The Harvest, November-December 2011

Inside The Harvest

From the bishopBishop Wolfe reminds us that the Christ-mas season lasts a full 12 days, and he encourages everyone to observe them all, to have time to contemplate the miracle of Jesus’ birth. Page 2

Refugee agencyEpiscopal Wichita Area Ref-ugee Ministry, or EWARM, has announced the appoint-ment of its fi rst executive director, just a year after the agency was created. Page 3

Same-sex blessingsSeven-time Kansas General Convention deputy Larry Bingham describes the 35-year journey that has led the Episcopal Church to ask for and be ready to debate proposals at next summer’s Convention that could lead to the blessing of same-sex unions. Page 4

Chad Senuta, in picturesThe story of Chad Senuta’s nearly 10 years of ministry to youth in the diocese is told in a variety of photos from youth events over the years. Page 5

Making prom specialGrace, Winfi eld, wants every high school girl in the area to have a memo-rable prom, even if money is a problem. Through generous donations the parish provides formal dresses and accessories in a welcoming environment. Page 6

Seabury Academy chaplainThe Rev. Patrick Funston has a congre-gation of 200 that he sees every day in his service as chaplain and teacher at the diocese’s secondary school in Lawrence, Bishop Seabury Academy. Page 7

Around the dioceseRead about what’s happen-ing in parishes and ministries around the diocese, including volunteer awards at Episcopal Social Services and campus

coffee hospitality at K-State. Page 8

Coats for little onesA Topeka man has made it his mission for more than a decade to provide new, warm coats to young children in the area who otherwise wouldn’t have one, through his Warm Little Ones Coat Fund. Page 9

Interfaith effort in OmahaAn Episcopal community is part of the Tri-Faith Initiative in Omaha, which has brought together Christian, Jewish and Muslim congregations. The three soon will have new buildings on a shared parcel of land, which also will include homes, offi ces and retail shops. 0

Diocese bids a fond farewellto youth missioner Chad Senuta

By Melodie WoermanEditor, The Harvest

A new online donation system now is in place for people who want to make secure, electronic contribu-

tions to the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas.To do this, donors go to the diocesan

website, www.episcopal-ks.org, and click the “Donate Now” button on the left side.

That opens a page operated in partner-ship with Network for Good, a respected fi rm that manages secure, online donations for more than 6,000 non-profi t organiza-tions.

Donors then can select the amount and frequency of their gift, the fund to which it should go, and the number of the credit or debit card they wish to use for the trans-action. Donor contact information also is needed.

Once a donation is made, donors receive a confi rmation thank-you email generated by Network for Good, confi rming the gift.

Currently, donors can select from these places where they want a donation to go:

Crossroads Campaign, including making payments on a pledge;

Diocesan endowment; Campus ministries; Bishop’s Discretionary Fund; Kansas to Kenya Missionary Fund; and

Youth camp scholarships.

Online donations now accepted via website

(Please see Donations, page 2)

From rector to vicar: St. Paul’s, Coffeyville, looks to the future

The Rev. Antoinette Tackkett (left) becomes vicar of St. Paul’s, Coffeyville, Jan. 1, following the retirement of the current rector, the Rev. Jerry Adinolfi (right).

Photo by Dale Tackkett

Chad Senuta (left) admires a quilt made of T-shirts from all the youth events he’d sponsored during his nearly 10 years leading the diocesan youth program, as Danette Friedel, Good Shepherd, Wichita, looks on. The quilt was made by Kitty Fapp, Grace Cathedral, Topeka. Fapp and Friedel are adults involved with the youth program.

Photos by Melodie Woerman


Young people from across the diocese — including some alums and adult sponsors — gathered at

Grace Cathedral, Topeka, Dec. 17 to say good-bye and thank you to Chad Senuta, who completed nearly 10 years as diocesan Youth Missioner on Dec. 4.

Senuta’s wife, the Rev. Lisa Senuta, will be the new rector of St. James the Less Episcopal Church in Northfi eld, Ill., in the Diocese of Chicago.

The couple and their daughters, Beth-any and Mabel, are moving to Chicago at the end of December.

The Mustard Seeds youth band, with Senuta on lead guitar, offered music for a Eucharist that had the stone walls of the cathedral rocking. The band has been one of the hallmarks of Senuta’s ministry.

During his sermon, Bishop Dean Wolfe said that sometimes ministry to youth con-sists mostly of “pizza, movies and fun,” but that Senuta offered them much more.

“Today we remember a ministry where Christ has been boldly and unapologetical-ly proclaimed,” he said. “If all the young people who have been affected by Chad’s ministry over the past 10 years were here, this cathedral couldn’t contain them all.”

In response Senuta noted that Jesus said that people could tell his disciples because of the way they love one another. “He didn’t say by the number of times you go to church, but by love. Here, I have been loved,” he said.

At a reception after the service, some

adult youth leaders presented Senuta with a quilt made from all the T-shirts at youth event that had taken place during his ten-ure. The quilt was made by Kitty Fapp of Grace Cathedral.


The people of St . Paul’s, Coffeyville, are undertaking a

new model of ministry that not only answers their needs for clergy leadership but also points the way for other con-gregations in the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas.

On Jan. 1 the 115-com-municant church in the southeast corner of the state moves from having a rector to a vicar, who is a bi-voca-tional priest who oversees a congregation engaged in team ministry.

The Rev. Antoinette Tackkett has been named the vicar by Bishop Dean Wolfe.

That shift was prompted by the Dec. 31 retirement of the Rev. Jerry Adinolfi , who will conclude 14 years as the par-ish’s rector, the second-longest tenure in the church’s 133-year history.

But it’s also the result of a clear-eyed look at the congregation’s resources and a commitment to continue vibrant ministry even if fi nances can’t support what has happened in the past.

When Adinolfi arrived in Coffeyville, his pension after a career as an Air Force offi cer allowed him to draw only a part- (Please see Vicar, page 3)

time salary while working full-time hours. But since then demographics have caught up with the church, and even a part-time salary no longer is possible.

But when Tackkett was ordained to the priesthood last January (she gradu-ated from the Kansas School for Ministry in 2010), Adinolfi knew the time was right to announce his retirement and help steer the congregation into its new future, which includes lay members tak-ing on more responsibility in areas like administration and pastoral care.

Tackkett said, “The most important thing the laity will need to do is pastoral

(Please see Senuta, page 3)

2 • The Harvest • November/December 2011

Publisher: The Right Reverend Dean E. Wolfe, BishopEditor: Melodie Woerman

A member of Episcopal News Service and Episcopal Communi-cators, The Harvest is published six times a year by the Offi ce of Communications of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas: February, April, June, August, October and December.

Stories, letters and photos are welcome. They will be used on a space-available basis and are subject to editing. Send all material (preferably in electronic format or by e-mail) to:

Melodie Woerman, editorThe Harvest

835 SW Polk St.Topeka, KS 66612-1688phone: (800) 473-3563

fax: (785) [email protected]

Send address changes to:Receptionist

835 SW Polk St., Topeka, KS [email protected]

Upcoming deadlines:January/February issue: Jan. 15March/April issue: March 15

Subscription rate: $1.50 annually

Third class mailing Permit No. 601, Topeka, Kansas

POSTMASTER:Send address changes to

Episcopal Diocese of Kansas835 SW Polk St.

Topeka, KS 66612-1688

The Anglican CommunionA global community of 70 million Anglicans in 38 member churches/provinces in more than 160 countries.

Archbishop of CanterburyThe Most Reverend and Right Honorable Rowan Williams

Lambeth Palace, London WE1 7JU, United Kingdomwww.anglicancommunion.org

Episcopal seat: Canterbury Cathedral, Canterbury, England

The Episcopal ChurchA community of more than 2.1 million members in 110 dioceses in 16 countries in the Americas and abroad.

Presiding BishopThe Most Reverend Katharine Jefferts Schori

815 Second Avenue, New York, NY 10017(800) 334-7626

www.episcopalchurch.orgEpiscopal seat: Washington National Cathedral,

Washington, D.C.

The Episcopal Diocese of KansasA community of 12,000 members in 46 congregations, two diocesan institutions and one school in eastern Kansas.

BishopThe Right Reverend Dean E. Wolfe

835 SW Polk Street, Topeka, KS 66612-1688(785) 235-9255(800) 473-3563

www.episcopal-ks.orgEpiscopal seat: Grace Episcopal Cathedral, Topeka

From the BishopThe Right Reverend Dean E. Wolfe

Dear Friends,In my neighborhood, Christ-mas trees begin to be dragged

to the curb for trash pickup the very day after Christmas. The lights begin to come down from neighbors’ gables almost immediately after Christmas Day, and within a few days, everything in the suburban landscape is quickly brought back to normal.

By New Year’s Day, it is as if Christ-mas never really happened!

And while I understand fresh ever-greens don’t last forever and Christmas lights eventually need to be stored away, I’d like to advocate celebrating all 12 days of the season of Christmas.

With the exception of the song, “The Twelve Days of Christmas,” most people don’t realize Christmas is a liturgical season with 12 full days. We tend to focus on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, and we miss the fact that the Christ-mas season gives us nearly two weeks to ponder the mystery, to welcome the Christ Child and to begin to explore the implications of Christ’s coming to earth in the form of a child.

It takes some time to take in such a miracle. It takes some time to compre-hend the radical love it communicates. It takes some time to begin to internalize that God loves us so much that he sent his only begotten son.

It takes some time to wade through all the tinsel and wrapping paper to fi nd the true and holy gift hidden in the midst of all of it.

So yes, you can leave your Christmas tree up for 12 scandalous days! Yes, you can leave your holiday lights on every night of the Christmas season.

Yes, you can continue to give gifts that refl ect your love and appreciation of others. Yes, you can continue to practice acts of charity and love for the less fortunate. Yes, you can continue to go to par-ties and enjoy all the revelry of the season.

And yes, you can continue to bid people “Merry Christmas” all the way up until the Feast of the Epiphany on January 6.

This year, I invite you to explore the entire 12 days of the Christmas season and to discover the surprising gift that this time might become for you and your family.

I invite you to a blessed and holy season of

Christmas, and may Christ continue to be born in your hearts and be revealed in your lives and in your ministries.

Faithfully,+DeanThe Right Reverend Dean E. Wolfe

Go ahead! Celebrate all 12 days of Christmas

It takes some time to take in such a miracle. It takes some time to comprehend

the radical love it communicates.

Photo by Stephen Butler

(Continued from page 1)

Network for Good is a 10-year-old company that has received the “charity seal” of approval from the non-profi t arm of the Better Business Bureau that evaluates charities.

The diocese pays a fee for this service, which includes 3 percent of every gift made through the site. Donors have the option of adding 3 percent more to their gift, which reduces the cost of the online service to the diocese and provides an additional tax-

Donations: Secure online option now in placedeductible contribution for them.

Anyone with questions about using the new electronic dona-tion procedure should contact Char DeWitt, diocesan director of development and stewardship, at (785) 250-0060 or [email protected].

November/December 2011 • The Harvest • 3


Bishop Dean Wolfe has announced the appointment of Shannon Mahan as the fi rst executive director of the Episcopal

Wichita Area Refugee Ministry, or EWARM. The newly formed agency is an affi liate of

Episcopal Migra-tion Ministry and will be settling political refugees from Myanmar (Burma) as early as February.

Bishop Wolfe said of her ap-p o i n t m e n t , “Shannon brings considerable ex-perience in non-profit manage-ment, an entrepreneurial spirit and a passion for extending God’s love to those fleeing unimaginable circumstances.”

Mahan is a licensed social worker with a master’s degree in non-profi t management, and she has extensive experience in a variety of non-profi t agencies.

Her husband, Earl, is the priest in charge at St. John’s, Wichita.

Mahan’s salary will be paid by money from federal grants that accompany refugee resettlement.

New agency helps the persecutedEWARM was started just over a year ago

by members of St. John’s, who had a dream to help some of the millions of refugees who fl ee persecution every year.

It has set up an offi ce in the former admin-istration building for St. John’s and has formed a partnership with the International Rescue Committee, a major global refugee agency that also recently established a presence in Wichita. The two groups are sharing offi ce space.

Funding for the agency and its resettlement efforts will come through Episcopal Migration Ministries, one of nine national agencies that hold agreements with the U.S. State Depart-ment to resettle refugees. It is part of The Episcopal Church.

Those coming to Wichita through EWARM’s efforts aren’t immigrants but refugees — peo-ple who have been forced to fl ee their homes because of violence caused by ethnic, political and religious persecution, and who often end up in refugee camps along a country’s border.

Many Burmese refugees have been home-less since 1988, when the military regime of Myanmar (as Burma now is called) violently cracked down on an emerging democratic movement.

The agency is receiving funding through EMM to assist refugees for up to 90 days with needs such as housing, furnishings, clothing, food, assistance in applying for Social Security cards, medical screenings, English language instruction and job placement.

‘Ambassadors’ neededEWARM is asking members of Episcopal

parishes across the diocese to serve as “am-bassadors” to help welcome new refugees to Wichita.

These volunteers can aid the refugees with transportation, companionship, assistance with learning English and welcome baskets to greet new families

The agency also needs people to help fur-nish rooms in new residences.

If interested in helping, contact Mahan at [email protected].

First director named for new refugee agency

Shannon Mahan

Youth who had been part of Senuta’s ministry made a farewell video for him, incorporating some of his favorite mov-ies and television shows, including “Star Wars,” “The Big Lebowski,” “Elf” and “The Offi ce.”

Youth alumni spread across the country sent in their own short videos of thanks and appreciation. One young man ended his by telling Senuta to “stay awesome.”

In closing remarks, Senuta asked those who had benefi ted from his ministry to respond by “paying it forward.”

Canon to the Ordinary Craig Loya presented him with an icon of the Holy Trinity, noting that it depicts God as a relationship, an ap-propriate image for Senuta’s ministry, which has been based on creating strong re-lationships.

Bishop Wolfe said a chair with the seal of the diocese in-scribed on the back will be shipped to Senuta’s new home in the Chicago area, as a reminder of home.

Leader since 2002Senuta has served as leader of the

diocesan youth program since June 2002. During his ministry he has expanded and enhanced several programs for youth of the diocese, including the Bible-reading weekend Miqra, Happening, the urban-ministry experience MissionPalooza, camp and Kansas’s participation in the triennial Episcopal Youth Event.

He also has added others, including the New Beginnings weekend for middle school stu-dents and the Fall Fun Fest, which encourages youth to invite friends to learn more about the diocesan youth ministry program.

He also has offered special training and support weekends for those who work in parish youth ministry.

He also continued the ap-pointment of 15-20 high school youth each year as diocesan peer ministers, which provides them with skills in leadership and min-istry. He also has helped educate future youth leaders through the youth ministry summer intern pro-

gram he estab-lished in 2005, which gives col lege s tu-dents unique hands-on skills and training in

leading parish youth programs.Prior to leading the diocesan

youth program, Senuta had been a high school and middle school English teacher. He also had served as a youth intern, worship leader and peer minister at St. Francis Canter-bury while he was a student at Kansas State University in the early 1990s.

Advisory group to assistBishop Wolfe has had an initial meet-

ing with an advisory group to help him discern the next steps in providing leader-ship for diocesan youth ministries.

The bishop said, “We’ve had a tradi-tion of truly outstanding youth missioners for some time in this diocese. I intend for the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas to con-tinue to be a leader in youth ministries in the Episcopal Church. We will continue to support creative youth programs like Miqra, camp and Happening, which can serve as models of excellence. Our com-mitment is to the best youth ministries that we possibly can offer.”

Senuta: Programs for youth were expanded and enhanced during his 10-year tenure

care — hospital visits, and taking communion to the sick and those in nursing homes, which they already are doing.”

Tackkett, along-time parish member, is a teacher and aca-demic dean at Coffeyville Community College, so until she leaves that post in June 2012, she’ll have limited hours to commit to weekday parish work.

Senior warden David Helgason said the initial challenge is to get more people engaged. “It’s a matter of getting people to step up,” he said. “People are willing, and we’re trying to get people who haven’t been as involved.”

Tackkett said, “Everyone has known for several years that this day was coming. They’ve seen the budget at the Annual Meetings.” But they are readying for the challenge, she said. “There’s been no grumbling.”

St. Paul’s has a Sunday attendance that tops 65 most weeks, but Helgason said that like many smaller churches, lots of its members are older and less able to be involved. Some new people have started attending, he said, adding increased vitality and energy to the congregation.

He said the congregation has been “living off gifts” in recent years and now must rely only on pledged income to meet ex-penses. While giving has increased the past two years, it’s not enough to cover even a part-time salary, he said.

Tackkett said the church will reimburse her for some ex-penses, but she otherwise will work without compensation.

Creating a modelThe Rev. Craig Loya, the diocese’s canon to the ordinary,

already has met with the congregation several times to plan for this transition and will work with them in the next year to make it smoother.

He said, “I am excited about the way in which this process can serve as a model for a shift that will happen in more and more parishes of the diocese,” he said. He added that several other churches, especially in the Southeast Convocation, have undertaken variations of this vicar-led ministry model, notably St. John’s, Parsons, and St. Timothy’s, Iola.

He said the transition process in Coffeyville will involve helping members assess the parish’s current ministry, determin-ing what ministry teams are needed to carry out its mission, engaging in gifts discernment to see who has the gifts and skills to fi ll the ministry teams, providing training to fully empower members to exercise their ministries, and ongoing support.

Loya said that while about a third of the diocese’s 46 con-gregations are large enough to sustain a full-time, seminary-educated rector, most simply don’t have the numbers to do that. He said the diocese is beginning to resemble more and more what some have called a “mixed economy,” including parishes with full-time priests and smaller faith communities led by ministry teams with bi-vocational priests.

Tackkett said that while an increased emphasis on ministry by lay members has been spurred by current necessity, she sees it as a positive development.

“As a church, we have done an injustice to our rectors to expect them to take on all duties,” she said. “Now everyone is doing church, instead of just one person at the front with the others as bystanders. They have to be part of it now, and that’s what the early church was like.”

Adinolfi said he’s already seen that at work. “They got it,” he said. “They are jumping in and picking up the ball.”

Learning the ropesAdinolfi said he was pleased to have six months to work with

Tackkett, after she completed her post-KSM internship year. The two priests celebrate and preach on alternate Sundays, and he’s shared pointers on tasks like fi lling out the annual parochial report and planning Holy Week services.

Tackkett praised Adinolfi ’s mentorship, saying she feels as prepared as she can be to oversee the congregation.

Adinolfi , who will move to Overland Park at year’s end to be nearer to his grandchildren, said he’s certain the congrega-tion not only will embrace its new leadership model but will thrive under it. He says the people have “an evangelistic sense,” and with more people getting involved that will only continue.

“I see lots of hope and growth,” he said. “What makes me proud of them is that they’re getting the gospel.”

(Continued from page 1)

Chad Senuta holds an icon of the Holy Trinity as he listens to remarks about his ministry. A Eucharist and reception marking the end of his tenure as youth missioner was Dec. 17.

A photo remembrance of Chad Senuta’s ministry as youth

missioner is on page 5.

Vicar: ‘People are willing’ to take on tasks(Continued from page 1)


By Larry Bingham

Since 1976, The Episcopal Church has been seri-ously addressing the acceptance of gay persons and same-sex relationships in our

church and in our society. During these 35 years there have been times when we were a leading voice in the culture on gay issues, there have been periods of silence, and there have been moments of great controversy that have caused dissension and schism.

Now we fi nd ourselves scrambling to catch up with a surprisingly quick turn of secular events where several states have approved gay marriage and others are recognizing civil unions.

In July 2012, our General Convention (which will meet in Indianapolis) will consider a pro-posal to approve a 3-year trial use of a liturgical rite for the blessing of same-sex unions. Since the majority of states do not permit marriages between persons of the same gender, the resolution that is being proposed will be limited to the blessing of unions.

Issue fi rst addressed in 1976The 35-year journey began with a resolution at the

1976 General Convention proclaiming that “homosexual persons are children of God who have a full and equal claim with all oth-er persons upon the love, acceptance and pastoral concern and care of the Church.” Although that seems obvious in 2011, it was revolutionary in the 1970s. Until 1973, homosexuality was listed as a “mental disorder” by the American Psychiatric Association.

That was quickly

followed by a resolution at the next Convention in 1979, stating that homosexuality “should not be a barrier” to ordination in The Episcopal Church.

The next Convention that gave major attention to this issue was in 1991, when all dioceses were asked to participate in a churchwide “Dialogue on Human Sexuality.”

There were 25 parishes in the Diocese of Kansas that participated in a multi-week, guided dialogue on same-sex relationships.

Focuses on quality of all relationships

In my opinion, the most important event in this 35-year journey was a resolution ad-

opted by the 2000 General Convention. Dur-ing debate over a resolution about same-sex

relationships, the conversation fi nally moved away from arguments about approving or disapproving homosexual activity and instead focused on the quality of all relation-ships, both heterosexual and homosexual. We stopped talking about “them” and began to talk about “us.”

The fi nal resolution, which was adopted by voice vote with virtual unanimity, defi ned the values The Episcopal Church expected of all relationships, both homosexual and heterosexual, noting that they “will be characterized by fi delity, monogamy, mutual affection and respect,

careful, honest communica-tion, and holy love.”

The resolution further denounced “promiscuity, exploitation and abusive-ness in the relationships of any of our member,” and stated that the church “intends to hold all its members accountable to these values.” Finally, we had focused on and reached consensus on the core values the church expects in sexual relationships

between its members. From this point on, these values have guided the deliberations on issues of sexuality.

Proposals to be debated in JulyOf course, all of the disagreements were not resolved

in 2000. In 2003 we had a very public disagreement over the approval of the election of a gay man as the Bishop of New Hampshire. This disagreement extended to the wider Anglican Communion, where many of the other churches in the Communion held very different positions about sexual orientation. Those discussions occupied much of the attention of General Convention and the Anglican Communion between 2003 and 2009.

That brings this journey story to the 2009 General Convention in Anaheim, which instructed the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music to develop theologi-cal and liturgical resources for the blessing of same gender relationships. Its fi ndings and proposals will be discussed at the next General Convention that meets in July 2012.

More information to comeI have been monitoring the work and deliberations of

the Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music during the past three years. I also have been appointed to the General Convention legislative committee that will re-ceive the Standing Commission’s report, which they’ve already announced will include a rite for same-sex blessings.

Between now and the time General Convention meets in July, I and other deputies from the diocese will share information about this issue in The Harvest and in other communications with the congregations. We’ll include theological and educational material as well as the draft of the proposed rite.

I urge every church and every parishioner to read and study this material and to discuss it with each other as we approach the time of decision in July.

Larry Bingham is a seven-time deputy to General Convention and has held a variety of leadership posts in the diocese, most recently as chair of the Crossroads capital campaign. He is a member of St. Michael and All Angels in Mission.

After 35 years, The Episcopal Church is still addressing issues of homosexuality and same-sex blessings

Larry Bingham

A resolution by General Convention in 2000, which was adopted by voice vote with virtual unanimity, defi ned the values The Episcopal Church expected of all relationships, both homosexual and heterosexual, noting that they “will be characterized by fi delity, monogamy, mutual affection and respect, careful, honest communication, and holy love.”

Wichita church plans second Holy Land pilgrimage

Members of St. James, Wichita, stop at St. James Street in the Old City of Jerusalem during a Holy Land pilgrimage in July 2011. The church plans another trip in 2012.

St. James’, Wichita, sponsored a pilgrimage to the Holy Land in July 2011, and it was

such a success that they are doing it again in July 2012.

This second version will actu-ally feature two trips — one for adults and another one for high school and college youth.

All participants will leave on July 18. Adults will return on July 26, with youth arriving back in Kansas on July 30.

Adults will visit Jerusalem, the Mount of Olives, Bethlehem, Cae-sarea, the Sea of Galilee, Jericho and Qumran. The cost is $3,685, which includes roundtrip airfare from Wichita, all accommodations, two meals a day, ground transporta-tion in Israel and the services of an English-speaking guide.

Leading the pilgrimage again will be the Rev. Amanda Eiman, St. James’ as-sistant rector, and Sue Abdinnour, a parishioner who is a native of Jerusalem and whose brother operates the travel agency that is making the arrangements.

Youth making the pilgrimage will participate in activities through the Children and Youth Summer Camp Program, which is facilitated by members of Abdin-nour’s family in Jerusalem. Young people will stay in various camp-like settings as they interact with Christian youth from the Holy Land, participate in volunteer work and engage in leadership training. They also will visit many of the area’s most sacred and historic sites. The cost will be $3,500 per person.

All those participating in the pilgrimage must have a current passport.More information is available on the parish website at www.stjameswichita.

org or by contacting Eiman at [email protected] or (316) 683-5658 or Abdinnour at [email protected] or (316) 744-8612.


For nearly 10 years Chad Senuta has spear-headed diocesan youth programs.

That amounts to 10 years of fun at summer camp, 10 years of urban ministry through Mis-sionPalooza, 10 years of cover-to-cover Bible reading at Miqra, 10 years of spiritual awaken-ing through Happening and New Beginnings, 10 years of fun and new friends at the Fall Fun Fest.

There also were hundreds of hours of rehears-als and performances with the Mustard Seeds youth band, and time spent consulting with parishes to strengthen their youth programs,

He now heads off to Chicago, where his wife has accepted a call to be rector of a parish. Blessings to you, Chad, as you begin your new adventure in Chicago. We’ll miss you!

On the ropes course at Camp Wood during Summer Camp 2010

Chad said he’d shave his head if there were 200 campers at this year’s fi rst-ever MegaCamp. There were, so he did.

Playing lead guitar with the Mustard Seeds youth band during Miqra 2009

Readying for some sumo wrestling at Fall Fun Fest in 2007

Enjoying a competitive game of dodgeball at New Beginnings in 2010



The people of Grace, Win-fi eld, are working hard to make sure that the high

school prom is a memorable ex-perience for girls who otherwise couldn’t afford to go.

In the spring the congregation will open for a fourth year a free shop it’s named Prom Dress Ex-press, which seeks to outfi t high school girls from head to toe in formal wear donated by parishio-ners and other.

So far they’ve been able to provide formal gowns in a variety of sizes, styles and lengths (some with price tags still affi xed), shoes, jewelry, evening bags, perfume, and make-up.

The Rev. Betty Glover, the church’s rector, said the shop is set up in a nearby building that formerly housed a Montessori school.

Volunteers have created a pri-vate dressing room complete with full-length mirror, and dresses are displayed on nearby racks.

Chance to feel beautifulGlover said the shop is open

to all girls in the county’s high schools, reducing the stigma to those who need some help. She said the effort brought in a few girls the fi rst year and a few more in the second, with last year’s shop

Winfi eld church helps make prom dreams come true

Submitted photo

drawing more than the initial years combined.

“Everything is completely free,” she said, and some of the dresses that girls have selected have been donated back. “That’s a wonderful by-product of the program,” she said. “We give, and they have the opportunity to give back to another young woman.”

She said many of the girls who come bring their mothers with

them to shop. “I have loved seeing moms shop with their daughters, without having to worry about costs,” she said.

Glover said she really loves this project.

“It doesn’t save the world,” she noted, “but it offers a chance for someone to feel beautiful, a chance for a touch of luxury, that otherwise might not be possible.”

Glover said the shop again

is seeking donations of gently-used, clean, prom-style dresses, as well as dress shoes and other accessories.

Because Prom Dress Express is open from mid-February through March, they need donated items by late January.

Members of the south-central Kansas parish also are willing to pick up dresses from nearby donors, she said.

Janine Hudson (left) and the Rev. Betty Glover of Grace, Winfi eld, display dresses that will be available at the church’s Prom Dress Express in the spring. Donated dresses and accessories mean high school girls can attend their prom who otherwise couldn’t afford to go.

Some people who don’t have items have donated money to help pay for dry cleaning a few dresses that required it.

Glover said they also dream of being able to provide things like gift certifi cates for manicures or other beauty care services, “things that would make for a lovely eve-ning that otherwise might not be possible,” she said.

Anyone with items to donate can contact Glover at (620) 660-5777 or [email protected].

How to helpProm Dress Express at Grace,

Winfi eld, is seeking donations of these items to share with high school girls next spring:

Gently-used, clean, prom dresses in a variety of sizes, lengths and styles

Dressy shoes Evening bags Dressy jewelry Make-up

Anyone with items to donate should contact the Rev. Betty Glover at (620) 660-5777 or at [email protected]

The deadline to donate is late January.

Pick-ups of donated items also can be arranged by contacting Glover.

Grace, Chanute, members (from left) Nicki Gladson, Linda Cockrell, Kevin Deware, Kathy Ross and Mary Ann Ross compete to see whose chili will represent the church in the city’s Sixth Annual Battle of the Churches Chili Challenge. Gladson’s chili prevailed. The citywide event is sponsored by the Episcopal parish to raise money for a local homeless shelter; more than $12,000 has been collected so far.

Photo by Deacon Oliver Bunker

Grace, Chanute sponsors chili challenge

Ahomeless shelter was the real winner in an ecumenical chili cook-off sponsored by Grace, Chanute. The sixth annual “Battle of

the Churches Chili Challenge” took place Nov. 18 at the First Baptist Church, one of the participants.

According to Deacon Oliver Bunker, who orga-nized the event, nine Chanute churches participated this year, representing Episcopal, Baptist, Lutheran, Methodist, Presbyterian, Christian and United Breth-ren traditions.

The effort raised more than $3,100 for Faith House, a local homeless shelter. Since it began in 2006, the chili cook-off has collected more than $12,000 for the shelter, Bunker said.

Each of the participating churches brought enough chili to feed 50 people, along with crackers and

bowls in which to serve it.The public could sample as many types of the

steamy stew as they wanted, at 50 cents each. They then were invited to “vote” for their favorite by drop-ping money into decorated jars at each church’s table. The church whose chili collected the most money was deemed the winner.

That honor went to New Life United Brethren in Christ Church, which not only went away with ecumenical bragging rights for the next year but also with the traveling plaque that denotes the winner.

Bunker said the annual event is “a fun and ecumenical way to raise some money for this very important ministry in our community.”

And, he added, “a little healthy competition might do us all some good!”

Communications survey: we asked, and you answered

The recent survey of the diocesan communications ministry indicates that people are very pleased with what they see. The survey was offered online and also was printed in the

September-October issue of this newspaper, to allow people access to the questions in a variety of media.

There were a total of 190 responses, 180 online and 10 in print.When asked which of the communications tools they use, the

overwhelming favorite was The Harvest (903 percent), followed by DioLog (66.1 percent), the diocesan website (55.9 percent), the diocesan Facebook page (26.9 percent) and the diocesan Twitter feed (4.3 percent).

People expressed a high level of satisfaction with The Harvest, with 60.4 percent very satisfi ed and 18.1 percent somewhat satisfi ed. 19.2 percent were neutral about the newspaper, and 2.1 percent said they were somewhat or very dissatisfi ed with it.

The fi ve favorite content areas in The Harvest are news and fea-tures about parishes in the diocese (91.0 percent), news and features about people in the diocese (77.5 percent), the “Around the diocese” parish news briefs page (77.0 percent), Bishop Wolfe’s column (65.7 percent) and news about diocesanwide ministries (59.0 percent).

The biweekly diocesan e-newsletter, DioLog, also drew praise, with 22.2 percent of people calling its content essential, 45.1 percent very helpful, 12.3 percent somewhat helpful and 0.9 percent not help-ful. 18.5 percent of respondents had no opinion about the newsletter.

While the majority of people responding use the diocesan web-site only occasionally (50.5 percent), another 26.9 percent use it at least monthly.

Respondents said their top destination on the website was the diocesan calendar (59.4 percent), followed by the news page (47.8 percent) and the bishop’s visitation calendar (35.5 percent).

Most people don’t currently engage the diocesan social media platforms. 56.8 percent of respondents said they never use the di-ocesan Facebook page, with a whopping 84.0 percent never using the diocesan Twitter feed.

Of those who replied, 55.1 percent were women, 77.7 percent were lay people, and 70.1 percent were age 55 or older. Only 23 people under age 45 completed the survey.

46.5 percent of the respondents attend church in the Northeast Convocation, 21.4 percent in the Southwest, 18.7 in the Northwest and 9.6 percent in the Southeast. Seven people from outside the diocese also participated.


School chaplain offers students room to explore faithBy Melodie WoermanEditor, The Harvest

The Rev. Patrick Funston wears two hats as chaplain at Bishop Seabury Academy in Lawrence — spiritual

leader and teacher — but both have a single purpose: to help young people explore is-sues of faith and to encourage the formation of their spiritual lives.

He was appointed to this position by Bishop Dean Wolfe in July, following his spring graduation from seminary. He will be ordained a priest in January.

Funston said that while it has been a challenge to get up to speed in such an important position right out of seminary, he truly enjoys serving as spiritual advi-sor to the students, faculty and staff at the Episcopal school, which is an institution of the diocese. “I have the opportunity to preach the gospel to 200 people on a daily basis,” he said.

While the school has had a chaplain since it opened in 1997, the position became full-time in 2008. Funston is the second per-son to serve in that capacity, which includes teaching two sections of World Religions. His predecessor was the Rev. Sarah Knoll (who happens to be his sister-in-law), who served for two years.

The diocese covers half the cost of the chaplaincy, as part of the program to place recent diocesan seminary graduates in jobs in the diocese.

Bishop Wolfe worked to enhance the po-sition of chaplain because of the diocese’s deep commitment to the faith development of young people.

“We believe we have an opportunity to establish strong faith in young people at a time that is unique in their lives, when they want to explore faith issues,” he said. “Bishop Seabury Academy represents one of the most important mission fi elds in the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas.”

Funston, 29, is a product of that dioc-esan youth commitment, having spent his formative years at St. Francis in Overland Park when his father was rector there. He was active in diocesan youth events and was among the fi rst youth peer ministers selected.

Distinctly EpiscopalianFunston presides over chapel services

each Wednesday morning, basing it on Prayer Book liturgies. A service in early December used a modifi ed form of Morn-ing Prayer, accompanied by the lighting of the school’s Advent wreath. His homily included videos and stories to help students think about the real meaning of Christmas.

While chapel services in the past have represented a variety of religious traditions, Funston is committed to using the Book of Common Prayer. “I want to convey my love of being Episcopalian and of Jesus to the kids,” he said.

Dr. Don Schawang, the head of school, said he appreciates that Funston offers an Episcopal service while valuing the faith traditions of the students, only a few of whom are Episcopalians. “We’re being respectful and valuing inquiry,” he said. “That’s distinctly Episcopalian. We’re giv-ing them a place to explore and to empower students with knowledge and the opportu-nity to inquire.”

Jacquie Krueger, the school’s director of admissions, said she can see a difference in the students after they’ve attended chapel. “They walk with a relaxed feeling,” she said. “There’s a lighter feel about them.”

A non-Episcopalian herself, she said the way Funston presents matters of faith to the young people is just right. “Whether they

are a person of faith, they grow into faith because it’s not being forced on them,” she said. “It encourages them to be inquisitive.”

The 172-member student body at Bishop Seabury refl ects an eclectic mix of faith traditions. Funston said the majority are Roman Catholic, coming from the city’s two elementary parochial schools. There also are four Episcopalians, a few Muslims, one Sikh, one Jew, some conservative Evan-gelicals and other mainline Protestants, two who identify themselves as Wiccan, “and lots of unchurched or those who call them-selves atheist or agnostic” he said.

He said while he’s unabashed in sharing his own faith, conversion isn’t the main goal. “Some might become Episcopalians,” he said, “but it would be nice for kids to come out saying, ‘This is what Episcopa-lians believe, and this is what I believe.’”

Seventh grader Seth Peters likes the way the school is true to its faith tradition. “We are an Episcopal school that accepts everyone,” he said. “You don’t have to make excuses for being church.”

Bishop Wolfe echoed that sentiment, saying the school recognizes that its stu-dents come from various faith backgrounds, “but we are clear about the Episcopal DNA of the school.”

Schawang said that kind of religious clarity models what he wants to see in students at Bishop Seabury Academy. “Be passionate,” he said. “Don’t be fuzzy. Claim the confi dence in your own exploration, which leads them to ask, ‘What do I believe long term?’”

He said one of Funston’s greatest gifts is his authenticity. “Students appreciate that he is who he is,” he said. “He’s not

forcing them into anything — faith, or feel-ing something they don’t feel, or thinking something they don’t think — but providing them with information and guidance.”

He also said Funston exhibits a char-acteristic that’s important for anyone who works with students — speaking with them and not to them.

Classroom challengesFunston said one of his biggest chal-

lenges has been learning the ropes as a classroom teacher, something for which seminary did not prepare him. He sees each of his 32 students every day in one of two sections of his World Religions class, which is the social studies requirement for all 8th graders.

“I’m having to learn both content and the method of teaching,” he said. He’s received lots of help from faculty members and from Schawang, as well as what he calls “grace from the students.”

On a recent day he described the ele-ments of Zoroastrianism, a monotheistic religion that originated 1,000-500 BC that bridges Eastern and Western religious tra-ditions. He creates lesson plans from the class’s textbook, and he’s grateful to have only two sections to teach; most teachers have four.

Funston said he is amazed at how much he has been shaped by his ministry at the school after just seven months. Not only does he relish times “when they make a connection and I don’t have to make it for them” but also the opportunity to spend so much time with them. “A parish priest sees most people only on Sundays,” he said. “Here, it’s like being in a congregation and having them with you fi ve days a week. Every day is almost a Sunday.”

Above: The Rev. Patrick Funston

discusses the Zoroastrian religion

during one of the two World Religions classes

he teaches every day at Bishop Seabury

Academy, an Episcopal secondary school in

Lawrence.

Right: As chaplain, Funston leads a

weekly chapel service based on the Book of

Common Prayer for the school’s students,

faculty and staff.

Photos by Melodie Woerman

LEARN MORE: BISHOP SEABURY

ACADEMY

Located at 4120 Clinton Parkway in Lawrence

172 students in grades 6 - 12; 28 faculty and staff

Opened in 1997; moved into its current location in 2003

An institution of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas

Its mission: to promote individual aca-demic growth and character develop-ment through an excellent education rooted in moral principles

Named after Bishop Samuel Seabury, the fi rst bishop consecrated in the Episcopal Church after the Revolution-ary War

School emblem is based on the anchor cross in the seal of the diocese

Tuition is about $12,000 a year; a quarter of the students receive fi nan-cial aid.

Students must adhere to a dress code: khaki pants, skirts or shorts, and collared shirts in the school colors of white, black, navy blue and dark green


Around the diocese St. John’s, Abilene offered a

Christmas pageant this year based on a Norwegian legend about the night of Jesus’ birth, with parts for all the young people in the congregation.

Trinity, Arkansas City hosted a taco supper fundraiser Oct. 17, complete with plates of the Mexi-can treat and gift baskets for sale. Early reports said proceeds would equal that of the 2010 event.

Trinity, Atchison concluded its discussion of Randy Pope’s book The Intentional Church, in which he notes that congregations grow when their members are themselves growing in faith.

St. Mark’s, Blue Rapids women concluded their fall Bible study in November, when the 10-member group wrapped up current lessons from Bill Hybel’s book, Too Busy Not to Pray. The group will resume during Lent with more discussion.

St. Paul’s, Clay Center watched “Hachi: A Dog’s Tale” during the church’s monthly movie night. The story describes a relationship between a man and his dog that transcends death.

St. Paul’s, Coffeyville is prac-ticing environmental stewardship by using non-disposable coffee mugs on Sunday mornings and asking people to bring their own table service for potluck dinners.

St. Andrew’s, Derby joined with a local Lutheran church to provide Christmas gifts for 178

children in two local elementary schools. Members of the youth groups wrapped the gifts together on Dec. 17.

St. Martin’s, Edwardsville offered members the chance to make their own Advent wreath in a special activity after church on Nov. 27, the fi rst Sunday of Advent.

Trinity, El Dorado offered a pre-Advent quiet day on Satur-day, Nov. 19 at the church as an opportunity to set aside cares and concerns of the daily world and provide time to refl ect. Medita-tions and silence formed the bulk of the day.

St. Andrew’s, Emporia now offers a lunch each Saturday to people in need in the community through “St. Andy’s Kitchen,” an effort by parishioners to help those in need on a day when the local feeding program doesn’t serve meals.

St. Thomas’, Holton has a new Advent wreath banner, hand-crafted by members Luray Benson and Terri Horanic. Flames on the four candles attach by Velcro so they can be “lighted” each week.

St. Margaret’s, Lawrence enjoyed a delicious breakfast Dec. 11 between services, featuring the famous French toast prepared by the rector, the Rev. Matt Zim-merman.

Trinity, Lawrence members again purchased plum puddings prepared by members of TEST,

the parish’s environmental stew-ardship team, as a fundraiser to support the group’s ministry. It took six gallons of prepared mix-ings to make all the puddings.

St. Paul’s, Leavenworth host-ed a family Advent event Nov. 20 after church. Soup and sandwiches were provided, and attenders could make Advent wreaths and take part in other Advent-themed activities.

St. Paul’s, Manhattan en-gaged in outreach via hot bev-erages when it provided free coffee and hot chocolate to those watching the city’s Veterans Day parade Nov. 11 as it passed by the downtown church. The porch of the thrift shop building provided the perfect serving location.

St. Paul’s, Marysville helps its community by providing Back-Snacks every week for elementary school students in need. The packs contain a weekend’s worth of food.

St. Michael’s, Mission offered people experiencing a difficult time or burdened by the arrival of the holiday season an opportunity for worship through a Blue Christ-mas service at noon on Dec. 8.

St. Matthew’s, Newton has purchased an automatic external defibrillator, which can help restart the heart of someone in a medical emergency. The parish nurse, Sandra Herder, provided training in how to use the equip-ment for several Sundays this fall and encouraged every member over the age of 12 to be trained.

St. Aidan’s, Olathe has reded-icated its chapter of the Daugh-ters of the King, which fi rst was established there in 1998. New

members of this order for women, committed to prayer and service, begin their training in January.

Grace, Ottawa is making plans to restart Sunday school classes in January and is looking for teachers.

St. Francis, Overland Park celebrated their annual Harvest Supper on Oct. 29. The highlight of the evening was the home-grown talent show that followed the dinner.

St. Thomas, Overland Park conducted a blood drive at the church Dec. 11. It offered parish-ioners the chance to give the gift of life by donating a pint of blood, noting that every two second someone in the U.S. needs blood.

St. John’s, Parsons hosted 18 students for its Laundry and Latte outreach to Labette County Com-munity College students early in the semester. They helped students with summer birthdays celebrate with cake and a free extra load of laundry, paid for by the church.

St. Peter’s, Pittsburg mem-bers Larry and Theresa Vander-hoofven hosted a Holy “Spirits” gathering — formerly known as the wine-tasting group — at their home. Participants were asked to bring a beverage and potluck dish.

St. Luke’s, Shawnee member and artist Peggy Cook is offering drawing and painting classes for any interested parishioners on eight Thursday evenings. Begin-ners through experts were invited.

Grace Cathedral, Topeka staged a dramatic reading of the Gospel of Mark on the fi rst Sun-day of Advent, Nov. 27, directed by member Marvin Stottlemire.

Photo by Nic Mather

Coffee and cocoa hospitalityOlivia Divish (left) and Naomi Cunningham, peer ministers at the Episcopal campus ministry at Kansas State University in Manhattan, offer free hot coffee and cocoa to students walking to campus on Dec. 12, the fi rst day of fall semester fi nals. Students at Canterbury House offered the warming beverages on the fi rst two days of fi nals as a tangible expression of God’s love.

Mark is the main gospel read dur-ing the current Lectionary year.

St. Luke’s, Wamego welcom-ing committee is working on cre-ating a “Get Acquainted” booklet for visitors. It’s being based on the one produced by Grace Cathedral.

Good Shepherd, Wichita offered an old-fashioned Harvest Festival Nov. 12 after the church’s Saturday evening worship service. Participants were asked to bring a snack and then bob for apples or try their luck at the cake walk.

St. Bartholomew’s, Wichita enjoyed an all-parish Thanksgiv-ing-style dinner on the Sunday before the holiday, after church.

St. James’, Wichita is help-ing fi ll the needs for Christmas gifts by purchasing items for 14 families through Episcopal Social Services, as well as the families of students in the parish’s after-school program.

St. John’s, Wichita enjoyed a parish turkey dinner on Nov. 16 after the Wednesday evening service. There was no charge to at-tend, but donations were accepted to aid the discretionary funds of parish clergy, to help neighbors in need.

St. Stephen’s, Wichita youth group members and adults chopped onions and browned beef to create chili to sell during the annual parish rummage sale. The sale netted more than $4,700 for youth scholarships.

Grace, Winfield hosted its fourth annual pie back-off on Nov. 16. The winner of the “Bishop’s Prize” for best pie was the chicken pot pie from Karen Deal and Helen and Sarah Emrick.

ESS honors outstanding volunteers

Episcopal Social Services in Wichi-ta honored some of its volunteers during its annual volunteer recog-

nition dinner on Oct. 16. More than 170 people volunteer at

ESS each year, providing more than 10,000 hours of service.

Bob Parker AwardThe coveted Bob Parker Award

went to Joyce Barker, a member of Good Shepherd, Wichita. Named for the agency’s fi rst director, this award is given out only periodically to acknowl-edge a volunteer who shows longevity and consistency.

Barker has been a volunteer in the agency’s food program for more than 10 years and assists in the kitchen every Friday. In addition, she usually brings homemade baked goods from home to share with those who come to the agency in downtown Wichita seeking a hot meal and other kinds of assistance.

Volunteers of the YearAmong those receiving special recognition

were two longtime volunteers in the agency’s Representative Payee Program, which administers disability benefi ts for those who need this service.

Marjorie Williams, a member of St. James’, Wichita, has been a part of the program for more than fi ve years and volunteers every day but one the program is open. She also plays the piano for the newly formed Venture House Singers.

Bud Lytle, a member of St. Christopher’s, Wichita, also has been part of the payee program for more than fi ve years and, like Williams, assists clients nearly every day the program operates.

Joyce Barker, recipient of the Bob Parker Award

Volunteers of the Year Marjorie Williams (top)

and Bud Lytle


People

The Rev. A. Patrick K. Funston, chaplain at Bishop Seabury Academy, Law-rence, will be ordained to the priesthood on Saturday, Jan. 7 at 10:30 a.m. Grace Cathedral in Topeka. A re-ception will follow.

The Rev. Joyce Holmes has been appointed as priest in charge at Grace, Chanute, beginning Dec. 15. She previously served as rector of St. Matthew’s, Newton, from 1994 to 2001, and as assistant at St. Stephen’s, Wichita, from 1991 to 1994, following her ordination to the priesthood by Bishop William Smalley.

She most recently has been rector of the Episcopal Church of the Redeemer

in Avon Park, Fla., in the Diocese of Central Florida.

The Rev. Lisa Senuta has accepted a call to be-come the rector of St. James the Less Episcopal Church in Northfield, Ill., in the Diocese of Chicago, begin-ning Jan. 15.

She has been the assis-tant rector at St. Michael and All Angels in Mission and before that was assistant at St. Thomas in Overland Park. She was ordained to the priesthood in 2001 by Bishop Smalley.

The Rev. Peter Dod-dema was ordained to the priesthood on Dec. 21 at Christ Church Cathedral in Lexington, Ky., by Bishop

Chilton Knudsen on behalf of Bishop Wolfe.

Doddema, who was or-dained to the transitional diaconate in this diocese in June, is serving at St. Phil-lip’s in Harrodsburg, Ky.

The Rev. Sarah Knoll was married on Nov. 26 to Jami Sweeney in St. Louis, where she now serves as a hospital chaplain.

The Rev. Amanda Ei-man, associate priest at St. James’, Wichita, has announced her engagement to the Rev. Christopher Bishop, priest-in-charge of St. Martin’s Episcopal Church in Radnor, Penn.

No wedding date has yet been set.

Clergy news

Topeka man’s goal: warm coats for all area kids

Logan Zimmermann (on horseback), a member of St. Mark’s, Blue Rapids, placed fi rst in two horseback riding events Sept. 11 at the Nebraska Special Olympics at Fonner Park in Grand Island, Neb. His fi rst-place awards were in trail ride and showmanship.

Logan, 12, was diagnosed with autism at the age of 3. He has been riding horses with the Nebraska Equine Assisted Therapy program for almost 10 years.

Pictured with Logan is his stepbrother, Gage Woodyard, who also is a member of St. Mark’s.

Photo courtesy of Jennifer Woodyard

Blue Rapids youth rides to first-place awards

Photo by Melodie Woerman

Jim Brewer, a member of Grace Cathedral, Topeka, has helped provide new coats to kids in need in the Topeka area for more than a decade through his Warm Little Ones Coat Fund.


For more than a decade Jim Brewer has had a single passion — to make sure

that children in the Topeka area have a new, warm winter coat.

The Grace Cathedral member has channeled that commitment into upwards of 11,000 coats, which are provided by area agen-cies with money donated by his “Warm Little Ones Coat Fund.”

His interest was sparked 11 winters ago when Brewer picked up his young granddaughter from the Salvation Army day care center. He and the director began chatting about coats, and Brewer learned that many of the children there didn’t have anything to keep them warm.

A Topeka dry cleaning busi-ness gathers used coats to distrib-ute, he said, but few children’s coats are donated. So he decided to do something about that.

He collected 60 coats, mostly used, and handed them out to youngsters in the day care cen-ter. When he gave away the new coats, “you could tell the differ-ence in their faces,” he said.

After that, he was committed to providing only new coats. “They meant so much more to the children and families,” he said. As other agencies heard about his generosity, they began calling to see if he could supply them with coats.

He soon concluded that he’d concentrate on raising funds so agencies could buy coats for their children rather than collecting coats himself. Not only did it eliminate the need to store them, “but now they can match a coat to

the child who needs it,” he said, noting that Kansas City Chiefs jackets are popular with boys, while girls gravitate to coats in pink and purple.

His voice choked with emo-tion as he described one girl who twirled around with glee after receiving her coat. “She said, ‘Don’t I look pretty? No one has ever worn this coat before.’”

Brewer hates to turn down any child in need, but he targets chil-dren from birth to age 5. “They’re the ones who often can’t obtain a coat,” he said. Some children are repeat customers, getting another new coat after outgrowing one.

His efforts have grown so much that it now is an offi cial, 501(c)3 tax-exempt organiza-tion administered by the Topeka Community Foundation. The

fund now takes in about $5,000-$6,000 a year.

A lifelong Episcopalian, Brewer said that a priest once told him, “You are put on this earth to do community service.”

He’s tried ever since to heed those words. “I think God is tell-ing me to do this [fund],” he said. “It’s rooted in God’s call.”

Contributions to Brewer’s “Warm Little Ones Coat Fund” can be sent to:Topeka Community Foundation5431 SW 29th Street, Suite 300Topeka, KS 66614Or made online at: www.topekacommunityfoundation.org

Want to help?

Love of parish ministry brings Kansan home

The Rev. Ban Varnum, shown here at his ordination as a transitional deacon Nov. 1, is the new assistant at St. Thomas, Overland Park.


When the Rev. Ben Var-num accepted a call to become assistant

rector at St. Thomas in Overland Park, the Kansas City native said many people remarked that he was coming back home. He sees it a little differently.

“It’s not going back to Kansas,” he said, “it’s stepping forward into the fullness of the calling. It’s a step into something new but also familiar.”

Varnum’s route from a young man growing up at St. Michael and All Angels in Mission (who also was an active diocesan youth program participant) to assistant at a nearby parish took him to Chi-cago, where he received degrees from the University of Chicago.

After college Varnum said he thought he had a calling to teach. Since he’d always been interested in exploring how our interactions with other people shape us, he thought a Master of Divinity de-gree would be his best graduate school road to teaching.

What he wasn’t prepared for was falling in love with parish ministry, he said.

His divinity degree required him to work in a congregation, and he was assigned to St. Chrysos-tom’s Episcopal Church. There he realized he’d rather do parochial ministry than anything else he could imagine.

He started the process for the priesthood in the Diocese of Chi-cago but was caught in a two-year moratorium on all ordinations as they retooled their process.

By the time he was given the OK this past summer, he’d already fi nished seminary, spent four years

working in a parish and had done a hospital chaplaincy residency year. “It was hard to do it this way,” he said. “I did everything backwards.”

Varnum was ordained a tran-sitional deacon on Nov. 1 and ex-pects to become a priest in 2012.

A family trip back to Kansas City offered the opportunity to have lunch with the Rev. Gar Demo, rector at St. Thomas who led diocesan youth programs when Varnum was in high school.

Demo mentioned he’d be look-ing for an assistant, and Varnum said it felt like “the right calling.” He started Oct. 1

He said the parish of 700 people provides existing programs into which he can fi t his gifts for adult formation and education, along with liturgical and pastoral duties.

“It’s amazingly hospitable with lots of energy and possibilities,” he said.


National and international newsAnglican news briefsEpiscopal News Service and other reports

Haiti elects Ogé Beauvoir as bishop suffragan. The Rev. Canon Ogé Beauvoir, dean of the Episcopal Theological Semi-nary in Port-au-Prince, was elected Nov. 25 to be the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti’s fi rst bishop suffragan. Beauvoir was elected on the second ballot. The election took place at a special diocesan convention at Ascension Church in Carrefour, a suburb of Port-au-Prince. Beauvoir, 55, will assist Bishop Diocesan Jean Zaché Duracin as he serves the people and clergy of the diocese, numeri-cally the largest diocese in the Episcopal Church. The new bishop suffragan will be headquartered in the Greater North Region of Haiti.

Arizona offers border visit in April. The Episcopal Diocese of Arizona is offering a visit to the U.S./Mexico border in April to give Episcopalians the opportunity to better understand the complexity of border issues. “Crossing Over” will take place April 12-14, 2012, and will include stays in Nogales and Douglas, Ariz., as well as a cross-border excursion to Agua Prieta, Naco or Nogales, Mexico. Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori will be among those participating, and she will offer an address before the seventh annual “God Has No Borders” procession that will take place on April 14. More information about the April event is on the website of Episcopal Border Ministries, http://episcopalborderministries.com/.

New Zealand Cathedral dean quits post for city council seat. After nine years, the Rev. Peter Beck, dean of the Anglican Christ-church Cathedral, in Christchurch, New Zealand, is quitting “the best job the church” to run for a seat on the City Council. He said wants to play a greater role in rebuilding New Zealand’s second biggest city following the devastating 6.3 magnitude earthquake on Feb. 22. Beck reportedly clashed with Christchurch Bishop Victoria Matthews over fundraising tactics to rebuild the decon-secrated cathedral. He had hoped the cathedral would be rebuilt by the fi rst anniversary of the earthquake, while Bishop Matthews believed money should be raised for all Anglican churches dam-aged in the quake, rather than just the cathedral.

Two Episcopal communities named interfaith models. Episcopal Tri-Faith Ministries in Omaha, Neb., and St. Alban’s Episcopal Church in Washington, D.C., have been named by the National Council of Churches as two of its fi rst fi ve “model inter-faith engaged congregations.” Each congregation recognized for its engagement in interfaith relations will in turn serve as a mentor for other congregations seeking to enhance their work in this area. The Council expects that recognition of model congregations will become an annual event.

Former Canadian general secretary elected bishop of Uru-guay. The Ven. Michael Pollesel, former general secretary of the Anglican Church of Canada, has been elected bishop of Uruguay by the diocesan synod. The election still has to be approved by the province of the Southern Cone, whose House of Bishops meets in May 2012. Pollesel resigning as general secretary last summer to become rector at Toronto’s St. Nicholas Church, Birchmount. He will take up the position in Uruguay, a country of 3.5 million people, after Bishop Miguel Tamayo Zalviídar retires in June. He will stay on at St. Nicholas until a new incumbent is found.

Tutu, Makgoba challenge governments on climate change. Governments must act to ensure that the health, livelihoods, se-curity and existence of all people are not threatened by climate change, Archbishop Thabo Makgoba of Cape Town told the “We Have Faith — Act Now for Climate Justice” rally at King’s Park Stadium, Durban, on Nov. 27. Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town Desmond Tutu addressed thousands of people at the multifaith rally, after which he handed over a petition to the U.N., calling on world leaders to commit their governments to a fair, ambitious and legally binding agreement to combat climate change.

Former ecumenical offi cer to become assistant bishop of Chicago. The Rt. Rev. C. Christopher Epting in January will be-come the assisting bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago. Epting is the retired bishop of the Diocese of Iowa who later served for nine years as the presiding bishop’s deputy for ecumenical and interreligious relations. He retired from that position at the end of 2009.

The Rev. D. Scott Russell (right), Episcopal Church chaplain at Virginia Tech, poses with Jeopardy quiz show Alex Trebek. Russell recently appeared on the popular television show.

Episcopal News Service

The Rev. D. Scott Russell, Episcopal Church chaplain at Virginia Tech, learned a

few things during the journey that brought him to a recent appear-ance on the television quiz show “Jeopardy.”

The pressure of nine million people watching you bet your knowledge against two other players can make 30 minutes pass like 30 seconds, and the bright studio lights can erase short-term memory.

If you take the often-given advice to try to beat your competi-tors and buzz in fi rst to win the right to answer, “you have to have the right answer.”

And, if you come in third and you are wearing a clerical collar, Russell said, you learn to be a “gracious loser.”

Russell, associate rector at Christ Church in Blacksburg, Va., and campus minister at Virginia Tech’s Canterbury House, ap-peared on the Dec. 5 telecast.

The quiz show, which has been on television since 1964, requires contestants to provide answers-framed-as-questions in a variety of subject categories.

Russell, earned his spot on the show by fi rst doing well on Jeopardy’s online test. He was

Answer: What priest recently appeared on the quiz show “Jeopardy”?

Photo/Jeopardy Productions Inc.


Omaha, Neb., may not be the place that some imagine as fertile ground for the prospect of three Abrahamic faiths fi nding common

ground, but the vision of such peaceful co-existence has taken a major step toward becoming reality.

The Tri-Faith Initiative of Omaha announced Dec. 13 that it has completed the purchase of four adjacent parcels of land, amounting to about 35 acres, on a for-mer golf course in the heart of Omaha. The course is being turned into Sterling Ridge, a development that will also include single-family homes, an assisted-living facility, offi ce and retail space and a hotel.

Tri-Faith is a partnership of the Episcopal Dio-cese of Nebraska, Temple Israel and the American Institute of Islamic Studies and Culture.

Eventually what Tri-Faith calls “a multi-faith neighborhood of collaboration” will encompass a synagogue, a mosque and an Episcopal church along with an ecumenical center. The fi rst buildings are expected to be completed in 2013.

Tri-Faith’s vision statement says that by working together, “our vision is to build bridges of respect, trust and acceptance, to challenge stereotypes of each other, to learn from one another, and to counter the infl uence of extremists and agents of hate.”

The Rev. Canon Tim Anderson, diocesan canon for Tri-Faith Ministries, said in a press release that an Episcopal community that will worship on the site is already organized under the name “Episcopal Tri-Faith Ministries.”

The community will eventually choose a name that “clearly identify us as a Christian church, make people of all denominations feel welcome, and refl ect

our commitment to interfaith work,” Anderson said.Anderson said the venture will give Episcopalians

“a unique opportunity” to live out [the church’s baptismal covenant] promises with our new Jewish and Muslim neighbors.”

The community began meeting in Lenten worship on Sunday evenings at St. Augustine of Canterbury Church in Elkhorn, Neb., where the gathering is divided into what Anderson said is “First Table” and “Second Table.” First Table is the Eucharist and the Second Table is a time for a light meal and a discussion, often centering on understanding other faiths. “We regularly have members of the Islamic and Jewish communities drop in to share in the conversations,” Anderson said.

The neighborhood part of the initiative is signifi -cant, according to Anderson. “There are lots of great interfaith dialogues which happen around the country and around the world,” he said. “But when the event is over, people leave the hotel and fl y home. We’re already home, and tomorrow we will see the same neighbors every day.”

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori called the Tri-Faith Initiative “one of the foremost examples of what is possible when siblings dwell together in peace.”

Tri-Faith’s goal is greater understanding through greater proximity. “Experience teaches us that in-teraction can transform intolerance, ignorance and fear into understanding, respect and trust,” Bob Freeman, Tri-Faith Initiative board chairman, said in a press release.

“These basic values are shared by the three Abrahamic faiths and are rooted in our Midwestern culture.”

then invited to a regional contest.Russell learned that the show

producers aren’t just interested in people who do well at trivia games. The producers “want to make sure you’re fun and engag-ing, and that you’re not just some trivia nerd,” he said.

The show doesn’t keep track of how many ordained ministers or member of religious orders have appeared on the show, but Russell said that when he was in Washington, D.C., for the taping

of the regional contest, he chanced upon Diocese of New Hampshire Bishop Gene Robinson, who told him he had been a Jeopardy con-testant years ago.

“He didn’t win either,” Russell said with a chuckle.

He may have placed third, but Russell still went home with some money. Second- and third-place contestants receive $2,000 and $1,000. Russell said his winnings covered his Hollywood trip ex-penses with a little left over.

Three Abrahamic faiths fi nd their common home in Omaha


Vision of new Haiti cathedral is taking shape

Sikhumbuzo Vundla, Diocese of Haiti’s chief of operations, surveys the bells of Holy Trinity Cathedral in Port-au-Prince, which was destroyed in the January 2010 earthquake. The temporary cathedral structure is visible behind him.

By Mary Frances SchjonbergEpiscopal News Service

There is a new vision at the heart of the Episcopal Diocese of Haiti, as plans for a new building for Holy

Trinity Cathedral in Port-au-Prince are starting to take shape.

A request for architectural proposals is slated to be released “in the very near future,” the Rev. John A. Runkle, consult-ing project manager to the “Rebuild Our Church in Haiti” team working on cathedral reconstruction, recently said.

“The cathedral is going to be a very profound symbol of hope, of inspiration, of refuge, of stability, of returning to some positive state of being for so many people in Port-au-Prince,” said Runkle, who was appointed to the position earlier in the fall.

Runkle, who once was the conservator at Washington National Cathedral, is a li-censed architect and has frequently worked on projects involving architectural and cultural landmarks.

Cathedral is fi rst rebuildAt Haiti Bishop Jean Zaché Duracin’s

request, the cathedral is to be the first major post-quake diocesan reconstruction project. The Rebuild Our Church in Haiti fundraising campaign to aid that work was formally launched on the fi rst anniversary of the quake.

Terri Mathes of the Episcopal Church Foundation, who is managing the cam-paign, recently told the church’s Execu-tive Council that the effort “has created a sense of community in dioceses and across dioceses that perhaps were not so plugged in with each other on a particular issue before.” She called the rate of participation across the church “phenomenal.”

Offi cial rebuilding cost estimates will be based on plans submitted by the architect or architects chosen in the bidding process.

As is the case when planning to build any church, there is no dearth of ideas on what a new Episcopal cathedral in the heart

of Port-au-Prince ought to encompass, Runkle said.

“Everybody has a vision, everybody has a desire to create a new cathedral, and part of the hard work we’ve been doing over the past couple of months is trying to get everybody’s vision and desires harnessed and get everyone on the same page so that we are unifi ed in how to go forward,” said Runkle. “That takes work, that takes con-versation, that takes a lot of listening and being in dialogue with each other.”

Already some ideas seem clear. The building itself ought to refl ect the beauty of the Haitian culture, Runkle said. In ad-dition, the three surviving religious murals of the 14 that once fi lled the cathedral’s interior will be incorporated into the new design.

The world-renowned murals depicting biblical stories in Haitian motifs, crafted by some of the best-known Haitian paint-

ers of the 20th century, were added to the 1920s-era Gothic Revival-style cathedral in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Other paintings and woodcarvings also adorned the inside of the building.

Those sorts of artistic embellishments in the old cathedral were for Haitians “a form of worship — an expression of devotion to God — and defi nitely need to be part of the new worship space,” Runkle said. “Exactly how we’re going to do that, I don’t know.”

Native experience is neededIt will be important that the architect or

architects chosen have experience working in Haiti or the Caribbean to ensure that they understand the country’s artistic culture as well as the working environment, he said, adding that there has been talk of a possible partnership between Haitian and U.S. fi rms.

Befi tting Holy Trinity’s status as a fo-cal point in Port-au-Prince, Runkle said,

it is hoped that the new building would be able to be “a safe haven, a refuge, a place that can provide help and assistance if other things around it cannot do that” during some future emergency. The build-ing could do that by being hurricane- and earthquake-resistant, and able to generate its own electricity, fi lter water and have telecommunications capability during an emergency, he suggested.

There is also the hope that the building will be environmentally sensitive. It could include as much material as possible that can be recycled from the destroyed build-ing, use indigenous materials when pos-sible, consider installing solar panels and investigate how to capture and use rainwa-ter, according to Runkle. He said there are hopes the building will be environmentally sustainable and a model for new construc-tion in Haiti.

The Holy Trinity complex once housed Holy Trinity Music School, Holy Trinity Professional School, primary and secondary schools, and a convent of the Sisters of St. Margaret, as well as the cathedral building.

Discussions are underway about tempo-rarily relocating the schools, Runkle said, but the goal is to return them to the cathe-dral site. That effort, and its funding, will be separate from the cathedral construction.

The educational part of the cathedral campus is emblematic of “gospel of whole-ness” that Duracin has said the diocese has preached and practiced since its founding in 1861, serving Haitians’ physical and emo-tional needs as well as their spiritual ones.

That ministry continues even after the earthquake. The diocese’s relief and devel-opment offi ce known as Centre Diocesain de Developpement et de Secours, in part-nership with Episcopal Relief & Develop-ment, continues to serve the entire country in education, health care, environmental protection, food assistance, microcredit and short-term emergency assistance.

The Rev. Mary Frances Schjonberg is an editor/reporter for the Episcopal News Service.

Photo by Joseph Constant for ENS

Submitted photo

Laptop helps Haitian man get to med schoolMackensy Medela (center) holds a laptop he received in April from

St. Michael and All Angels in Mission, which provides support for St. Paul’s Elementary School in Torbeck, Haiti, which Medela had attended as a boy. Making the presentation are Bob Carlson (left) and Janee’ Hanzlick of St. Michael’s.

To pursue his dream of becoming a doctor in his community, Medela fi rst had to pass the national entrance exam, with aid from a computer.

Hanzlick said she recently received word that he not only had passed the exam but had the highest score in southern Haiti.

Medela currently is attending the Catholic medical school in Port-au-Prince but has applied to the less expensive and academically superior national medical school.


The Episcopal Church Standing Commis-sion on Liturgy and Music has released educational materials and other information

surrounding its plan to ask General Convention to authorize a three-year trial use of its proposed rite for blessing same-gender unions.

The downloadable materials are available in English and Spanish at http://generalconvention.org/ccab/fi les/2.

They are part of the commission’s 18 months of work in response to General Convention’s mandate in Resolution C056 that it work with the House of Bishops to collect and develop theological resources and liturgies for blessing same-gender relationships, and report to the 77th General Con-vention July 5- 12, 2012, in Indianapolis.

The Rev. Dr. Ruth Meyers, SCLM chair, said that the materials now available are meant to in-form people about the work of the commission, in advance of the release next spring of the resources it has collected and developed.

The materials available now “are designed par-ticularly for deputies and diocesan conventions, but could be used in other contexts,” Meyers said in the release.

Among the items are: educational materials about the commission’s response to C056 for dioc-esan conventions and diocesan meetings of depu-ties; a summary of the liturgical principles used

by the commission; an overview for deputies of the commission’s work between now and General Convention; theological refl ection materials; and a piece called “Understanding Resolution C056.”

In October the SCLM said that it would propose to General Convention that the church spend three years using a rite for same-gender blessings and studying its application.

The resolution also will ask for the continuation of the “generous pastoral response to meet the needs of members of this church,” called for in C056, Meyers said, including allowing for adaptation of the rite for local use. And the resolution would have the commission report to the 2015 meeting of Convention on how all the materials are used.

During that same triennium the church also would refl ect on its understanding of marriage in light of changes in both societal norms and civil law if Convention agrees to a related resolution the commission will propose, according to Meyers.

The blessing resources to be released in the spring are due to include the rite for blessing same-gender relationships, a theological essay on the issues involved in blessing such relationships, a pastoral resource to guide clergy and trained lay people who would prepare same-gender couples to receive a blessing (the church requires heterosexual couples to engage in pre-marital counseling as well), and a discussion guide for helping congrega-tions and other groups to discuss the rite and other materials.

Resources will offer information on proposed blessing rites


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The mission of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas is to gather, equip and send disciples of Jesus Christ

to witness to God’s reconciling love.

Sharing the Good NewsRefl ections on faith and life

February 2012January 20125 Bishop Wolfe at St. Da-

vid’s, Topeka

10 Kansas School for Minis-try, Bethany Place Con-ference Center, Topeka (through Feb. 11)

Commission on Ministry meeting, Bethany Place Conference Center, To-peka (through Feb. 11)

12 Bishop Wolfe at Ascen-sion, Neodesha and Epiphany, Independence

16 Cursillo weekend, Heart-land Presbyterian Retreat Center, Kansas City, Mo. (through Feb. 19)

19 Bishop Wolfe at St. An-drew’s, Derby

21 Council of Trustees meet-ing, Grace Cathedral, Topeka

25 Lay Leadership Academy, Great Hall, Grace Cathe-dral, Topeka

26 Bishop Wolfe at St. Thomas’, Holton

7 Ordination of Patrick Fun-ston to the priesthood, Grace Cathedral, Topeka, 10:30 a.m.

8 Bishop Wolfe at St. Luke’s, Wamego

13 Kansas School for Minis-try, Bethany Place Con-ference Center, Topeka (through Jan. 14)

MIQRA Bible-reading weekend for youth, Grace Cathedral and St. David’s (through Jan. 16)

15 Bishop Wolfe at St. Mat-thew’s, Newton

17 Council of Trustees meet-ing, Grace Cathedral, Topeka

22 Bishop Wolfe at Grace, Winfi eld and Trinity, Ar-kansas City

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For the latest news of the diocese, full calendar listings and more, visit the

diocesan website:

www.episcopal-ks.orgFollow the diocese on Facebook:EpiscopalDioceseofKansas

and on Twitter:EpiscoKS

See, your salvation comes – Isaiah 62:11

The great prophets before Jesus pro-claimed a vision of a nation and a people redeemed. We continue to share

that yearning — as the Christmas hymn puts it, “the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight.”

We’ve seen abundant hopes spring up in the past year across the Arab world and Eastern Europe, and in the global Occupy movement. Those voices seek a world of greater justice, communities in which decisions and the gifts of creation are more available to all.

Our understanding of salvation is most profoundly about justice in community, and as Christians we believe that help and healing for all are grounded in the incarnate presence of God — among us and within us.

We look for salvation to the one who came among us in the most humble way, a helpless child born in a scandalous way to a poor peas-ant couple.

The Incarnation, God with us, changed the world in ways that we insist are leading to the ultimate healing of all creation. “See, your sal-vation comes,” says the prophet in every age, yet it is not yet fully come upon us. We live in hope for its fullness.

May hope be nourished within us, in each and every human being and community, for the journey toward God’s healed and holy future.

That proclamation of coming salvation is a part of Isaiah (62:6-12) that will be read in some congregations at Christmas, but if you don’t hear it, go and read the whole of it. Its centerpiece speaks of what that salvation looks like:

The Lord has sworn…I will not again give your grain to be food for

your enemies,and foreigners shall not drink the wine for

which you have labored;but those who garner it shall eat it and praise

the Lord,and those who gather it shall drink it in my

holy courts. (Isaiah 62:8-9)

That is not a vision of pristine isolation,but a vision of comfort and healing to a people frequently at war, occupied, or exploited by superior forces.

The fear of powerful others taking and us-ing for themselves the produce of the poor is healed and transformed into a society in which the gifts God provides will be shared by all.

For when salvation comes, that society will be called, ‘the Holy People, The Redeemed of

the Lord’; and you shall be called, ‘Sought Out, A City

Not Forsaken.’ (Isaiah 62:12)

Jesus comes among us to remind us of a world living together in peace, to reclaim and make real that vision of creation for all humanity and all God’s creatures. That world is put right as relationships between God and humanity are set right. The relationship between God and human being cannot be set right without equal healing of relationships between us mortals.

See, your salvation comes! Will we wel-come that healing?

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts SchoriPresiding Bishop and PrimateThe Episcopal Church

Jesus’ coming reminds us of a world living in peaceA Christmas message from the Presiding Bishop

The Harvest, November-December 2011

Documents

Transcript of The Harvest, November-December 2011