May 28, 2015
Please pray for MegaCamp this coming week
More than 200 youth campers and adult staff members will be part of MegaCamp, the diocese’s summer camping experience, which begins on Sunday, May 31 and concludes on Saturday, June 6. It takes place at Camp Wood YMCA, southwest of Emporia.
Please keep them all in your prayers.
A note about those who might want to visit during MegaCamp
From Youth Missioner Karen Schlabach: We work very hard to develop a Christian community throughout the week at camp. We begin with clearly explaining the expectations. We then have activities and traditions to help the youth get to know one another and feel more comfortable with each other. As the week goes on, youth really start to bond and grow closer together. Our goal is to keep the focus on the youth and provide a healthy, safe, fun environment where spiritual growth can occur.
Visitors can be disruptive to that process and are thus discouraged. Additionally, the diocese must pay a daily use fee and a per meal fee for any visitors, which can start to add up. Parents are asked to visit only in the case of an emergency.
Clergy, youth ministers and adult volunteers who have a relationship with the current students and are familiar with the rules and procedures at diocesan youth events may drop by for a meal or one of the evening activities, if you wish to check-in with your students. Please let me know when you plan to visit.
All camp staff are trained to watch for unfamiliar faces on camp grounds, so it's much better if your visit can be announced in advance, so people know to expect you. All visitors must report to the office in Ritchie Lodge to check-in immediately upon arrival at camp.
Dogs or other pets are never allowed at camp, so please do not bring your animals with you when you visit, drop-off or pick-up students from camp. Sturdy, comfortable shoes are recommended.
Five to be ordained deacons in service on Saturday, June 13
On Saturday, June 13 at 10:30 a.m., five people will be ordained to the Sacred Order of Deacons at a service in Grace Cathedral, 701 SW 8th Ave., Topeka.
All members of the diocese are invited to attend. A reception will follow the service.
Those being ordained are Stevie Carter, St. Michael and All Angels, Mission; Diane Kruger, St. Stephen’s, Wichita; Doreen Rice, St. Aidan’s, Olathe; Rob Schwaller, Trinity, Lawrence; and Arland Wallace, St. John’s, Wichita.
Carter, Kruger, Schwaller and Wallace are called to the diaconate as their vocation. Rice will serve as a transitional deacon before her planned ordination as a priest.
Because this is one of two diocesan ordination services conducted each year, Bishop Wolfe has said he expects all active clergy 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. Please be in the cathedral’s lower level parish hall by 10 a.m.
EWARM seeks volunteers
The Episcopal; Wichita Area Refugee Ministry is looking for some volunteers for a variety of tasks:
· staff the front desk,
· pick up donations,
· set up apartments,
· mentor new refugee families, and
· assist with bookkeeping needs.
The agency is offering two information events for potential volunteers at their office, 401 North Emporia in Wichita:
· Tonight, May 28, at 6:30 p.m., and
· Saturday, May 30, at 10 a.m.
Those interested in finding out more should call the office at (316) 977-9276.
EWARM has been busy this year resettling refugees from Burma, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Eritrea. In the past six months they have welcomed almost 70 people to new lives of safety and freedom in the Wichita area. The agency is an affiliate of the Episcopal Migration Ministry.
Bigger Bible School is planned by Mission church
St. Michael and All Angels in Mission invites all those who are interested to join them for their Bigger Bible School, Sunday, July 12 through Wednesday, July 15, at the church, 6630 Nall Ave.
This year’s guest speaker will be the Rev. Fred Schmidt, whose book, The Dave Test, will be the basis for the program. Schmidt also will preach during worship services on July 12.
Children will enjoy Cokesbury’s “G-Force Adventure Park” during their Bigger Bible School sessions.
The cost to attend all sessions is $50 per adult, $75 per couple and $20 per child.
More information is on the St. Michael’s website at http://www.stmaa.net/?q=content/bigger-bible-school-2015, or contact the church office at (913) 236-8600.
Online registration is available at https://stmaa.formstack.com/forms/stmaa_bbs.
Diocesan Campus Ministry program seeks applicants for intern position
Are you, or do you know, a graduating college student passionate about a life of faith and looking to engage in a year of service, offering ministry to others and gaining leadership skills, before embarking on the next chapter of life?
If so, consider applying, or encouraging others to apply, to become a campus intern for the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas.
This service year begins Aug. 1, 2015, and has the potential to be a two-year internship.
Compensation includes a monthly stipend and lodging.
The internship offers the ministry opportunity to deepen one’s own faith and share formation, leadership and pastoral skills at the Canterbury House at the University of Kansas, working with local peer ministers. It also offers the participant space to explore more deeply their vocational discernment.
For more information regarding this opportunity please visit the Campus Ministry website, https://edokcampusministry.wordpress.com/campus-intern-application/, or contact Campus Missioner the Rev. Stephanie Jenkins at or (785) 766-7435.
Registration now is open for high school Girls Only Weekend
The Rev. Susan Terry, from Trinity, Lawrence, has been meeting with high school women over the past year to determine what they would like and need in an event especially for them. This retreat will focus on how we are made in God’s image, and that we all have important gifts.
When: Friday, July 10, 6:30 p.m. – Sunday, July 12, 11:30 a.m.
Where: Trinity, 1011 Vermont Street, Lawrence
Who: Young women currently in grades 9-12 (for the 2014-15 school year)
Fee: $50
Priority deadline: Tuesday, June 30 (fee increases $15 after this date)
Registration: https://edok.formstack.com/forms/girlsonly2015
Note: We will be going swimming, so bring a swim suit and a towel
Do you know a student heading off to college this fall? Please let us know.
The diocesan campus ministry program strives to reach out to Episcopal college students at the colleges and universities across our diocese – and we also do our best to connect students from this diocese who are attending college in another diocese with a correlating campus ministry program.
But, we need your help to do this.
If you know such a student, please go to https://edokcampusministry.wordpress.com/connect-a-college-student/ and fill in their information. It will only take a moment.
The contact information you share is confidential and will only be used for ministry purposes.
College students – consider serving as a campus ministry peer minister
Are you (or do you know) a full-time college student passionate about the life of faith, with demonstrated ministry leadership experience and seeking more of it? Are you passionate about deepening your own spiritual journey and serving others by sharing the love of Christ with those you meet? Then serving as a college peer minister with the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas might be a good fit for you.
As a peer minister, you will work collaboratively with parish leaders, as well as the campus missioner and interns, to design and lead program opportunities that highlightfaith formation, Christian community, discernment and leadership development in your campus community. At K-State and KU, there is the opportunity to live in-residence at the Canterbury House in exchange for the ministry you offer as a peer minister.
More information and an application are on the campus ministry website, https://edokcampusministry.wordpress.com/about-2/peer-ministry/
You also may contact Campus Missioner the Rev. Stephanie Jenkins at (785) 766-7435 or
Prayers are invited for use during General Convention
Thanks to the efforts of the Society of St. John the Evangelist, anyone can add prayers and images that will be used during the Prayers of the People at the Episcopal Church’s 78th General Convention, which takes place June 24 through July 3.
Each day during the Convention will have a theme, and prayers or images should reflect on that in some way.
Prayers in words or images may be submitted via Facebook, Twitter or Instagram. The hashtag for this effort is #prayersof.
Full information is on the project’s website, http://prayersofthepeople.org/.
DuBose Conference Center in Tennessee sponsors Bible Challenge event
“The Bible Challenge,” which helps people read the entire Bible over the course of a year, will be the subject of a conference set for June 10-12 at the DuBose Conference Center in Monteagle, Tenn., near the University of the South in Sewanee. It is sponsored by the Beecken Center of the School of Theology at the University.
The event will be led by the Rev. Marek Zabriskie, founder and director of the Center for Biblical Studies, http://thecenterforbiblicalstudies.org/about-us/.
The cost to attend is $435 per person, which includes lodging and meals.
More information and online registration are on the Beecken Center website, http://beeckencenter.sewanee.edu/events/bible-challenge?utm_source=The+Beecken+Center+Mailing+List&utm_campaign=3df6c93504-The_Bible_Challenge_May_Mailer5_18_2015&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e4491b2d1a-3df6c93504-187822945
Registration now is open for Topeka Community Conversation on Poverty
Registration now is open for the second annual Topeka Community Conversation on Poverty, which will take place at the Washburn University Memorial Union on June 16, from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Organized by the AmeriCorps VISTA office at the Washburn’s Center for Community and Civic Engagement and by a group of committed Topeka residents, the event will celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the VISTA program.
This will be a day-long un-conference session. Throughout the day, participants will share ideas, get ideas and have meaningful conversation that can help move the greater Topeka community forward in its efforts to alleviate poverty.
Last year’s conversation brought together more than 150 people and identified more than 20 priorities.
Registration is free to those who have financial need and $20 for all others. Register online at http://www.washburn.edu/about/community/learning/TCCOP/index.html. Lunch will be provided for all participants. Individuals also can donate scholarships from this link.
For more information, contact Judy Nickelson at (785) 670-2286 or email .
Anniversaries of ordinations
Congratulations go to these people as they celebrate the anniversaries of their ordination in the next two weeks:
May 29: The Rev. Jon Hullinger, St. James’, Wichita (16 years)
June 1: The Rev. Art Rathbun, St. Mark’s, Blue Rapids and St. Paul’s, Marysville (51 years); the Very Rev. Rob Baldwin, Trinity, Lawrence (13 years)
June 2: Deacon Peg Flynn, St. James’, Wichita (3 years); Deacon Sandy Horton-Smith, St. Paul’s, Manhattan (3 years); Deacon Rex Matney, Covenant, Junction City (3 years)
June 3: Deacon Jesse Milan, retired (9 years); Deacon Steve Segebrecht, Trinity, Lawrence (9 years)
June 5: The Rev. Kathi Babcock, non-parochial (5 years); the Rev. Sue Oldfather, non-parochial (5 years)
June 6: The Rev. Shawn Streepy, St. Aidan’s, Olathe (6 years); Bishop Dean Wolfe, to the priesthood (22 years)
June 7: The Rev. Ted Blakley, St. John’s, Wichita (1 year)
June 8: The Rev. Machrina Blasdell, licensed, St. Paul’s, Leavenworth (30 years)
June 9: The Rev. Michael Munro, St. Paul’s, Leavenworth (31 years); the Rev. George Pejakovich, ELCA pastor, Grace Cathedral, Topeka (37 years)
June 11: The Rev. Curtis Cowell, retired (45 years); Deacon David Butler, Epiphany, Independence and Ascension, Neodesha (10 years); Deacon Bob Honse, St. Margaret’s, Lawrence (10 years); Deacon Allen Ohlstein, St. Paul’s, Leavenworth (10 years); Deacon Oliver Bunker, St. Timothy’s, Iola (4 years); Deacon Beth Drumm, retired (4 years)
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