News

Letter from Bishop Waggoner regarding Lambeth Conference

Jul 15, 2008 – 11:24 am

Dear Friends in Christ,

This evening Gloria and I fly out for the Lambeth Conference to be held in Canterbury, England from July 16-August 3. Before leaving, I want to offer a brief preview of the conference and thoughts about the design which I believe holds profound potential.

About Lambeth

The first Lambeth Conference was convened in February 1867 by Archbishop of Canterbury, Charles Longley. Seventy-six bishops attended. Not all bishops were invited; not all invited chose to attend, the Archbishop of York being one of those who declined to attend.

It is worth noting that according to Graham James, the first Lambeth Conference was convened in a spirit of “Resolving to Confer and Conferring to Resolve: the Anglican Way.” The intention, though it has shifted - especially at the 1998 conference - was not to legislate for the Communion nor to function as a governing body. The invitation was to pray, study, and build relationships across the Communion for the sake of God’s mission. There is much more to read and the details really are interesting and incredibly enlightening.

Repeating History, Recurring Tensions

A review of past conferences reveals that two fundamental tensions have occupied attention of the attendees from 1867 until today:

The unique calling of the Anglican Communion to be comprehensive (inclusive) in tension with the need to define and hold what is Orthodox in belief and practice.

The question about whether there should be some governing principles, not unlike the work we are doing now on an Anglican Covenant draft, to which all Provinces of the Communion would subscribe in order to be considered a member of the Communion.

Conference Design

I am delighted and encouraged that the bishops will begin with three days retreat led by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The topic is “God’s mission and a bishop’s discipleship.” I cannot think of a better way to begin and Archbishop Rowan is a gifted retreat leader and teacher.

The overall design of the conference allows for table groups for Bible study and conversation on specific items, and is focused much more on conversation, listening, and relationship building than on plenary sessions for legislation.

Gloria and I will have some interesting opportunities before, during and after the conference.

Gloria will be facilitating a session on the environment and care of creation for the spouses and I have been asked to lead/facilitate the daily Bible study for my group.

I encourage you to visit the Lambeth Conference website to participate in the daily Bible study, and other links available for news.

I note as well that as part of the Lambeth Hospitality Initiative extended to all bishops and spouses, Gloria and I will be in the Diocese of Chichester from July 11-15 and will visit churches in the Uckfield Deanery, engage in open conversation, and share in formal events with Bishop John Hind and numerous others in the brief four days. I will be the guest preacher in Holy Cross Church this coming Sunday, July 13.

Though by choice I’ve avoided becoming a ‘blogging bishop,’ I am committed to frequent communication via email while at the conference and will strive to keep you informed on the most interesting and relevant developments. You can be sure there will be sessions in our diocese for sharing of information we bring back.

Know that your prayers for all attending the conference will be much appreciated and that you shall surely be in ours.

Faithfully yours,

+Jim

James E. Waggoner

Bishop Jim and Gloria Waggoner leave for the Lambeth Conference

Jul 12, 2008 – 8:49 pm

We ask your prayers for their safe travel and for their ministries, and for all who join them for reflection, prayer, discussion and fellowship in the coming weeks. We ask your prayers for those who are absent, and we pray with the Archbishop of Canterbury that this time together “will bear fruit in the life of the entire Communion in which God has called us to minister.” This is the 14^th Lambeth Conference; more than 650 of the Communion’s 800+ bishops are expected, compared to the seventy-six bishops present at the first Lambeth Conference in 1867.

For more information, and to participate fin the Conference’s study of St. John’s Gospel through “Signs on the Way,” go to www.lambethconference.org.

Passover Seder brings community together in Bonners Ferry

Jun 1, 2008 – 12:03 pm

Members and friends of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Bonners Ferry, Idaho, gathered for the sacred Passover Seder feast prior to Easter Sunday. The annual event was hosted by Al and Mary Brackenbusch, near Mount Hall, close to the Canadian border. The home is located in the middle of their wheat farm overlooking the Kootenai Valley, perhaps similar to some of the rolling hills of Israel, where long ago the Jewish people celebrated their release from the bondage of Egypt and their return to their homeland as promised in the Book of Exodus in the Bible’s Hebrew Scriptures.

Guests brought delicious dishes to accompany the ceremonial meal of fresh roasted lamb and traditional Seder plates, prepared by Mary and Al. The stacks of unleavened bread were hand made and baked by the hosts.

Special guests and co-hosts were the the Rev. and Mrs. Norman Braatz, the Lutheran pastor who leads services part-time at St. Mary’s. Among other honored guests were retired Episcopal priests, the Rev. and Mrs. Todd Trefts and the Rev. Marge Stanley, both of whom have assisted at St. Mary’s in the absence of a full-time vicar.

Everyone had a delightful time around the candlelit, decorated tables while recalling the events of the Exodus, and raising glasses of wine or cider to toast freedom, prosperity, health, happiness and peace.

Mary and Al have hosted other dinners for the congregation among their many other services that help keep the life blood flowing at the small mission church. Is it any wonder that, just prior to Passover, a tornado or cyclonic wind took down Al and Mary’s barn, just a few feet from their bedroom where they were sleeping, but the house was not touched?

Young adults evangelize in Salt Lake City

May 29, 2008 – 12:05 pm

In late March, something strange happened in Salt Lake City, Utah: young Episcopal adults from all over Province VIII converged on the city. It was a time for evangelism. Before you begin to imagine some type of reverse mission - with bike-riding liturgically minded Episcopal students preaching the benefits of the latest Lambeth pronouncements with Book of Common Prayer in hand - I should warn you that our good news was for our fellow Episcopal young adults: you are not alone and you are a part of this world. We spent our weekend learning more about the roles we can play in our churches, our faith system and in our world.

The first speaker awakened us to our increased social responsibility for our fragile environment. Our generation is inheriting a world on the precipice of natural disaster and thoughtfulness is necessary for the road ahead. From the second speaker, we learned about a fantastic interfaith organization called “Utah Power and Light” that is encouraging churches to begin following responsible “green” policies in their building plans and energy usage. Our final keynote address was from some special guests from Province VII, who talked about their campus ministry in Honduras. They told of the tragedy of the HIV/AIDS crisis in Honduras. Currently, the country has around 18,000 people suffering from this tragic disease with only enough funding to treat 5,000 people. The speakers were very frank about the problems they face teaching sex education in their cities. Unfortunately, most of their resistance has come from other churches.

Students were able to attend many different workshops encompassing a variety of areas of religious and world awareness. There were workshops on understanding U.N. Millennium Development Goals and religious fundamentalism, as well as our location-specific event: understanding the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints.

But for me, the greatest benefit came from sharing time with others. Six of us traveled from Washington State University (WSU) to Salt Lake. We all got the benefit of learning and seeing other peoples’ walks of faith and how they were tackling the difficult issues of trying to understand our faith in the context of being members of the world.

My greatest blessing came from hearing how another student’s life had led her to where she is right now. The Episcopal Church is not unique in the fact that it encompasses people from many backgrounds, but I have found that it is a church that does not erase our history once we come in the doors. These experiences are what make us who we are and can help encourage us to grow towards the perfection we are drawn to in Christ. These experiences are the evangelism that has encouraged me and shown me, as always, that the Episcopal Church does indeed allow many to come to Christ’s table and say “Though we are many, we are one.”

Foundation reports on endowment campaign results

May 29, 2008 – 12:01 pm

The 2007 Convention celebrated the conclusion of the initial phase of the Diocese’s first Endowment Campaign. We are delighted to report the results of this ambitious project through the first quarter of 2008.

The following congregations participated in Campaigns to raise funds for their own programs and needs: St. Paul’s - Kennewick, Nativity - Lewiston, St. Martin’s - Moses Lake, Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist - Spokane, St. Andrew’s - Spokane, St. Stephen’s - Spokane, St. Luke’s - Wenatchee, and St. Michael’s - Yakima.

The Diocese underwrote much of the campaign costs to the congregations, which has been repaid by tithes from the participating churches. Less those tithes, the total pledged to these congregations is approximately $3 million.

At the same time, the Renewing Our Mission Campaign raised an additional $1.26 million for the Diocese, to be distributed to two endowments within the Foundation. These funds are designated to endow the Episcopate and to endow church growth and development.

Tithes accounted for approximately 24% of the total funds received by the Diocese, while other congregations held fund raising activities specifically to directly benefit the Diocesan campaign.

Foundation sets goal of five million

May 29, 2008 – 11:54 am

The “Renewing our Mission” endowment campaign began the process of establishing two endowed funds, one for congregational growth and development and the other to help underwrite the episcopacy. These, and other endowment funds of the Diocese, are held by the Foundation of the Diocese of Spokane that is governed by a board of trustees made up of Episcopalians from throughout the Diocese. The trustees have engaged Washington Trust to manage our investments according to an agreed upon investment policy that seeks long term growth while avoiding inappropriate risks. Your contributions and pledges to the endowment campaign have been divided equally between the two funds, unless you directed otherwise.

The fund to endow the episcopacy currently has about $460,000 in it, of which half came from a previous fund for the bishop that had been around for several years. Currently invested in money market accounts, it will soon be in a diversified portfolio of equity and fixed income funds. Accordingly, it is already being drawn down at an annual rate of 4.5% to help underwrite the episcopacy. We look forward to its continued growth through fulfilled pledges, additional gifts, and market growth so that, in time, it can lead to a significant reduction in the asking.

The fund for congregational growth and development has about $170,000. It will need to grow to at least $500,000 before we can begin to use it to make grants to local congregations, but we are well on the way. It also will continue to grow through fulfilled pledges, additional gifts and market growth.

A third fund has recently been added to the endowment through a single gift of $5,000 dedicated to Camp Cross. As an endowment fund rather than a capital fund, it will not be spent but invested along with other gifts dedicated to the long term needs of Camp Cross. In time it also will be able to help underwrite the continuation and improvement of that valuable ministry, but it has a long way to go to get there.

Our hope and prayer-filled intention is to build our funds to at least $5 million or more within five years. Then we can really begin to do some exciting work for the Glory of God and the good of our congregations. What can you do to help? If you have not yet made a five-year pledge to Renewing our Mission, consider doing so today. Perhaps you’ve made a pledge and now realize how easy it is. Consider raising it by some substantial amount. If you are involved in a donor advised or donor directed fund of your own, consider making Renewing our Mission a principal beneficiary. And by all means, remember the church in your will.

For more information, or to make a pledge, contact Teri Mathis, Director of the Foundation, at terimathis@mac.com or 509-954-3951

Congregational consultant team gathers

Apr 17, 2008 – 4:51 pm

Congregational development consultants gathered April 14-15 at Immaculate Heart Retreat Center in Spokane to begin the development and training for a diocesan congregational development program. Facilitated by Betsy Greenman, retired Canon to the Ordinary in the Diocese of Olympia, the group learned about various needs, methods and resources for working with congregations and participated in several guided case studies.

The consulting team grew from a mandate from Diocesan Council and Bishop Waggoner to build a congregational development program in the Diocese. At its September meeting, the Council adopted a report from the Mission Strategy Committee which highlighted the need to assist congregations with articulating and implementing their mission and vision.

Bishop Waggoner told the consulting group that a strong healthy diocese requires strong healthy congregations and reaffirmed the diocesan mandate of building “growing, dynamic communities of faith”.

In the next few months the consults with gather again for further training. A survey has also been prepared for clergy and wardens to assess their congregations’ current strengths and priorities for consulting or assistance. The survey will be made available later this month.

Consultants will begin active work with in congregations later this year.

The team includes Bob Reilly, Wenatchee; Bob Alexander, Yakima; Jan McCall, Pasco; Lisa Stagaman, Spokane; Bev Coram, Spokane; Bryan Krislock, Spokane; the Rev. Paul Lebens-Englund, Spokane; the Rev. Elizabeth Hasen, Spokane; the Rev. Canon Holladay Sanderson, Moses Lake and Cheney, and the Rev. Canon Kristi Philip, Spokane.

For more information about this program please contact Canon Philip at kristip@spokanediocese.org or 509.624.3191.

Bishop’s update on Lambeth

Apr 10, 2008 – 7:52 pm

We asked Bishop Waggoner to share his own plans and hopes for the Lambeth Conference 2008. More information will be posted on this site in the near future.

To Our Sisters and Brothers in Christ,

Gloria and I will be attending the Lambeth Conference in Canterbury, England, this summer. It will be my first time and I will go in the hope and anticipation of genuine benefits to be derived from bringing together the Bishops of the Anglican Communion.

While I recognize there are justified reasons to question attendance, I shall go encouraged by the design, which includes retreat time, Bible study, prayer, worship, and regular opportunities to learn from those different from ourselves.

My own prayer is that we will engage one another in a spirit of humility and take advantage of this rare privilege for establishing and renewing relationships across the globe and for building networks for the mission God has given us all in Christ.

During the past two years the Archbishop of Canterbury has said more than once that he earnestly hopes the conference will enable bishops to more effectively equip the people of God for their ministries. May this be so throughout the world. That in itself will make it worth the trip.

Review: Honoring Motherhood: Prayers, Ceremonies & Blessings

Apr 10, 2008 – 7:43 pm

$Cover for the book \$

When God commanded us to honor our mothers and fathers, he (some might say “she”) probably didn’t envision our contemporary observances of Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. Yet the months of May and June bring us special opportunities to reflect on our mothers and fathers, on those who have been like mothers and fathers to us, on our own mother- and father-like relationships with the children in our lives.

We know only too well that not all parent-child relationships are loving, gentle, or supportive, and that mothers and fathers cannot protect their children from pain and death. Our daily news, our sacred scriptures and our own experiences remind us of this on a regular basis.

Lynn Caruso has crafted a strong and lovely book in which we see motherhood – and by extension fatherhood – portrayed in all its beauty and promise, as well as its uncertainty and loss. Birth mothers, adoptive mothers, step mothers, foster mothers, god mothers, non-mothers all have an honored place here. A sense of humility, realism, and love permeates these writings – writings old and new, by men and by women, by the famous and not so famous, writings born from great joy as well as great sorrow.

The book is divided into seven sections, beginning with “Tilling the Soil: Honoring Our Maternal Ancestors” and concluding with “Sowing the Seeds: The Power of a Mother’s Love.” In between we move through the seasons of the year, including “Summer: A Season of Growth and Transformation” – where we find Gloria Waggoner’s poem for her grown sons – and “Winter: A Season of Loss.” It is a journey worth taking, and Caruso introduces us to excellent companions.

Gloria Waggoner has copies of the book for sale in Rosa Gallica; contact Gloria at 509-954-4328 or gloriaw@spokanediocese.org.