Presiding Bishop urges
sharing fruitfulness during Diocese of Quincy visitation
By Tobyn Leigh
PEORIA-(Oct. 3,
2011) Keeping the focus on sharing the harvest with those outside Episcopal
congregations was a central theme in the messages shared by Presiding Bishop
Katharine Jefferts Schori during her visitation in the Episcopal Diocese of
Quincy Oct. 1-2.
The diocese,
headquartered in Peoria, serves Episcopalian congregations in 10 counties in
West Central Illinois between the Illinois and Mississippi Rivers. The
Episcopal Church is part of the global Anglican Communion.
The Presiding
Bishop met and shared her vision with several groups during her two day visit,
telling clergy during an early morning breakfast of the scope and needs of the
wider church, and reminding deputies from across the diocese during a pre-Synod
address that growth and abundance in our congregations comes when the focus is
turned toward the needs of those beyond our own doors.
Diocesan youth from
age eight through college had a special time of visiting with the Presiding
Bishop during the Synod business meeting, followed by a Eucharist Service where
the Presiding Bishop gave the homily.
Jefferts Schori
told the congregants not to lose sight of keeping the walk of Jesus central
even while the diocese may continue to struggle with legal issues, property
concerns and the future path of the diocese.
“Whatever decisions
you make about the structures and future of this community, living like Jesus
is the most central – that is worth all you have and all you are. Nothing
less,” said the Presiding Bishop. “
“It means walking
into the hard places, confronting the challenging questions, and being willing
to see the suffering face of Jesus in our neighbors. That’s the road, and ultimately it is filled
with peace and joy and homecoming,” she said.
Saturday afternoon,
the diocese presented Jefferts Schori with a check for $11,205.39, the results
of a year-long campaign to help rebuild the church in Haiti, devastated by the
Jan. 2010 earthquake.
“The congregations
in which you worship are caring for people within and beyond your communities –
taking meals when people are sick or grieving, working at food banks and
homeless shelters, helping to rebuild the church in Haiti,” said the Presiding
Bishop. “Those are all worthy ways of taking the Jesus road.”
The Presiding
Bishop was also present when the diocese announced plans to host public
community screenings of the new PBS five-part series “Women, War and Peace”
starting Oct 11. The diocese plans to invite the public to join in
conversations about empowering women and other victims in global areas of
conflict as well as in local communities, using discussion guides prepared by
the Anglican Women’s Empowerment organization.
“The millennium
development goal is the empowerment of women, and it is of central importance
to the development of all people on a global level," said the Presiding
Bishop.
In her remarks at
the announcement, Jefferts Schori shared observations about her own recent
visit to the war-torn nation of the Congo, and what Anglican parishes there are
doing to help victims of rape and other brutal trauma heal and find their way
back into community.
“The treatment of
women there is a societal, systematic issue," said Jefferts Schori.
"The church offers ministry for the physical, spiritual, emotional and
relational trauma that the women have experienced."
The Presiding
Bishop’s Quincy visit concluded Sunday as she served as the celebrant and
preacher at St. Paul’s Cathedral morning service.
Her message
continued the theme of tending the vineyard God has provided us and sharing the
fruits of our labors with those less fortunate. She spoke of a new period of
study beginning in the church concerning environmental issues in North America,
and the use of the land at the expense of Native Americans.
“We are all merely
tenants of this vineyard, and our elder siblings have suffered much from the
work of more recent arrivals,” she said.
“We have a
responsibility for how our brothers and sisters across the globe are faring,
particularly because we contribute far more to the warming of the atmosphere
than they do,” said Jefferts Schori.
“The landowner is asking for a share of the harvest, and we don’t have
very good fruit to offer.”
“Our
job as tenants and stewards of this global garden is to be fruitful, and to see
that the harvest is shared in such a way that no one goes hungry,” she went on
to say. “The guideposts of our faith (like the 10 commandments) are meant to
keep us focused on that shared harvest.”
All Saint's Church gains mission status in diocese
All Saints Church in Moline, IL, was granted mission status at Synod 2011 after successfully completing all aspects of application to the diocese.
Members of the church are pictured, right, with Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori after the Synod Eucharist Mass Oct. 1 at St. Paul's Cathedral.