The Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem Diolife 4

What Were You Doing at 11:45 a.m. on June 13, 1998?
Try Giving in Faith
A Place to Care for Jesus -- We Are Determined to Continue
Parishes Plan For Children's Sabbath
Youth Ministry Leaders will meet in Wilkes-Barre October 11
Gilead Community House to Open
Jane Bender, New Deacon, to Serve in Trexlertown
Lois Bartlett Called to Hellertown
In Whom We Live and Move ... And Dance
Diana Marshall Speaks on Surviving the System at ECW Meeting
Diocesan Convention Will Reconvene on October 3
New Rector at St John's, Hamlin
New Rector at St. Anne's, Trexlertown
New Rector at Prince of Peace Church, Dallas
Minister of Evangelism Called to St. Stephen's, Wilkes-Barre
Dan Charney to Coordinate Stewardship Ministries
All Day Long We Were Surrounded by Witnesses of God's Love

What Were You Doing at 11:45 a.m. on June 13, 1998?
By Rick Cluett
Diocesan Life, October 1998

What were you doing at 11:45 a.m. on June 13, 1998? Remember? It was an awfully long time ago. Who is going to remember a specific moment three and a half months afterward?

Well, I do. And I hope that 300 clergy and delegates to our 127th Diocesan Convention remember. At about that time on Saturday morning, we adopted a mission, a ministry, and a budget to guide our corporate life in 1999 and to help us be faithful to God's call to minister among ourselves as well as to those the world calls the least, the last, the lonely, and the lost - be they in local neighborhoods or across seas.

In starting new congregations, in developing growth in established congregations, in developing ministries which nurture children, in programs which feed and house and clothe people, in youth events and activities, in supporting clergy development and growth, in discerning people's gifts and ministries and finding ways to celebrate and support them, in our support of the worldwide Anglican Communion, in the office of our bishop which unites and supports us: in all these ways and more , we the Diocese of Bethlehem -- the Episcopal Church in Northeast Pennsylvania -- seek to be faithful.

Being faithful in these ways is essentially what was decided by the convention on June 13th. Four to five months removed from the time, individuals and parishes decide what to support through their tithes, offerings, and budgets. In 1998, we began a new life-cycle as a diocesan community. In prior years we would identify our mission and ministry and adopt a budget in December and 4-6 weeks later parishes would make final commitments for its support. Some early commitments had been made as parish budgets were built in the fall, well before convention had discerned and decided these things.

Now, however, we are in a position as a diocese to know well in advance of establishing personal and parochial priorities the scope and cost of the mission God places before us as a diocese and to address that mission as we make our local commitments. It would be more than unfortunate if decisions made in June had long since been forgotten as the pace of life for persons and parishes has moved us speedily along.

Our fidelity to our discerned mission and our personal and local participation will be marked by our willingness to learn about, participate in, and fund through our acceptances and assessments this ministry we share as the Diocese of Bethlehem

This year Diocesan Council is boldly leading the diocesan community in claiming the Vision and making it real in the lives of women, men, children and congregations. They have left behind tentative, halting steps in presenting the mission to the diocese, and 300 clergy -- and on June 13th clergy and delegates responded with agreement as we unanimously passed enabling resolutions and a budget.

Bold ministry initiatives will begin and others will continue as we remember what the diocesan community decided at 11:45 a.m. on June 13th.

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TO BE... AND TO BE FOR... An annual budget of $1.2 million supports diocesan community life and ministry. Some 80% of this comes from congregations by way of an Assessment and an Acceptance. The Assessment, 11% of what we as congregations spend on ourselves, enables us to be an Episcopal diocesan community. Congregations are canonically required to pay the assessment.

The Acceptance, an additional voluntary pledge, supports the reason for being a diocesan community, i.e., a wide range of gospel imperatives, support services and ministries carried on in and through the diocesan community, the national church, and the Anglican Communion.

In building our diocesan community budget, Diocesan Council works with a total Assessment Plus Acceptance figure of 21.5% arrived at by an independent, comprehensive study of ministries, resources and needs. While all congregations have not reached this 21.5% level of participation, most are working hard at it.

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VISION STATEMENT, DIOCESE OF BETHLEHEM:

We seek to create communities of faith where all God's people can deepen their relationship with Jesus.

We seek so to live that the Holy Spirit might use us to draw others to Chris= t. We seek to welcome others to the fellowship of God's church.

To live lives of prayer, service and compassion as we work to build a world of justice and peace.

MISSION STATEMENT, DIOCESE OF BETHLEHEM
Live God's love: tell what you have seen and heard.

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OUR 1998 DIOCESAN CONVENTION WILL RECONVENE on Saturday, Oct. 3, at 9:30am, at St. Luke's Church, Scranton. The day will begin with a brief Eucharist in honor of St. Francis. To be addressed:

(1) Canonically mandated election of members of a trial court for a deacon or priest;

(2) First reading of a constitutional amendment permitting youth seats at Convention.

The business session will likely conclude before noon. A box lunch will be provided for those who can stay and for those who will eat as they travel.

It's the time of year when stewardship chairpersons cringe. How can we get people to give more generously? Who will call on parish members? We can all help them by doing the following.

Thanks-Giving: Make your pledge to God in Thanksgiving for the many blessings you have received. Review the past year... the ways you have been blessed ... remembering, of course, the gift God gave us through Jesus Christ.

Give Generously: Look at what you gave last year and choose one of the following options. (A) Take a forward step to sustain God's work. Increase your giving by one of two per cent. (B) Take a step in faith to advance God's work. Increase your giving by three or four per cent. (C) Accept the biblical teaching to return to God one tenth of all God has given you.

For example: If your yearly income is $20,000 and last year's gift was $40= 0 (2%), a forward step would be $800 (4%); a faith step would be $1,000 (5%); a tithe step would b e $2,000 (10%).

Trust God: Live by this spiritual principle. Put aside the fear that you won't have enough. Putting God first makes a truly positive difference in our lives and lifestyles. When we make a sacrificial gift, God will take care of us and give us more than we can ever give God. As we give and trust, the Lord will teach us how to manage the remainder. We will be blessed in many ways.

God wants our all: As disciples of Christ we have been called to promote the Kingdom of God. In order to carry out this mission, we need to be committed Christians, willing to give freely of our talents, time and money. Without this giving our work in the Lord's vineyard is at best halfhearted tokenism. Does your parish stewardship participation reflect that?

Present your gift to God: Pray sincerely about your commitment. Put your new pledge in an envelope and place it in the offering plate for God's blessing, to be used as God sees fit.

I recommend for stewardship chairpersons the following materials as one way of improving your parish members' commitment to giving: The Living Stewardship Program, PO Box 11331, Spring, TX 77391-1331 (800-443-2872).

New Bethany: A Place to Care for Jesus
We Are Determined to Continue
By Bill Lewellis
Diocesan Life, October 1998

New Bethany Ministries serves people in the Lehigh Valley who are poor, homeless or mentally ill.

The Transitional Housing Program provides short-term housing, life skills classes and comprehensive case management for families.

Single Room Occupancy Housing Units house low-moderate income, chronically homeless individuals.

The Drop-In Center serves as a day shelter for homeless persons and a socialization program for persistently mentally ill persons.

The Fourth Street Meal Center is a soup kitchen that serves some 100 free meals daily, Monday through Friday.

Restoration House is a state-licensed personal care facility providing housing, meals and personal care for persistently mentally ill adults.

The Columbia Hotel in Coplay is a newly renovated facility containing the only HUD-subsidized single rooms in the Lehigh Valley.

Representative Payee provides assistance in money management for people receiving disability income.

The first homeless family moved into a partially renovated New Bethany building at Fourth and Wyandotte streets in South Bethlehem in 1985. Today, its ministries meet the unmet needs of some 250 people daily.

Founded by the Incorporated Trustees as "Episcopal Ministries of the Diocese of Bethlehem" and named by former Bethlehem Bishop Mark Dyer after the biblical village where Jesus was cared for, New Bethany has been forced recently to face a few of its own needs.

Major expansion seemed on the horizon just two years ago when Northampton County chose New Bethany to build and operate its $500,000 Clubhouse, a social and vocational rehabilitation program for mentally ill persons. When New Bethany was unable to bring together the resources to mount this new effort, the program was assumed by another agency.

New Bethany had also embarked on a $700,000 project to double the size of Restoration House, its licensed personal care facility providing housing, meals and personal care for persistently mentally ill adults.

By the time the expanded facility opened with 38 beds, a change in priorities resulted in Northampton and Lehigh county officials referring most of their cases to other programs. The project went $50,000 over budget. The 1997 deficit grew to $200,000. The counties decreased their funding for New Bethany in their 1998 budgets.

More problems surfaced; morale dipped; several staff members left. Executive director Stephanie Hnatiw, hired in December 1996, and two board members resigned.

Photo: Bob Wilkins, new president of New Bethany Ministries Caption: "When you start a downward spiral, it seems to gain a life of its own," said Canon Robert Wilkins who has taken a leave of absence from his business to help New Bethany spiral up. A parishioner at the Cathedral Church of the Nativity, Wilkins is a retired senior vice president of finance for Bethlehem Steel and former city administrator of Bethlehem. "We had to face a decision of whether to shut down the operation or push forward in a new direction," Wilkins said. "We've decided to push forward."

At a late August meeting, the board elected new members (Archdeacon Rick Cluett, Canon Robert Wilkins, Cathedral Dean William Lane and diocesan controller Maggie Watkins). Wilkins and Watkins were elected president and treasurer; St. Anne's, Trexlertown, rector Michael Piovane was elected vice president. The board adopted a balanced operating budget, scaling back its fiscal-year budget to $707,000, about $250,000 less than last fiscal year.

During the 1983-4 planning for the creation of New Bethany, the ecumenical social service community in South Bethlehem said they could not undertake all that was required and that the Diocese of Bethlehem had to be the prime mover of the project. At that point, the Incorporated Trustees of the Diocese took the lead and began to plan the program with a broad cross-section of the community.

The current situation offers some deja vu for those who were involved in New Bethany beginnings. Bishop, trustees and staff of the Diocese of Bethlehem are once again in the forefront, hoping to work with a representative community group.

"I want to assure the people served by New Bethany, the staff and the community that we are determined that New Bethany and its ministry will continue," said Bethlehem Bishop Paul Marshall. "A Blue Ribbon panel of community leaders is beginning the work of examin-ing New Bethany's objectives and operations. We will rely on their work to fine tune the agency's ministry and to make the best possible connections with those we serve and with those who can best support New Bethany's work."

"That will be welcome news to the more than 250 people a day who use [New Bethany's services]," The Morning Call, Allentown, reported (August 27).

United Church of Christ minister David DeRemer, New Bethany's executive director from 1985 to 1995, said organizations that depend on a variety of income sources will always struggle, especially charitable ones.

"Without New Bethany, many poor persons will not have a place to live," he said.

"What's needed," said an editorial in The Express-Times, Easton (Aug. 31), "is a collaborative effort, combined with the more realistic, scaled back budget, to get New Bethany back in the black. For the sake of the poor, may its leaders chart a path toward stability."

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New Bethany Will Continue
Statement of Bishop Paul V. Marshall, August 25, 1998

New Bethany, known more officially as the Episcopal Ministries of the Diocese of Bethlehem, has for more than a decade provided vital services and a safe haven for families and individuals on the southside of Bethlehem and in the wider Lehigh Valley. Although begun by the Episcopal Church, New Bethany enjoys ecumenical support and is an offering to all people in need.

Some families and individuals have come to New Bethany because of a crisis; others are struggling to cope with and to overcome long-term life issues. But come they have and they do come today to seek a variety of types of assistance, some of it provided no where else in our community.

In recent months New Bethany has been struggling with financial and organizational concerns. These concerns and the press of serving the people who come to New Bethany have taken their toll. Some staff members have left because of worries about finances and fears of job security, and others have simply been exhausted. Some board members have left either because of change in personal priorities or difference in views about New Bethany's direction. As they have gone, others have come to take their place in this ministry.

A Blue Ribbon panel of community leaders is beginning the work of examining New Bethany's objectives and operations. We will rely on their work to fine tune the agency's ministry and to make the best possible connections with those we serve and with those who can best support New Bethany's work.

As Bishop of the Diocese of Bethlehem, I want to assure the people served by New Bethany, the staff, and the community that we are determined that New Bethany and its ministry will continue. Working closely with others in the ecumenical, civic, social service, and philanthropic communities, we will do all in our power to see that the presence of this caring and re-creating ministry continues long into the future.

As Jesus went to the home of Mary, Martha and Lazarus in Bethany to rest and to find new strength; in New Bethany there is still a place for him and others to come to rest and to find new strength.

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We Dared to Dream and Take Risks for the Poor

"I was driving down Wyandotte Street one day and saw a big 'For Sale' sign," Bishop Mark Dyer said. "I thought it would be perfect for a housing ministry." He said the four-story building, once a hotel, bar and restaurant, was in rundown condition, and that when he proposed his idea everyone thought he was "a little insane." (The Morning Call, March 3, 1986)

The vision of Bishop Mark Dyer moved the Incorporated Trustees of the Diocese of Bethlehem to take the financial risk of creating this community ministry facility to meet the needs of homeless people in the Lehigh Valley.

In 1983, the Trustees bought the Wine Cellar Building at the corner of Fourth and Wyandotte streets. At the same time, the Diocese also purchased two adjacent houses that were converted into what is now Diocesan House.

"It cannot be stressed enough how critical a role the Diocese of Bethlehem has played in the creation and launching of New Bethany Ministries. Acting out of a strong sense of being called by Jesus Christ to care for the least, the last, and the lost, the Diocese dared, by the grace of God, to dream dreams and see visions." (The 1985 Annual Report of the Director)

The community investment posture of then-Diocesan treasurer Robert Wilkins, the legal and organizational skills of Canon Robert Rowley, now bishop of the Diocese of Northwestern PA, and the grantsmanship and program development gifts of social missioner Sue Cox were pivotal in enabling a city-wide program committee to plan what has been widely regarded as a model for far-reaching social ministries.

Bishop Dyer called it a new Bethany, after the village near Jerusalem just south of Bethlehem where Jesus was cared for in the biblical home of Martha, Mary and Lazarus.

Former Bethlehem Bishop Mark Dyer once quipped during a TV interview in front of Diocesan House that there was an icon of worship (the Cathedral) to his right and an icon of social ministries (New Bethany) to his left. He suggested that the three buildings -- Cathedral, Diocesan House and New Bethany -- tell a story of Episcopal life and ministry that is symbolic of the life of the diocese.

Walking south along the 300 block of Wyandotte Street in South Bethlehem, one passes first by the Cathedral Church of the Nativity, at the Third Street corner of the block. Both a cathedral and a parish church, it participates in a rich variety of diocesan and neighborhood ministries.

Diocesan House, in the middle of the block, is the diocesan center for the ministry of the Episcopate, the starting block for Bishop Paul V. Marshall and his staff, all of whom work with many diocesan community ministries and programs and some 68 congregations in 14 counties of northeastern Pennsylvania.

The ministry of the Bishop links our congregations one with another and all with the Episcopal Church USA, the Anglican Communion, and the first-century Apostolic Church.

At Fourth and Wyandotte, New Bethany Ministries curls around the far corner of the block. It's a large complex of servant ministries born and incorporated as Episcopal Ministries of the Diocese of Bethlehem, commonly known simply as New Bethany to recall the biblical safe place where Jesus was a guest.

For the past 13 years, New Bethany has served people who are poor, homeless or mentally ill. The homeless are given a home, the hungry are fed, and the poor and the broken hear and feel they are loved. New Bethany serves persons whose lives are often just a helping hand away from despair.

New Bethany is symbolic of the servant love that happens in countless ways in and through and around every one of our 68 congregations in 14 counties of northeastern Pennsylvania.

"There is an inevitable course to our religious profession which can be aborted only by denying its Lord," wrote Urban Holmes. "That course leads to living in the world as God sees the world. We can debate the trivial points, but the vision is largely clear. To love God is to relieve the burden of all who suffer. The rest is a question of tactics."

********** Photo: Cross and Satellite Dish Caption: The cathedral roof and the bell tower come into view from a highway bridge. In wonderfully symbolic juxtaposition, the cross on the roof serves as a window into the heart of God while a satellite dish on the bell tower searches heaven and earth for other media of God's self-disclosure.

********** Photo: Altar and Window in Diocesan House Caption: Drivers stalled in Wyandotte Street traffic look through the clear glass front past the reception area to the altar and stained glass at the center of Diocesan House where bishop and diocesan staff begin their daily ministry with Morning Prayer or Eucharist.

Parishes Plan For Children's Sabbath

Parishes in our diocese will join with thousands of other congregations nationwide on October 18 in the annual observance of Children's Sabbath sponsored by the Children's Defense Fund in cooperation with 200 religious organizations nationwide.

Each parish has received worship and activity planning guide. Worship services will focus on the needs of children and on how people of faith can respond through prayer, education, community outreach, service and advocacy.

This year's theme is Child Care NOW! Gifted and Called to Raise Up Our Children and will give special attention to how we as communities of faith are raising our children, acknowledging and calling forth their blessings and responding to their critical needs - in homes and within our congregations and communities. This focus coincides with the Child Care NOW! campaign spearheaded by CDF in collaboration with numerous other children's advocates who are working for increased quality and affordability of child care and after-school programs for our children. Children's Sabbaths are meant to encourage us all to get involved in our local communities and work to assure that children receive the developmental care and attention they need to grow, learn and achieve their God-given potential.

For further info, contact the Rev. Hannah Anderson at Grace Church,
Allentown ((610-435-0782) or email andersonrevs@enter.net.)

Youth Ministry Leaders will meet in Wilkes-Barre October 11

The Revs. Jane Teter and Hannah Anderson will meet on Sunday, Oct. 11 (2:30 - 4:30) at St. Stephen's, Wilkes-Barre, with parish clergy, youth cluster coordinators and parish youth leaders to hear from you as we plan together what youth ministry in this diocese might look like. This will be a good opportunity to share ideas and concerns.

Please let Peggy Kavounas know if you will be attending. She will need your name and parish if you leave a voice mail message. You can reach her at 610-691-5655 or 800-358-5655.

Gilead Community House, and HIV/AIDS outreach facility of the Diocese, will open on Oct. 6. A ribbon cutting ceremony and reception will be held at the facility (the Hillcrest building at Allentown State Hospital, 1600 Hanover Ave.) on October 1 at 4 pm.

Services - Tuesdays (3 to 7 pm) and Wednesdays (10 am to 2 pm) - will initially focus on management of medications, case management and nutritional counseling. Students in nursing, social work and dietary services from Allentown College and Cedar Crest College will provide the services and be supervised by faculty.

More info: Ed Roberts, 610-740-0171.
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Jane Bender, New Deacon, to Serve in Trexlertown

The Rev. Jane Arrington Bender joined the parish staff of St. Anne's Church, Trexlertown, as a deacon. She was ordained, Sept. 19, at the Cathedral Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem. She will be helping with adult programs and evangelism efforts.

Jane earned her Master of Divinity, cum laude, from Moravian Theological Seminary in May 1997 and was awarded a Diploma in Anglican Studies from General Theological Seminary in NYC in May 1998. Her clinical pastoral education was completed at St. Luke's Hospital, Bethlehem. She has served as chaplain at Moravian Hall Square in Nazareth and intern at St. George's Church, Hellertown. She also served on the diocesan Christian Education Committee and the steering committee for the Sharing the Bread Festival and other renewal and evangelism events.

Lois Bartlett Called to Hellertown

The Rev. Lois Bartlett has accepted the call to serve as rector of St. George's Church, Hellertown. She had been priest in charge at North Parish in Schuylkill County and has been doing supply and interim ministry in the diocese. She has also been one of the leaders in our diocesan children's ministry during this decade when we have received national recognition for our development of ministry with children.

[The role of the parish to teach and carry on the dance of our Lord cannot be underestimated. In a culture that offers dance patterns of self-centeredness, greed, addiction and abuse, it is imperative that we know and offer something radically different to people: the dance pattern of shalom. I begin my position as coordinator of children's ministries with deep concern for the ways we pass on to our children the Lord's dance. On some days it appears that they know it far better than most of us adults and are waiting for us to learn some of the newer steps.]

A few weeks ago, a friend and her daughter came over for a visit. The little girl, age 5, had been diagnosed with leukemia on Good Friday of this year and now, after some months of treatment, bore little resemblance to the child I remembered. Her hair was gone. Her gait was uneven. Her little fingers were gnarled and bent from the chemotherapy.

As her mother and I visited together, we watched her daughter play quietly in the yard. Suddenly, the little girl lifted her head high and began to sing a hymn she had learned at church. Then she stood tall and twirled around, dancing with delight while singing. My friend was visibly startled with joy.

"This is the first time since her diagnosis that I have heard her sing and watched her dance! Now I know she is beginning to heal. She is learning to dance again with God."

Indeed, this child was returning to familiar patterns of being in relationship with God. For her, singing and dancing were vital parts of expressing her spirituality. By engaging in them she was, in her 5-year old way, celebrating a God "in whom we live and move and have our being."

In her exquisite book, To Dance with God, Gertrude Mueller Nelson explores the patterns of liturgy and worship offered to us as Christians. From church season to church season, she reveals ways in which Jesus Christ invites us to be partners in a holy dance which leads to a life of shalom: wholeness and peace - a life centered in Christ.

As I minister at Grace Church in Allentown, I am keenly aware that God meets us on the dance floors of our parishes. We gather weekly and practice both old and new dance patterns with our Lord. All of us - children and adults - join together and celebrate God "in whom we live and move and have our being."

The role of the parish to teach and carry on the dance of our Lord cannot be underestimated. In a culture that offers dance patterns of self-centeredness, greed, addiction and abuse, it is imperative that we know and offer something radically different to people: the dance pattern of shalom.

I begin my position as coordinator of children's ministries with deep concern for the ways we pass on to our children the Lord's dance. On some days it appears that they know it far better than most of us adults and are waiting for us to learn some of the newer steps.

My first year will be spent listening to children, to Christian educators in our diocese and across the nation, to our diocesan committee on Christian Education and to God. During this year, I will gather information about each of our parishes in regard to ongoing Christian education programs specific to children as well as advocacy programs that are being engaged.

We will gradually develop ways to network educators with one another according to curriculum interest and parish size. In all that I do as an advocate for children in our diocese, I will work in accordance with the Children's Charter, continuing the fine work done by Margaret Sipple and the Christian Education committee. There is specific interest among a few members of the committee around legal advocacy for children. I hope to see this strengthened and supported.

Children's spirituality: How can we encourage and affirm their rich spirituality? What are we meant to learn from children?

The destruction of the spiritual life/core of families due to cultural demands and values. How can we reclaim the centrality of the Gospel story in our families? What changes might we have to make to put Christ at the center of our lives?

Exploring ways to design child-friendly worship services so that children and adults get the most out of worship

The Rev. Hannah Anderson will serve the diocesan community as coordinator of children's ministries on a parttime basis while remaining rector of Grace Church, Allentown.

Hannah grew up as a Quaker, was baptized in the Episcopal Church, 1986, confirmed, 1987, and entered seminary at Sewanee, TN, 1990, where she received an M.Div.

She was ordained a deacon, 1994, in the Diocese of Central PA and served parttime at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Harrisburg, while employed as a fulltime resident chaplain at Hershey Medical Center where she specialized in critical health issues facing women and infants, including infants in the neonatology intensive care unit, high risk/teen pregnancies and deliveries, and women with ovarian cancer.

She was ordained a priest, 1995, and served as associate rector at Mt. Calvary Church, Camp Hill, where she specialized in Christian education, and continued as a parttime resident chaplain at the Medical Center. She accepted the call to be rector of Grace Church, Allentown, in 1996.

Hannah received a B.A. from the Univ. of Washington, Seattle, with a double major in Spanish and Elementary Education.

She has had more than 15 years of teaching experience in many settings with diverse age groups. She has taught art, advanced reading and the gifted program for elementary age students. She has designed and implemented creative programs to help people become aware of God's movement in their lives. She has also studied and explored the interconnections between faith and art. She incorporates art and drama into her sermons.

In 1993 she was awarded the prestigious Jonathan Daniels Fellowship from the Episcopal Church, USA, for a program she developed around peace and social justice entitled, "Reclaiming the Paradigm of Hospitality Within the Church." Hannah's husband, Bob, is an ordained minister of the Reformed Church in America with dual standing in the Northeast Penn Conference of the United Church of Christ. He serves as director of pastoral care at St. Luke's Hospital, Bethlehem.

Attorney, registered nurse and Bishop's spouse Diana Marshall spoke on Surviving the System at the spring meeting of the diocesan Episcopal Church Women. Among systems identified by participants were governmental agencies, church, the judicial system, technology, schools, health care providers, HMO's, insurance companies, and life itself.

After a review of the basics of the Meyers-Briggs personality inventory, she stressed the importance of understanding that the "folks we may encounter in any of the identified systems will likely be of a different personality type from ours, and understanding this helps us communicate more effectively."

Don't take it personally. "People we deal with generally aren't interested in ruining our day, but are trying to do their jobs."

Learn the rules."Different agencies/programs have different rules, regulations, and definitions. Know the vocabulary and what's needed to get the result you want."

Be clear. "Don't assume the person you speak to understands what you're saying the same way you mean it until you get that person to say it back to you. Don't depend on how you feel about the conversation."

Be thorough. "Don't give up too soon and don't accept the first answer you get if it isn't the one you want. Everyone has a boss. Keep going up the chain of command until you're certain you've exhausted all possibilities."

There's strength in numbers. "Be on the lookout for groups that share your interests and concerns. Ask friends, service providers, etc. for referrals. Keep an eye out for ads in newspapers, or public service announcements by mail. Don't reinvent the wheel."

She explained Pennsylvania's Advance Directive for Health Care Act--Living Wills and distributed a brochure containing a form for making a living will, Dignity in Life--Dignity in Death, published by the Pennsylvania Medical Society.

"Preparing a living will provides direction for one's care to family and health care providers when one is no longer able to give that direction and is terminally ill or permanently unconscious," she said. "It seems that directing one's care when no longer physically able to do so is the ultimate survival of the system."

Our recessed 1998 Convention will reconvene on Saturday, Oct. 3, at 9:30 a.m., at St. Luke's Church, Scranton. The day will begin with a brief Eucharist in honor of St. Francis. Among the items for Convention to address are:

(1) The canonically mandated election of members of a trial court for a deacon or priest;

(2) The first reading of a constitutional amendment permitting youth seats at Convention.

Though the business session will most likely conclude before noon, a box lunch will be provided for those who can stay and for those who will eat as they travel.

The Rev. Edward Erb will be the new rector at St. John's Church, Hamlin. Ordained a priest in the Diocese of Central PA in June, he is an accomplished musician who has been organist/choirmaster in Williamsport (1979-86) and Lewisburg (1986-93) and director of music ministries at All Saints, Hershey (93-97). He has been a resident in Clinical Pastoral Education at the Hershey Medical Center (1997-98) and deacon assistant at St. John the Baptist, York (1997-98). He and his wife, Susan, have been married for 18 years and have two sons: Philip, 14, and Andrew, 12.

The Rev. Michael F. Piovane is the new rector at St. Anne's Church,
Trexlertown.

Ordained a Roman Catholic priest in 1969, he served for 17 years in the Diocese of Allentown. He was assistant superintendent of religious education (1971-85) and director of pastoral ministries (1978-86). He resigned in 1986, became director of alumni relations at Kutztown University (1987-98), and was received as a priest of the Episcopal Church in 1993 when he also became assisting priest at St. Anne's. Michael and his wife, Rita, have been parishioners at St. Anne's since 1988.

The Celebration of New Ministry has been set for October 4 at 5 p.m.

The Rev. Robert Nagy of St. Mary's Church, Phoenix, Arizona, will be the new rector at Prince of Peace Church, Dallas.

Father Nagy studied theology at the School of Theology in Sewanee, TN. He became a curate at Trinity Cathedral in Phoenix in 1994. Since 1955 he has been priest in charge at St. Mary's. Before entering seminary in 1991, he received a master's degree in business administration from Arizona State University and spent ten years in the health and human services field. He and his wife, Beatrice, have two daughters: Emily, 13, and Meredith, 15.

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Minister of Evangelism Called to St. Stephen's, Wilkes-Barre
Diocesan Life, September 1998

The vestry of St. Stephen's Church, Wilkes-Barre, has called the Rev. Jerry Doublisky, CSSS, to serve as Minister for Evangelism and committed $100,000 from the parish endowment to evangelism ministry over the next three years.

Ordained a priest in 1972, he has served congregations in Collingswood, Willingbrook, South Amboy, Laurel Springs and Woodbury Heights, all in the Diocese of New Jersey. He is a life professed member of the Companions of the Holy Savior.

Dan Charney to Coordinate Stewardship Ministries
Diocesan Life, September 1998

A retired ('96) public school teacher of chemistry (35 years at Easton Area High School), Dan Charney has been a member of Trinity Church, Easton, since 1971 and a longtime stewardship consultant for our diocesan community.

Confirmed at Grace Church, Kingston in 1951 -- Dan came from Orthodox Church and still loves their music -- he married Janet Goulstone there in 1961. Dan points out that they were high school sweethearts.

A parishioner at Mediator, Allentown, from 1961-71, Dan was a choir and vestry member, worked with junior high youth and Explorer Scouts and served on his first stewardship committee where he heard of and accepted tithing as one of the building blocks of his spiritual life.

At Trinity, Easton, Dan has been a choir and vestry member, cursillista, diocesan convention delegate, coordinator of stewardship circle, Ark Soup Kitchen volunteer, and serves on Easton's Habitat for Humanity project when available. He has been involved with the stewardship program at Trinity for more than 20 years.

A diocesan stewardship consultant and member of the diocesan stewardship committee since the program's inception, Dan has attended two national stewardship workshops and "believes wholeheartedly in giving God the first-fruits ... and all manner of blessings will follow"!

In his "retired" time, Dan is adjunct chemistry professor at Allentown College, works with John Gumpy, Lehigh Valley organ builder, works for a local potato farmer, serves as a member of the Ashland Chemical Community Advisory Panel, and helps a lot around the house (Jan says thankfully).

He is an avid skier and member of Blue Mountain Ski Patrol. He enjoys gardening, astronomy, and travel and is reclaiming an early interest in model railroading -- and thoroughly enjoying his three grown children and grandson.

.......online