It was an amazing week in the season of Epiphany as God was made manifest (from the Greek epiphainein to manifest) here in Madison through the witness, love and work of the Episcopal Church!

Pere Wisnel Dejardin, our friend and partner in ministry from Jeannette Haiti arrived on Saturday night, January 7^th.   In the week that he was here in Wisconsin he Celebrated the Eucharist three times, preached on a Wednesday night, met with representatives, both clergy and lay, from all over the diocese, and spent time with Bishop Steven Miller and Canon David Pfaff, and the Steering Committee of the Diocese of Milwaukee Haiti Project.

In the short time that he was here, describing the hardships in Jeannette caused by the two month early onset of the dry season and the loss of a feeding program that was previously underwritten by another NGO, we raised almost $5,000.  That $5,000 will feed the students of Saint Marc’s School for 6 weeks!  Those six weeks will give us time to raise additional monies to continue the school lunch program and wire the finds to Haiti.

The Diocese of Milwaukee Haiti Project has emergency reserve funds and at a meeting with Pere Wisnel at Grace Episcopal Church on Friday evening we committed some of those funds to buy a tanker truck of water to be delivered to Jeannette.  That water will fill their cisterns and provide safe, clean drinking water in a place where the land is parched and dry!

Pere Wisnel left for Haiti in the early morning hours of January 14^th with a sense of joy and hope for the people of Jeannette, uplifted by the support and love poured out on him and his parish by the people of the Diocese of Milwaukee.

As this week was wrapping up we read in the news about a fire at the Porchlight Transitional Housing Apartments.  On Friday night, a bitterly cold night when the fire trucks froze on the street, all 100 residents of the apartment building at the corner of Brooks and Johnson Streets had to be evacuated.  On Saturday afternoon the fire department cleared the building so that all but 16 of those residents could return to their apartments.

As I was reading the article describing the plight of those 16 women I received a call from LZ Ventures, our partners in developing the Saint Francis House Episcopal Student Ministry site.  LZ offered to delay the construction process at the Saint Francis House site so that the vacated building could be used as temporary Emergency Housing for our next door neighbors at Porchlight!  Within the hour the Saint Francis House Board, the Bishop of the Diocese of Milwaukee and the staff at Porchlight were in conversation, making plans to move the sixteen displaced residents of Porchlight into Saint Francis House.

Madison Property Management, managers of the Grand Central Student Apartments, also neighbors “on the block” brought furniture to Saint Francis House, had their staff re key the doors so that the women who would be using the space would feel secure in their temporary lodgings, installed smoke detectors and repaired lighted exit signs bringing the space back up to code.  All of this done so that 16 people would be safe and warm for a month!

In the days since the fire I have heard from parishioners whose work places are sponsoring bake sales to raise funds to help the residents of Porchlight replace the belongings that were lost in the fire.  I have heard from parishioners who are donating clothing, toiletries, furniture, and cash.  Mike Lisle, a member of our Vestry, contacted me and his company KleenMark has donated cleaning supplies so that the rooms at Porchlight, even the rooms that were deemed habitable after the fire, can be cleaned of the soot, ash and smell of smoke that permeated the entire building!

In the season of Epiphany we look for signs of God’s presence and activity in the world around us.  We look for moments where God’s love and grace are made manifest, tangible, real.  In this one week we have seen God at work in the world through the ministry and care of the Episcopal Church, through the work of the communities that we have gathered, and through the outpouring of support for people in need that so characterizes who we are.  We are the Church, the Body of Christ, God’s hands and feet in the world.  Thanks be to God!

Here is the website for Porchlight which lists things that are needed by the poeple who lost their homes in Friday’s fire:

http://www.porchlightinc.org/

If you would like to make a financial contribution to help these 16 women get back on their feet you can do so by by clicking here.

The web donation form allows you to designate how you want the funds to be used.

After a three year discernment process and a long and contentious approval process the Saint Francis House Episcopal Student Ministry property is scheduled for redevelopment, deconstruction of part of the existing building and construction of a new Student Apartment building that will provide an income stream to sustain and enliven the campus ministry.  On Friday night at fire broke out at the Porchlight Transitional Housing Apartments on Brooks Street.  This apartment building is adjacent to the Saint Francis House property.  The next day, Saturday, I was able to send this letter to the Madison Common Council:

My name is Andy Jones.  I am the Rector of Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church and a member of the Saint Francis House Board.  I have a wonderful story to tell you.

This morning, while I was reading about the fire at Porchlight, I received a call from Steve Silverburg, a partner with LZ Ventures.  We have already turned the property at 1001 University Avenue over to LZ so that they can begin the development process.  Steve had seen the articles about the fire and spoken with his partners.  He was calling to say that they were willing to return the building to us and to delay the beginning of the construction process to allow the displaced residents of the Porchlight Facility temporary emergency shelter at Saint Francis House for up to one month.

the Saint Francis House Board, and the Bishop of the Diocese of Milwaukee immediately approved these arrangements and The Rev. Dr. Jonathan Grieser, Rector of Grace Episcopal Church, contacted the staff at Porchlight.

Porchlight has been able to relocate six of their displaced residents in other faciliites.  The remaining ten residents will stay with the Red Cross tonight and then take temporary shelter at Saint Francis House tomorrow.

Steve Silverburg called again this afternoon and Jim Stoppel, owner of Madison Property Management and manager of Grand Central Student Apartments, has offered to lend us furniture and supplies to make the Porchlight residents comfortable while they are being housed at Saint Francis House.

When we came before you asking for approval for our development project we said that we were committed to being good neighbors on the block.  This story demonstrates the depth and quality of that commitment.

I know that the approval process for the Saint Francis House development was a difficult decision.  I hope that this story helps to illustrate the fact that, in the end, we are all working together to develop and nurture a strong and vibrant community where people can come together and work for the common good.

Peace,
Andy+

The Rt. Rev. Mary Douglas Glasspool was elected eighth bishop suffragan of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles on December 5, 2009, after having served nine years as canon to the bishops of the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland. The second woman to be elected bishop in diocesan history, she was ordained to the episcopate on May 15, 2010.

I had the great pleasure of working with Mary Glasspool when she was the Canon to the Ordinary in the Diocese of Maryland.  I knew her to be a caring and sensitive pastor, a tireless advocate of the Church, and an extremely powerful preacher.  Mary is a gift to the church.

In this sermon, delivered at the Diocese of Los Angeles’ Convention, Mary issues a call to to action, not just to the Diocese of LA but to the whole church, in in doing so does a wonderful job of telling our story, describing the church, and showing us at our very best.

I hope that you will take fifteen minutes and let The Right Reverend Mary Glasspool speak to your heart.

Watch her sermon here.

This is a great way to begin the season!  Rowan Williams is the Archbishop of Canterbury, the head of the Church of England and the Anglican Communion.

Peace,

Andy+

Who are we and where are we going?  The Rt. Rev. Dr. Mariann Edgar Budde was consecrated the first female Bishop of the Diocese of Washington this past Saturday.

In her first sermon she talked the difficult passage from Mark’s Gospel that we read this past Sunday…  “weeping and gnashing of teeth…”

She went on to talk about the value of the Episcopal Church and our Anglican Ethos, who we are and the space that we hold open for debate and dialog about things that really matter, that are timely and important, about life in this world lived as people of God.

“We of the Episcopal Church have been entrusted with a particular expression of Christ’s gospel that is priceless. Think of what it means to you to have a spiritual home with such an appreciation of mystery and all that is beyond our knowing and curiosity about the world as we can know it through the rigorous inquiry of science. Think of what it means to you to have a spiritual home that lives the Via Media, the middle way among all expressions of Christianity, affirming the wholeness of faith that can only be fully experienced in the creative tension of polarities — heart and mind, Catholic and Protestant, word and sacrament, mysticism and service, contemplation and social engagement. Think of what it means to you to be part of a Church that does not ask its members to agree on matters of politics or theology or biblical interpretation, but rather to allow the grace of God to unite us at the altar of Christ in full appreciation of our differences and the God-given right of everyone to be welcome at God’s table.”

She goes on to say:

“I’m here today because of the women and men willing to push ahead, to believe that what we now take for granted — what was unthinkable 50 years ago — was, in fact, born of God. And so, back in 2003, when a Lutheran pastor whom I deeply admired wondered aloud why the Episcopal Church insisted on taking so controversial a position on the full inclusion of gays and lesbians at the very time we needed to grow our congregations, I said to him, ‘You don’t understand. The full inclusion of gays and lesbians wasn’t something we thought up on our own. God led us to this place. And someday you will thank us, because we’re making it easier for you to do the same.'”

Who are we and where are we going?  I urge you to read Bishop Budde’s whole sermon by clicking here:

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Mariann Edgar Budde’s first sermon as Bishop of Washington

and join in the conversation.

“This is our treasure. Yes, we also have our challenges, real challenges, real struggles that we must we face together. But they are our challenges. We needn’t be embarrassed by our difficulties, only by our failure to grow something beautiful from them.”

“This is our life. This is our Church. We are a unique expression of God’s creative genius.  Never doubt the importance of what you are doing, and what we are doing on earth.”

Rev. Dr. Mariann Edgar Budde is bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington.

I am an Episcopal Priest serving at Saint Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Madison Wisconsin who is committed to telling the story of who we are and what we are about in the Episcopal Church.

It has become clear to me that if the only  picture of Christianity available to you is the one that is offered by the mainstream media you are not likely to go anywhere near the church.  What the nightly news and the mainstream media offer is a caricature of Christianity and the church.  If the only thing you know about Christianity and the church comes from the media then judgmental, exclusionary, angry, alienating… those are the adjectives would come to mind when you drive past us on 1833 Regent Street.  No wonder the church is losing ground.  We have lost control of our message.  We are not doing a good job of telling our story.

The Episcopal Church is a broad tent and I cannot pretend to speak for the whole church but I can, and will speak about my experiences in the church, my understanding of who we are and where we are going, and I have to say: judgmental, exclusionary, angry, alienating…  I don’t believe that is who we are or where we are going.

I will be using this blog to post sermons, to tell stories,  and to describe my experiences as a deputy to our upcoming General Convention in July of 2012.

I invite you to ask questions, to challenge and to argue with me.  To tell your own story, and to shape the dialog that happens on these pages.

Peace,

Andy+