THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE of ALABAMA July/August 2016 • Vol
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THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF ALABAMA July/August 2016 • Vol. 101, No. 4 2 • THE ALABAMA EPISCOPALIAN Around Our Diocese Bishop Marray to become 11th Bishop of the Diocese of Easton he Rt. Rev. Santosh K. Marray, was elected 11th Bishop of the Episcopal Dio- holds a degrees from Codrington Theological College, Barbados; the University of the cese of Easton, June 11. He currently serves as the Diocese of Alabama’s Assistant West Indies, Barbados; General Theological Seminary, New York; the University of Wales, TBishop. UK, and Colgate Rochester/Bexley Hall Divinity School. Marray was elected on the third ballot from among four nominees. He received 69 of Marray is married to Nalini ‘Lynn’ since 1977. They have two grown children, Ingram 88 votes cast in the lay order and 31 of 51 votes cast in the clergy order. The election took and Amanda, a daughter-in-law, Tenille, and a granddaughter. place at Trinity Cathedral in Easton, MD. The other nominees were the Rev. Kathryn A. Andonian, Rector of the Church of “Lynn and I give thanks to Almighty God and the laity and clergy of the Diocese of the Holy Spirit in Harleysville, PA; the Very Rev. Brian Grantz, Dean and Rector of the Easton for this remarkable call to serve and to dream God’s dream with the faithful people Cathedral of Saint James in South Bend, IN; and the Rev. John A. Mennell, Rector of St. in the Easton shores of Maryland,” said Marray following his election. “We thank God for Luke’s Episcopal Church Montclair, NJ. ministry in Alabama and the love and care our brothers and sisters have shown us during According to its website, the Diocese of Easton is the entire Eastern Shore of our ministry here.” Maryland, which includes territory in more than one-third of Maryland and shares the “Congratulations to Santosh and Lynn on his election to become the next bishop of Delmarva Peninsula with the state of Delaware and a small part of Virginia. It is comprised the Diocese of Easton,” said the Rt. Rev. Kee Sloan, Alabama’s Diocesan Bishop, following of nine counties, from the Chesapeake Bay to Delaware; from Pennsylvania to Virginia.” the election. “We will miss them. We are thankful for their life and ministry among us. We also congratulate the Diocese of Easton who have elected a fine servant of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Pending consent from a majority of the Episcopal Church’s diocesan bishops and a majority of dioceses (via their Standing Committees), the installation of the bishop-elect is scheduled to take place on Saturday, October 15, 2016 at the Todd Performing Arts Center, Chesapeake College, Wye Mills, Maryland, with the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, the Most Rev. Michael Bruce Curry, presiding. The current bishop, the Rt. Rev. Henry Nutt Parsley, Jr. became the Provisional Bishop of the Diocese of Easton in 2014. Parsley previously served as Bishop of Alabama until his retirement from that position at the end of 2012. Marray became the Diocese of Alabama’s Assistant Bishop in 2012. In that role he shares collaborative and collegial ministry with the bishop, and diocesan staff and leader- ship. He was Bishop Assisting of the Diocese of East Carolina 2009-20012. From 2005- 2008 he was the Bishop of Seychelles, Province of the Indian Ocean, and led the diocese through re-imagination, change, and clergy and laity empowerment. When the diocese returned to sustainability, he returned to his family in the US. Prior to being elected bishop, he served a small parish in Florida, and multi-church parishes in his native country Guyana and the Bahamas, leading the revitalization of struggling congregations of various sizes. He has also planted new churches and carried out numerous successful capital campaigns. He taught for 10 years in the Bahamas Public School System. Marray was the Province of the Indian Ocean’s representative on the Anglican Communion Covenant Design Group and was later appointed by Archbishop Rowan Williams as Commissary to the Anglican Communion. Marray is a convert from Hinduism, the faith of his parents. His passion for Jesus and his Church is undergirded by his conviction that a loving Jesus who came looking for him in a small remote village in South America populated by majority Hindus and Muslims in Guyana deserves his love and devotion. He was ordained to the diaconate and priesthood in 1981, and bishop in 2005. He THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH In the Diocese of Alabama In the United States The Anglican Communion About 34,000 baptized members in 92 parishes A community of about An 80-million-member and worshiping communities and 8 college 2.4 million members in 119 dioceses worldwide community of campus ministries. Established in 1830. in the Americas and abroad. Established 38 provinces. in 1789. Bishop Archbishop of Canterbury The Rt. Rev. John McKee Sloan Presiding Bishop The Most Rev. Justin Welby Assistant Bishop The Most Rev. Michael Curry Lambeth Palace, London The Rt. Rev. Santosh K. Marray Episcopal Church Center England SE17JU Carpenter House 815 Second Avenue 521 North 20th Street New York, NY 10017 Birmingham, AL 35203 212/867-8400 205/715-2060 The Alabama Episcopalian is published 6 times per year (January/February, March/April, May/June, July/August, September/October, and Novem- The Alabama Episcopalian ber/December) by the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama. Previous names for this publication include The Diocese of Alabama (1892), The Church Record Dave Drachlis, Editor (1893–1922), The Alabama Churchman (1923–1987), The Apostle (1988–1997 and 1999–2009), and The Alabama Apostle (1998). Periodicals rate Miles G. Parsons, Art Director postage paid at Birmingham, Alabama. Denise Servant, Circulation Secretary All editorial submissions should be sent to Dave Drachlis at [email protected]. The deadline for each issue is the first day of the Volume 101, Number 4 month of publication. ON THE COVER July/August 2016 Special Session USPS 070-910 All address corrections or additions should be sent to Denise Servant at [email protected] or Carpenter House, 521 North 20th Street, Birmingham, AL 35203–2682. Story and photos ISSN 1041-3316 Pages 6-9 POSTMASTER: Please send address corrections to Denise Servant, Circulation Secretary, The Alabama Episcopalian, 521 North 20th Street, Birmingham, AL 35203–2682. July/August 2016 From Bishop Sloan THE ALABAMA EPISCOPALIAN • 3 “Jesus Stuff” shooting came after the deaths of two African American men at the hands of police officers in Louisiana and Minnesota. That alone would have been tragic enough, “Sometimes I wonder what the world but our situation is more complicated than that: by the we live in thinks about Jesus, if they hard reality that we live in a society deeply divided by racism, by challenges to our overwhelmed mental health ever think about him at all.” system, by our unresolved debate about guns, by people giving extreme and provocative statements to the media should love our enemies, and prayed to forgive those who to intentionally agitate others, and by a political system nailed him to the cross. If you’re slapped in the face, Jesus that seems broken and powerless to address any of this. tells you to turn the other cheek; if someone takes your For many of us, this has become part of the background coat, Jesus tells you to offer your shirt as well. music of our lives. What does a faithful Christian have to We can hear the world around us declaring such ideas say about all of this? to be simplistic, idealistic, naïve, absurd, dangerous – and First, and it’s important that you trust me in this: I’m I wonder if the world’s verdict is that the people who trying not to talk about politics, in this column, or in believe all that stuff must be a bunch of losers, too. general – it so quickly escalates into anger and divides us But here's the thing, I believe that Jesus is the Light into teams that are just not helpful. I hope you all vote of the world, and that the Church as the Body of Christ on Election Day, and I hope you take your faith with is called to shine hope and love into dark and hate- filled places. I believe in the ideals that Jesus taught, “As a country, we need to find a way and that they are as relevant and needed today as they have ever been. If that makes me a loser, then I am Hello, friends to talk about race and racism so that proud to be a loser. we can see through someone else’s At some point, if we’re ever going to be serious about following Jesus, we’re going to have to pay some atten- know you join me in congratulating the Rt. eyes what it means to be Black, tion to what he said we should do: love God with all our Rev. Santosh Marray, our Assistant Bishop and heart, soul, strength and mind, and love our neighbors friend, on his election to become the 11th Bish- White, Latino, Asian or other.” as we love ourselves, even as we know we don’t get to I choose our neighbors. We are saddened by the events of op of the Diocese of Easton in Maryland. He and this past week, and we may be angry, or hurt. But Jesus you when you do, but I’m not talking Democrats and Lynn have been a wonderful part of our Diocesan does not give us permission to hate any of God’s children, Republicans. As a country, we need to find a way to talk ever.