Quick Links to Diopa Website
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A Message About the Upcoming National Election from Bishop Gutierrez
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Dear Clergy and Laity of the Diocese,
Our national election will be soon and as a Church we need to be prepared to be supportive of those who are experiencing anxiety and stress about the potential results. It is inevitable that many will need spiritual comfort to deal with the sense of loss they will experience afterwards. As a community of Christ we will extend our love and understanding to all.
This video is just the beginning of our conversation going forward as we fulfill our rights and responsibilities to the body politic here in the United States of America. Know that we are there for you and please be there for one another as the body of Christ before, during, and after this political process. Finally, we believe Jesus is the one about whom the Psalmist writes,
"For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations."
In Philippians we are reminded that our Lord, Jesus, humbled himself, even to the point of dying on the cross,
"Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every
name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under
the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
This same Jesus calls us to live in love and obedience, and to trust in the Lord.
Faithfully,
Bishop Gutierrez
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Diocesan Convention Approaches
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As the 233rd Annual Diocesan Convention approaches, there are some simple things to keep in mind.
Committee Reports are due no later than October 17th. All reports submitted after that will not be able to be printed.
Schedule for November 4
4:00 p.m. - Clergy meet with the Bishop at International House, Philadelphia in the Ibrahim Theater (3701 Chestnut St, Philadelphia, PA 19104). Attendance is not mandatory, it will be an informal discussion for any clergy who would like to meet and ask questions.
5:00 p.m. - Budget Discussion: In the Chapter Room, located in the Cathedral Offices in the Liem Azar Cathedral Center. This forum is intended to be an opportunity for people to ask questions or seek clarity on the budget.
6:00 p.m. - Vesting for Clergy for the Seating of our Bishop and the Service of Holy Eucharist on Friday evening, November 4: Alb and white stole. It will take place in the Early Learning Center of the Philadelphia Episcopal Cathedral in the Undercroft. The best access is from Ludlow Street.
6:30 p.m. - Opening Eucharist and Seating of the Bishop
Parking: Friday, November 5:
Metered street parking around the Cathedral
LAZ parking, 3665 Market Street - Entrance on the north side of Market. The lot is open 24/7 with sliding rates and discounted evening and weekend ($9 per day) rates.
Walnut 38 Park, 38th & Walnut Streets - Entrance on the east side of 38th. This garage is open 7 days a week - 6:30 a.m. - midnight. $10 for the first hour + $2 each additional hour with early bird and evening rates.
Schedule for November 5
7:30 a.m - Registration begins
8:30 a.m. - Gathering music at 8:15 a.m. with Morning Prayer
9:00 a.m - Convention begins
Parking: Saturday, November 5:
LAZ Parking, 39th & Market Streets - entrance on the east side of 39th has been reserved for our use. (This is the lot across 38th St. from the Cathedral.)
Metered street parking around the Cathedral
Photography for Clergy:
A head shot for those clergy who do not have one will be taken in the Dean's Office in the Cathedral Offices in the Liem Azar Cathedral Center on Saturday.
*****
If you have any additional questions, please contact Mark Klinger (
[email protected]
) or Linda Hollingsworth (
[email protected]
) or you can reach Mark or Linda at the Office of the Diocese by calling 215-627-6434 during our regular business hours of Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. through 4:30 p.m.
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Worship Wonder and Wisdom
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Memories of "Women Interacting" and "Women Gathering," thanksgiving for leaders like, Jerrie Bartlett and Joy Mills still linger on here in the Diocese of PA after 30 years. These memories provided the energy to ask women to come together once more for learning, organizing and fun.
On Oct. 15, about 40 women met for a "Worship, Wonder and Wisdom" retreat at St. Dunstan's, Blue Bell. Leaders, the Rev. Patricia Cashman and the Rev. Beth Hixon, priests in the Diocese, worked with a ministry team from Christ Community Church, Camp Hill, PA who lead the music, movement and art. The austere, open space of the church filled with color and sound. The Rev. Christine Ritter celebrated the Eucharist.
The experience of the day highlighed the creative work of the Holy Spirit and the deep bonds of women for each other, as they met in small groups and shared an abundant feast. More "Worship, Wonder and Wisdom" retreats and events are being planned. If you want to participate, email [email protected].
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Gifts of Stock
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As we approach the end of the year, you might want to think about making a gift of stock to the Diocese of Pennsylvania, The Church Foundation or any of the parishes, schools and other institutions within the Diocese.
The Church Foundation is equipped to help facilitate your charitable giving. The process is easy, and offers benefits to both the donor and the recipient.
Visit
The Church Foundation website or contact Lori Daniels at 215-220-9886 or Alan Lindsay at 215-621-8310 for more information.
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National Cathedral Faces Calls to Remove Windows with Confederate Generals
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WASHINGTON (RNS) After quietly removing panes bearing the Confederate flag from its stained-glass windows, leaders of the Washington National Cathedral are now wondering what to do about remaining images of Confederate generals Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson.
"How can you justify having those windows in a house of God?" challenged Riley Temple, a former board member of the Washington National Cathedral's foundation.
The stained-glass window debate comes at a time of soul-searching in America over the legacy of slavery and renewed calls to purge public places of the Confederate flag that is for many a symbol of oppression.
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Andrew Goldkuhle of Goldkuhle Studios in Hanover, Va. inspects and replaces stained-glass images of the Confederate battle flag at Washington National Cathedral. Photo courtesy of Danielle Thomas, Washington National Cathedral
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The windows honoring the Confederate generals were added in 1953 with the support of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, a group that sought to honor the memory of veterans who fought for the South.
Under the Robert E. Lee window there is language etched in stone that calls him "a Christian soldier without fear and without reproach." And under Jackson, it says he "walked humbly before his Creator whose word was his guide."
Cathy Ball, who attends another Episcopal church in Washington, said the windows should stay.
"Our history in the United States, in America, is a history of oppression through the very beginning, the oppression of native peoples, the oppression of enslaved peoples, the oppression of immigrants," she said.
"If we erase every trace of that terrible history, what would we have left?"
The Rev. Kelly Brown Douglas, canon theologian at the cathedral, said she hopes the leaders will avoid the "easy route" of a take-them-down or leave-them-up decision.
"I really want to do the hard work of becoming a different kind of community, and pointing a way to how we can become that," said Douglas, also a religion professor at Goucher College.
Nadine Wedderburn, an associate professor at Empire State College in Schenectady, N.Y., who has studied forgiveness and race relations, said discussions like the cathedral's can be beneficial.
"People can get to air their view, share their different side of the story, as it were, and begin to get at the heart of what separates and divides us," she said. "That is one step further towards the progress of healing and reconciliation."
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The History of the Diocesan Shield
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Seal of the Diocese
The Diocesan Seal celebrated its 110
th birthday this year. While being a symbol for our Diocese and emblazoned on our website, business cards, and other forms of communications, it was only created in 1906. During the convention of 1906, the committee on Revision of Coat of Arms of the Diocese, the Revs. S. F. Hotchkin, Henry M. Medary, and Arnold H. Hord, who collaborated with Messrs. Ralph Adams Cram and Pierre de C. la Rose, presented the new coat of arms for the Diocese. It was approved 148-58, as the last item of business for the 122nd annual convention.
The coat of arms, tells the story of the Diocese in heraldic language. Its elements are 1) the white shield with a red cross, the shield of St. George standing for England and her Church, 2) the 3 golden crowns, representing the Arms of Sweden, to proclaim the existence of the Old Swedes' Parishes that are part of the Diocese, and 3) the black border, with its white discs, taken from the arms of the Penn Family. On top is a bishop's mitre resting on a key and crozier. The seal encloses the coat of arms with a boarder which has the following inscription "Seal of the Diocese of Pennsylvania + Founded A.D. 1785 + Ha Philadelphia Memeto" ("Let Brotherly Love Continue" in Greek).
This year, the seal was revised to include a red background for the text surrounded by a gold border, the crosses on the bishop's mitre were added to the top and bottom of the shield, and the color purple was added to the mitre.
Below are links to pages from the Diocesan Convention Journal of 1906, and a newspaper article describing the new seal and coat of arms. These documents, like many of the artifacts and books which chronicle the history of the Diocese of Pennsylvania can be found at the Diocesan Archives. The Archives contains materials relating to the history and life of the Diocese of Pennsylvania. This includes records from previous Bishops, standing committees, closed and open parishes, diocesan conventions and diocesan organizations. If you would like to see this, or any of the records housed in the Diocesan Archives, please contact the Archivist, Peter Moak, at
[email protected].
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The DIOPA Resource Guide is here!
We have heard your suggestions, compiled them, and we would like to present the DIOPA Resource Guide: a directory of information about the Diocese of Pennsylvania, and how we can best serve you. We encourage you to explore the website at
http://www.dioparesourceguide.com/.
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Introducing our new Diocesan Mobile App "DIOPAConnect"
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Dear Brothers and Sisters,
As part of my promise to better serve you, I am pleased to present a major initiative from the Offices of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania. This mobile directory app will help us all to feel connected, provides useful information about parishes, and enables us to have one more important way to stay informed about everything going on in our wonderful Diocese. We are here to help and to serve you, and this mobile app is an important step in showing the kind of innovation and emphasis that is placed on equipping our congregations to build the Kingdom of God.
The Rt Rev Daniel G.P. Gutierrez
XVI Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania
Our new diocesan directory mobile application has been developed to help members of our diocese have direct access to one another no matter where we are, and to promote connectivity by adding photos, shared experiences and our Twitter feed to the basic data contained in our diocesan directory. This is part of our new initiative to be better servants to our community of faith through effective communications with the goal of using mobile technology to meet the needs of our parishes, clergy and laity.
The new mobile directory app "DIOPAConnect" is now available for download.
DIOPAConnect: The Offices of Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania mobile application, is an app designed for connecting clergy and laity to contact information, parish information, events and social media. This app is free to install.
It will allow you to:
- Carry the Mobile Directory with you wherever you go.
- Quickly call or email anyone in the directory
- Get directions or find the nearest Parish, plus the contact information
- Keep up to date by staying current with Events Calendar and add reminders for important events
- Share your experiences on the "Wall"
- View Photos
- Follow the Diocese on Twitter
To download the mobile application go to the "App Store" icon on your iPhones or the "Google Play" icon on your Android Phone
and search for "DIOPA" or "DIOPA mobile directory."
Let us know how DiopaConnect works for you. User feedback helps us to tailor our applications to better meet your needs.
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Education for Ministry
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Have you ever considered a formal study of the things which inform your baptismal covenant? Many EfM seminar groups will be reforming or starting in the fall and now is the time for you to consider if this program is for you. The current texts are portrayed in the attached link.
For more information contact:
Alan Lindsay, EfM Coordinator for the Diocese of Pennsylvania
Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania
3717 Chestnut Street, Suite 300
Philadelphia, PA 19104
215-627-6434 x127 or [email protected]
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