Bishops visit Alaska, bless land, people

From Alaska-

Prayers were offered to bless Alaska, its people and wildlife, Saturday afternoon at the site of the ramshackle gold dredge near Chatanika Lodge.

More than 25 Episcopal bishops, clad in vibrant red chimeres and white rochets, stood in a half moon formation facing the dredge as they recited their prayers. The bishops had come from all corners of the U.S. and their wives were in attendance too.

Among them was Bishop Arthur Williams, of the Ohio Diocese, from Cleveland.

“These days we use the word ‘awesome’ a lot,” Williams said. “I have a deeper understanding of the awesomeness of God and his creations after driving from Anchorage and seeing Denali.”

Williams explained how twice a year the Episcopal bishops gather for missionary work, often going to “far flung” areas of the country. Different groups of bishops also performed blessings in Eagle, Fort Yukon, Venetie, Arctic Village, Beaver, Allakaket and Huslia. 

More here-

http://www.newsminer.com/news/local_news/bishops-visit-alaska-bless-land-people/article_a23692b0-a0fa-11e7-a692-af16be34862e.html

Congregation seeks national recognition for St. Matthew's Episcopal Church

From Alaska-

St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church established itself on the banks of the Chena River when the gold mining supply camp it served began calling itself Fairbanks at the turn of the century. Over the next hundred years it opened a hospital, library and served as a hub for Episcopal missionaries reaching out to rural Alaska.

In the 1960s it established an alcohol rehabilitation program for the community. Since then, the Episcopal church has gone through its own changes. The original log cabin-style building burned down in 1947 and was replaced with the log cabin church that sits there today.

There are still original pieces in the church, like the altar, lectern and communion rail, which were carved in 1905 by Isabel M. Emberley, a nurse at St. Matthew’s Hospital, from oak shipping crates.
More here-

http://www.newsminer.com/features/our_town/stories_of_our_town/congregation-seeks-national-recognition-for-st-matthew-s-episcopal-church/article_5b1a7e78-9c56-11e5-9509-c70fc274e8a2.html

Mushing movie magic: Filmmakers make plans for northern Alaska

From Alaska-

Two filmmakers have been dreaming alike about a long-distance dog mushing expedition to Kotzebue lately.

Completely independent of each other, a remote Brook Range guide and a Two Rivers recreational musher have been making plans to travel more than 1,000 miles through northern Alaska to make films. Either project could get a big boost this month from a competition for a $50,000 prize in a National Geographic competition called Expedition Granted.

Although both projects would half halfway stops in Kotzebue, the two proposed sled dog expeditions follow different routes and have different objectives. John Gaedeke, of Iniakuk Lake, wants to make a documentary about the state’s proposed mining road to Ambler. Two Rivers musher Thomas Swan want to make a historical documentary, recreating the 1905 dog sled trip made by Episcopal missionary Hudson Stuck from Fairbanks to Kotzebue.

More here-

http://www.newsminer.com/features/outdoors/mushing-movie-magic-filmmakers-make-plans-for-northern-alaska/article_e75f27ce-3a52-11e4-91a1-001a4bcf6878.html

Tanacross, St. Timothy’s Episcopal Church thrive 100 years later

From Alaska-

This year marks the 100th anniversary of St. Timothy’s Church in Tanacross. The church was one of a string of missions the Episcopal Church established along the Tanana River in the early 1900s to serve the area’s Athabascan Indians.

Tanacross is located in Eastern Interior Alaska, about 13 miles west of Tok. When the Episcopal Church decided to start a mission there, Tanacross — then called Tanana Crossing — didn’t amount to much. Located along an existing Native trail, which the Eagle-Valdez Trail (blazed in 1899) followed, it was simply a place along the Tanana River shallow enough for horses to ford, and consequently the place where the Eagle-Valdez Trail crossed the river.

A telegraph station, part of the Washington-Alaska Military Cable and Telegraph System, was built there a few years later, as well as a trading post. The telegraph station and trading post were abandoned by 1911. (This is the site where E.T. Barnette wanted to set up his trading post. It seems fortuitous for Barnette that he was forced to disembark at the Chena River instead.)

More here-

http://newsminer.com/view/full_story/19515835/article-Tanacross--St--Timothy’s-Episcopal-Church-thrive-100-years-later?instance=home_features_bullets1

Ordinations continue Native Episcopal ministry

From Alaska-

On Sunday, at 3 p.m., the Rt. Rev. Mark Lattime, Episcopal bishop of Alaska, will ordain to the priesthood Bella Jean Savino and Shirley Lee. The ordination service, part of an all-day Pentecost celebration, marks a historic occasion, celebrating and continuing the tradition of Native ministry within the church.

Lee will become the first Inupiaq female, and Savino will be the second Gwitch’in female to be ordained to the priesthood within the worldwide Anglican Communion. Both are associated with St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church.

Lee, 52, whose traditional name is “Bunnikjoruk,” was born in Fairbanks, and raised in Fairbanks and Bettles Field/Evansville. Her family roots trace back to Noorvik and the Arctic Coast. She is a wife, mother of six, grandmother of seven and has studied at the University of Alaska, the Antioch School of Law and the Vancouver Anglican School of Theology. A former Fairbanks Native Association executive director and Tanana Chiefs Conference vice president, she is currently director of the TCC innovative “Housing First” program. Shirley was ordained a deacon in 2010.
More here-

http://newsminer.com/view/full_story/18734709/article-Ordinations-continue-Native-Episcopal-ministry-?instance=home_news_window_left_bullets

Anna Frank resigns from Episcopal Diocese

From Alaska-

Rev. Anna Frank sparkled Friday night as hundreds of family members and friends surrounded her for her retirement party. Frank wore a glittering purple shirt, a red skirt and beaded Athabascan moccasins to the occasion where attendees honored her work with the Episcopal Diocese of Alaska.

Members of the Diocese organized a party for Frank’s retirement, which was technically a resignation. As Bishop Mark Lattime said, priests can’t retire.

“Once a priest, always a priest,” he said.

Frank applied for postulancy (a step before becoming ordained as a deacon) with the diocese in September 1973. She was 34 years old, had four children and had been married to Richard Frank for about half of her life. In her application, she wrote to the Diocese that she was led to the ministry to serve Alaska Natives. She was ordained as a deacon in March 1974. Almost 10 years later, in 1983, she was ordained as a priest.

Read more:

http://newsminer.com/bookmark/16749014-Anna-Frank-resigns-from-Episcopal-Diocese

Kodiak choir reviving art of the hand bell

From Alaska via Houston-

If you've lived in Kodiak long enough, your ears may have detected a familiar ringing.

About 20 years ago, school-age musicians delighted local audiences with the stirring, intricate dance of hand bell music at St. James the Fisherman Episcopal Church.

In 2011, nine of those girls and some new friends are reviving the art in Isle Bells, a community hand bell choir preparing for a November concert premiere.

"We have 13 ringers," said Isle Bells director Ella Saltonstall. "That's ideal for five octaves."

The yoga teacher and mother of two learned to ring with the St. James group and has loved the sound ever since.

"They touch your spirit, touch your soul in a way no other instrument does," she said.

Saltonstall decided to get serious after she heard a concert by several skilled bell choirs in Maine.

"I left there thinking, 'I've got to do this,'" she said.

http://www.chron.com/news/article/Kodiak-choir-reviving-art-of-the-hand-bell-2195805.php

Come to the grand opening of Holy Trinity Church

From Juneau-

The Holy Trinity Episcopal Church and McPhetres Hall are celebrating our reopening on the afternoon of Sunday, Sept. 4. Please join us for thanksgivings, balloons, music, tours, and theatre starting at 1 p.m. (Of course we would be delighted to see you at worship services at 8:30 or 11 a.m.)

Speaking of thanksgiving, we want to reiterate our thanks to the Rasmuson Foundation, the M. J. Murdock Charitable Trust, Theatre in the Rough, Cathedral of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Northern Light United Church, Resurrection Lutheran Church, Reallife Four Square Church, architect Jeff Robertson, general contractor Southeast Remodel Inc., the craftsman and subcontractors who worked on the building, and hundreds of generous individuals, families, businesses, churches and foundations.

More here-

http://juneauempire.com/opinion/2011-08-27/come-grand-opening-holy-trinity-church#.Tlog7WbF8Xw

Gwich'in New Testament finished

From Alaska-

The gold-lettered title of the plain-covered book reads "Vit'eegwijyahchy'aa: Vagwandak Nizii," Gwich'in for, "God: His Good News."

"Remember the words of our Lord are blessed to give and to receive," said St. Matthew's rector, the Rev. Scott Fisher, following the announcement Sunday that the translation of the New Testament to the Gwich'in Athabascan language is available.

The service was a joyous occasion for the diverse congregation. There was an adult Baptism and more than a dozen parishioners were confirmed by Alaska Episcopal Bishop Mark Lattime.

The final highlight was the introduction of the second team of Wycliffe volunteers, Meggie and Pierre DeMers of Healy, who spent 31 years completing the Gwich'in translation of the New Testament.

Parishioners responded with a standing ovation for the couple.

Read more:

http://www.adn.com/2011/06/12/1912979/gwichin-new-testament-finished.html#ixzz1PA7BhhTv

Healy couple translates New Testament to Gwich’in language Read more: Fairbanks Daily News-Miner - Healy couple translates New Testament to Gwich’in

From Alaska-

The gold-lettered title of the plain-covered book reads “Vit’eegwijyahchy’aa: Vagwandak Nizii,” Gwich’in for, “God: His Good News.”

“Remember the words of our Lord are blessed to give and to receive,” said St. Matthew’s rector, the Rev. Scott Fisher, following the announcement Sunday that the translation of the New Testament to the Gwich’in Athabascan language is available.

The 11 a.m. service was a joyous occasion for the diverse congregation. There was an adult Baptism and more than a dozen parishioners were confirmed by Alaska Episcopal Bishop Mark Lattime.

The final highlight was the introduction of the second team of Wycliffe volunteers, Meggie and Pierre DeMers of Healy, who spent 31 years completing the Gwich’in translation of the New Testament.

Parishioners responded with a standing ovation for the couple.

The Bible, both Old and New testaments were translated in the latter half of the 1800s by Church of England missionary Archdeacon Robert McDonald. He was the first to put Gwich’in in written form that is no longer used today.

Read more:

http://newsminer.com/view/full_story/13370772/article-Healy-couple-translates-New-Testament-to-Gwich’in-language?instance=home_news_window_left_top_4

First woman Episcopal deacon dies

From Alaska-

The Rev. Virginia C. Thomas, one of the first women to be ordained a deacon of the Episcopal Church in America, died April 30, 2011, at the Northwestern Medical Center in St. Albans, Vt. She was 93.

After raising four children and traveling the world extensively with her husband, the late R. David Thomas Jr., she enrolled in the Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia. She graduated in 1978 with a Masters of Arts in religion and was ordained shortly thereafter. Following her ordination she organized the Dolphin Program in the Philadelphia area. Modeled on the close-knit behavior of these sea mammals, Dolphins are volunteers who call upon lonely people in nursing homes and become their one-to-one companions. The program spread nationwide during the next 10 years before Rev. Thomas retired from it in 1988. The Thomases then moved to Vermont, building a home in rural Franklin County adjacent to their daughter Betsy and her growing family. Rev. Thomas was deacon of the local parish, St. Matthew's Episcopal Church in Enosburg Falls. Until a month before her death, she regularly preached sermons that were known for their good humor, sound theology and insightful observations of family and the world around her.

Read more:

http://www.adn.com/2011/05/10/1856014/first-woman-episcopal-deacon-dies.html#ixzz1M2UwkDgQ

Canadian High North igloo-shaped church gets $500K donation

From Alaska-

The rebuilding of Iqaluit's iconic igloo-shaped Anglican cathedral has received a $500,000 boost from a mystery donor.

Officials at St. Jude's Anglican Cathedral learned of the anonymous donation by email earlier this month, as they were in the midst of rebuilding the cathedral, which was damaged in a 2005 fire that police suspect was arson.

"You might expect somebody to give $5,000, $10,000, that sort of thing. But half a million - that's a large amount of money," Rev. Brian Burrows, the interim rector at St. Jude's, told CBC News.

Not even Burrows knows where the donation came from, although he said he suspects much of the money might have come from an individual, group or corporation based in Ottawa.

The $500,000 donation will be used for the cathedral's steel exterior skeleton, which is almost complete. Work on the skeleton began in August.

More here-

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/dispatches/arctic/7207-canadian-high-north-igloo-shaped-church-gets-500k-donation

102-year-old Hannah Solomon honored at Fairbanks celebration

From Alaska-

Hannah Solomon’s lifelong example of giving, caring and sharing, intertwined with love and respect, was returned many times over at her 102nd birthday celebration Sunday.

The Athabascan matriarch was greeted with a rousing version of “Happy Birthday” as she entered St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church hall for the afternoon party.

A stream of more than 300 people flowed in and out of the crowded church hall, extending their best wishes, love and hugs to “Grandma Hannah.”

Seated at a white, cloth-covered table accented with a bouquet of salmon-colored roses, Hannah’s apparel added another spark of color.

A bright pink scarf encircled her neck, and her velveteen jacket embossed with multi-colored flowers and leaves was reminiscent of her highly-prized beadwork.

Hannah excelled at that art form, which she learned as a girl, and examples of her beaded work can be found in museums and private collections.

Speeches were delayed until everyone was fed from a heaping buffet of food including moose, caribou, salmon, goose, rabbit, porcupine, side dishes and desserts.

Read more:

http://newsminer.com/view/full_story/9867063/article-102-year-old-Hannah-Solomon-honored-at-Fairbanks-celebration?instance=home_lead_story

Episcopalians consecrate new Alaska bishop

From Alaska-

For nearly three years, the Episcopal Diocese of Alaska was without a bishop -- but on Saturday, many church members celebrated the long-awaited consecration of a new bishop to lead the diocese.

At the First United Methodist Church in Anchorage, hundreds of people gathered to witness a historical moment for the diocese, as The Rev. Mark Lattime was installed in his new post.

“It's a wonderful day for all our peoples of the diocese,” said The Rev. Michael Burke, dean of the Southcentral Alaska deanery.

Leading Lattime’s consecration was the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, The Most Rev. Katherine Schori, along with bishops from all over the country.

“I could almost feel all that energy, all that anxiety, all of that hope going right through my body in that big response they made when they said, ‘It is their will,’” Lattime said.

Alaskans have waited a long time for a new bishop, a post Lattime is the eighth person to fill.

“It's like having a parent gone or a grandparent gone -- the family is not complete,” said the diocese’s Marty Thomas.

While members of the church showed support with their presence, Lattime's family showed their support by helping him one at a time as he was vested.

More including video here-

http://www.ktuu.com/news/ktuu-episcopalian-bishop-consecrated-090410,0,2746979.story

New Episcopal bishop consecrated Saturday

From Alaska-

The new Episcopal bishop for Alaska, the Right Rev. Mark Lattime, will be consecrated at a 2 p.m. ceremony Saturday at the First United Methodist Church, 725 W. Ninth Ave. The public is invited.

Lattime will be the eighth bishop of the Diocese of Alaska, which includes 50 parishes and missions, according to the diocese.

He has been the rector of St. Michael's Church in Geneseo, N.Y., since 2000 and has served as chaplain at Canterbury Fellowship and as associate rector of R.E. Lee Memorial Church in Lexington, Va.

The Alaska diocese office is in Fairbanks and that's where Lattime will be based, the diocese said.

The chief consecrator on Saturday will be the Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States.


Read more:

http://www.thenewstribune.com/2010/08/31/1323034/new-episcopal-bishop-consecrated.html#ixzz0yHZxZqs8

ALASKA: Bishop-elect Lattime completes consent process

From ELO-

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori's office announced Aug. 4 that Bishop-elect Mark Andrew Lattime of the Episcopal Diocese of Alaska has received the required number of consents from bishops with jurisdiction and diocesan standing committees to his ordination and consecration.

Lattime, 43, was elected April 10 as eighth bishop of Alaska on the fourth ballot from an initial slate of five candidates. He received 42 votes of 70 cast in the lay order and 14 of 25 cast in the clergy order. An election on that ballot required 36 in the lay order and 14 in the clergy order.

His ordination and consecration is set for Sept. 4 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Anchorage. The presiding bishop will officiate.

Lattime had served most recently as rector of St. Michael's Episcopal Church in Geneseo in the Diocese of Rochester (New York).

He will succeed Bishop Mark MacDonald, who left in 2007 to become the first indigenous bishop of the Anglican Church of Canada. The Rt. Rev. Rustin Kimsey has served as interim bishop for three years.

Before being called to St. Michael's in 2000, Lattime was college chaplain at Canterbury Fellowship and associate rector at the R.E. Lee. Memorial Church in Lexington, Diocese of Southwest Virginia.

Lattime is a three-time deputy to General Convention (2003, 2006 and 2009) from Rochester, where he also served in numerous diocesan capacities including: diocesan council, standing committee, as a dean of the southwest district and a stewardship consultant.

More here-

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/81803_123892_ENG_HTM.htm

Geneseo rector is ready for new test in Alaska

From New York (upstate)-

The Episcopal Diocese of Alaska covers roughly 600,000 square miles, but it's home to about as many churches as the Episcopal Diocese of Rochester.

Getting around to those churches is no easy task. More than half of Alaska's parishes aren't accessible by road, said Suzanne Krull, an administrator with the diocese.

"The only way to get to them is to fly," she said. "Before airplanes, it was dog teams."

Mark Lattime, Alaska's newly elected bishop, might have a way to address those problems.

A certified pilot, Lattime, the rector of St. Michael Episcopal Church in Geneseo the past 10 years, wants to fly himself to Alaska's many remote parishes. Doing so, he said, would help reduce costs and make him more effective.

"I know the diocese will need to talk about what it will mean for me to fly," said Lattime, a 1984 Fairport High School graduate. "I would have a lot more training and a lot more to do before I start taking off to some of the remote villages on my own."

More here-

http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20100601/NEWS01/6010327

St. Matthew's Episcopal Church fundraiser to benefit outreach programs

From Alaska-

Get ready to jig and dance to live music—plus eat some great food and find some silent auction bargains at a fundraiser tonight, from 6 p.m. to midnight at St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church on First Avenue.

It’s a joint effort to raise money for the church’s outreach programs in Fairbanks and Dancing with the Spirit, a program to teach guitar and fiddle to kids in the villages.

Dancing with the Spirit is a project to prevent suicide, drug and alcohol abuse by connecting youths and elders through music.

“In the old days, we fought tribal wars with arrowheads,” said the Rev. Trimble Gilbert in Arctic Village. “It’s a different type of war now—against drugs and alcohol. I believe we can win with music.”

Funding provides an opportunity for young people to experience music camps and school programs—plus have access to instruments. The program has begun with 10 villages: Tanana, Arctic Village, Beaver, Stevens Village, Eagle, Hughes, Minto, Chalkyitsik, and Venetie.

Dancing with the Spirit staff usually arrive on Sunday, teach Monday through Friday during the school day, and have a student concert, potlatch and fiddle dance on Friday night. Our unique style of teaching with color codes speeds up learning music tremendously. We also teach skin drumming—and encourage students to sing in their Native languages and learn traditional fiddle dances. As their feet stomp into the ground, they heal sorrows and build strong communities.

More here-

http://newsminer.com/bookmark/7356539-St-Matthew-s-Episcopal-Church-fundraiser-to-benefit-outreach-programs

Alaska diocese elects Mark Andrew Lattime as eighth bishop

From ENS-

The Very Rev. Mark Lattime was elected April 10 as the eighth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Alaska, pending the required consents from a majority of the church's diocesan standing committees and bishops with jurisdiction.

Lattime, 43, rector of St. Michael's Episcopal Church in Geneseo in the Diocese of Rochester (New York), was elected on the fourth ballot. He received 42 votes of 70 cast in the lay order and 14 of 25 cast in the clergy order. An election on that ballot required 36 in the lay order and 14 in the clergy order.

The electing convention was held at the Meier Lake Conference Center in Wasilla, Alaska. Lattime will succeed the Rt. Rev. Rustin Kimsey, who has served as interim bishop for three years, since Bishop Mark MacDonald left in 2007 to become the first indigenous bishop of the Anglican Church of Canada.

Before being called to St. Michael's in 2000, Lattime was college chaplain at Canterbury Fellowship and associate rector at the R.E. Lee. Memorial Church in Lexington, Diocese of Southwest Virginia.

Lattime is a three-time deputy to General Convention (2003, 2006 and 2009) from Rochester, where he also served in numerous diocesan capacities including: diocesan council, standing committee, as a dean of the southwest district and a stewardship consultant.

His community involvements include serving as a board member for the Wadsworth Public Library and as a volunteer ambulance driver for the Geneseo Fire Department.

A certified private pilot, he is a 1988 graduate of Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and earned a master of divinity degree from Bexley Hall in 1997.

More here-

http://www.episcopal-life.org/79425_121396_ENG_HTM.htm

Alaska Nominees Address Evangelism

From The Living Church-

The Episcopal Diocese of Alaska has nominated four people in the search for its eighth bishop, and its first question to all of them concerned evangelism.

The diocese will receive nominees by petition until Feb. 12, and it is planning “fly-abouts” for nominees to visit regional deaneries. The electing convention begins April 9.

The nominees are:

• The Rev. Canon Virginia “Ginny” Doctor, the diocese’s canon to the ordinary and assisting vicar, St. James’ Mission, Tanana.
• The Very Rev. Mark Lattime, rector, St. Michael's Church, Geneseo, N.Y
• The Very Rev. Timothy W. Sexton, provost and canon administrator, Cathedral Church of St. Andrew, Honolulu, Hawaii.
• The Rev. Suzanne Elizabeth Watson, former congregational development officer at the Episcopal Church Center, who now works with the church center as a consultant. She is also a priest associate at Christ and Holy Trinity, Westport, Conn.

This was the first question posed to the nominees: “Alaska has a rich history of evangelism. Yet even while new ministries spring to life, we struggle to attract new people to our churches. What would you propose as an evangelism strategy for Alaska?”

Canon Doctor cited four factors: leadership development, culturally relevant music, social and recreational ministry programs, and good preaching.

“I have heard many times that many Episcopalians are getting fed by other denominations where there is ‘evangelical preaching,’” she wrote. “I think a week-long preaching course for both lay and ordained is needed. There needs to be an excitement created when preaching the word. There are several gifted preachers both inside and outside of Alaska.”

More here-

http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2010/1/14/alaska-nominees-address-evangelism