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"Hard work to be done": A letter from Bishop Gates
Following is a letter to the people of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts from Bishop Alan M. Gates in the aftermath of the June 12 shootings in Orlando, Fla.:Lord, have mercy. Christ, have mercy. Lord, have mercy.A week ago I joined a neighborhood Peace Walk in Boston's South End with Boston Police Commissioner William Evans and members of his department, children and adults of the neighborhood, and participants in our diocesan B-PEACE effort. We walked local streets proclaiming our determination to reduce gun violence and other violations of communal safety.
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Bishop Gates joined City Councilor Tito Jackson, Boston Police Department Commissioner William Evans, the office of State Senator Sonia Chang-Diaz, the young people of St. Stephen's Youth Programs, and other friends and neighbors of the South End for the South End neighborhood peace walk on June 6.
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"Of course," I told the gathering, "marching around the neighborhood or wearing orange (as we'd recently done for Gun Violence Awareness Day) will not, in and of itself, stop the violence. We do this to proclaim to others and remind ourselves that together there is hard work to be done." The very next day a 17-year-old student was shot and killed outside his high school in Dorchester. Six days later 50 people have died in Orlando in what is being termed the worst mass shooting in our nation's history. Within hours of my own grateful participation in Boston's Pride Parade, I find myself grieving and extending compassionate prayers and heartfelt support to the wider LGBT community as the latest target of hatred and violence.
I struggle to sort out the tangled web of motivations in this tragedy, as in others before it. Each mass shooting and terror attack has had its own particular toxic combination of factors - individual alienation, hatred towards those who are different from us, religious extremism and more. A common factor in virtually every case, however, has been the ready accessibility of lethal weapons.
With each successive, perverse milestone in our country's narrative of violence - now a school massacre, now a movie theater slaughter; now the most children murdered, now the greatest total number of victims - our initial determination to be galvanized fades into a higher threshold of tolerance and accommodation to apparent inevitability.
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At the 2016 Pride Parade.
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Our grief and anger, however, must continue to issue not only in compassion and prayer, but in continued advocacy for those measures which can turn the tide in this crescendo of death. We do this with programs that build relationships across lines that divide us. We do it also with common-sense legislation on access to weaponry. (Bishops United Against Gun Violence, of which both I and Bishop Gayle Harris are members, provides links at www.bishopsagainstgunviolence.org, pull-down menu "The Evidence.") Of course we know that none of these measures in isolation will prevent all murderous attacks. Of course we k now that combating terrorism requires different methods than combating household firearm accidents. But a full spectrum of interconnected efforts must advance the cause of communal safety and peace.
Jesus told us that the greatest commandments are to love God and love our neighbor. It follows that the greatest sin is the failure to love, and we are told that the consequence of sin is death. Too much are we witnessing this consequence. Let us love one another. Fervently, tangibly, relentlessly: let us love one another.
Faithfully in Christ,
The Rt. Rev. Alan M. Gates
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Churches host vigils and prayer services in wake of Orlando shootings
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry asked Episcopalians to join him in prayer in his Monday video message, here. Local churches, including St. Peter's, Salem and Grace Church, New Bedford, acted quickly to offer sanctuary and quiet to all. Episcopal churches and their neighboring faith communities are hosting many times for people to gather together for prayer and solace in the wake of the tragedy in Orlando. Here are several upcoming services:
Wednesday, June 15: Healing Mass with Litany for Victims of Gun Violence, 6 p.m., at the Church of the Advent (30 Brimmer Street) in Boston.
The Medford Interfaith Clergy, in cooperation with the Medford Human Rights Commission, will hold a vigil for the Orlando victims and will offer healing prayer for all, at 6 p.m. at Grace Church (160 High Street) in Medford.
St. Paul's Church (166 High Street) in Newburyport: 6 p.m. service of Evening Prayer followed by participation in a community candlelight vigil at 7 p.m. at Market Square in downtown Newburyport, sponsored by the mayor's office and local interfaith clergy association.
Orlando: An Interfaith Sharing of Lament, Solidarity and Hope at Emmanuel Church (15 Newbury Street) in Boston, 7 p.m., hosted with Central Reform Temple. This is a gathering of neighborhood religious communities, including the Church of the Covenant, the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Old South Church and Trinity Church, as well as members of the Boston Gay Men's Chorus. Clergy and leaders from various traditions will share reflections, readings and prayer, and the gathering will join in songs of peace and hope.
Candlelight vigil beginning at St. John's Church (159 Main Street) in Sandwich at 7 p.m., with those gathered walking up the street with candles to First Church UCC (136 Main Street).
The Lexington interfaith community will hold a prayer vigil on the Town Green, next to the Church of Our Redeemer at 7:30 p.m.
Thursday, June 16:
Interfaith Prayer Vigil at 7 p.m. at St. Paul's Church (390 Main Street) in North Andover. Clergy are invited to wear vestments of their tradition.
Sunday, June 19:
Interfaith Vigil of Hope and Healing, 12:30 p.m., Rex Field at St. Peter's Church (351 Elm Street) in Dartmouth.
For the developing list of local prayer services, click here. |
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Mission Strategy process update
The Mission Strategy Drafting Team is meeting weekly over the summer months to discern a draft of a new mission strategy for the Diocese of Massachusetts. Together with the bishops, the team is working to develop a draft of the new mission strategy by early August, and plans to host several open forums at locations around the diocese in August to invite feedback from the diocesan community before the Diocesan Council approves the proposed mission strategy that will be presented at Diocesan Convention in November for final approval. Dates of the August forums will be posted at www.diomass.org/new-mission-strategy as soon as they become available.
During this intensive process, the drafting team asks for everyone's prayers for guidance in bringing forth this plan for how the Diocese of Massachusetts will be directed and apply its resources in the coming years. More information about the mission strategy process is available at www.diomass.org/new-mission-strategy. |
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ECM welcomes new exec director, honors social justice activists
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| | ECM Executive Director Arrington Chambliss |
Episcopal City Mission marked a new day in its 172-year ministry as friends and supporters gathered June 14 for the organization's annual end-of-program-year celebration to welcome a new executive director and to honor individuals and groups engaged in urban social justice advocacy.
Instead of the traditional fundraising dinner, this year's event, held at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston, was a gospel-music-infused liturgical celebration.The Rev. Arrington Chambliss, the new executive director of Episcopal City Mission (ECM), received a formal commissioning during the service, and exchanged blessings with the congregation.
Chambliss comes to ECM from Life Together, the young adult fellowship program in the Diocese of Massachsuetts that she co-founded and directed for eight years. She joined the ECM staff in April and is the first woman to lead the organization as executive director.
The evening's preacher, the Rev. Mariama White-Hammond of Bethel AME Church in Jamaica Plain, acknowledged heavy-heartedness amidst the evening's celebration, given the nation's ongoing epidemic of gun violence and its latest eruption last week in an Orlando, Fla., nightclub, where a gunman killed 50 people and injured as many others in what has been deemed the deadliest mass shooting in the U.S.
"It is sad not only because it happened but also because it is so predictable at this point, so predictable that we will mourn and wring our hands and ultimately do nothing to change the situation," White-Hammond said. Read more. |
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Diocese hosts guests from Masakane Trust
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| | L-R: Laura Walta, project director for global mission, Bishop Gayle Harris, Grace Thankejwayo, Masakane Trust, Bishop Alan Gates, Penny Heard, Diocese of Highveld, Bishop Bud Cederholm. |
The Diocese of Massachusetts hosted two guests from Masakane Trust in South Africa during the week of May 23. Grace Thankejwayo of Masakane Trust and Penny Heard of the Anglican Diocese of Highveld, South Africa, met with the bishops and staff, and traveled around the diocese to speak about their work and hear from local Episcopalians involved with global mission. Masakane Trust trains teachers in early childhood development to serve children in regions of South Africa deeply affected by HIV/AIDS.
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Spring 2016 confirmations conclude
The spring confirmation season concluded with three confirmations on June 11, for a total of 372 people confirmed since Easter 2016. Below are the locations and the total number of confirmands for each service. Congratulations to all and thank you to the host parishes for their hospitality!
- March 26: Easter Vigil, all deaneries, Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston, 11
- April 9: Taunton River Deanery, St. John's, Franklin, 8
- April 30: Boston Harbor Deanery, Trinity Church, Boston, 49
- April 30: Concord River Deanery, Trinity Church, Concord, 71
- May 21: Neponset River Deanery, All Saints' Church, Dorchester, 64
- June 11: Cape and Islands Deanery, St. Christopher's, Chatham, 44
- June 11: Buzzards Bay Deanery, Church of Our Saviour, Somerset, 37
- June 11: All deaneries, Cathedral Church of St. Paul, 88
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NewsNotes
Episcopal schools wrap up the school year, with big plans for the future: Bishop Gates joined Governor Charlie Baker at the groundbreaking of Epiphany School's new building on Tuesday, June 7. Governor Baker offered his congratulations at the celebration for the expansion of a tuition-free Dorchester Episcopal school serving children in grades 6-8 from low-income Boston families.
"I can't wait to see what comes of all this," Baker said at the groundbreaking ceremony, "because you are, in many respects, a truly great institution that has done wonderful things for kids and for families here in Boston and here in the Commonwealth for the past two decades."
The Epiphany School, in Dorchester Center, will expand into a nearby property to build faculty housing, a resource center for graduates and an early learning center planned to serve more than 60 infants and toddlers. Read more in the Boston Globe's coverage of the event here.
Esperanza Academy in Lawrence held its annual commencement ceremony for the graduating class of 2016 at Grace Church in Lawrence. The commencement speaker was the Hon. Dan Rivera, Mayor of Lawrence.
"On behalf of Esperanza Academy's faculty and trustees, I congratulate the Class of 2016 for achieving this important milestone," said Christopher H. Wilson, Esperanza Academy's head of school, in a press release. "These young ladies are taking the next step on their path to college, careers and success. They follow in the footsteps of alumnae, who continue to graduate from high school at an impressive 100-percent rate. Collectively, their accomplishments are a credit and a testament to an Esperanza Academy education, its faculty, trustees, volunteers and donors, and our exceptional graduate support program."
Members of the Class of 2016 will attend Notre Dame Cristo Rey High School, Emma Willard School, Austin Preparatory School, Greater Lawrence Technical School, Sparhawk School and Holderness School. Click for the full list of 2016 graduates.
New deacons ordained: Bishop Alan M. Gates ordained five deacons and five transitional deacons on Saturday, June 4 at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston.
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| | Pictured with Bishop Gates, front, l-r: M. Egerstrom, K. Holmes, R. Greiner, J. Jordan; back, l-r: P. Flaherty, C. Whiteman, I. Everett, T. Bartlett, Z. Brooks, C. Wynder. |
The new deacons are the Rev. Thomas A. Bartlett (sponsored by Emmanuel Church in Boston); the Rev. Philip J. Flaherty (St. Stephen's Church in Cohasset); the Rev. Robert Charles Greiner (Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston); the Rev. Kristine Marie Holmes (Christ Church in Plymouth); and the Rev. Elizabeth Joy Jordan (St. John's Church in Charlestown).
The new transitional deacons are the Rev. Zachary David Brooks (Church of the Redeemer in Chestnut Hill); the Rev. Marisa Egerstrom (Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston); the Rev. Isaac Everett (The Crossing/Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston); the Rev. Christopher William Whiteman (St. Mary's Church in Dorchester); and the Rev. Charles Allen Wynder Jr. (Church of the Holy Spirit in Mattapan).
Life Together accepting applications for fellowships starting August 2016: Life Together is a 10-month fellowship and leadership development program that matches young leaders with mission-based non-profit organizations, schools and churches throughout eastern Massachusetts. Life Together is a strategic initiative of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. Fellows live in intentional community and receive training in shared leadership models, community organizing tools and diverse spiritual practices. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis, and positions are still available: email your cover letter and resume to apply@diomassintern.org.
Acolyte Festival 2016:
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| | Youth from across the diocese gathered for the 2016 Acolyte Festival at the Church of the Advent, Boston on May 21. Photo by Julianne Ture. |
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NewsLinks
Boston Pilot: Boston faith leaders mark the 75th year of the Mass. General chapel: Bishop Alan M. Gates joined religious leaders from the Boston area at the Massachusetts General Hospital chapel on May 25, for a service to celebrate the chapel's 75th anniversary. Since the Gothic Revival chapel first opened on April 25, 1941, on the first level of the hospital's Baker Memorial Building, countless men and women of different religious traditions have sought refuge there. Providing a sacred space for patients, their relatives and hospital staff was the original vision of Bishop William Lawrence of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. In 1939, Bishop Lawrence, who was then elderly and retired, sent out 1,500 handwritten letters to potential donors asking for support "in this bit of pioneer hospital work." Read more.
Episcopal News Service: Trinity Church, Boston celebrates marriage equality: "Who am I to judge?" These words echoed repeatedly through the sermon given at Trinity Church in Boston by the Hon. Margaret Marshall, retired chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, at a choral Evensong in thanksgiving for marriage equality throughout the United States and throughout the Episcopal Church. Quoting Pope Francis' now-famous remark, Marshall expanded it into a wry and moving refrain as she spoke on the judicial system's role in protecting the rights of minorities, the "noisy, and messy and jagged" workings of democracy and the command of faith to strive for justice. Read more. |
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