Leadership News May 25, 2022
Welcome to the Diocese of Chicago leadership email newsletter. Please forward this email to vestry members and other leaders in your congregations and ministries and invite them to sign up.
|
|
Dear People of God in the Diocese of Chicago:
The words of the prophet Jeremiah come to mind so often these days:
Thus says the Lord:
A voice is heard in Ramah,
lamentation and bitter weeping.
Rachel is weeping for her children;
she refuses to be comforted for her children,
because they are no more. (Jeremiah 31:15)
On days such as this one, we are all Rachel, all weeping, all beyond comfort. Please pray today for the dead in Uvalde, Texas, and in Buffalo, New York. Pray too for those who die daily on the streets of Chicago and other cities, for victims of domestic violence, and for those who die alone and in despair.
Especially now, as we struggle to understand this unfathomable violence, may God grant us the peace that passes understanding.
Faithfully,
Bishop-elect Paula Clark
|
|
Diocese Settles Two Suits
The Diocese of Chicago has recently reached settlements in two civil suits involving allegations of child sex abuse against former priests, one of whom was deposed and one who has died.
One suit concerned allegations against Richard Kearney, former rector of St. Bride’s, Oregon and Annunciation, Gurnee, who was deposed by then-Bishop Frank T. Griswold in 1991. Kearney pleaded guilty to four counts of aggravated criminal sexual abuse in 1991, and was sentenced to four years in jail. The anonymous plaintiff, who came forward in early 2019, alleged Kearney sexually abused him in the late 1980s.
In October, the diocese and the Diocese of Western New York reached a settlement with a man who claimed to have been abused by the late Rev. Donald Oxford, who died in 1968. Oxford served at the Church of the Epiphany in Chicago from April 1958 to September 1962. Epiphany closed in 2011.
Oxford had previously served in Western New York, his sponsoring diocese, and later served in the Dioceses of New York and Long Island. The Diocese of New York remains party to the suit the Dioceses of Chicago and Western New York settled, while the Diocese of Long Island is involved in separate litigation involving allegations against Oxford.
“We grieve every instance of abuse, and in the decades since the events alleged in these suits, our diocese has committed itself to ever more rigorous sexual abuse
prevention training, reporting, and discipline,” said the Rev. Anne Jolly, chair of the Standing Committee. “I hope these settlements offer some measure of healing to those who came to us with their grief and pain.”
|
|
General Convention Update
Presiding Officers Endorse Plan to Shorten Convention and Limit Attendance
On May 17, Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and House of Deputies President Gay Clark Jennings issued a letter to the church endorsing a proposed plan for a shorter, smaller, General Convention to take place in Baltimore in July. The proposal, which has not yet been approved by Executive Counsel, would shorten the duration of General Convention (July 8 - 11) and limit attendance to bishops, deputies, essential staff and volunteers, and a small media presence. Additional recommendations around COVID-19 precautions and care are expected later this week.
|
|
Episcopal Public Policy Network Action Alert
Support a Truth and Healing Commission for Indian Boarding Schools
The Department of the Interior recently released its first report on the findings from the Federal Boarding School Initiative, a program which took Indigenous children away from their parents and communities with the goal of assimilation. This week, an action alert from the Office of Government Relations encourages Episcopalians to write to their senators, urging them to pass the Truth and Healing Commission on Indian Boarding School Policies in the United States Act.
|
|
The Bishop Quintin E. Primo UBE Chapter Meeting
Virtual meeting on May 28
|
|
The next meeting of the Bishop Quintin E. Primo UBE Chapter will be held Saturday, May 28 from 10 to 11 am on Zoom. This month's meeting will feature the Rev. J. Sierra Reyes, interim associate for ministries, who will introduce herself and share how her work can impact the diocesan UBE community. The meeting will also include information from one of the UBE chapter's service partners, Holy Family Ministries.
Please RSVP by email to receive the Zoom link and to submit prayer requests for the UBE Prayer List.
|
|
Camp Chicago Registration is Open
Get ready for the best week of the year!
|
|
Camp Chicago is back for the summer of 2022 at Camp Stronghold in Oregon, Illinois and registration is now open for campers ages 7-15 and Leaders in Training (ages 16-17). Sessions are scheduled for the following weeks:
- Session 1: June 26 - July 1
- Session 2: July 3 - July 8
- Session 3: July 10 - July 15
|
|
TENS Resources for Stewardship
New Seasonal Reflections for 2022
The theme for The Episcopal Network for Stewardship (TENS) 2022 Stewardship Campaign Resources is More Than Enough. Through the diocesan membership in TENS, all congregations have access to the annual pledge campaign materials and stewardship resources. Log in to TENS to access the Seasonal Reflections for 2022 using password Luke9:17.
|
|
Memorial service for the Rev. Lori Lowe on June 4 at Grace, Sterling
A memorial mass for the Rev. Lori Lowe will be held June 4 at 4 pm at Grace Church, Sterling. Bishop Chilton Knudsen will preside, and the Very Rev. Michael Dwyer, dean of the Rockford Deanery, will preach. Clergy are invited to vest and process (festal color is white).
Lowe and her husband, the Rev. William (Bill) McLemore, had recently moved to Atlanta to be near family. A funeral service was held May 1 in Georgia. Read her obituary here.
Memorial service for the Rev. William G. Kruse on July 16 at St. Charles Episcopal Church
A memorial service for the Rev. William G. (Bill) Kruse, a retired priest of the diocese who died March 26, 2020, will be held Saturday, July 16 at 11 am at St. Charles Episcopal Church. A graduate of Seabury-Western Seminary, Kruse served in several congregations throughout the diocese and was chair of the Diocesan Hunger Taskforce. Read his obituary here.
May they rest in peace and rise in glory.
|
|
By the grace of God and with the consent of the people of God, on Saturday, June 11 at 4 pm, the Rt. Reverend Chilton R. Knudsen, assisting bishop of Chicago, will ordain Qiana Johnson and Bradley Scott Osborne to the Sacred Order of Deacons in Christ’s One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church at St. James Cathedral.
Clergy are invited to vest and process; festal color is red.
+ + +
By the grace of God and with the consent of the people of God, on Saturday, June 25 at 11 am, the Rt. Reverend Chilton R. Knudsen, assisting bishop of Chicago, will ordain William Olivier Bouvel and Barnabas Eliah Pusnur to the Sacred Order of Priests in Christ’s One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church at St. James Cathedral.
Clergy are invited to vest and process; festal color is red.
|
|
Celebrations of New Ministry |
|
A Celebration of New Ministry for the Rev. David Jackson and the people of Emmanuel Episcopal Church, La Grange will be held June 25 at 3 pm with a party and live music to follow. Clergy are invited to vest and process (festal color is white). RSVPs by email are appreciated but not required. The service will also be livestreamed; please see the website for details.
|
|
A Celebration of New Ministry for the Rev. Tim O'Leary (center) and the people of St. Barnabas, Glen Ellyn, was held Saturday, May 21. The Very Rev. Brad Linboom (left), dean of the Aurora Deanery, presided and the Rev. Matt Babcock (right) preached.
|
|
Clergy Transitions
The Rev. Donna Ialongo has been called to serve as rector at Church of St. Benedict. She began her ministry in Bolingbrook on May 16.
Christ Church, Winnetka has called the Rev. Francis Thomas (Tom) Crittenden to serve as interim rector. He will begin his ministry in Winnetka on July 18.
|
|
The Rev. Dr. Mary Milano Appointed to Elder Law Commission
On May 11, the Rev. Dr. Mary L. Milano, was appointed by Chief Justice Anne Burke to the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Elder Law for a three year term. Milano, a bi-vocational priest serving St. Alban's, Chicago since 2004, was also elected to the Board of Governors of the Illinois State Bar Association (a three year term), and is the executive director of the Illinois Guardianship and Advocacy Commission.
|
|
Spring 2022 Confirmation Services
This spring, Bishop Chilton Knudsen will preside at diocesan confirmation and reception services open to candidates from all congregations in the Diocese of Chicago. Services are planned for the following dates:
|
|
Church Insurance Online Conversation |
|
Poor People's Campaign National Gathering
June 18 in Washington, DC
|
|
Tell Me the Truth About Racism Training
Summer cohort forming
|
|
Mediation Skills Training
August 1-5 at St. Mark's, Glen Ellyn
The Lombard Mennonite Peace Center will host a summer session of its Mediation Skills Training Institute (MSTI) for church leaders August 1-5 at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Glen Ellyn. MSTI training helps clergy and lay leaders deal more effectively with interpersonal, congregational, and other forms of group conflict. For more information contact the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center at 630-627-0507.
|
|
Cook County Health Community Vaccination Sites |
|
Free COVID-19 vaccines are available for everyone 5 and up at locations across Cook County. Visit MyShotCookCounty.com to learn more.
|
|
Community Tool from the CDC
The CDC's COVID-19 Community Levels tool can help communities decide what prevention steps to take based on the latest data. Levels can be low, medium, or high and are determined by looking at hospital beds being used, hospital admissions, and the total number of new COVID-19 cases in an area. Learn more.
|
|
Updated COVID-19 Guidance
On February 16, in preparation for the end of the indoor mask mandate in Illinois, Standing Committee President Anne Jolly and Director of Operations Courtney Reid issued a letter to the diocese with updated guidance from the COVID-19 advisory team.
|
|
Spring Publication Schedule |
From September through June we publish both a general email newsletter and Leadership News, a publication for lay leaders and clergy in the Diocese of Chicago, on alternate Wednesdays.
The deadline to submit items to be included is noon on the Tuesday before publication. Please send news about your congregation's ministry, mission and events to Jen Boyle-Tucker.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
