I began my second week pretty much as I had ended the first – meeting one-on-one with members of the diocesan staff. This group of talented people know a great deal about The Diocese of New Jersey and how it works. Their thoughts and insights are invaluable to me. They love the clergy and people of the diocese and are dedicated to our being the best diocese of the Episcopal Church! A strong message I heard from many of them is, “continue to be yourself, the person God called to lead this diocese.” It is good advice that I will strive to follow.
Beyond these one-on-one staff meetings, I sat in on a
meeting of the Investment Committee of the Diocese and participated in a
meeting of the Transition Committee which is charged both with responsibility
for caring for Susan and me as we enter into life in the diocese and for Bishop
Councell and his wife Ruth as Bishop Councell moves toward his retirement. There will be a special service of
recognition and thanksgiving for Bishop Councell and Ruth on October 13 at
Trinity Cathedral. Details will soon be
going out to the diocese about this special service and about the Consecration.
Most exciting for me in this second week were two trips to
parts of the Diocese beyond Trenton. On
Thursday, August 15, I went up to New Brunswick and had lunch with Greg
Bezilla, Chaplain of Campus Ministries at Rutgers. I have to confess, I was surprised at how
large a city New Brunswick is and also, to learn from Greg, how massive Rutgers
is.
 |
| The Rev. Greg Bezilla |
Greg showed me around Canterbury
House, which is the center for Campus Ministries at Rutgers. Once a home, it is a now a warm and inviting
place for Rutgers students to meet and share in meals, discussion and fellowship. Needless to say, it being summer, things were
pretty quiet. I look forward to visiting
again when students are back and activities resume. This, it seems to me, is a vital opportunity
and I’m grateful for Greg’s leadership and also for the Procter Foundation of
the Diocese which makes this ministry possible.
The New Brunswick campus of Rutgers is the main campus, but
is only one of four in this State University system. I can’t wait to see the rest! Greg and I had lunch outdoors at Au Bon Pain
on College Avenue. It was a beautiful
day. We engaged in a wide ranging
discussion about how to reach out to young people and young families in today’s
very changed and challenging culture in which church participation is in
precipitous decline. Greg is the
Chair-Person of The Committee on Lifelong Formation. I am very interested in that committee’s
work. Greg and I both agree that more
and better use of technology – videos, webinars, social media -- is a top priority for the church and the
diocese as we strive to get our story and message out in new and creative ways. We also recognize that today’s young people
are bombarded by noise and technology and that we as a church can offer them
places of sanctuary and quiet which are vitally important for spiritual health
and well-being. It will require an
interesting balance of priorities.
On Thursday, I also participated with Bishop Councell in my
first meeting of The Standing Committee of the Diocese. The Standing Committee is a critically
important body in the life of the Church, the Diocese and its Bishop as a
trusted council of advice. Although I
have served on many diocesan and denominational boards and committees, I have
never served on a Standing Committee, so this is one more learning experience
for me. It has a personal meaning for me. I have been told that my grandfather,
Frederick Stokes, an Estates Attorney, was the first lay person ever to serve
as a member of The Standing Committee of the Diocese of Long Island. Sitting in that Standing Committee meeting
allowed me to touch base with that part of my story. In this meeting both Bishop Councell and I
reported on our activities and anticipated what is to come. I stayed to hear various presentations about
matters concerning church properties in the diocese including an interesting
proposal enthusiastically presented by representatives of St. Elizabeths’
Chapel in Ortley Beach, whose sanctuary was washed into the sea during
Hurricane Sandy. It is great to see that
community working on rebuilding their church and its ministries!
On Friday, Susan joined me and we left early for
Bernardsville, about an hour’s drive from our home. The Garmin took us along a beautiful route
through stunning countryside. Our first stop was at St. Bernard’s which was
hosting Splash! An Interfaith Kids Camp. This creative idea was the brainchild of
Betsy LeVela, a talented Christian educator who worked with St. Bernard’s in
bringing this camp about. She facilitated
a partnership with a local Jewish congregation, Adath Shalom and The Islamic
Center of Basking Ridge who devised a program centering on care of the
Creation and especially understanding God’s gift of water through story-telling
from all three faith traditions. There
were games and science experiments and a lot of fun. This was part of St. Bernard’s participation
in the certification program sponsored by Green
faith an interfaith organization that supports churches and other faith-based
organizations to be better stewards of the environment. Green
Faith is New Jersey-based. Its director
is The Reverend Fletcher Harper, an Episcopal priest. You can find out more about Green Faith at www.Greenfaith.org. I encourage
churches in the Diocese of New Jersey to check them out.
 |
| Betsy LeVela and Splash! Interfaith Kids Camp |
We enjoyed getting a tour of St. Bernard’s from Ali Dockery,
who is on staff at the church and whose enthusiasm is infectious. What a great ambassador for the parish. We also enjoyed meeting Junior Warden,
Stephen Galpin who has a long family history at St. Bernard’s.
As we were going to be in the area, we had made arrangements
to visit Susan Ironside and to have her show us around St. John’s on-the-Mountain,
Bernardsville. We really appreciated
Susan’s positive, high energy and appreciated hearing of the good things
happening at St. John’s. Susan has
scored a major coup! She and Dr. Patrick
Malloy of General Theological Seminary have agreed that Dr. Malloy will lead
the efforts in adult formation at St. John’s this year. That will be exciting for the people of the
parish. It was exhilarating to visit two
beautiful churches in the Diocese and even more exhilarating to witness and
hear about the good things going on in each!
 |
| With Susan Ironside at St. John's on the Mountain |
On Friday evening, we joined the staff of the Diocese for a “staff
recreational day.” To honor Bishiop
Councell and his love of baseball, and the Los Angeles Dodgers, we all went to
see the Phillies take on the Dodgers in Philadelphia. It was a well-played game and the result was
good news for Bishop Councell and part of the continuing disappointment for
Phillies fans. While I am on the
subject, I will declare my team allegiances:
Baseball: NY Mets and Miami
Marlins (which shouldn’t threaten anyone too much!); Football:
NY Giants and the Jets; Hockey;
The NY Rangers (can’t root for a team called The Devils even if they
have a terrific goalie, sorry!) and basketball, The Heat and the Knicks.
On Sunday, Susan and I worshiped at Trinity Cathedral for
the first time and were warmly welcomed by the Dean and the Cathedral
community. It was Megan Thomas’s last
Sunday before she begins her new ministry at All Saints in Princeton. She preached a terrific sermon on a very
difficult text using Robert McCloskey’s book Time of Wonder for her departure point and exploring the challenges
of what we anticipate and what we ought to anticipate as we consider Christ’s
coming.
We spent a leisurely afternoon with Dean Rene John and his
wife Andrea, and met their son Akeem.
The Dean grilled terrific barbecue, served Red Stripe Beer ( favorite of
mine!). Andrea prepared spectacular cod
cakes and we enjoyed wonderful company.
 |
| With Trinity Cathedral parishioners Judith Miller and Gwendolyn Pearson |
No comments:
Post a Comment