June 9, 2011
Bishop Wolfe: MegaCamp is a mega success
Dear Friends,
MegaCamp is in full swing, and I can report our diocesan youth program has never been stronger. A record 210 campers are at Camp Wood in Elmdale this week, and they are having the time of their lives! They are busy making new friends, swimming, horseback riding, singing, meeting in family groups, asking tough questions, playing “Gold Rush,” eating, learning more about the Bible, worshipping, playing soccer and making crafts. In short, our campers are learning valuable life skills any young Christian would benefit from knowing.
We are indebted to the lay and clergy volunteers and the diocesan staff who are making this extraordinary experience possible for our young people. Bishop Michael Milliken came from Western Kansas to lead us in a meaningful instructed Eucharist, and I predict MegaCamp will become an important program for every Episcopalian in Kansas.
Please keep our counselors and campers in your prayers this week, and when they come home, be sure to ask them about their MegaExperience.
Grace and Peace,
+Dean
Four deacons to be ordained this Saturday
Four people will be ordained in a service set for this Saturday, June 11, at 10:30 a.m. at Grace Cathedral in Topeka.
Oliver Bunker from Grace, Chanute, and Elizabeth Drumm from St. Michael and All Angels, Mission, will be ordained as deacons.
Peter Doddema and Patrick Funston, both of whom just graduated from Virginia Theological Seminary, will be ordained as transitional deacons, on their way to ordination as priests. Doddema was sponsored by Trinity, Lawrence, and Funston by St. Michael and All Angels, Mission.
Bishop Dean Wolfe has said he expects all active deacons and priests in the diocese to be present for the service and vested (red stoles) and walk in the procession. Attendance is optional but appreciated for retired clergy.
A reception honoring the newly ordained will take place in the cathedral’s Great Hall after the service.
KSM offers summer classes; register by July 5
The Kansas School for Ministry is offering three educational opportunities in July that are open to everyone in the diocese. They are:
· Faith and Film, taught by Dr. Don Compier. Participants will watch and discuss several films that will help them look at cinema as an opportunity for theological reflection, as well as equip them to use films as part of a parish spiritual formation program.
· New Testament Greek, taught by Dr. Jim Lewis. This course will offer a very basic introduction to the grammar, structure and interpretation of the Greek used in the New Testament, as well as an understanding of various classes of New Testament manuscripts. The class will focus on the gospel of John.
· The “Missional” Church, facilitated by the Rev. Dr. Andrew Grosso. Participants will explore literature that looks at how the church can retool itself along “missional” lines, and what that concept means.
Classes will meet July 15-16 at the Bethany Place Conference Center in Topeka, from 5:30 p.m. Friday until 6 p.m. Saturday. The cost is $100 per course, plus books.
The registration deadline is July 5. To enroll, or for more information, contact the Rev. Andrew Grosso at (913) 367-3171 or .
July 8 is the deadline for Convention nominees, amendments and resolutions
The diocesan office has announced that the deadline will be July 8 for nominations for offices to be elected at this year’s Diocesan Convention, as well as proposed debatable resolutions or amendments to the constitution or canons of the diocese. By the July 8 date these items must be submitted to the chair of the committee overseeing that area.
The following offices will be elected at this year’s convention:
· An at-large, lay member of the Council of Trustees, for a three-year term;
· An at-large, clergy member of the Council of Trustees, for a three-year term; and
· Three lay members of a new diocesan Disciplinary Board, to fill one-year unexpired terms.
More information about the offices to be selected, as well as the form to be used for making all nominations, is available on the diocesan website at http://www.episcopal-ks.org/life/convention.php
Nominations to these offices, as well as proposed debatable resolutions or proposed amendments to the diocesan constitution or canons, should be sent before the deadline to the chair of the respective committee:
Nominations: the Rev. Betty Glover, ; (620) 221-4252
Debatable resolutions: the Rev. Shawn Streepy; ; (913) 631-8548
Constitution and canons: Frank Taylor; ; (913) 782-2350
NOTE: Diocesan Convention takes place Sept. 23-24 in Topeka. Registration materials will be sent out in June.
Registration now is open for MissionPalooza
Youth who will be in grades 9-12 this fall now can register for MissionPalooza, the diocese’s urban mission program taking place in Kansas City July 18-24 that trains teens to put theirfaith into action.
For five days youth come together in community, mission, fellowship and worship. Students spend their days heeding Christ’s call to feed the hungry, visit the sick and comfort those in need.
St. Paul’s Church, located at 40th and Main in Kansas City, Mo., will host the event and provide housing for participants.
Registrations and more detailsare on the diocesan website at http://www.episcopal-ks.org/youth/missionpalooza.html
Photo of Blanche Taylor sought
Do you have a photo of Blanche Taylor, former secretary to Bishop Edward Turner and later the diocesan historiographer and author of Plenteous Harvest, the diocesan history?
If you have such a photo, please let Melodie Woerman know right away at or (800) 473-3563 or (785) 235-9255.
She was one of the first co-chairs of the National Episcopal Historians and Archivists association, and they want to highlight her involvement as the organization celebrates its 50th anniversary next week.
Joplin tornado follow-up
Special collection. Diocesan Comptroller Jay Currie reminds parishes to send in their check from the May 29 special collection for tornado relief that was designated by Bishop Wolfe. So far 18 parishes have reported, with more than $14,000 collected for Episcopal Relief and Development’s support of tornado victims.
Parish relief efforts? Has your parish been involved with relief efforts in Joplin? If so, please let Director of Communications Melodie Woerman know. Send an e-mail with information about your efforts to . Photos are welcome, too.
More information. Photos from Joplin can be seen online at http://www.flickr.com/photos/melodiewoerman/sets/72157626729944041. An accompanying story is available at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79425_128574_ENG_HTM.htm
Episcopal Church offers websites for parishes
Parishes needing a website might want to explore a new opportunity provided by the Office of Communications of the Episcopal Church. In partnership with a web development company, they are offering customizable web templates that start as low as a $1,500 start-up fee and hosting costs of $45 a month.
If interested, contact the Rev. Jake Dell at .
Training workshops offered to help non-profit groups
The Kansas Volunteer Commission is offering a series of free training workshops designed to help non-profit groups engage in their work, and many of their topics could be useful to churches:
· Innovative ways to recruit and engage volunteers
· Strategies for collaborating with businesses and organizations
· Meeting the growing needs of your community
Workshops are set for June 29 in Wichita at the Big Brothers Big Sisters office, 310 E. 2nd St. North, and June 30 in Lawrence at Maceli’s Ballroom, 1031 New Hampshire.
The facilitator will be Dr. Sue Hyatt, who has more than 20 years’ experience in organizational development and nonprofit resource development and partnerships.
For more information or to register, contact Nicolette Geisler at (785) 296-8447 or .
Anniversaries of ordinations
Congratulations go to these people as they celebrate the anniversaries of their ordination in the next two weeks:
June 9: The Very Rev. Michael Munro, St. Paul’s, Leavenworth (27 years); the Rev. George Pejakovich, ELCA, Grace Cathedral, Topeka (33 years)
June 11: The Rev. Curtis Cowell, retired (41 years); Deacon David Butler, Epiphany, Independence and Ascension, Neodesha (6 years); Deacon Bob Honse, St. Margaret’s, Lawrence (6 years)
June 12: The Rev. Mark Cowell, Sts. Mary and Martha of Bethany, Larned, Diocese of Western Kansas (7 years)
June 17: The Rev. Timothy Kline, non-parochial, Diocese of Western Kansas (19 years)
June 20: The Rev. Elizabeth Gomes, St. Christopher’s, Wichita, (20 years); Deacon Carmen Anderson, retired (24 years)
June 21: The Rev. David Mouille, retired (43 years)
June 22: The Rev. Sharon Billman, St. John’s, Parsons (8 years)
June 23: The Rev. Gerald Eytcheson, Epiphany, Independence and Ascension, Neodesha (18 years); the Rev. Betty Glover, Trinity, Arkansas City and Grace, Winfield (4 years)
Next DioLog
The next edition of DioLog will be sent to subscribers on Thursday, June 23. Information to be included should be sent to Melodie Woerman, diocesan director of communications, at , no later than Tuesday, June 21.
DioLog is a publication of the Office of Communications of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas.
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