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Mission strategy, world concerns top agenda for Diocesan Convention
 This year's Diocesan Convention will be marked by a special spirit of celebration as the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston reopens its doors to the diocesan community after having been closed for more than a year for renovations.
Read more below about the special service of Holy Eucharist on Friday, Nov. 13, when the cathedral church will be rededicated and Bishop Alan M. Gates officially seated.
Clergy and delegates representing the congregations of the diocese will regather on Saturday, Nov. 14, for a full day of regular Diocesan Convention business, to include resolutions on several world concerns and voting on a $9-million proposed diocesan budget for 2016. The convention will also hear about plans underway for crafting over the next year a new mission strategy for the diocese. Read more here. Diocesan Convention registration is open online here. A series of four pre-convention forums will be held in locations around the diocese. They are an opportunity to learn about and discuss the issues and business to come before the convention. Find the schedule here.
Rededication of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul and seating of Bishop Gates: Bishop Alan M. Gates, who in September completed his first year as bishop of the diocese, will be officially seated and the newly renovated cathedral church will be rededicated during a service of Holy Eucharist on Friday, Nov. 13. The public service begins at 7 p.m. All are welcome. Seating for the congregation will be first come, first served, with some overflow seating available in the lower-level Sproat Hall. The celebration will continue with a reception after the service. Live webcast: There is every hope that a live webcast of the Nov. 13 service can be provided. However, because the final stage of renovations in the cathedral church is still underway, it is not certain as of Oct. 21 whether the required cabling work will be completed in time. Please check www.diomass.org for updates.
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Young adults make Ferguson pilgrimage to engage with racial reconciliation work:
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L-R: Adiel Pollydore, Jacqueline Clark, Eliza Marth, Ashton Murray, Dominique Bocanegra.
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Five young people from the Diocese of Massachusetts traveled on an Episcopal Church-sponsored pilgrimage to Ferguson, Mo., Oct. 8-12. The aim of the pilgrimage was to gather young people to engage in the work of racial justice and reconciliation in a place that has recently been deeply affected by racial tension.Five young people from the Diocese of Massachusetts traveled on an Episcopal Church-sponsored pilgrimage to Ferguson, Mo., Oct. 8-12. The aim of the pilgrimage was to gather young people to engage in the work of racial justice and reconciliation in a place that has recently been deeply affected by racial tension.
Twenty-five young people from around the U.S. gathered in Ferguson for the pilgrimage, which included a visit to the site where 18-year-old Michael Brown was shot and killed in August 2014, as well as engagement with local clergy and community leaders, workshops and shared worship.
The pilgrims from the Diocese of Massachusetts are Dominique Bocanegra, a Life Together fellow at the Church of the Holy Spirit, Mattapan; Jacqueline Clark, Assistant Rector at St. Elizabeth's Church, Sudbury; Eliza Marth, Life Together fellow at St. Paul's Church, Brookline; Adiel Pollydore, a Life Together fellow at the Youth Jobs Coalition; and Ashton Murray, a Life Together fellow at Episcopal City Mission. Program fees for all five of the pilgrims were covered in full by Episcopal City Mission (ECM).
To continue the process of racial reconciliation, pilgrims will be expected to undertake projects in their own communities that demonstrate engagement on issues of racial justice and reconciliation. Read more.
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ChurchWide
Michael Curry to be installed as Episcopal Church's 27th presiding bishop: The Rt. Rev. Michael B. Curry, Bishop of the Diocese of North Carolina, will be installed as the Episcopal
Church's 27th presiding bishop on Sunday, Nov. 1, at 12 p.m. at Washington National Cathedral. The whole church is invited to join the celebration via a live webcast of the installation service, available here. A vigil celebration, sponsored by the Union of Black Episcopalians on the eve of the installation, Saturday, Oct. 31 at 11 a.m. at the Washington Armory, will also be webcast, here. Curry was elected and confirmed to be the next presiding bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church on June 27 during the church's 78th General Convention. He is the first African-American to be elected to the office, and succeeds the first woman to serve as presiding bishop and primate, the Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori. Her nine-year term ends Nov. 1. Gathering and watching: The Episcopal Church's Office of Public Affairs would like to hear from those gathering with others to watch the live webcasts or sponsoring viewing events: publicaffairs@episcopalchurch.org. The social media hashtag for the event is #MichaelCurry.
Episcopal Asiamerica Ministries celebrate partnerships, look to future during consultation in Seoul:
Korean Anglicans welcomed friends from across the communion Oct. 3 as they celebrated the Anglican Church of Korea's 125th anniversary. The festive Eucharist at the Cathedral of St. Mary and St. Nicholas in downtown Seoul drew an overflow crowd. (Catch a glimpse in the procession of the Rev. Canon Connie Ng Lam, Canon for Asiamerica Ministries in the Diocese of Massachusetts, in this video of the service.) The service was part of the international consultation of Episcopal Asiamerica Ministries, Sept. 30-Oct. 5. Read more about the consultation and see photos here.
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NewsNotes
Priesthood ordinations to take place in parishes beginning this winter: Bishop Alan M. Gates has announced that, beginning this winter, priests will be ordained individually in the parishes to which they have been called, rather than at one ordination service in January which has been the recent practice.
"While all Christian leaders are called to represent Christ and the Church in the world, priests are accorded a particular responsibility to serve as pastors in congregations. The tradition of ordaining priests in the parishes that have called them allows priest and congregation to celebrate the new ministry in the place where they will share it together, in the same way that the installation of a rector celebrates a new relationship in the ongoing ministries of priest and congregation," Gates explained in an Oct. 1 letter to clergy and parish and diocesan leadership.
Ordinations to the diaconate--both transitional and vocational--will continue to take place in a single service at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston, underscoring the role of deacons in serving the whole diocese.
Dates and locations for upcoming priesthood ordinations are available here.
"We urge your supportive presence, as you are able, and we invite your prayers for all of our transitional deacons in this time of preparation and continuing discernment of their call to serve Christ in the Church," Gates said.
Rebuilding God's house, according to St. Francis:
While tending to nature was an important part of St. Francis' response to God's call, it is only a part of the whole of his ministry and understanding of "rebuilding" God's house, the Very Rev. Francis Fornaro writes in the following reflection on St. Francis of Assisi, commemorated in the church during October.
St. Francis of Assisi is one of the saints we commemorate this month. He led a wonderful and exciting life. He was born of wealthy parents, educated in the best schools (although he wasn't a very good student), loved to party with his friends (a lot!), joined the military and became a well-respected soldier. And then something changed in him. He began to wonder about his life. He began to notice the poor around him. Something deep inside him was touched and he began to discern his role in the world differently. He allowed the grace of God to transform him. He became intentional about putting his own ego aside for the sake of his true transformation. In a dream, he heard God's voice say to him "Francis, rebuild my house which is falling into ruin." He took this literally and thought he should build a church building, but eventually realized that this was a call from God to rebuild his own life and to attend to the world. This is the call of God to all of us. Read more.
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Parish Circuit
St. Luke's-San Lucas partners with El Hogar to welcome soccer star Eduardo Bennett to Chelsea:
St. Luke's-San Lucas Church in Chelsea and El Hogar Ministries are welcoming a special guest this week. Eduardo Bennett, a graduate of El Hogar and formerly of the Honduran national soccer team, is visiting North America in support of El Hogar. Bennett will headline a community night at St. Luke's-San Lucas on Friday, October 23, at 6 p.m. The event includes conversation, photos and autographs with Bennett, authentic Honduran food, raffles and music.
"El Hogar is excited to join with St. Luke's- San Lucas to bring Eduardo to Chelsea and the many fans that he has here in Boston," said Liz Kinchen, El Hogar's North American Executive Director. "This is an excellent opportunity for us to spread the message about our work with the children of Honduras, while providing an opportunity for the Latino community--and the community at large --to join together for a fun evening."
Bennett graduated from El Hogar, a home and school for 250 children born into extreme poverty in Honduras. He has worked throughout his life to rise above the difficult circumstances that marked his early years to achieve soccer stardom. In 2010, he retired from playing professional soccer to pursue opportunities in team management and as a soccer analyst on radio and television.
El Hogar, along with its partnering Parish of the Epiphany in Winchester, was last year's diocesan Mission Tithe Council Grant recipient. Read more.
Upcoming pilgrimage opportunities open to all:
The November 2015 pilgrimage to the Holy Land with Bishop Gayle E. Harris and Bishop Alan M. Gates is now fully booked. Those seeking pilgrimage opportunities may be interested in an upcoming Holy Land trip organized by local parishes.
A spring 2016 pilgrimage to the Holy Land, "Israel-Palestine: A Sacred Journey," is being organized by parishioners and clergy of St. Michael's Church in Milton, in conjunction with parishioners from St. Christopher's Church in Chatham and the Rev. Whitney Burr. All are welcome to join St. Michael's and St. Christopher's on this journey. Additionally, the Church of St. John the Evangelist in Duxbury is organizing a tour of England, scheduled to depart May 17, 2016, and returning on May 25. During the nine-day tour, visits to the English cities of Manchester, York, Bath, Yorkshire, Canterbury and London will be included. More details and registration information on both pilgrimages are available here.
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NewsLinks
South Coast Today: The Rev. Christopher Morck installed as rector at Grace Church, New Bedford:
On Oct. 10, the Rev. Christopher R. Morck was instituted as the 22nd rector of Grace Church in New Bedford. In recalling the ceremony, Morck said, "The highlights and the language of the ceremony were not just about the rector being installed. I am so glad the focus was taken off of me and was about the whole community and about how we are doing this together." Read more.
Sun Chronicle: A long, winding road to the priesthood in Wrentham: For the Rev. Elise Feyerherm, the priest-in-charge of Trinity Church in Wrentham, it's been a long journey to ordination.
Feyerherm, 54, who has been at Trinity since February, has gone through both a career transition, from teaching to the priesthood, and a denomination transition. Read more.
Patriot Ledger: Former Harvard fullback is now Hingham priest: You could say someone else is calling the plays for the Rev. Noah Van Niel these days. Eight years after he ended his college football career as a Harvard University fullback, the Newton native is taking a different path, as the assistant pastor at St. John the Evangelist Episcopal Church in Hingham. Van Niel joined the St. John's staff this summer, soon after he graduated from Harvard Divinity School. Now a deacon, he'll be ordained in December, and he'll be in Hingham for at least three years. Read more.
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E-News
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