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Standing Committee announces members of
Transition Committee as bishop search process continues
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The newly formed Transition Committee was given its charge from the Standing Committee while gathered on Jan. 5 at the Church of the Redeemer in Chestnut Hill.
Members, pictured from left, are: Beth Grundy, James Dilday (Standing Committee), James Hairston, Walter Connelly (Standing Committee), Natasha Stewart, Kate Paradise, Brett Johnson, Kourtni Patten, Cynthia Pape, Clifford Brown, Leon Brathwaite, Marya DeCarlen, Betsy Ridge and Michael Thompson, with the Standing Committee's president, Karen Coleman, and vice president, Grace Knowles. Courtesy photo
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As an update on the bishop search and election process that is underway in the Diocese of Massachusetts, the diocesan Standing Committee has announced the membership of the Transition Committee.
The Transition Committee will be responsible for a week of “meet and greets” in early May with the final nominees for election as bishop; coordinating with diocesan staff and others to implement the special electing convention on May 18; providing transition support and logistics for the bishop-elect and their family; arranging a thanksgiving celebration for the ministry of Bishop Alan Gates; and working collaboratively with the Consecration Committee, as well as churchwide and diocesan staff, in the planning and implementation of the Oct. 19 consecration of the new bishop.
Both the May 18 electing convention and the Oct. 19 consecration service are scheduled to take place at Trinity Church in Boston.
Transition Committee members are:
- Leon Brathwaite, Grace Church, Vineyard Haven
- The Rev. Clifford Brown, Christ Church, Quincy
- The Rev. Marya DeCarlen, St. John’s Church, Gloucester
- The Rev. James Hairston, Church of St. Augustine and St. Martin, Boston
- The Rev. Cynthia Pape, St. John’s Church, Jamacia Plain
- Kate Paradise, Church of the Holy Spirit, Orleans
- Kourtni Patten, Grace Church, Salem
- The Rev. Natasha Stewart, St. Luke’s Church, Scituate
- The Rev. Michael Thompson, St. John’s Church, Newtonville
“We are blessed to have these individuals committing their time to the Transition Committee,” the Rev. Dr. Karen Coleman, Standing Committee President, and Grace Knowles, Standing Committee Vice President, said in making the announcement.
The Transition Committee co-chairs, announced in October, are Betsy Ridge of the Church of the Advent in Boston, the Rev. Elizabeth Grundy of St. Peter’s Church in Osterville and the Rev. Brett Johnson of Emmanuel Church in Wakefield. The Rev. Michael Dangelo of the Church of the Redeemer in Chestnut Hill will chair the still-to-be-appointed Consecration Committee.
Visit www.diomass.org/bishop-search for information and updates.
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"What is the role of a bishop?": The second of two online education opportunities hosted by the Nominating Committee will be offered on Wednesday, Jan. 24 at 7 p.m., and will focus on "What is the role of a bishop?" Register here to receive the Zoom link. A recording of the first session, "Diocesan Profile Overview," is available here.
The application period for potential nominees for election as the diocese's next bishop closed on Jan. 13. The Nominating Committee now begins the work of vetting applications and discernment toward presenting a final slate of nominees to the Standing Committee.
Questions may be directed to the Nominating Committee at
co-chairs@mabishopsearch.org. Visit www.diomass.org/bishop-search for more information and updates as they become available.
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Apply by Jan. 31 to be considered for appointment to the newly forming Reparations Fund Committee | |
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Applications are being accepted until Wednesday, Jan. 31 from members of the diocese seeking appointment to the newly forming Reparations Fund Committee.
In October Diocesan Convention approved a resolution from the Racial Justice Commission establishing a set of guiding principles for the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts Reparations Fund, and calling for the creation of a committee to oversee the fund's investments and activities. At its December meeting the Diocesan Council authorized Bishop Alan Gates to establish the Reparations Fund Committee to steward and oversee the assets of the fund and its mission to make financial reparations for slavery on behalf of the diocese.
As of Dec. 31, 2023, the fund's assets were calculated at nearly $1.8 million, with the long-term goal, set by the 2022 Diocesan Convention, of reaching $11 million.
The Reparations Fund Committee's primary duty will be to carry out the convention's stated mission for the fund, "to help repair the breach of systemic racism in the life of our diocese, region and nation, by resourcing Black communities to flourish in myriad ways," in a manner consistent with the fund's guiding principles. To do this the Fund Committee will be an active, working committee which will prioritize relationship building with African American and Afro Caribbean communities and organizations committed to serving these communities in this region.
The Reparations Fund Committee will comprise 11 clergy and lay members, a majority of whom will identify as African American or Afro Caribbean, and will have the authority to discern, oversee, direct and report on all reparations payments, disbursements, investments and other financial transactions to further the fund’s mission.
Applicants should be lay members in good standing of a congregation in the diocese or clergy who are canonically resident or licensed to serve in the diocese.
The online application form is available here until Jan. 31 for those who would like to be considered for appointment to the Fund Committee. Find more information, including skills being sought in committee members, here. It is anticipated that committee appointments will be made in late winter, with work to begin in April.
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Documentary inspired by presiding bishop's teachings on love premieres on Jan. 23 [Episcopal News Service]: A feature-length documentary inspired by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry's message of unselfish love is headed for a nationwide theatrical release on Jan. 23.
The film, "A Case for Love," the project of a nonprofit movie company led by Episcopalians, is expected to appear in at least 1,000 theaters for the one-day initial release, and more dates could be added if large numbers of moviegoers turn out for the premiere. The nonprofit, Grace-Based Films, also hopes to generate interest from streaming services.
The new film is structured as seven chapters featuring 14 individual stories of people from a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. Between each chapter, the filmmakers include clips from some of their "people on the street" interviews, as well as some well-known public figures in politics, the arts and religion, such as Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, actor Sam Waterston and the Rev. Kelly Brown Douglas, canon theologian of Washington National Cathedral and interim president of Episcopal Divinity School. Though some church leaders are interviewed, the target audience extends beyond churchgoers. Read more.
Within the Diocese of Massachusetts: Listed participating theaters include AMC Theatres in Framingham and Methuen, Regal Cinemas in Kingston and Marlborough and Showcase Cinemas in Foxborough, Hanover, Lowell, Randolph and Woburn.
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Presiding Bishop Curry continues recovery at home [Episcopal News Service]: Presiding Bishop Michael Curry is continuing his recovery at home under the supervision of his doctors, according to a Jan. 11 Office of Public Affairs press release, following surgery on Jan. 6 to treat a reoccurrence of the subdural hematoma, or brain bleed, he experienced in early December. Read more here.
Continuing prayers for his recovery and healing are invited.
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Episcopal BIPOC community gathers for Epiphany dinner: The diocesan Racial Justice Commission's Subcommittee on Support for BIPOC Communities and Individuals hosted a Jan. 10 dinner at St. Peter's Church in Cambridge. "We came from over 10 congregations throughout our diocese on a cold night," the Rev. Jennifer Beal of St. Anne's Church in North Billerica reported by e-mail. She co-chairs the subcommittee with Jay Matos of Grace Church in Lawrence.
"Over 20 persons of color were hosted by part of the Racial Justice Commission for dinner and conversation about our joys, challenges and hopes for ministry in our contexts," Beal said. "Our spirits were fed as well as our bodies by being together and talking freely. Coming together in person during the past few years has built trust that encourages our speaking truthfully. We found support by hearing our similarities in all three categories. Every table group asked for more such dinner and conversation evenings. God’s Spirit was obvious and joyful for all," she said.
Members of the diocese's BIPOC community who would like to be added to an e-mail list for notification of future gatherings are invited to contact the Rev. Canon Jean Baptiste Ntagengwa, Canon for Immigration and Multicultural Ministries, at jbntagengwa@diomass.org. Photo: The Rev. Derrick Muwina
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Upcoming online book discussions open to all: Three upcoming book discussions, all convened online via Zoom, are open to all:
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Thursday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m.: The General's Son: Journey of an Israeli in Palestine by Miko Peled, organized as part of the resources featured in the bishops' Advent 2023 letter on response to war between Israel and Hamas (sign-up information here);
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Thursday, Feb. 22 at 7 p.m.: A Child of Apartheid: A Memoir of a Colored Capetonian, a discussion with the author, the Rev. Noble Scheepers, a priest of the Diocese of Massachusetts currently serving at St. Cyprian's Church in Roxbury (find more information and register for the Zoom link here); and
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Wednesday, March 13 at 7 p.m.: Lit by Lightning: The Life of Jim Thorpe by David Maraniss, part of an ongoing series offered by the New England Episcopal dioceses' Province I Indigenous Peoples’ Justice Network (register here).
“I’ve been so pleased by the breadth and depth of conversations we’ve had in the book discussions we’ve hosted. Not only have our discussions informed, inspired and even challenged us, but they have the potential to deepen our faith journeys, as individuals, in our congregations and in the diocese as a whole," Martha Gardner, Missioner for Networking and Formation, said. Questions about these offerings may be directed to her at mgardner@diomass.org.
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Portrait in oil, 2002, by Simmie Knox / Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts
The Rt. Rev. Barbara C. Harris
June 12, 1930-March 13, 2020
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Bishop Barbara C. Harris's historic consecration to be commemorated on Feb. 11: On Sunday, Feb. 11 at 5 p.m., All Saints Parish in Brookline will offer Choral Evensong commemorating the 1989 consecration of the late Rt. Rev. Barbara C. Harris--the worldwide Anglican Communion's first female bishop and bishop suffragan in the Diocese of Massachusetts from 1989 to 2002.
The Episcopal Church's 2022 General Convention moved to include Harris's historic 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.
Byron Rushing will be the guest preacher at the Feb. 11 service in Brookline, to also feature music by Kerensa Briggs, Moses Hogan and Zanaida Stewart Robles. A light reception will follow. All are welcome.
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A calendar change to note: The Feb. 11 Absalom Jones Service has been rescheduled for Sunday, April 7 at 4 p.m. at St. Cyprian's Church in Roxbury. Bishop Alan M. Gates will preside, and the Rev. James Hairston of the Church of St. Augustine and St. Martin in Boston will preach. All are welcome. Questions about this rescheduled service may be directed to the Rev. Canon Dr. Jean Baptiste Ntagengwa, Canon for Immigration and Multicultural Ministries, at jbntagengwa@diomass.org. | |
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80th anniversary celebration to honor first Anglican woman priest: On Jan. 25, the Anglican Communion marks the 80th anniversary of the ordination of its first woman priest, the Rev. Florence Li Tim-Oi. A celebration service will be held at St. Martin-in-the-Fields in London on that day.
The Rev. Florence Li Tim-Oi was ordained a deacon in 1941 after hearing the call to ministry 10 years earlier at the ordination of a deaconess in Hong Kong Cathedral. Li Tim-Oi was given charge of the Anglican congregation in the Portuguese colony of Macau to which, at the time, refugees were fleeing from China. She was ordained a priest on Jan. 25, 1944.
Mandy Marshall, Anglican Communion director of gender justice and a member of the celebration planning committee, said in a news release, “The Rev. Florence Li Tim-Oi remains an inspiration and a hope to women around the Anglican Communion.
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The Rev. Florence Li Tim-Oi with Barbara C. Harris at the Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops in the summer of 1988, where women's ordination to the priesthood was a major topic of discussion. Harris would be elected the Anglican Communion's first female bishop that September.
File photo: Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts
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"As the first female priest in an Anglican church, the Rev. Li Tim-Oi faced many challenges to her ministry and yet she persisted. She is a figure of hope to those women who are called by God to serve and yearn to be ordained and yet remain frustrated by differing theological beliefs on the ordination of women.” | |
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Local churches host upcoming screenings of "The Philadelphia Eleven" : Two local screenings hosted by Episcopal churches are coming up for "The Philadelphia Eleven"—the documentary film by Margo Guernsey and Nikki Bramley that tells the story of the unauthorized ordination of 11 women as Episcopal priests in 1974. The film won the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature when it had its New England premiere at the GlobeDocs Film Festival in October. The film debuted just ahead of this year's 50th anniversary of the historic ordinations.
"As we begin the new year, we have been reflecting on how audiences have inspired us. One message that has been loud and clear is how the ordination of women as priests was always about the liberation of all people," the filmmakers wrote in a recent newsletter promoting the film.
The Parish of the Epiphany in Winchester will host a screening on Sunday, Jan. 21 at 6:30 p.m. Then on Sunday, Feb. 25 at 2 p.m., All Saints Parish in Brookline and the Charles River Deanery will host a screening at the Coolidge Corner Theatre in Brookline, followed by discussion with filmmakers and others linked to the historic event; visit All Saints' event webpage for ticket information. Screen image from "The Philadelphia Eleven"
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Looking to Lent:
Early word of opportunities for keeping a holy Lent in community
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"Wild Tea with Jesus" Day Retreat on Saturday, March 16: Join Linden Rayton of Living Water Nature Programs on a day retreat at the Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center, where participants will get to forage wild ingredients on the property for a tea-making ritual, creating an atmosphere for digging deep into two separate stories of Jesus staying close with God in his last days. Find more details and a registration link here. | |
"Praying Our Way Through Lent": Alewife Deanery congregations are collaborating to offer an online series on five Mondays at 7:30 p.m., starting on Feb. 19, with each session exploring a different prayer practice: "We hope this will help all of us be present with God and one another during this holy season of preparation." Find details on All Saints' Church in Belmont's Facebook page, here. | |
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This year's Lenten Preaching Series at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston invites "Preparing for the Great Uprising that is Easter: A Word to the Church from Younger Leaders," on Tuesdays in Lent at 5:15 p.m., starting on Feb. 20. The series will feature sermons from preachers in their 20s and 30s offered within a service of Evening Prayer, followed by a soup supper and conversation. The services will also be livestreamed. Find the schedule here.
Episcopal Church resources for the Lenten season are collected here.
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Ministry Discernment Conference offered on Feb. 3 for those considering ordination: Registration is open for the 2024 Ministry Discernment Conference offered by the bishops and the Commission on Ministry, to be held online on Saturday, Feb. 3 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
This online conference will provide an in-depth look at the 2024 edition of the Ministry Discernment Handbook and give potential inquirers an opportunity to learn about the ordination process in the Diocese of Massachusetts as they consider whether their call is to ordained ministry. Any person considering applying for admission to the ordination process in 2024 should attend the conference, along with a sponsoring priest and at least one member of the congregation’s discernment committee.
Pre-registration online is required by Feb. 1. Find more information and registration here.
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Episcopal network offers ways to join the Poor People's Campaign in Massachusetts: The Massachusetts Episcopal Network for the Poor People's Campaign (MAPPCEN) invites people from across the diocese to join in living into the 2022 Diocesan Convention resolution "Engage With and Support the Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival." There are many ways to be involved with the Massachusetts Poor People's Campaign and the MAPPCEN. To learn more, join a conversation hosted by the network on Monday, Jan. 29 at 7 p.m.; register here. E-mail MAPPCEN@gmail.com for more information and to be put on its mailing list.
In February, the Poor People's Campaign (PPC) will be kicking off 40 weeks of action leading into the 2024 elections. On Saturday, March 2, it will host simultaneous marches and rallies at state houses across the country, including one in Boston. Exact times are being finalized; the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in Boston will provide hospitality before and after that gathering. The MAPPCEN encourages people from across the diocese to stand with the Massachusetts Poor People's Campaign and partner groups from across the state on March 2 to demand an end to the devastating effects of poverty and other injustices.
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Grace Church in Vineyard Haven is back to cooking up its weekly winter community suppers. The hot meals are available as takeout for curbside pickup on Fridays now through March. To request meals, members of the community need only contact the church by 4 p.m. on Thursdays so that volunteers know how many meals to prepare. The pre-ordered meals can then be picked up at the church between 5 and 5:30 p.m. on Fridays. | |
Chocolatiers at St. Anne's Church in Lowell are busy preparing nearly every kind of chocolate treat imaginable--including chocolate-dipped biscotti, chocolate-dipped wafers, chocolate potato chip clusters and chocolate-covered crispy rice lollipops, to name a few. The church's annual Chocolate Festival will take place under a big tent in the front yard on Saturday, Feb. 17 from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., part of Lowell's Winterfest weekend. The festival's popular soup competition will also take place at the church. Says the church's event publicity: "Two great events in one churchyard and everything else happening across the street. What's not to like!" | |
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Jan 17: Lay Eucharistic Visitor Training, via Zoom, 6:30pm
Jan 18: Book Discussion: The General's Son by Miko Peled, via Zoom, 7:00pm
Jan 19-20: Diocesan Council Retreat, Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center, Greenfield, N.H.
Jan 21: Bishop Gates visits St. Mary's Church in Newton Lower Falls
Jan 21: Bishop Gallagher visits St. Stephen's Church in Boston
Jan 24: Bishop Search Education Session: "What is the Role of a Bishop?" via Zoom, 7:00pm
Jan 27: Kids in Community Benefit Concert with Don White, St. Stephen's Memorial Church, Lynn, 7:30pm
Jan 28: Bishop Gates visits St. Paul's Church in Hopkinton
Jan 28: Bishop Gallagher visits St. Luke's-San Lucas in Chelsea
Jan 29: Massachusetts Episcopal Network for the Poor People’s Campaign Info Gathering, via Zoom, 7:00pm
Feb 3: 2024 Ministry Discernment Conference, via Zoom, 9:00am
Feb 4: Bishop Gates visits St. Andrew's Church in Methuen
Feb 6-8: Massachusetts Pre-Lenten Clergy Retreat, Barbara C. Harris Camp and Conference Center, Greenfield, N.H.
Feb 7: Clergy Professional Development Day, Church of the Redeemer, Chestnut Hill
Feb 8: Installation of The Rev. Dr. Matthew Cadwell at Old North Church, Boston, 6:00pm
Feb 10: Confirmation Service: Concord River Deanery, Church of the Good Shepherd, Acton, 10:30am
Feb 10: Ordination to the Priesthood: The Rev. Maxwell Sklar, St. Peter's-San Pedro Church, Salem, 10:30am
Feb 11: Bishop Gallagher visits Trinity Chapel in Shirley
Feb 11: Bishop Gates visits St. Gabriel's Church in Marion
Feb 11: Choral Evensong Commemorating Barbara C. Harris, All Saints Church, Brookline, 5:00pm
Feb 14: Ash Wednesday Services at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston, 9:00am and 5:00pm
Feb 15: Diocesan Council Meeting, via Zoom, 6:00pm
Feb 18: Bishop Gates visits Grace Church in Norwood
Feb 20: Preaching Climate Justice in Lent, via Zoom, 10:00am
Feb 20: Lenten Preaching Series: "A Word to the Church from Younger Leaders": Phoebe Chatfield, preaching, Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston, in person and livestream, 5:15pm
Feb 22: Book Discussion: "A Child of Apartheid" with 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 27: Lenten Preaching Series: "A Word to the Church from Younger Leaders": Leo Biocchi preaching, Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston, in person and livestream, 5:15pm
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