Hurry! Your Parochial Report Is Due Tomorrow

Feb. 28, 2013

Hurry! Your parochial report is due tomorrow. The annual parochial report required of parishes in the Episcopal Church must be filed by March 1. The report itself can be filed online (http://generalconvention.org/gc/parochial_reports), but the diocesan office still needs the following items returned in hard copy:  The completed signature page (page 1)  The supplement page  The directory update form  The form listing parish delegates  Clergy continuing education form  A copy of the church’s directory Questions about completing the report, in print or online, should be directed to Comptroller Jay Currie, (800) 473-3563 or [email protected].

Safeguarding classes offered this Saturday in Wichita Safeguarding God’s Children (protecting children and youth) and Safeguarding God’s People (preventing adult exploitation) classes will take place this Saturday, March 2 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at St. James’, 3750 E. Douglas in Wichita. Trainers are the Rev. Sharon Billman and the Rev. Jan Chubb. There is no charge to attend, but pre-registration is required. To sign up, call the St. James’ office at (316) 683-5686.

Chrism Mass to take place Tuesday, March 26 The annual Chrism Mass will take place on March 26, the Tuesday in Holy Week, at 10:30 a.m. at Grace Cathedral, 701 SW 8th Ave., in Topeka. All members of the diocese are invited to this service, which features the renewal of clergy ordination vows and the blessing of the oil of chrism used at baptisms. Clergy already have received information about this service and are reminded to return their reply card for lunch arrangements. Clergy should arrive by 9:30 a.m. to vest (red stole) in the cathedral’s lower-level Great Hall.

Women’s summit set for April 19-20 in Wichita The first-ever diocesan Women’s Summit will explore what messages society sends to women, especially through advertising’s emphasis on beauty and perfection, as well as what the Christian faith has to say about that. The event will take place April 19-20 at St. James’ in Wichita with the theme “Women and Girls: Made in the Image of God.” It is designed for Episcopal women of all ages from high school and older. The cost to attend is $30 if paid before March 15 and $40 after that. The summit, which will run from Friday at 5:30 p.m. (with registration, gathering time and a light dinner) through Saturday at 5 p.m. (dinner provided), will address three questions through speakers and small group discussions:  What does the Bible say to us about who we are as women?  What does contemporary society and the media say to us about who we are as women?  What do we say to each other about who we are as women? Registration forms have been sent to every church in the diocese, and a copy (in PDF format) is on the diocesan website at http://www.episcopal-ks.org/news/. Questions about the event may be directed to Ellen Wolfe at [email protected] or (785) 393-1327; or to Fran Wheeler at [email protected] or (913) 226-0540.

KSM to offer a summer session on English mystical theology The Kansas School for Ministry will offer a special course this summer on the English mystical tradition. This course will help participants become more familiar with the sources and figures of English mystical theology, including the anonymous but influential text The Cloud of Unknowing and medieval writers like Richard Rolle, Julian of Norwich and Margery Kempe. Leading the class will be Dr. Jim Lewis. The class will meet June 8-9 (Saturday and Sunday) at the Bethany Place Conference Center. The cost is $100 per person, which covers instruction, lodging at the conference center and meals, but not books, travel or other incidentals. All members of the diocese are invited to learn more about a neglected and often misunderstood segment of Anglican history, faith and practice. For further information or to register for the course, please contact the Rev. Andrew Grosso at [email protected] or (913) 367-3171.

Tocher Lecture on April 25 will feature Miroslav Volf The annual Tocher Lecture is set for Thursday, April 25 and will feature Miroslav Volf, professor of theology at Yale Divinity School and Director of the Yale Center for Faith and Culture. His public lecture will take place at 7 p.m. at St. Thomas the Apostle Church, 12251 Antioch Rd. in Overland Park. He will discuss the development of a "culture of respect" and the nature of relationships between people who are divided by strong disagreements. He also will participate in a seminar for clergy that afternoon on the same topic. Pre-registration is required for that event. Volf is the author of 16 books and has been involved in international ecumenical and interfaith dialogues. He is a member of the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Church in Croatia. The Tocher Lecture Series is sponsored by the Kansas School for Ministry. More information about either event is available from KSM coordinator the Rev. Andrew Grosso at [email protected] or (913) 367-3171.

Youth news >> Recharge rescheduled; new deadline is March 7 Because of Winter Storm Q, Recharge has been rescheduled from Feb. 22-23 to March 15-16, and additional registrations now can be accepted until the deadline of March 7. Recharge is a retreat for adults who already work with youth or who want to start. The retreat begins at 6:15 p.m. on Friday, March 15 and ends Saturday, March 16, at 4 p.m., at Camp Wood YMCA. Cost is $60 for the whole retreat or $30 for Saturday only and includes all your meals. Friday night will feature a spiritual (and hopefully fun) session based on the book Dangerous Wonder: The Adventure of Childlike Faith by Michael Yaconelli. Saturday morning the Rev. Marcus Cunningham will lead a session on the “Themes and Components for a Comprehensive Ministry with Adolescents.” He also will be available throughout the weekend to do Reconciliation for anyone who feels desiring this during Lent. On Saturday afternoon there will be a session with a resources for planning and leading a Bible study. More information and a registration form are available at www.episcopal-ks.org/youth/Recharge.html . If you have any questions, contact Karen Schlabach at [email protected] or (913) 708-5927. >> Youth Peer Ministry applications are due Friday, March 1 The diocesan youth peer ministry program is currently accepting applications for the upcoming retreat March 8-9. The peer ministry program seeks to provide an opportunity for high school students in the Diocese of Kansas to grow in their faith, receive training in ministry and life skills, assume roles of liturgical leadership, welcome other students into the body of Christ, and develop other young leaders. If you know a youth in your parish who would fit this position or be interested in this position, invite them to apply to be a peer minister. Applications are available on the diocesan youth web site: http://www.episcopal-ks.org/youth/peerministry.html If you have any questions about the peer ministry program please contact Peer Ministry Coordinator Michael Funston at [email protected] or Youth Missioner Karen Schlabach at [email protected]. >> Counselors are needed for MegaCamp Are you called to work with young people in grades 3-12 during MegaCamp June 2-8 at Camp Wood YMCA near Elmdale, southwest of Emporia? If so, sign up to be one of the 50 counselors needed for this important annual event. Counselors stay with campers in cabins, co-lead a small discussion group, and get to participate in all the fun activities and worship along with the campers. More information about camp is available at www.episcopal-ks.org/youth/summercamp.html. Staff applications are also available now and are due March 15. Contact Youth Missioner Karen Schlabach if you have any questions, [email protected] or (913) 708-5927. >> St. Michael and All Angelsto offer Christian Formation internship We are excited to announce that St. Michael and All Angels, Mission, will offer a 12-week summer internship for a college student interested in parish program ministry. This internship is designed to provide training in parish Christian Formation across all ages. Over 12 weeks, the intern will have an opportunity to learn about nursery, children, youth and adult ministry in the parish setting An overview, application and reference forms are available on the St. Michael’s website at www.stmaa.net/?q=content/growing-spiritually/formation/youth. Contact Sue Mason, Director of Children’s Ministry, with any questions, at [email protected] or( 913) 236-8600. Applications are due March 15.

KC-area congregations can apply for energy upgrade matching grants Kansas Interfaith Power & Light, a statewide organization encouraging environmental stewardship in faith communities, is offering matching grants of $3,000 to congregations in the Kansas City metropolitan area to help fund energy improvements on their facilities. Houses of worship can be very energy inefficient, which can present a significant burden to the congregations that maintain them. Often every extra dollar they spend on gas or electricity is a dollar they cannot spend on worship, faith education, care for the poor or other areas of mission. Kansas IPL has seen that relatively inexpensive energy upgrades can have significant benefits for a congregation's bottom line – as well as for the environment. Congregations can save anywhere from 15 to 25 percent of their annual lighting and energy costs by changes such as improved lighting and temperature setbacks at times when the building is not in use. Funding for the project comes from a grant from the Mid-America Regional Council under its EnergyWorks KC initiative, for programs that exhibit innovative approaches leading to energy upgrades of existing buildings. The deadline for application is May 1. More information, including application, is available on the Kansas IPL website: www.kansasipl.org

Upcoming KSM classes A variety of classes offered by the Kansas School for Ministry still may have room for students who want to enrich their own spiritual life by extensive study on one of these topics:  March 9-10: Church History Survey (The Rev. George Wiley); Polity and Canons (Mr. Larry Bingham)  April 13-14: British Christianity (The Very Rev. Bill Wolff)  May 11-12: History of the Episcopal Church (The Very Rev. Bill Wolff) The cost to attend is $100 per course for non-ordination students. Fees cover tuition, overnight accommodations in the Bethany Place Conference Center and four meals. The cost of books and other materials are not included. Those wanting to enroll or who need more information should contact KSM Coordinator the Rev. Andrew Grosso at [email protected] or (913) 367-3171.

Presiding Bishop urges support for Holy Land in Good Friday offering Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori has written to all congregations asking them to consider assistance for Jerusalem and the Middle East through the annual Good Friday Offering. “In spite of the challenges, the strength and vitality of the witness of the indigenous Christians throughout the Middle East is inspiring,” she wrote. Funds collected from the Good Friday Offering are distributed to the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East, which includes the Dioceses of Jerusalem, and Cyprus and the Gulf, all members of the Anglican Communion. Information and resources for the Good Friday Offering are available at http://www.episcopalchurch.org/page/good-friday-offering

Episcopal Church Foundation announces March web seminars Three webinars on planned giving, church and school capital campaigns, and endowments will be featured during March in web-based seminars offered by the Episcopal Church Foundation. There is no cost to participate, and all lay and clergy leaders are invited to take part. They include:  Basics of Planned Giving (March 6, 5:30-7:30 p.m. Central time), presented by Jim Murphy, ECF Managing Program Director  Coordinating an Episcopal Church and School Capital Campaign (March 13, 6-7 p.m. Central time), presented by Sue Fornabai, ECF consultant  Spending Rules for Endowments (March 14, 6-7 p.m. Central time) A list of upcoming webinars through May 1, with links for more information and to register, is online at http://www.episcopalfoundation.org/news-and-events/events-detail?newsID=8706cc73-7093-46ce-96d1- 006726f45744

Want to know when a new Vestry Papers is available? Now you can. The popular Vestry Papers, available online as part of the Episcopal Church Foundation award- winning website Vital Practices, now offers email notifications when a new issue is produced. To get Vestry Papers alerts, go to the Vital Practices website, www.ecfvp.org, and click the “Register” button on the upper right-hand side of the homepage. You then fill out a form to become a registered subscriber, which means you’ll get notices in your email inbox when new Vestry Papers material is ready.

Human trafficking is subject of online forum with PB Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori will host an online forum on Wednesday, March 6, beginning at 1 p.m. Central, that explores the church’s work in fighting human trafficking. The event will originate from the Chapel of Christ the Lord in the Episcopal Church Center in New York City and will be hosted on the WebEx platform. The presiding bishop will present an address, and other participants will share additional information. Pre-registration is required, and space is limited. To register, or to ask questions of the panelists, contact [email protected].

People notes Carole Smalley, wife of the retired eighth Bishop of Kansas, William Smalley, suffered a broken hip and subsequent surgery after a fall in mid-February. Notes and cards with your good wishes may be sent to her at their home, 13809 E. 186th St., Noblesville, IN 46060-9825.

Anniversaries of ordinations Congratulations go to these people as they celebrate the anniversaries of their ordination in the next two weeks: March 1: Deacon Pat Murphy, retired (10 years); the Rev. Sheila Fellhauer, St. Francis Community Services, Salina, Diocese of Western Kansas (25 years); the Rev. Robert Seaton, non-parochial, Diocese of Western Kansas (10 years) March 3: Deacon Max Murrison, Christ Cathedral, Salina, Diocese of Western Kansas (13 years) March 4: Deacon Joe Withrow, Grace, Hutchinson, Diocese of Western Kansas (24 years) March 7: The Rev. Ray Hartjen, St. Thomas’, Holton (23 years) March 10: The Rev. Larry Carver, Grace, Hutchinson, Diocese of Western Kansas (40 years)

Next DioLog The next edition of DioLog will be sent to subscribers on Thursday, March 14. Information to be included should be sent to Melodie Woerman, diocesan director of communications, at [email protected], no later than Tuesday, March 12. DioLog is a publication of the Office of Communications of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas. Parishes are free to excerpt anything printed in DioLog; attribution that material is reprinted from DioLog is appreciated. Feel free to copy this and make it available to parishioners in whatever way is most useful.