The Bishop is Coming! The Bishop is Coming!

On December 15th Bishop Singh will make his annual visit to St. John's.  If you or anyone you know wished to be confirmed in the Episcopal Church or received from another denomination, please see Mother Dahn.

Presiding Bishop Visits Diocesan Convention 11/8-9

Every Sunday we pray for Katharine, or more precisely The Most Rev, Katharine Jefferts Schori, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal  Church.

Next weekend you will have a chance to see, hear and interact with her. As a part of the 82nd Diocesan Convention she will lead a panel discussion on youth and violence starting at 6:00 PM on Friday November 8.  On Saturday she will preach at the convention Eucharist at 9:30 AM.  Both of these are open to the public and you are encouraged to attend.

This year's convention will be held at Asbury First Methodist Church, 1050 East Ave.  Visit the convention website for information on events and parking.

The Presiding Bishop will also be preaching at St. John's, Canadaigua on Sunday, November 10 and and receiving The Dr. Elizabeth Blackwell Award from Hobart and William Smith Colleges at 3 PM at the Scandling Campus Center.  The award ceremony is open to the public.

More Photos from Blessing of the Animals

Provincial Council

St. John's is well represented on Provincial Council for Province II of the Episcopal Church.  Our Rector. Dahn Gandell as the clergy representative from Executive Council and Neil Houghton as lay representative serve on this group. In the structure of the Episcopal Church there are 9 Provinces, each a grouping of dioceses.  Province II includes the dioceses in New York, New Jersey, The US Virgin Islands, Haiti and the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe.

One presentation was given by Stephanie Spellers, Canon for Missional Development in the Diocese of Long Island.  She talked about training people in various models of organizing to apply for funding. Missional Enterprise Zones and New Church Plants.  In accordance with General Convention Resolution A073 the Episcopal Church has set aside $2,000,000 for these purposes.

Neil asked that specific ways in which small towns and rural churches can take advantage of this be identified.

The Provincial Council is discussing strategies to offer training for this.

The Rev. Canon Stephanie Spellers

Blessing Of The Animals

Last Sunday we had our annual blessing of the Animals.  It is held each year on the Sunday closest to the the Feast of St. Francis.

Iconic Photo leads to Marriage at St. John's

On Friday, October 4, Sgt Brandon Morgan and Dalan Wells were married at St. John's.  At this small ceremony, The Rev. Dahn Dean Gandell, pronounced them legally married at 11:21 AM.  The ceremony was witnessed by the Dalan's father, David Wells, our parish administrator and Neil Houghton and Kyle Craword, parishioners, who signed the legal documents.

Dalan and Brandon are the subjects of a photograph that went viral in February, 2012, shortly after the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" ban was lifted by President Obama is executive order.

Initial Report on "Re-Imagining" the Episcopal Church Released.

An initial report from the group charged to investigate structure in the Episcopal Church has been released.  Read it here.

Comments from a parishioner, Neil Houghton, Deputy to General Convention in 2012 and member of Provincial Council:

A first read of this document leaves me hopeful and concerned.  The basic premises of moving to a more localized structure are hopeful.  They reflect, in simpler terms, that all politics is local.  Yes "politics" is a word we are uncomfortable with, but our polity is what separates us from many other Christians (denominational or not) and has made changes in the Episcopal Church more responsive to the shift in cultural understanding of minorities.  

All politics may be said to be local, but that speaks to implementation.  I read and am encouraged by words like "collaboration."  While implementation may differ in various localities, I fear that allowing this to be applied to its extreme will result in a "states rights" mentality of what it means to be Episcopalian.  We have seen what that has lead to in US governance.  Applications of socially progressive policies blocked, slowed and reversed.

Making our leadership too “lean” may be penny wise and pound foolish.  Structures that allow the development of replicable programs must be maintained.  Especially in the most vulnerable of small parishes, the lack of resources to do not allow them to think “outside the box.” Without those resources and support, there is little possibility of growth and more reason for the status quo to reign in an environment where a small group of active, well meaning people avoid change.

The other danger in a leadership that is pared down too far, is the control which one small group or even one person can wield with impunity.

It is clear that as we re-imagine our structure, we must be nimble but also safeguard the dignity of every human being.

Neil Houghton, St. John's Honeoeye Falls, NY
Episcopal Diocese of Rochester
GC 2009 and 2012 L4