Rejoice with those who
rejoice, weep with those who weep….Romans 12:15
On Wednesday morning, September 4, I participated in the No More Names event held in New
Brunswick and sponsored by Mayors Against
Illegal Guns (see http://nomorenames.org/) . The No
More Names bus left Newtown, Connecticut on June 14 for a journey intended
to take it cross country, stopping in towns and cities along the way, and
particularly in front of the home offices of congressional leaders. At
each stop, the names of Americans killed since the Newtown Tragedy are being
read aloud. As of Wednesday, September 4th,
the number was some 8,700 people. As I
write, the number is 9,028.
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| At the No More Names event. |
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Americans are killed each day by guns.
As Bishop Councell and I stated in an op-ed piece which appeared in The Times of Trenton, common sense gun-reform laws are, “a clear
and compelling moral demand of our time and the right course of action for our
elected leaders” (See http://bit.ly/17G6KqU)
. The Reverend Greg
Bezilla, Chaplain of Canterbury House at Rutgers University, The Rev. Marshall Keith Shelly, Rector of St.
Peter’s in Spotswood, Deacon Clive Sang
of Trinity Church in Cranford, and our Acting-Diocesan Chancellor, Paul Ambos,
Esq. were also present.
Following the No
More Names event, Paul Ambos and I
had lunch to get to know each other a little better. We discussed the role of Chancellor and the
relationship between the Bishop, the Chancellor and the Diocese. The Diocese of New Jersey is blessed to have
Paul who is a faithful person, who loves
his Lord and his Church, and who is extremely knowledgeable about Canon
Law.
Wednesday
afternoon I returned to Trenton to meet with the Co-Chairs of the
Committee on the Diaconate – Archdeacon Vicky Cuff and the Rev. Lynn Johnson as
well as with The Rev. Linda Moeller and Canon Cecilia Alvarez to be fully
briefed on the diaconate and the School for Deacons in the Diocese of New Jersey. One of the things that impressed me during the election
process was the strength of the
diaconate in the Diocese of New Jersey. My
hope is that we build on this strength.
Wednesday night, Susan and I had dinner at Freddie’s Tavern
in Ewing with Deacon Debi Clark and with Julia Nemec and Arlis Astudillo, the Co-Chairs of The Youth Council. Julia and Arlis have been active in Youth
Ministry in New Jersey for years and are a delight. They shared their excitement about the
activities they have participated in and were clear that a highlight for them was
their participation in General Convention in Indianapolis in the summer of
2012. These leaders in our church have
tremendous gifts to offer. We must work
diligently to find ways to support them more fully and to build a stronger
ministry to young adults as they move beyond high school years. We talked about that too!
On Thursday, Bishop Councell
and I attended two meetings of Clericus.
The first was held at Holy Trinity Church in Wenonah and hosted by their
Rector, Fr. Ed Zelley who is also the Dean of the Woodbury Convocation. The other was held at Holy Trinity Church in
Collingswood, where Fr. Mark Chattin is the Rector. Fr. Chattin is the Dean of the Camden
Convocation. There was energetic conversation about my
role as bishop and particular concern about the north-south divide in the
Diocese as well as a sense of disconnect between the churches of the south and
Diocesan House in Trenton. This was
repeated in all four clergy groups I met with in Camden and Woodbury, and
repeated a concern expressed in Tuckerton.
There was clear support for the idea of strengthening the Convocation
system and the role of Deans as a partial strategy to address this
disconnect. The also expressed a
genuine hope that they would see me as bishop in their churches more frequently
than once every three years. There was
strong recognition of the challenges that small, struggling congregations
present to everybody in the diocese and clear hope that the challenge be
addressed. One suggestion made was to
mobilize the deacons of the diocese.
In the Camden Convocation there was particular concern
expressed about the poverty and crime of urban areas like Camden and some
frustration that as Church we seem only to take “little shots” at this instead
of mobilizing the whole diocese and the whole church. There
was a clear recognition that more Hispanic clergy are needed, and also hope
that more deacons could be mobilized for service in this and other trouble
spots in the diocese. At present there
are no deacons in Camden.
On Friday, I met with Frangelin Pozo who is an active
advocate for undocumented college students in New Jersey. Frangelin is not only the daughter of Fr.
Francisco Pozo, she is an adult leader in our own diocesan Youth Ministry. Her particular concern is to urge the New
Jersey Governor and Legislature to allow undocumented students who are
residents of New Jersey, and who have been for most of their lives, to be
charged in-state tuition rates for their studies. This is a justice issue. The vast majority of students who are
affected came to this country through no choice of their own. I support Franglelin in this and am drafting
a letter to Governor Christie to support this effort.
On Saturday, September 7, I was among the 25 or so persons who
participated in the mandated Sexual Misconduct Awareness Workshop that took
place at St. Peter’s Church in Freehold.
This training is required of all clergy and anyone in the diocese who
works regularly with children and youth.
I have received this training multiple times. It is never easy, but it is always
important. It is vitally important that
parish leaders have a clear understanding of these matters so that we can be
pastorally sensitive and work at preventing misconduct in our diocese, and
especially at preventing any incident of child sexual abuse. Fr. Paul Rimassa is one of our diocesan
trainers and did an outstanding job in presenting this difficult material. Please
note, I am in compliance with the
requirements of the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of New Jersey.
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| Welcome cake for me, Happy Birthday cake for Fr. John |
After the workshop, Susan
picked me up so that we could drive down to Point Pleasant. We met Fr. John Thompson-Quartey who had
invited me to come and be the preacher and celebrant for a joint service of St.
Mary’s, Point Pleasant and All Saints, Bay Head on September 8. He welcomed us on Saturday evening and gave
us a brief tour of that part of the Shore area. We saw beautiful St. Simon by-the-Sea in
Mantoloking, and also the site of what
had been St. Elizabeth’s in Ortley Beach before Hurricane Sandy washed that
lovely seasonal chapel into the sea (see http://www.app.com/viewart/20121106/NJNEWS/311060022/ortley-beach-church). After our brief tour, we were joined by Fr.
Neil Turton and his wife Wendy and had a wonderful dinner at the Bay Head Yacht
Club. This was a special treat for me as
we summered in Bay Head for five years when I was a teenager. We lived just up the street from the Bay
Head Yacht Club, so it was fun to be back in very familiar territory, although
it was also sad to recognize how much damage Sandy had done.
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| Dedicating the Handicap accessible ramp |
Fr. Turton and Wendy lost just about everything they had
when the waters from Sandy overpowered the All Saints Rectory. All Saints Church was also badly
damaged. Thanks be to God, Neil and
Sandy have come out of this in good spirits and have rebuilt their lives
including living in a home they own in Point Pleasant Beach. Repairs to All Saints are well underway and
the community hopes to be back in its sanctuary before Christmas. Neil also underwent emergency surgery this
summer and is recovering slowly but well.
We were all grateful that he was able to host us for dinner and to be
with us Sunday morning.
After Super Storm Sandy, Fr. John and the people of St.
Mary’s graciously reached out the people of All Saints. Both congregations have been worshiping at
St. Mary’s since the storm. It was a
great blessing to me to preach and celebrate at a joint service of the two
congregations and to rejoice at a true witness to Christian community and grace
at work. It was Fr. Neil’s first Sunday back and Fr.
John’s birthday. I also had the honor of
blessing a new ramp that was constructed at St. Mary’s to make the facility handicap
accessible. Grace abounded all over!
After our morning with the people of All Saints, Susan and I
drove up to Navesink, where we had been invited by Rev. Deborah Piggins to
attend a parish barbecue. We got a
“nickel tour” of the beautiful buildings and grounds in Navesink, enjoyed
terrific food and great company and got to hear about the good things going on
in that church.
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| View from Mount Mitchill Overlook. |
Before we left, we were advised to visit nearby the Mount
Mitchill Scenic Overlook which includes Monmouth County's 9/11 Memorial. As the 12th anniversary of 9/11
would take place later in the week, this seemed a must. We were glad we did.
From the overlook, one can see Manhattan, Staten Island and Long Island. Through binoculars the Statue of Liberty is visible, The 9/11 Memorial was very powerful with three symbolic components: a timeline walkway to recollect the day’s events; a stone base carved with the names, ages and hometowns of the county residents who lost their lives; and an eagle sculpture with a beam from one of the fallen towers. We were deeply moved to be there as the anniversary of 9/11 approached.
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| The 9/11 Monument - The steel girder came from the Twin Towers |
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