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Coming up
Sep 17: Bethany House of Prayer Contemplative Evening Eucharist, Arlington, 7:00pm Sep 18: Bethany House of Prayer Contemplative Prayer Circle, Arlington, 10:00am Sep 20: Safe Church Training, Epiphany Church, Walpole, 8:30am Sep 20: Angelica Center Speakers Series: Lauren Winner, Church of the Holy Spirit, Orleans, 2:00pm Sep 27: Sustainable House of Worship Workshop, St. Peter's Church, Buzzards Bay, 9:00am Sep 27: "Re-Ignition" Regional Youth Day, All Saints' Church of the North Shore, Danvers, 3:00pm Oct 4: Episcopal City Mission Annual Meeting, Grace Church, Newton, 9:00am Oct 4: Yard Sale, Church of the Good Shepherd, Watertown, 9:00am Oct 4: Diocesan Altar Guild presents Fall Flower Arranging with Chris England, St. Stephen's Church, Cohasset, 9:30am Oct 7: Diocesan Clergy Day, Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center, Greenfield, N.H. Oct 7: Bethany House of Prayer Fall Refreshment Day, Arlington, 9:30am Oct 14: Retired Clergy and Spouses Luncheon, St. David's Church, South Yarmouth, 9:30am Oct 14: Diocesan Convention Forum, All Saints' Church of the North Shore, Danvers, 7:00pm Oct 15: Diocesan Convention Forum, St. Andrew's Church, Framingham, 7:00pm Oct 15: Bethany House of Prayer Contemplative Evening Eucharist, Arlington, 7:00pm Oct 16: Retired Clergy and Spouses Luncheon, St. Peter's Church, Weston, 10:00am Oct 16: Diocesan Council, Christ Church, Quincy, 5:30pm Oct 18: "The Church's One Foundation" Building Workshop, St. Peter's Church, Weston, 8:30am Oct 18: "Devotional Poetry in the Literature of Spain and Latin America," Adelynrood, Byfield, 9:00am Oct 18: "Re-Ignition" Regional Youth Day, St. Andrew's Church, Hanover, 3:00pm Oct 22: Diocesan Convention Forum, Church of the Good Shepherd, Wareham, 7:00pm Oct 23: Antiracism Training , Trinity Church, Boston Oct 23: Diocesan Convention Forum, Emmanuel Church, Boston, 7:00pm Oct 25: Safe Church Training, Church of the Good Shepherd, Acton, 8:30am Oct 25: Eucharistic Visitor Training, Church of the Good Shepherd, Watertown, 9:00am Oct 25: "Re-Ignition" Regional Youth Day, St. Mary's Church, Newton Lower Falls, 3:00pm
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Massachusetts celebrates consecration of a new bishop for God's people
 | Bishop Alan M. Gates (right) with retiring Bishop M. Thomas Shaw, SSJE
(Photo: Matthew Cavanaugh)
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With screens and banners hung, an altar built, carpets, candles and chairs placed, and hundreds of flowers arranged by dozens of hands in the days leading up to the occasion, it was liturgy--the work of God's people for the glory of God--that transformed Boston University's Agganis Arena from sporting to sacred space for the Sept. 13 consecration of the Rt. Rev. Alan M. Gates as the 16th bishop of the Diocese of Massachusetts. The service was both celebratory and solemn, with colorful opening processions and the diversity of the Episcopal Church in eastern Massachusetts evident through the many voices, languages and musicians featured over the course of the two-and-a-half-hour service. Read more here.
An updated photo gallery of moments from the celebration is now live on the diocesan Web site; video will be available soon.
The text of the consecration sermon given by the Rt. Rev. Mark Hollingsworth Jr., Bishop of Ohio, may be found here. Read a message from our new bishop here, and learn more about the gifts and symbols presented during the consecration service, here.
What it's about: "I think that religion at its best is not focused exclusively on its doctrinal structures or belief systems, though of course they are core," Bishop Alan M. Gates said in a Boston Globe interview published Sept. 13. "At its best, what it's about is reconnecting, reconnecting us to God, reconnecting people to one another and reconnecting people to the world around us." Read the full interview
Read the BU Daily Free Press's coverage here.
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Bishop Gates delivers first sermon
 | Bishop Gates greets cathedral congregation member Gloria Watt after the Sunday service.
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The Rt. Rev. Alan M. Gates preached about the connection between ancient symbols and contemporary action in his first sermon as the bishop of Massachusetts, delivered on Sunday, Sept. 14 at the Church of St. John the Evangelist in Boston. The congregation of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul is worshiping there while the cathedral church is undergoing renovations. Video and text of the sermon are available here. |
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Bishop Gayle E. Harris makes history as first female bishop to preside and preach in a Welsh cathedral
As the Church in Wales prepares to enable women to become bishops, Bishop Suffragan Gayle Harris of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts became the first female Anglican bishop to preside and preach in a Welsh cathedral.
"The church is not just enriched by women's ordination, it's more enabled and empowered by women's presence,"
she told Episcopal News Service during a telephone interview from the U.K. as she prepared for her historic participation in the 11 a.m. Eucharist service on Aug. 31 at St. Asaph Cathedral in Denbighshire,
 | | Bishop Harris at St. Asaph's Cathedral. Photo: ENS |
North Wales. "I
see women bringing to the fore the desire that all people sit at the table of leadership, that all share in the benefits of the life of God. Nobody should be ignored or left out."
Harris's visit came at the invitation of Diocese of St. Asaph Bishop Gregory Cameron, who said he's been surprised at how long it has taken the Church in Wales to take the step to ordaining women as bishops.
Read more at Episcopal News Service.
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NewsNotes
 | | Diane Pound |
Diane Pound appointed executive assistant to Bishop Gates: Diane Pound, a member of the diocesan staff since 2006, has been appointed as the executive assistant to Bishop Alan M.
Gates, effective immediately. Pound was the administrative assistant to Bishop Bud Cederholm from 2006 until his retirement in 2012. She then worked for Bishop Gayle E. Harris and has spent the past year as the assistant to the canon to the ordinary, the Rev. Canon Mally Lloyd.
"I am honored and very excited to start this new journey with Bishop Alan," Pound said. "This opportunity is a true blessing and I am grateful to work with some exceptional people, including the staff here and the clergy in this diocese."
Laura Simons, Administrator of Convention and Council, will assume Pound's duties in the Office of the Canon to the Ordinary.
Get ready for Diocesan Convention at forums in October: Diocesan Convention is on Saturday, Nov. 8 at St. Stephen's Memorial Church in Lynn. Four pre-Diocesan Convention meetings in October offer an important opportunity for learning and discussion about the issues and business to come before the convention, including resolutions and the proposed budget.
Forums are scheduled to take place from 7 to 9 p.m. on: Tuesday, Oct. 14 at All Saints' Episcopal Church of the North Shore (46 Cherry Street) in Danvers; Wednesday, Oct. 15 at St. Andrew's Church (3 Maple Street) in Framingham; Wednesday, Oct. 22 at the Church of the Good Shepherd (74 High Street) in Wareham; and Thursday, Oct. 23 at Emmanuel Church (15 Newbury Street) in Boston. Questions may be directed to Laura Simons at lsimons@diomass.org or 617-482-4826, ext. 406.
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Parish Circuit
The Crossing welcomes the Rev. Marcia Hoecker: On Thursday, Sept. 18, The Crossing will launch its 2014-2015 program year with the installation of the Rev. Marcia Hoecker, who will serve as The Crossing's priest and lead organizer. Hoecker will be the first settled priest to be called to serve the community since the departure of the community's founder, the Rev. Stephanie Spellers. Worship will be held in the Lawrence Room of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul (138 Tremont Street) in Boston at 6 p.m. All are welcome.
Church of the Good Shepherd, Reading unveils newly restored organ: The Church of the Good Shepherd in Reading recently completed the restoration of its 65-year-old pipe organ, which had not been playable for several years. A dedication ceremony was held at the church's 10 A.M. service on Sunday, Sept. 14.
"I am incredibly grateful to everyone in our congregation for all the time, planning and financial support that went into restoring the church organ," the Rev. Mary "Scottie" Wagner, Rector, said. "While our music minister, Carol Abel, and our fantastic choir have long provided beautiful music at all of our services, the restoration of our historic organ to its original sound will make the music coming from our church each Sunday all the more amazing. We invite families in the area to join us in our services and to enjoy the beauty of this historic organ as we celebrate all that God gives us."
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NewsLinks
Salem News: St. Michael's, Marblehead gets a new steeple: St. Michael's Church in Marblehead, which is celebrating its 300th anniversary this year, has been without a steeple since George Washington's second term in office when the church's former steeple had to be taken down because of rot. A new 38-foot zinc-shingled spire was installed on Aug. 28 and creates a new feature in the Marblehead skyline. Read more.
Boston Globe: During Market Basket dispute, church food pantries help families stretch their food budgets: Thanks to an extended company dispute this summer, Market Basket stores in the area were completely closed or not stocking fresh food. As a result, many found themselves cut off from their affordable food source and found it more difficult to stretch their food dollars. Many area food pantries found that they were called upon to address this gap.
The Rev. Karen Coleman, Rector of St. James's Church in Somerville and the director of the Helping Hands food pantry at St. James's Church in Porter Square, Cambridge, said that she saw a surge of people coming in during the Market Basket dispute. She told the Boston Globe that she saw about 30 new families in addition to the 365 that the pantry regularly serves. Read more.
Needham Times: Needham houses of worship work together for green stewardship: The Needham Interfaith Environmental Network, which includes Christ Church in Needham, was founded in 2010, with a goal of sharing information and resources to promote environmental stewardship. Together the group shares members' experiences with solar panels and other "green" building improvements, and undertakes community outreach projects like new recycling bins for town sports fields. Read more.
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ChurchWide
Task force reports on its work to "reimagine" the Episcopal Church: The Task Force for Reimagining the Episcopal Church issued a report this month in which it states that the church's "structures and governance processes reflect assumptions from previous eras that do not always fit with today's contexts. They have not adapted to the rapidly changing cultural, political and social environments in which we live. The churchwide structures and governance processes are too disconnected from local needs and too often play a 'gating' or regulatory role to local innovation. They are often too slow and confusing to deal decisively with tough and urgent tradeoffs or to pursue bold directions that must be set at the churchwide level." The full report is available here. There will be a Webcast of a churchwide meeting on these topics on Oct. 2. Learn more here.
Civil Discourse in America: Political, interfaith and education leaders will offer their insights and views during "Civil Discourse in America: Finding Common Ground for the Greater Good," a 90-minute live Webcast on Oct. 22, produced by the Episcopal Church. The forum will be moderated by Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, Executive Religion Editor for the Huffington Post. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori will present the keynote address. Learn more here.
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E-News
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