On Jan. 21, an ecumenical gathering took place at St. John’s Cathedral for the Eastern Washington Legislative Conference. Bishop James E. Waggoner, Jr. of the Episcopal Diocese of Spokane was a panelist at the event, and the Rev. Kris Christensen helped conduct a workshop on cuts facing the poor in state budget and Holy Trinity’s experience of serving the poor through Dinner Table.

Read the stories here, and check out The Fig Tree for full coverage of the Legislative Conference.

Theology frames statements on economic justice

Local leaders explore ramifications of income gap on real people

Photo courtesy The Fig Tree

People of faith in Eastern Washington gathered at St. John’s Cathedral on a cold, snowy Saturday morning last week to learn about upcoming legislation that affects social programs, the Washington state budget, and environmental conservation. (Read more about the conference at The Fig Tree’s website )

The Rt. Rev. James E. Waggoner, Jr., Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Spokane, was among other panelists at the conference, including the Rev. Dale Cockrum, United Methodist District Superintendent and the Rev. Pat Hartin, ecumenical officer of the Catholic Diocese of Spokane. They were united in their call for economic justice.

“Why is economic justice important?” asked Bishop Waggoner. “I come from a faith tradition that says, we are all children of God. Jesus was asked, who is my neighbor, and he responded by asking, who isn’t?”

Bishop Waggoner quoted the Anglican Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, who said Jesus would be present at Occupy Wall Street protests: “He’d first of all be there: sharing the risks, asking the long and hard questions. Not just taking sides but steadily changing the entire atmosphere by the questions he asks of everybody involved, rich and poor, capitalist and protester and cleric. What changes the world isn’t a single formula for getting the right answer but a willingness to stop and let yourself be challenged right to the roots of your being.”

Bishop Waggoner also quoted Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, who said, “Most of our cities have become far more economically segregated than they were just a couple of decades ago. The most scandalous divisions in our Church are probably economic ones. It’s not unknown for the wealthier parts of the church to gravitate to theological positions that keep them focused inwardly on preserving beautiful buildings, rather than giving away the gift that has been given to us all.”

“We need to be present, communicating with our legislators,” said Bishop Waggoner. “It is who we are called to be, and what we are called to do.”

The Legislative Conference was attended by over 50. The conference was jointly organized by the Faith Action Network (http://fanwa.org/) and the Fig Tree (http://thefigtree.org). The Fig Tree will have more coverage of the conference in the coming weeks, so stay tuned.

Besides the Parochial Report, each individual packet will contain a card with the UEID and PIN that pertains to that congregation, as well as the letter and instruction sheet. Please note that the workbooks for help in filling out the report are available online and will not be included in the packet.

These workbooks and a PDF of the 2011 Parochial Report will soon be made available online on our Parochial Report page: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/research/109378_105232_ENG_HTM.htm. There, you will also find some updated statistics and research reports on data collected from last year’s report.

Online filing will begin January 4, 2012.

The Regional Development Team (RDT) is a new part of the Diocese of Spokane. Their mission is the increase the capacity of our four regions to network and share mutual support and responsibility for fulfilling the diocesan mission to ”grow vital, dynamic, sustainable communities of faith.” They met Dec. 1-2 in Spokane.

Most Regional Developers receive stipends for their congregational development work (working especially with vestries) and receive training and support from the Episcopal Diocese of Spokane. Also on the Regional Development Team are four Presiding Members, who are appointed by the Bishop and charged with coordinating regional gatherings of clergy and other congregational leaders.

Four Presiding Members:

• Anne Barton (SW region)
• Gretchen Rehberg (SE region)
• Bill Osborne (NE region)
• and Gayle Gaither (NW region)

Four Regional Developers

• Jan Griffin (SW region)
• Susan Cleveley (SE region)
• Paul Lebens-Englund (NE region)
• and Lee Kiefer (NW region)