February 2024

Invitation to a holy Lent:

Episcopal campus ministries in the Diocese of Massachusetts extended Ash Wednesday's invitation to a holy Lent through moments of holy pause and connection with students on the go. Pictured: Bishop Alan Gates at Boston University (above), and the Rev. Scott Ciosek and the Episcopal Campus Ministry at UMass-Dartmouth.

Photos: David Rider

New collaborative devotional program offered jointly in dioceses of Vermont and Massachusetts

Click the image above

to access the devotional.

Lent is the traditional season of preparation to receive new members into the church through Baptism at the Easter Vigil. It is both a personal journey and a collaborative endeavor: as we are baptized into Christ, we are baptized into each other. 

This year, a joint Lenten devotional is being offered in the dioceses of Vermont and Massachusetts on the theme of "Baptism and Collaboration in the Body of Christ." The devotional features lay, ordained and monastic voices reflecting on the daily Scripture of the season and baptismal covenant questions: 

• Will you continue in the apostles' teaching and fellowship in the breaking of the bread and in the prayers? 
• Will you persevere in resisting evil, and whenever you fall into sin, repent and return to the Lord? 

• Will you proclaim by word and example the Good News of God in Jesus Christ?
• Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?
• Will you strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being?
• Will you cherish the wondrous works of God, and protect and restore the beauty and integrity of all creation?

Alongside the devotional, online worship and conversation gatherings guided by each week’s baptismal vow are being held on Thursday evenings, Feb. 22 and 29, March 7, 14 and 21, and April 4, from 5:45 to 7:45 p.m., via the Green Mountain Online Abbey of the Diocese of Vermont. All are welcome. RSVPs to the Rev. adwoa Wilson are appreciated: awilson@diovermont.org.

The Lenten Preaching Series underway at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston features messages from preachers in their 20s and 30s. "Preparing for the Great Uprising that is Easter: A Word to the Church from Younger Leaders" is offered on Tuesdays in Lent at 5:15 p.m. The schedule is here.

"In this time for rapid change and uncertainty for the church and the world, and in a year when this diocese is preparing to elect its next bishop, how do we chart a hopeful path into the future, following Jesus? This Lent's preaching series offers occasion to open ears and hearts to receive a message from preachers in their 20s and 30s," the cathedral's publicity explains.

The sermons are offered within a service of Evening Prayer and followed by a soup supper and conversation with the preacher. Join in person at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, 138 Tremont Street in Boston, or by livestream via www.stpaulboston.org or the cathedral's YouTube channel.

"Better than we knew": Feb. 11 Choral Evensong commemorates historic consecration of Bishop Barbara C. Harris

Left: The Choir of All Saints Parish, Brookline, directed by Dr. Stephan Griffin. Right: Guest preacher Byron Rushing: In electing Barbara Harris its bishop suffragan in 1988, "The Diocese of Massachusetts voted better than we knew." Photos: David Rider

All Saints Parish in Brookline hosted Choral Evensong on Sunday, Feb. 11, commemorating the historic consecration on that date in 1989 of the Rt. Rev. Barbara C. Harris (1930-2020) as the first woman to be ordained a bishop in the worldwide Anglican Communion. 

"'I will sing to my God a new song'--what an appropriate reading for any gathering that celebrates, thinks about, wants to still argue with Barbara Harris!" guest preacher Byron Rushing said of the evening's opening Scripture lesson from Judith. "Singing was Barbara's prayer."

The Episcopal Church's 2022 General Convention moved to include Harris's 1989 consecration in Lesser Feasts and Fasts, with a commemoration of her life to be developed for possible future inclusion in the church's calendar.

In his sermon, Rushing--a civil rights leader, historian, retired state legislator and former president of the Episcopal Church General Convention's House of Deputies--recounted first meeting Harris in the late 1950s as activists were beginning to organize and engage against racial segregation still prevalent in The Episcopal Church and its institutions.

He recited verses from "Lift Every Voice and Sing," the song written in 1900 by brothers James Weldon Johnson and John Rosamond Johnson for a school assembly featuring orator Booker T. Washington; it came to feature prominently in the Civil Rights Movement and has come to be known as "the Black national anthem." The brothers later realized, Rushing said, that, as they heard their hymn being sung back to them around the country as the years went by, "they had written better than they knew." Similarly, in electing Barbara Harris its bishop suffragan in 1988, Rushing said, "The Diocese of Massachusetts voted better than we knew."

Rushing also recalled the 1989 consecration sermon preached by the Rev. Paul Washington, Harris's mentor at the Church of the Advocate in Philadelphia, whose message was, Rushing said, "'Stand up. Become what God wants you to be.'" 

"We know how to do it," Rushing said, citing examples of demonstrated support for marginalized groups and other "firsts" in the church. "So the issue becomes for us: Why not all the time be doing it? Why not all the time be singing? Why not all the time?"

A recording of the service livestream is available here.

Priests newly ordained: The diocesan community's prayers and congratulations are with its newly ordained priests. They are: Above, clockwise from top left: The Rev. Kevin Vetiac, pictured with family, at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston on Dec. 9; The Rev. Lisa Faber Ginggen, with Bishop Alan Gates, at St. James's Church in Groveland on Dec. 16; The Rev. Paul Keene at Christ Church in Short Hills, N.J., with Bishop Carlye Hughes of the Diocese of Newark, on Dec. 16; and The Rev. Michael Thompson, with Bishop Carol Gallagher, at St. John's Church in Newtonville on Dec. 16.

Below, clockwise from top left: The Rev. Keith Nelson, SSJE (center left), with Deacon Daphne Noyes (far left), Bishop Gates and The Rev. James Koester, SSJE, Superior, at the Society of St. John the Evangelist Monastery in Cambridge on Dec. 19; The Rev. Maxwell Sklar (center front) at St. Peter's-San Pedro Church in Salem on Feb. 10; The Rev. Joshua Padraig (Paddy) Cavanaugh, with family and colleagues, at All Saints Church in Richmond, Va., on Jan. 6; and The Rev. Eva Ortez, with Bishop Gallagher and colleagues, at St. Stephen's Church in Boston on Jan. 13. Courtesy photos

Massachusetts Episcopalians invited to join campaign to bring demands of the poor to lawmakers on March 2: The Poor People’s Campaign will be holding coordinated assemblies at capital state houses in more than 30 states, including Boston, on Saturday, March 2 at 11 a.m., and Massachusetts Episcopalians are invited to make their voices heard.

All are welcome to join the rally on March 2, which aims to bring the demands of poor and low-wealth people for living wages, healthcare, housing, education, environmental justice and voting rights directly to lawmakers. The Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston will serve as a welcoming and warming place before and after the assembly.

Event details and registration can be found here.

The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival is a faith-based movement to end the interrelated injustices separating people from achieving justice and mercy for all of humanity and creation.

Bishop Alan Gates and Dean Amy McCreath of the Cathedral Church of St. Paul were among faith leaders at a Feb. 20 State House press conference bringing attention to Poor People's Campaign.

Watch a video clip here. Photo: Kris Wile

"We resolved at our 2022 Diocesan Convention to support and stand with the movement. Now we have the opportunity to show our public support and literally stand with the movement," a letter from Bishop Alan Gates and Bishop Carol Gallagher commending the event said.

The Massachusetts Episcopal Network for the Poor People’s Campaign (MAPPC@gmail.com), which is working to connect local Episcopalians to the Poor People’s Campaign movement and to foster a supportive community among those doing justice work in the Dioceses of Massachusetts, can provide more information on the many ways to join the campaign.

New destination announced for March 7 pilgrimage: All are welcome to join the bishops in making a day "pilgrimage" to the Pocasset Wampanoag Reservation on Thursday, March 7, organized by the Ministry of Immigration Partnership convened by the diocesan Office of Immigration and Multicultural Ministries.

The group will meet up at St. Peter's Church in Dartmouth and depart at 10 a.m. by bus together to the Pocasset Wampanoag Land, incorporated within the Freetown-Fall River State Forest, to walk their paths and engage in conversation. Then the group will return to St. Peter’s for lunch, reflection and worship. Find more details, including optional transportation to Dartmouth, and register here.

This pilgrimage (originally scheduled for the Pequot Museum and Plymouth) follows in the stead of a 2019 outing to Providence, R.I., for the Walking Tour of Slavery and a visit to the John Brown House Museum.

Noted environmental leaders to join Earth Day celebration on April 20: The Creation Care Justice Network is inviting everyone to save Saturday, April 20 to join for an Earth Day celebration hosted by St. Mark's Church in Southborough. It's being organized as a day of fellowship, learning and celebration to the mark the conclusion of the pilot phase of "An Episcopal Path to Creation Justice," a new initiative from the dioceses of Massachusetts and Western Massachusetts to equip churches for the deep and broad work in creation care. The next step on the path for the "Path" will be open enrollment for interested congregations around New England. 

The Earth Day celebration will feature presentations by Mary Evelyn Tucker, co-founder and co-director of the Yale Forum on Religion and Ecology, and, joining virtually, environmentalist and 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben and Braiding Sweetgrass author Robin Wall-Kimmerer. The day will conclude with a celebratory Eucharist officiated by Bishop Carol Gallagher. Registration is open, here.

Registration is open for family and youth summer camps at the Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center in Greenfield, N.H.: Families of all configurations can enjoy an extra-long weekend of activities, worship and family-oriented fellowship during the June 29-July 2 Family Camp session. The summer schedule also includes four week-long youth Overnight Camp sessions, running from July 7 through Aug. 2, for those completing 3rd through 12th grades.

There is an early-bird discount of $150 through March 1. Part of the mission at the Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center is that no child or family be unable to participate in camp due to financial need; camperships are available for those who need them. For details and registration, visit bchcenter.org/bchcamp.

Hiring of summer camp staff is also underway: Counselors, lifeguards, nurses, adult volunteers--all positions are available and applications are invited to come spend the summer (or just a week) at camp. Apply here.

WGBH News: Churches join the "village effort" to help migrant families in Massachusetts: As state and local officials grapple with supporting migrant families in more official settings like the state emergency shelter system and overflow sites, they’re also leaning on faith groups and residents to lend a helping hand.

One of those churches is the Church of Our Saviour in Milton. They’ve partnered with the Immigrant Family Services Institute to serve up to 30 people daily.

“[We] opened our doors to welcome migrant families during the day,” said the Rev. Rachael Pettengill-Rasure. “IFSI brings them over to the church in the morning and they spend time at the church. The children play, the adults cook lunch, and they rest.” Read more.

Vineyard Gazette: Community suppers continue to fill a growing need: St. Andrew's Church in Edgartown and Grace Church in Vineyard Haven are among the churches offering local community supper programs: "As the Island’s cost of living continues to rise, local community supper programs are seeing an increase in residents looking for relief, with demand for food at an all-time high this year. 

"Run by volunteers at many of the Vineyard’s churches, community suppers began years ago as free sit-down dinners open to all in the winter months. The churches worked together to create an alternating schedule so that seven days a week someone could find a free meal during the off-season, along with a respite from the isolation of a Vineyard winter." Read more.

The Living Church: Telling the story of our first deaconesses: A healthy dose of curiosity and a love of research has led a deacon to uncover information that revises accepted Episcopal Church history.

Prompted by her dedication to the diaconate, the Rev. Daphne B. Noyes, deacon at the Church of the Advent in Boston, researched the life and ministry of Adeline Blanchard Tyler — Civil War nurse, teacher and one of the four original deaconesses in the Episcopal Church. Read more.

Community Advocate: Southborough church completes clock tower project: For the first time in nearly two years, there are no scaffolds covering the front of St. Mark’s Church on Route 30.

Work was recently completed to repair and restore the masonry at the Southborough church’s bell and clock tower.

“The bell and clock tower will continue to serve as a prominent and highly recognizable feature of the historic town center and part of the cultural landscape for future generations,” according to a press release issued by the church.

The church was built in the early 1860s by local businessman Joseph Burnett; the bell and clock tower was added in 1891 and gifted to the church by Charles F. Choate. Burnett also founded St. Mark’s School. Read more.

Boston Sun: Children’s Services of Roxbury founders receive Drum Major Award: Children’s Services of Roxbury (CSR) founders the Rev. Richard Richardson and Jestina Richardson received the Drum Major Award at the 54th Annual Martin Luther King Memorial Breakfast on Jan. 15 for their extraordinary contributions to justice, diversity and inclusion efforts in Boston. The Richardsons established CSR 50 years ago with the goal of providing resources that increase the social and economic health of families and children of color, and the organization has grown to be one of the largest Black-run nonprofits in Massachusetts. 

The longest-running celebration of its kind in the United States, the Boston MLK Breakfast is co-hosted annually by St. Cyprian’s Episcopal Church and Union United Methodist Church. Read more. 

Feb 22: Book Discussion: "A Child of Apartheid" with the author, The Rev. Noble Scheepers, via Zoom, 7:00pm

Feb 25: Bishop Gallagher visits St. James's Church in Cambridge

Feb 25: Bishop Gates visits Christ Church in Plymouth

Feb 25: The Philadelphia Eleven Screening and Panel Discussion, Sponsored by All Saints Parish, Brookline and the Charles River Deanery, at the Coolidge Corner Theatre, Brookline, 2:00pm

Feb 27: Lenten Preaching Series: "A Word to the Church from Younger Leaders," Leo Biocchi preaching, Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston, 5:15pm

Mar 2: Massachusetts Poor People's Campaign State House Assembly, 11:00am, with hospitality before and after at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston

Mar 3: Smyth "Mass in D" Premiere, Emmanuel Church, Boston, 4:00pm

Mar 4: Clergy Professional Development Day, St. Gabriel's Church, Marion

Mar 5: Lenten Preaching Series: "A Word to the Church from Younger Leaders," Margaret Walker preaching, Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston, 5:15pm

Mar 7: Pilgrimage to Pocasset Wampanoag Reservation, beginning at St. Peter's Church, Dartmouth, 10:00am



Mar 8-9: Pre-Confirmation Retreat, Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center, Greenfield, N.H.

Mar 10: Bishop Gates visits Trinity Church in Randolph

Mar 10: Bishop Gallagher visits Grace Church in Lawrence

Mar 12: Lenten Preaching Series: "A Word to the Church from Younger Leaders," Alden Fossett preaching, Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston, 5:15pm

Mar 12: Clergy Professional Development Day: Safe Church Review Session via Zoom



Mar 13: Clergy Professional Development Day: Part I Workshop via Zoom

Mar 13: Dinner and Philadelphia Eleven Screening, Trinity Church, Boston, 6:15pm

Mar 13: Province I Indigenous Peoples' Justice Network Book Discussion, via Zoom, 7:00pm

Mar 16: Wild Tea with Jesus Day Retreat, Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center, Greenfield, N.H., 9:00am

Mar 16: Pre-Confirmation Retreat, Grace Church, Newton, 11:00am

Mar 17: Bishop Gallagher visits St. Peter's Church in Weston

Mar 17: Bishop Gates visits St. Andrew's Church in Wellesley

Mar 19: Lenten Preaching Series: "A Word to the Church from Younger Leaders," Sarah Neumann preaching, Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston, 5:15pm

Mar 20: Province I Book Discussion: "The General's Son," via Zoom, 7:00pm

Mar 21: Diocesan Council Meeting, via Zoom, 6:00pm

Mar 23: Lenten Quiet Day, All Saints Parish, Brookline, 9:00am

Mar 24: Bishop Gates visits St. Barnabas's Church in Falmouth

Mar 26: Holy Tuesday Services for Renewal of Ordination Vows and Blessing of Chrism, Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston, 12:00pm and 6:00pm

Mar 28: Maundy Thursday at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston, 6:00pm

Mar 29: Good Friday at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston, Services at 12:00pm and 7:00pm

Mar 30: Holy Saturday "Service of Uncertainty," Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston, 10:ooam

Mar 30: Easter Vigil Celebration of the Resurrection with Confirmations (All Deaneries), Bishop Gates presiding. Organized by The Crossing, Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston, 7:00pm

Mar 31: Easter Day Festive Mass of the Resurrection, Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston, 10:00am