From Episcopal Life Online-
People lined up along the fence outside St. Ann's Episcopal Church in the Mott Haven section of the South Bronx Jan. 27 waiting for their turn to get inside -- not to get a glimpse of Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, who was incidentally visiting, but to shop the parish's weekly Wednesday morning food pantry.
Williams arrived and left with little fanfare. More food pantry clients lined up along the fence outside, paying little notice. Inside, the Rev. Martha Overall, priest-in-charge, along with members of the vestry and volunteers, opened up the parish and its programs for Williams to see. His visit was significant, Overall said, given the archbishop's reason for being in New York.
The archbishop is here to participate in the 2010 Trinity Institute's National Theological Conference, themed "Building an Ethical Economy: Theology and the Market Place." On Jan. 26, he participated in a panel that discussed ways to safeguard children from the effects of the global financial and economic crises at the Desmond Tutu Center, took part in discussions at the United Nations and, along with Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, met with U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Williams asked to see the work of the Episcopal Church on the ground, said New York Bishop Mark S. Sisk, who accompanied the archbishop on his visit.
"This is a wonderful opportunity for those people who have opened their work for him to see," he said.
As Overall explained to Williams, St. Ann's is located in the poorest congressional district in America, where 60 percent of the population is without a high school degree and 40 percent of households earn less than $10,000 a year.
More here-
http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_118850_ENG_HTM.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment