.......online
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News from The Episcopal Diocese
of Bethlehem, Bill Lewellis,
Editor
|
How to talk about films and videos
Blanket Square Ministry
St Stephen's Pro-Cathedral Seeks
Director of Ministry with Children and Youth
Arts on the Mountain - Mount Pocono
What Should Die so New Life can Happen?
Archdeacon Cluett will
soon be on Sabbatical
St. Michael's Offers an After School Program
El Salvador Earthquakes
New Bethany Incentive Grant
Trinity Challenge Nets $21,701
From 17 Parishes to Build Seven Homes for Honduras
Diocesan Advocacy Trip to Washington,
D.C.
Four From Trinity, Bethlehem, are on Mission
in Swaziland
Chrism Mass and Luncheon
Phil Secor Writes Another Book
Swaziland Cathedral Dean will visit Bethlehem
Executing Justice
How to Talk about Films and Videos
By R. Jane Williams
Diocesan Life, May 2001
So you love films. And you say some of your most
moving experiences have come from stories you've watched on screen.
You would love to talk about your experiences in your parish, finding
a way to relate them to what you hear from the Bible, the pulpit,
the prayerbook but you just don't know how. Whether you are 13 or
33 or 53 or 93, there are a multitude of guidebooks, websites, and
ideas to help you share your passion. I'll be sharing them with you
this month and in the months to come.
First, though, how do you create an opportunity in
your parish for film and spirituality discussion?
You will need to determine what type of experience
of film you want to offer. Will you want to discuss a film that you
have already seen, separately or together? Or will you want to create
an opportunity at your parish for folks to come, view the film, and
then discuss it briefly all at one time?
The type of experience you want to offer will determine
when and where you can create your group. A film-viewing session will
require comfortable seating, a large screen and good quality VCR.
It requires application for a film license (at nominal cost) to show
films in a "public forum." This experience is a venue attractive for
youth, or for an adult group who enjoy fellowship together.
A simpler beginning might be to choose a movie that
will be discussed at a set time a week or two later. Suggest that
group members invite a friend to attend with them and then bring the
friend to the discussion as well (a great evangelism tool).
Suggest some simple questions like these that persons
might keep in mind as they view the film:
What scenes or ideas stayed with me? What feelings
challenged me? Were there ideas that challenged my perceptions about
life, people, behavior, purpose? What did I like most/least about
the film? With whom did I most identify? Was there anything about
my life that the movie made me want to change, do differently, preserve
honor?
If the film is on video, bring it on the day of discussion,
and be ready to cue it to one or more important but brief scenes.
Such clips can refresh the group's memory and offer a means to start
the discussion.
If you are facilitator, be sure your approach is
one of openness, listening, and linking or contrasting person's observations
without judgment. You will want to affirm your group, and find ways
to invite them to expand their experiences. Remember that you are
not leading a course in film criticism, and there are no right or
wrong experiences.
If you find yourself drawn to the idea of film discussion
in your parish, but you need a bit more guidance check out one or
more of the following guides:
"Praying the Movies: Daily Meditations from Classic
Films," Edward McNulty, Geneva Press, 2001. (User friendly guide to
films on video with film recap, questions for individuals or groups,
and scripture reading and hymn selection included for each.)
"Finding Meaning at the Movies," Sara Anson Vaux,
Abingdon Press, 1999. (Looks at films through themes, e.g., home,
healing, vocation) with sugges-tions for reflection and discussion.
An excellent section on "Leading a Film Discussion Group.")
"St. Paul at the Movies: Dialogue with American Culture,"
Robert Jewett, Westminster/John Knox Press, 1993, and "St. Paul Returns
to the Movies: Triumph Over Shame," Robert Jewett, Eerdmans Publishing
Co., 1999. (Both volumes approach film through the lens of Paul's
writings. Focused on Biblical parallels to films more than most film
guides.)
Most important of all . . . enjoy your group and
the films you explore. You will be surprised at the insights shared
and the deepening of relationships you experience when together you
look for meaning at the movies.
[A licensed psychologist in private practice, The
Rev. R. Jane Williams, M.Div., Ph.D., is priest associate at Christ
Church, Reading.]
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News
Blanket Square
Ministry
Bill Lewellis
Around 1987, Marie Elizabeth Dyer began a blanket/quilt/afghan
ministry with a twofold purpose in mind. She wanted fewer people to
be cold. "To be cold is such a dreadful thing," she said. And she
wanted to give others an opportunity to "find fulfillment in an expression
of ministry that takes care of the poor for Jesus." Not everyone can
make a large and beautiful quilt, she thought. But many can make 6
by 6-inch squares that are then sewn together by others into a 4 by
5-foot quilt for a twin-sized bed.
Hundreds of once homeless people have "graduated"
from New Bethany Ministries, Bethlehem, with the gift of a quilt that
is symbolic of the love of God incarnated in the body of God's people.
The ministry of quilts made of squares from every corner of the diocesan
community was born of Marie Elizabeth's creative compassion. Over
the years, some 1,000 quilts have kept that many families warm. Hundreds
of people have participated in some way -- making squares, delivering
squares, sewing squares together, and collecting yarn. Some churches,
such as St. Andrew's, Bethlehem, have had their own groups that meet
weekly to sew the squares together.
"One thing that has really been important to the
people who have received these quilts," Marie Elizabeth once said,
"is that they know someone cared enough for them to give them something
beautiful."
Since her untimely death on December 2, 1999, many
have wondered if the ministry would continue and, if so, where blanket
squares may be dropped off. The ministry has, indeed, continued. Though.
at this point, I don't have specific information on how that is happening,
those making blanket squares may drop them off at St. Andrew's Church,
1900 Pennsylvania Avenue, Allentown. That's just on the Allentown/Bethlehem
line. Please call 610-865-3603 for directions and times to deliver
finished blanket squares.
Thanks.
Bill
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News
St Stephen's Pro-Cathedral Seeks
Director of Ministry with Children and Youth
Dear Friends,
St. Stephen's Pro-Cathedral is accepting resumes
and applications for the new full time position of Director of Ministry
with Children and Youth. Please pass the following along to those
who might be interested.
Director of Ministry with Children and Youth
The person selected for this position will help Saint
Stephen's implement "A Children's Charter for the Church" by:
* being the primary pastor of children, youth, and
the adults who minister with them
* building upon the present Sunday School program for Nursery through
High School
* creating fellowship, worship, and ministry opportunities for youth
and children
* recruiting and equipping adults to minister with children and youth
* working with the Education and Youth Committees, other staff, and
total ministry of the parish
* administering programs for children and youth
Children's Charter for the Church
Nurture of the
child (Children are a heritage from the LORD, and the fruit of the
womb is a gift. Psalm 127:4)
The Church is called To receive, nurture and treasure
each child as a gift from God. To proclaim the Gospel to children,
in ways that empower them to receive and respond to God's love. To
give high priority to the quality of planning for children and the
preparation and support of those who minister with them in fulfillment
of the Baptismal Covenant. To include children as members and full
participants in the Eucharistic community and in the church's common
life of prayer, witness and service.
Ministry to the
child (Then Jesus took the children in his arms, placed his hands
on each of them and blessed them. Mark 10:16)
The Church is called To love, shelter, protect and
defend children within its own community and in the world, especially
those who are abused, neglected or in danger. To nurture and support
families in caring for their children, acting in their children's
best interest, and recognizing and fostering their children's spirituality
and unique gifts. To embrace children who seek Christian nurture independently
of their parents' participation in the church. To advocate for the
integrity of childhood and the dignity of all children at every level
of our religious, civic and political structures.
Ministry of the
child (A little child shall lead them. Isaiah 11:6)
The Church is called To receive children's special
gifts as signs of the Reign of God. To foster community beyond the
family unit, in which children and adults know each other by name,
minister to each other, and are partners together in serving Christ
in the world. To appreciate children's abilities and readiness to
represent Christ and His church, to bear witness to Him wherever they
may be, and according to gifts given them, to carry on Christ's work
of reconciliation in the world, and to take their place in the life,
worship, and governance of the church.
(The Charter is available in pdf
format and in graphic
web format)
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News
Arts on the Mountain
- Mt. Pocono
The Pocono Record, Stroudsburg, carried a
wonderful and colorful feature on the Arts on the Mountain program,
a continuing offering at Trinity Church, Mt. Pocono.
Pocono art gallery and concert-goers have been enjoying
a variety of fine arts and music programs given by Arts on the Mountain
for more than 12 years.
Programs have been scheduled for Sunday, April 22,
and Saturday, June 9. Call the church office (570-839-9376) or Peter
Salmon (570-629-0644, especially for details on the fine artists)
or Kathryn Ritter (570-894-9148 or cunegonde56@hotmail.com).
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News
Your reflections
for a Diocesan Life feature...
What Should Die so New Life can Happen?
That is the title of Bishop Paul's column that will
appear in the April edition of Diocesan Life. It is a reflection on
the paschal mystery.
During the Easter season, I'd like to include in
the May and the June editions of Diocesan Life your reflections
(at least excerpts) on that question, especially reflections that
might respond to the following paragraphs from Bishop Paul's column.
The entire column was posted upstream on this list. If you can't access
it for some reason, please let me know and I will send it to you.
If you are subscribed to the our interactive Internet
list, bethlehempa@ecunet.org, you may post your reflections there.
If not, you may send them to blewellis@diobeth.org.
-- From Bishop Paul's column --
"It is worth asking in each of our congregations
and agencies: what about this place should die so that new life can
happen?
"The only necessities for a gathered Episcopal church
are people, a priest, a Bible, a prayer book, some bread and some
wine. Everything else is a cultural decision. Are there things in
the "everything else" of our personal and communal practices of Christianity
that need to die if Christ is to reign more fully in our lives and
in our communities?
"On the stone that blocked Jesus' tomb, as we all
know, were inscribed the words: 'We've never done it that way before.'
We all know that stone. It often keeps us fearful of what might be
the Holy Spirit's promptings.
"God is, throughout the Bible, always up to the new
and unexpected. Thus the Christ who emerged from the tomb has a newness
that we both can and cannot understand. St. Paul simply calls the
resurrected body a 'spiritual body,' but is clear that it is new and
better. And unexpected.
"The resurrection is not radical CPR, or a mere reversal
of physical decay. Jesus is not Lazarus in capital letters. Much more,
for St. Paul, resurrection life is 'a new creation.' Connected to
the past, but part of a new reality.
"The Easter mystery is this: I know that Christ died
and rose for me, you, and everyone. I know that Christ makes his experience
mine and yours in baptism. I know that Christ's cross was his path
to joy. I know that he is with us 'even to the end of the ages,' and
that 'whether we live or die, we are the Lord's.'
"The mystery is: where is he calling individuals
and groups to walk the mysterious path to joy today? The only way
to 'solve' such a mystery is for a person or a community to roll away
that heavily-inscribed stone, and engage Life."
-- End of quotes from Bishop Paul's column --
[Complete
text of Bishop Paul's Column]
Thanks.
Bill
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News
Archdeacon
Cluett will soon be on Sabbatical
Archdeacon Richard Cluett will be on sabbatical leave
from April 1 through September. Bishop Paul, Canon Jane Teter, and
Maggie Watkins will be responsible for matters that would ordinarily
fall to the archdeacon.
He hopes the sabbatical will be "a time of refreshment,
study, and recreation." He plans to be in Israel for two weeks at
St. George's College in Jerusalem.
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News
In Birdsboro
St. Michael's Offers an After School Program
Diocesan Life, April 2001
By Francine Stropko
[ The following feature, reprinted with permission
from the front page of the Morgantown/Honey Brook Community Courier,
March 7, 2001, is a wonderful story and communication/evangelism piece
about St. Michael's, Birdsboro. The paper also used three
photos. --Bill]
Birdsboro children looking for a safe place to go
after school where there is warmth and laughter, games and crafts
and a hot meal, as well as support from caring adults, are invited
to visit St. Michael's Episcopal Church every Tuesday and Thursday
from 3 to 7 p.m.
As part of its outreach to the community, St. Michael's
has been offering its after school program since last April under
the guidance of its rector, The Rev. Sue Doohan, affectionately called
"Father Sue," and numerous adult volunteers from the congregation
and community.
The program has served some 75 school-age children
each week.
Noting that 4,500 meals have been provided since
the program's inception, Doohan says the after school sessions are
about more than serving dinner.
"While the kids are here, they're the center of attention,"
she said. "We're not too tired or too busy to listen. We draw out
their creativity and cooperation."
"Kids who come here get to hang out in a place where
there's plenty to eat, all kinds of things to do, and they get help
with their problems."
Doohan said the program is free to all neighborhood
children, noting many of them walk to the church to participate. Parental
permission slips are required of all participants. "We don't turn
anybody away," she noted.
The afternoon activities begin at 3 p.m. with snacks
in the parish hall, followed by homework.
"When they arrive there are snacks and drinks and
they can help themselves," Doohan said. "They need to be in this room
doing a learning activity until 4:30. If they don't have homework,
we have educational games.
"They also get reading tutoring from Mrs. (Margaret)
Reeser. She's a retired reading specialist. She has tested all the
kids for their reading level and keeps a file on them and works with
them."
When the volunteers insure that all homework assignments
have been completed, the group splits up into various rooms. One room
is designated as the computer room, where the adults help the children
learn various skills.
"It also gives them computer access because many
of them don't have computers at home," she continued. "It makes them
feel like everybody else. They need computer skills for school and
future employment."
Another room features arts and crafts. "On Tuesdays,
two volunteers from St. Mark's Lutheran Church do crafts with the
younger kids," she said. "On Thursdays, we mix the ages so the older
kids can help the others do the crafts."
Also available to the children are puzzles, board
games and books, as well as an air hockey, knock hockey and fooz ball
machine. Weather permitting, there are outdoor games as well.
"We have a street hockey team or we jump rope, and
we have a basketball hoop," Doohan said. "I also teach karate."
Children are never left in any of the rooms unsupervised.
Participants are also not allowed to use bad language or exhibit other
bad behaviors.
Supper is served at 5:30, preceded by a prayer.
"When the meal starts, we ask if anyone has anything
they want to pray about before we say grace," she said. "It's also
time for sharing stories or news or storytelling.
"These are good meals the kids have," she continued.
"We have fresh fruits and vegetables and serve 100 percent juice.
We don't serve junk.
"We get much of our food from the Greater Berks County
Food Bank. We buy meats, vegetables, milk and juice.
"We also keep a food closet. Anybody who needs something
for their families can just come and take it."
Personal donations help pay for the food items and
craft materials.
"We also got a grant from the diocese. We've gotten
the grant twice; we can get one more before we're on our own."
What makes the after school activity so successful,
she said, are the volunteers, although more are needed to keep the
program running.
"If we had the staff and funding, we could run this
every day," she said. "We have from 20 to 42 kids each day."
She said volunteering would be ideal for senior citizens
or high school students looking to fulfill their community service
requirements.
"Volunteers can help kids with their homework, supervise
the games or help with computer instruction," she said. "We also need
cooks.
"We're desperate for volunteers, especially between
3 and 5:30 when people are at their jobs. We can use as many volunteers
as we can get, because the best thing for the kids is one-on-one attention."
Among those who volunteer are Dave and Mary Jane
Witmyer who greet the children, help them with their homework and
supervise activities; Denny and Sue McKernan who help in the computer
room and with arts and crafts; Mike Deegan, who heads the street hockey
team and his wife, Jane; Nate and Susan Kappenstein, who work with
the computers; Tim Misimer and his mom, Laura Henry; Sue Addison and
Ben, another mother/son team; Joanne Rutherford; Mary and Jim Mazzoni;
and many others.
Doohan said the program has filled great need in
the community for a safe place for children to go after school.
"Our business as Christians, especially when we are
in a town like this, is to satisfy the community's needs," she said.
"We're doing this because we are Christian and this is what Jesus
would want for these children."
For more information about St. Michael's after school
program, call 610-582-1122 or visit the church at 216 North Mill Street
in Birdsboro.
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News
El Salvador
Earthquakes
You will find news about how to help those affected
by the El Salvador earthquakes at the Episcopal
Relief and Development web site. There's a link at that
site also to the letter of Bishop Martín Barahona of the Episcopal
Church of El Salvador.
So many urgent needs around the world: Africa, India,
Honduras, El Salvador... are just a few. The list goes on and on.
I am reminded of the relevant quote I found last
year while doing a story about the AIDS crisis in Africa: "It's a
paradox of the modern world," said ABC News Nightline correspondent
Dave Marash, "that we are made aware of far more serious problems
than we can solve. Finding room in our hearts and our wallets for
simultaneous catastrophes ... is the challenge of the 21st century."
Thanks.
Bill
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News
New Bethany Incentive
Grant
The Feinstein Foundation has invited New Bethany
Ministries of Bethlehem to participate in an incentive challenge grant
that matches donations of $25 or more to its hunger programs between
March 1 and April 30. This campaign supports the Meal Center, a soup
kitchen type program staffed by teams of volunteers who serve light
breakfast and a hearty lunch to some 100 people daily, and an emergency
pantry that distributes groceries to families and individuals in crisis
and in need of food. Telephone 610-691-5602 or send email to newbethany@easy-pages.com.
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News
Trinity Challenge
Nets $21,701 From 17 Parishes to Build Seven Homes for Honduras
Diocesan Life, April 2001
Last June at a Mission/Outreach meeting at Trinity
Church, Easton, committee members discussed how they might "seed"
a mission project that needed much more than they could give. They
wanted to contribute to the Homes for Honduras project of Episcopal
Relief and Development.
They realized there were eight Trinity parishes in
the Diocese of Bethlehem. They would challenge the "Trinities" and
other parishes to raise funds to build four homes.
The word from Episcopal Relief and Development was
that $3,100 would buy materials to construct a two-bedroom home for
a family who had lost their home two years ago in Hurricane Mitch.
Several parishes had already made significant contributions
to the ER-D Honduras project separate from this Trinity challenge.
They cast their bread upon the water, using email,
the diocesan Internet list, and Diocesan Life. Seventeen parishes
participated -- in addition to at least five that had already given
to the project. Thus, one-third of our parishes have contributed significantly
to the Homes for Honduras project. The Trinity challenge alone raised
$21,701.34.
Additionally, some 13 volunteers (11 from St. Margaret's,
Emmaus) traveled to San Pedro Sula, Honduras early in March to build
homes with Honduran families.
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News
Diocesan Advocacy Trip
to Washington, D.C.
The diocesan World Mission committee is planning
an Advocacy Trip to Washington, DC, April 2-3. Bishop Paul will join
members of the committee and other interested people from the diocese.
The group will meet with key senators and representatives and members
of the State Department to make the case for alleviating the suffering
of the Sudanese people.
Committee chair Connie Fegley says they expect to
meet with Senators Frank Wolf and Arlen Specter as well as Secretary
of State Colin Powell among others. They will be spend Monday night
at the College of Preachers at the National Cathedral.
A briefing will be held March 24 at the Cathedral
Church of the Nativity for anyone interested in working with our companion
relationship with the Diocese of Kajo Keji in southern Sudan and for
those planning on being part of the trip to Washington.
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News
Four From Trinity, Bethlehem, are on Mission
in Swaziland
Dan and Maggie Land are once again on
mission in Swaziland where they recently joined Dr. Ned and Emily
Wallace.
Dan and Maggie are fostering the sister parish relationship
between Trinity, Bethlehem, and All Saints Cathedral in Mbabane, Swaziland.
All four were commissioned in January 2000 for their
ministry in Swaziland on behalf of Trinity Church, Bethlehem, by Trinity
rector W. Nicholas Knisely.
Since 1991, Dr. Wallace has spent four months each
year coordinating a medical education work and service program in
an overcrowded rural hospital in this tiny Southern African country.
Bishop Paul named Wallace medical missioner for the Diocese of Bethlehem
in 1999 when the now 74-year-old semiretired physician decided to
make AIDS-related activities his main focus. Swaziland, population
950,000, ranks as one of the four countries with the highest prevalence
of HIV/AIDS in Africa. Some 12,000 people died from AIDS complications
last year. The number of AIDS orphans there has been estimated to
be some 70,000.
Recently, Trinity played a major role in collecting
some 700 comfort packs from local churches, business and Rotarians
that have been sent to the Swaziland Hospice at Home program. Please
see Trinity's
web site for more information on this project as well as updated
news and letters from the Lands.. A wealth of information about AIDS
in Africa can be accessed also at the Swaziland
AIDS website created by Dr. Wallace.
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News
An Invitation from Bishop Paul to Clergy and Laity
of the Diocese
Chrism Mass and Luncheon
Cathedral Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem April 5 at 11:00
a.m.
As a community invested in healing and growth, we
come together to bless the oil for the sick and the oil of chrism
("the oil of gladness") for the coming year. Those with calling or
prayer ministries for the sick may find this an important part of
your year. It is also the time when clergy renew their ordination
promises, a time to be with our clergy to pray for and with them for
blessings on their ministry. There is a free lunch, but please do
make reservations. Each rector (or senior warden) has a response card
for lunch reservations. Let them know you are interested. At lunch,
Bishop David Strobel of the Northeastern PA Synod of the Evangelical
Lutheran Church in America will bring us greetings.
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Phil Secor Writes Another Book
Diocesan Life, April 2001
Phil Secor, a parishioner at Trinity Church, Bethlehem,
tells Diocesan Life that the Church of England publisher, SPCK,
will release his new book on Richard Hooker to its 36 bookstores and
to outlets in the US and Canada by late March. The Sermons of Richard
Hooker: The Power of Faith, The Mystery of Grace is the first
modern edition of Hooker's ten surviving sermons.
Phil's first book, published less than two years
ago, is the highly acclaimed biography, Richard Hooker Prophet
of Anglicanism. That work has already sold over 3,000 copies and
is soon to go into a third printing.
Early readers of the new book say it reveals a surprising
Hooker: pastoral, inspiring, consoling, as well as rich in wisdom.
The Very Rev. George Werner, new President of the House of Deputies,
has written for the jacket of the 172-page hard cover: "The author
of Richard Hooker Prophet of Anglicanism has followed that
comprehensive, perhaps definitive, volume with this wonderful edition
of Hooker's homiletics. In this form I find Hooker's thoughts speak
directly to my life and responsibilities today better than many contemporary
works. I heartily recommend this splendid effort."
The Rev. Dr. Paul Avis, Church of England General
Secretary for Christian Unity has written: "Secor's devotion to Hooker
is second to none and he has done much to bring Hooker to life on
both sides of the Atlantic. Now he helps to make Hooker's sermons
readable and understood in prose that is clear, robust and tinged
with pathos."
Dr. Paul Stanwood of the University of British Columbia,
an editor of the authoritative Folger Edition of the Works of Richard
Hooker has written: "Secor is faithfully honest and sympathetic to
these texts, making them attractive in a volume that is coherent,
readable and appealing."
Phil and his wife, Anne, have been commissioned by
Trinity Church rector Nicholas Knisely and the congregation to bring
Richard Hooker and his message to the church. In the past 18 months
they have visited over 60 churches, seminaries and clerical meetings.
In the persona of Richard Hooker in 16th century
clerical garb, Phil has given more than 150 sermons and talks. As
Hooker, he was at General Convention in Denver, roaming the halls
and dispensing advice to delegates. He appeared on the cover of The
Living Church. On the 400th anniversary of Hooker's death, Phil
spoke at Canterbury Cathedral.
Phil and Anne are "on the road" almost every Sunday
at some church somewhere between Maine and California, bringing Richard
Hooker and his timeless wisdom back to the church he helped to found.
Phil is well along on his next book, Anglican
Worship: A Modern Edition of Book V of Hooker's Of the Laws of Ecclesiastical
Polity. He says this is definitely the most important book of
all of Hooker's writings, a virtual primer for our church, and may
be the most important book ever written in the Anglican/Episcopal
Church history.
[Phil Secor has been a follower of Richard Hooker
since he wrote his doctoral thesis on Hooker's political thought in
1959. He holds an MA and PhD from Duke and has taught political science
at Duke, Davidson College, and Dickinson College. He has been Dean
of Muhlenberg College and President of Cornell College.]
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News
Swaziland Cathedral Dean will visit Bethlehem
By Dan and Maggie Land
The Rev. Charles Kenene, acting rector and dean of
All Saints Cathedral in Mbabane, Swaziland, sister parish of Trinity
Church, Bethlehem, will visit here in May.
Charles was born in 1963, the youngest of 19, in
the small village of Mhlosheni in the southern part of Swaziland.
Three siblings, triplets, died before Charles was born.
When Charles was six months old his father took another
wife, a practice common in those days and, to a somewhat lesser extent,
still today.
Charles never really knew his father, and his mother
died when he was 13.
He recently discovered that he has half-brothers
and sisters by virtue of his father's other wife.
Because of the large size of the family, Charles
went to Mbabane when he was six to live with his sister, the second
oldest, who worked in Mbabane and had two boys and a girl of her own.
She adopted and raised Charles and put him through high school.
Charles grew up with his sister's children. "Instead
of being their uncle, I was their brother," he says.
Young Charles was active in the Anglican Church as
an acolyte. He assisted Father Dobson in Mbabane and at the outstations
of All Saints Church.
He had three career choices after high school: accounting,
farming and the priesthood. He chose accounting. When he couldn't
obtain a scholarship to go to college, he enrolled in night school
at Swaziland College of Technology where he completed two years of
study.
He felt a calling to the priesthood because he was
"so much involved with the church." He spoke to Father Dobson, the
dean, about it.
"I didn't know whether I was coming or going," he
said. His sister and brother-in-law did all they could to discourage
him, telling him that priests don't get paid. They get what people
want to give them.
His sister was disappointed and angry. She cut off
their relationship when Charles responded to the call. She did not
attend his ordination or even his wedding.
Charles and his sister remained estranged until she
came to hear him preach in 1998.
At the time of Charles' aspirancy Bishop Bernard
Mkhabela arranged for Charles to attend seminary at St. Bedes in Transkei,
South Africa. This was the first time he had been away from home.
Because of the difficulty with his family around his decision, his
departure from Swaziland was a sad one. "I cried all the way to the
Transkei," he said.
At the end of his schooling he was posted to Holy
Trinity in Nklangano in the south. The name means "meeting place"
in Siswati, so named for the meeting of King Sobhusa, King of Swaziland
and King George of England, that took place there.
Charles served there for nine years. During that
time he had no automobile and had to rely on buses to take him to
the outstations he served, traveling 50 kilometers to one, 100 to
another.
In 1997 he was moved to St. Mary's in Hlatikulu,
about 30 kilometers away from his first assignment. Eight months later,
the diocesan council asked him to help out in the diocesan office.
In January 1998, he became Secretary/Treasurer of the diocese. In
May 1999, because of the resignation of the rector of All Saints,
he also became acting dean and rector there.
Charles and his wife, Thuli have been married for
12 years They have two children: a son, Sibusiso, "blessing," and
a daughter, Khanya "light."
Charles is a dedicated man of God. He has endured
many hardships in his journey to and through his priesthood. He is
warm and open and has a ready smile. It is a pleasure to know him.
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Executing Justice
A review by The Rev. Benjamin Lentz, rector,
Church of the Redeemer Sayre
Diocesan Life, April 2001
In his book, Executing Justice: The Moral Meaning
of the Death Penalty (Pilgrim Press, 1998) Lloyd Steffen, religious
studies professor and chaplain at Lehigh University, Bethlehem, delves
into the notion of what constitutes a theory of just execution. His
scholarly approach takes the reader from a review of philosophers,
to the development of a theory of just execution, and finally to the
testing of a practical application of the theory developed.
The ultimate question for Steffen is: "Can the killing
of a member of a moral community be morally sanctioned by that community
and, if so, under what circumstances?"
The author examines the philosophies of John Locke
(empiricism), Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill (utilitarianism)
and Immanuel Kant (transcendental idealism) in their defense of the
use of the death penalty. With this knowledge, he constructs a theory
of just execution.
The theory of just execution proposed by the author
is situated between the contrasting absolutist positions of human
rights (a fundamental right to life, including the right not to be
executed) on the one hand and the retributive justice of the lex talionis
(an eye for an eye) on the other. It offers a 'morally moderate' perspective
that responds to the thrust of American law, which is that capital
punishment ought ordinarily not to be used for crime but may be used
in special circumstances.
The theory of just execution is a moral framework
based upon nine requirements of justice: legitimate authority (who
has the authority to execute); just cause (death penalty to be restricted
to extreme offenses); justice, not vengeance as the motive (examination
of the motivation for invoking the death penalty); fair imposition
(impartial distribution of the death penalty); prohibition of cruelty
(the humanity of all persons, even those to be executed, must be respected);
last resort (thorough examination of all alternative punishments);
preserving values (attending to the positive contribution to the moral
community); restoration of equilibrium (to bring peace to the social
order); and, proportionality (punishment to fit the crime).
"The theory of just execution is a strong theory.
And it is so practical a mode of moral thinking and evaluation that
I believe we in the moral community commonly appeal to it when we
stake out positions on the moral meaning of the death penalty. We
frame our moral debates in light of specific criteria that we deem
must be satisfied if capital punishment is to be morally justified..."
[Executing Justice, page 112]
Whether discussing the philosophies of Locke, Bentham,
Mill, and Kant, or building a theory of just execution, the author
pushes each implication and action to its logical conclusion. This
leads the author in the final chapter (Symbol, Power, and the Death
of God) to challenge the traditional symbolism of the cross.
The innocence of Jesus becomes a moot point if Jesus
was legally executed under Roman law. Rome exercised its power in
accordance with its system of justice. The charge was subversive activity;
the verdict was guilty; the means of death was meant to act as deterrence
to other acts of subversion. The plea of Jesus on the cross, "Father
forgive them for they know not what they do," becomes a declaration
that humans have usurped the ultimate authority of God: the power
over life and death.
"Seen as a symbol of the death penalty, the cross
points toward our fallibility and our tendency to refuse to recognize
our fallibility, covering it by legalizing our claim to exercise God-like
power." [Ibid. page 166]
Lloyd Steffen challenges the reader to critically
review one's own position on the death penalty. The reader who straddles
the fence on the issue is urged to make a decision.
For the person who is opposed to the death penalty,
his book is an indispensable resource. It is an excellent companion
"read" for the book, Actual Innocence, by Barry Scheck, Peter
Neufield and Jim Dwyer.
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