented 55 eastern Massachusetts Episcopal churches. See photos, video and the sermon from the morning's outdoor Eucharist. Schools, jobs, gun reform: The walk effort was part of the diocese's developing B-PEACE for Jorge antiviolence campaign, whose activities right now include training for congregations interested in school partnerships and an effort to create summer jobs for teens. Legislative hearings also are happening over the summer; the campaign is encouraging those who feel called to support gun reform to show up in force. The emerging schedule is available at www.diomass.org/b-peace or by contacting B-PEACE lead organizer Julia MacMahon at julia@ststephensboston.org. Save the date: The fall Resource Day on Saturday, Sept. 28 at Roxbury Community College will be the formal launch of the B-PEACE for Jorge Campaign. The Rev. Kathleen Adams-Shepherd, Rector of Trinity Church in Newtown, Conn., will be there to share her community's story, as will Urban Improv with some innovative presentations. There also will be workshops for adults and youth on a variety of responses to violence so that everyone will come away inspired and equipped to be peacemakers in their congregations, schools, families and communities. Online registration will open by summer's end. |
Bishop election survey process underway
A series of "Listening Events" and a survey process is underway to assist the work of the Discernment Committee, one of two committees responsible for carrying out the nomination, election and transition process for a bishop coadjutor to succeed the Rt. Rev. M. Thomas Shaw, SSJE when he retires. "The Discernment Committee for the search for a bishop coadjutor of the Diocese of Massachusetts invites all the members of the diocesan family to come together and offer their thoughts, insights and hopes for the bishop we seek," David Urion, Chair, and the Rev. Laurel Deery, Vice Chair, said in announcing the process. The schedule of Listening Events, a link to the online survey and a print version of the survey (both in English and Spanish) are available here. |
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Cathedral church puts on a new face
 | | The nautilus at its first public lighting on May 8 |
With a nautilus sculpture now set into its long-empty pediment, the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston has a new look. The sculpture stopped some traffic along Tremont Street and attracted a steady stream of onlookers as it was hoisted by crane into the triangular space above the cathedral church's columned portico on the morning of April 27--all while 100 new Episcopalians were being confirmed inside. Then, at dusk on May 8, the sculpture was officially lit and received a community blessing during an outdoor celebration. View photos of the sculpture's installation here, and read the Boston Globe story here. The pediment project is the first part of more extensive renovations planned for the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, to include replacing the box pews with kneeler chairs around a central altar, so that the liturgical space will be adaptable for varied use; a glass-walled entrance and chapel area that will make the indoor life of the church more visible and inviting to the world outside; skylights to bring in natural light; energy-efficiency improvements to the heating system; and a new elevator to improve accessibility. Congratulations, new members, new deacons and priestAt the Easter Vigil and five subsequent Confirmation services hosted by the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, a total of 515 people were confirmed and received into the Episcopal Church this spring, according to figures provided by the cathedral office. Prayers and presence requested: On June 22 at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Bishop M. Thomas Shaw, SSJE will ordain seven women and men: Andrew Goldhor, Sarah Kelb, Paula Toland and Stephen Trever as transitional deacons and Elizabeth Good, Catherine Harper and Robert Sherwood as deacons. He will also receive Scott Ciosek into the priesthood from the Roman Catholic Church.
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Parishes growing greener with grant help
 The diocese's Creation Care Initiative awarded at the end of May $250,000 in grants to 39 parish projects, ranging from community gardens to the overhaul of church building heating systems for reduced carbon emissions and utility costs. The grant program is in its third year and is supported by funds from the diocese's nearly complete $20-million Together Now fundraising campaign. Episcopal Church joins climate rally Several hundred New England Episcopalians joined the ecumenical Climate Revival held in Boston's Copley Square on April 27, a day of preaching, worship, prayers and music to celebrate creation and advocate its restoration and renewal. The Episcopal Church's presiding bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, was among the denominational leaders who participated and signed a shared statement.
Read more here, and find video, photos and other media coverage of the event here. |
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NewsNotes
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Spontaneous pledging from the floor raised $25,000 to help furnish single occupancy apartments at Worcester House in Boston's Back Bay. |
Activism is worship, Packard tells ECM supporters: Catch up, act up was part of Bishop George Packard's challenge to the church as he addressed a crowd of 420 Episcopal City Mission supporters gathered for the organization's annual fundraising dinner at Boston University on June 4. Activism is true worship when it is based in a shared social covenant upholding the dignity of every human being, Packard said in a keynote speech that drew on his involvement with Occupy Wall Street--including his trespassing arrest in December 2011 for going over a fence onto Trinity Church, Wall Street property. Read more and see photos here. |
 Ways to offer post-storm relief: Contributions to Episcopal Relief & Development's Tornado Response Fund are one way to help those affected by recent tornadoes near Oklahoma City and Forth Worth. Additionally, Hurricane Sandy Relief, a collaboration between Episcopal Relief & Development and the dioceses of Easton (Maryland), New Jersey and New York, is looking for volunteers to help with ongoing rebuilding efforts. Diocesan group service trips are also being organized. Learn more here. |
 Four and counting for LDI: The Leadership Development Initiative (LDI) celebrated the end of its fourth year at a June 5 gathering at Christ Church in Cambridge attended by 70 people from 13 parishes and teams. The teams engaged more than 2,000 people inside and outside their churches, LDI reported, through a range of projects, including: "Homeless Helping Homeless" at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston to raise money for blankets; instigation by Christ Church in Cambridge of a campaign for a public restroom on Cambridge Common; and a food festival offered by St. James's Church in Cambridge to reach out to those who may benefit from the parish's food pantry. The LDI describes itself as a rigorous, hands-on learning lab that aims to develop leaders who are change agents for the mission of God in the world. To learn more visit www.diomassleads.org and find the 2013-2014 calendar on Facebook, here. Churches interested in having a staff person or alum speak to their congregation about LDI may contact the program director, Duncan Hilton, at duncan@diomassleads.org. |
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Parish Circuit
 Messiah, Woods Hole celebrates 125 years: The Church of the Messiah this summer is celebrating its stone church and the man who built it, as well as its mission in the village of Woods Hole. "Honoring the Past, Celebrating the Present, Embracing the Future" is the theme for the 125th anniversary of the granite, Gothic-style church that stands beside Little Harbor. It is home to Cape Cod's oldest Episcopal parish, according to a news release from the parish. "This is indeed a beautiful church, but we are not merely looking back," said the Rev. Deborah Warner, the 14th rector to serve at the church, which was constructed in 1888 and consecrated on July 2, 1889. "This celebration is also about where we are now and looking forward. If we do not do that, we would fail as a faith community." The signature events are scheduled for the weekend of July 20-21, to include a New England clambake and lobster feed at 5 p.m. Saturday and a special service at 10 a.m. Sunday. Architectural historian Richard Carter will present a program about the church's history at noon on Aug. 21. Numerous concerts and other special events are scheduled at the church this summer. All events are open to the public. Read more here.
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"It's better when you're here": St. Elizabeth's Church in Wilmington has started an informal evening service on Saturdays, at 5:15 p.m. in the parish hall, followed by a potluck supper at 6:30 p.m. so that fellowship can continue over the meal in a family-style setting. Everyone is welcome. "It's better when you're here," the organizers say. |
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NewsLinks
Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby's meeting with Pope Francis in Rome is covered in this June 14 Anglican Communion News Service report. Diocesan Youth Council and Youth Leadership Academy alum Kevin Toland of Swansea talks about his passion for public service in this June 5 Herald News feature.
The Church of Our Redeemer in Lexington took part in a reflection service on gun violence, organized by the Lexington Interfaith Clergy Association and covered in this June 7 Lexington Minuteman report.
Bishop Bud Cederholm joined St. Dunstan's Church in Dover on Pentecost to give the church's new solar panels a blessing, covered by the Dover-Sherborn Press in this May 25 article.
This May 17 Sandwich Enterprise story was among many covering the suspension of the Rev. John McGinn of St. John's Church in Sandwich for alleged plagiarism.
Christ Church in Plymouth celebrated the centennial of its church building with a newly commissioned anthem, "Cornerstone," whose Pentecost performance was announced in this May 16 Patriot Ledger story.
St. Stephen's Church and the Church of St. Augustine and St. Martin in Boston partnered to help transform a vacant lot into a community garden, covered in this May 8 South End News story.
During the Boston Marathon bombing suspect burial controversy, the Rev. Amy McCreath of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Watertown weighed in on Britain's 4thought.tv, as did the Rev. Suzanne Wade of St. Mark's Church in Westford in this Religion News Service story.
Harvard Episcopal chaplain Luther Zeigler's vocational journey from lawyer to priest was featured by American Lawyer on March 28 and Bloomberg on May 8.
The Patriot Ledger was on hand for the May 5 Blessing of the Motorcycles at the Church of Our Saviour in Milton. |
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E-News
The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts
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Church on the way to the beach: Sunday Singing Beach-goers might like to swing by 