St. Stephen’s Episcopal School scrambles for solution as access to free breakfast, lunch program ends

From Central PA.-

St. Stephen’s Episcopal School is appealing for community support after learning that funding soon will end for its free breakfast and lunch program.

The school recently lost its “at risk” status due to changes in federal regulations, said Head of School Ellen Hartman.

“We’re truly an inclusive school, where you can attend regardless of your socioeconomic status,” she said. “That’s why we deal with issues that so many other private schools don’t have. It’s not a one-size-fits-all solution here.”

Of the 145 students who attend the pre-K-8 school, about 40 children are in the breakfast program and 60 children in the lunch program, she said. As of Jan. 31, those programs will end, as the federal government continues to tighten regulations for its food programs, including the USDA’s Child and Adult Care Food Program.

More here-

https://theburgnews.com/news/st-stephens-episcopal-school-scrambles-for-solution-as-access-to-free-breakfast-lunch-program-ends

Founder of community of women survivors of prostitution, trafficking to address retreat

From Central PA-

An Episcopal priest who founded a community of women survivors of prostitution, trafficking and addiction is the guest speaker at a social justice weekend retreat next month at the Saints Cyril and Methodius Retreat Center.

The Rev. Becca Stevens, founder and president of Thistle Farms, in Nashville, Tennessee, will speak on Aug. 9 from 12:45 to 1:45 p.m. and on Aug. 10 from 12:45 to 1 p.m. She also will conduct a Bible study class and a workshop session on social justice.

Stevens has been featured in The New York Times, on ABC World News and NPR, and was named a 2016 CNN Hero and a White House “Champion of Change.” She was featured in the PBS documentary A Path Appears, named Humanitarian of the Year by the Small Business Council of America, and inducted into the Tennessee Women’s Hall of Fame. 

The Very Rev. Robyn Szoke-Coolidge, dean of the Stevenson School for Ministry of the Harrisburg-based Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania, said the online school is collaborating with the diocese on the retreat, which the diocese is sponsoring.

More here-

https://www.dailyitem.com/the_danville_news/news/founder-of-community-of-women-survivors-of-prostitution-trafficking-to/article_d7fd41e9-6507-5c4b-ad5e-87514d1cbd86.html

Ex-chaplain at St. George’s School pleads guilty to 1973 molestation

From Boston-

A former associate chaplain at St. George’s School in Rhode Island has pleaded guilty to molesting a student during trips to Boston in 1973. Howard White Jr., who was also accused of sexual abuse in three other states and stripped of his priesthood by the Episcopal Church, received an 18-month sentence, according to Jake Wark, spokesman for the Suffolk County district attorney’s office.

Officials in the Suffolk District Attorney’s Office said last year that the charges against White grew out of a Rhode Island State Police investigation into allegations of sexual assault and sexual misconduct by former faculty and students at the elite prep school in Middletown, R.I., going back to 1970. He was arraigned in Suffolk Superior Court last December.

More here-

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/05/14/former-episcopal-priest-and-former-george-chaplain-pleads-guilty-assault-battery-charges/ji45ivGAxPnRqOMbl07cSL/story.html

DA: Teen victim of Episcopal priest

From Boston (more links at the bottom)-

A 75-year-old former Episcopal priest in Rhode Island was arrested and charged yesterday with assaulting a 15-year-old prep school student he took on trips to Boston more than 40 years ago, Suffolk prosecutors said.

Howard “Howdy” White was an associate chaplain at St. George’s School in Middletown, R.I., in 1973 when prosecutors say he took one of his academic advisees on two overnight trips to Boston and assaulted him. He faces five counts of assault and battery from the two trips.

“Whether as a child or as an adult, disclosing sexual abuse can be the most daunting experience in a person’s life,” Suffolk District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said in a statement. “Survivors everywhere should know that they can feel safe and supported coming to us, and that we place their well-being above all else as we investigate and prosecute the harm committed against them.”

More here-

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/local_coverage/2016/12/da_teen_victim_of_episcopal_priest

Bedford PA here-

http://www.tribdem.com/news/episcopal-priest-living-in-bedford-county-arraigned-in-boston-on/article_4cfdb34a-c181-11e6-96eb-3f00a02dbaf6.html 

CBS- with video-

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2016/12/13/priest-charged-sexual-abuse-boy-1973-howard-howdy-white-boston/

Providence RI-

http://boston.cbslocal.com/2016/12/13/priest-charged-sexual-abuse-boy-1973-howard-howdy-white-boston/

NPR-

http://nhpr.org/post/former-st-pauls-school-chaplain-charged-sexual-assault

Survivors of abuse 'heartened,' 'ecstatic' after action against ex-St. George's chaplain

 From Rhode Island-

The Episcopal Church issued "the most severe penalty" possible against Howard W. "Howdy" White Jr. when it removed him from the priesthood Monday, nearly 50 years after he was ordained.

Every diocesan bishop within the Episcopal Church — here and abroad — will be notified Wednesday.

White, 75, former associate chaplain at St. George's School, is one of six former staff or faculty members accused in the sex-abuse scandal that has rocked the elite Middletown prep school since last December.

White remains under criminal investigation in North Carolina, based on two allegations of sexual abuse in the mid-1980s. White could not be reached for comment Monday or Tuesday in Bedford, Pennsylvania, where he lives.

More here-

http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20161011/survivors-of-abuse-heartened-ecstatic-after-action-against-ex-st-georges-chaplain


and The Boston Globe-

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/10/11/episcopal-priest-tied-abuse-school-defrocked/5thDHMk18JQYjVrm3XkdMO/story.html

and NPR

http://ripr.org/post/former-st-georges-chaplain-removed-priesthood-over-allegations-sexual-abuse

Faith in Focus: For love of money?

From Central PA-

The song on the radio advertisement for a casino or some other establishment says “I want money, that’s what I want.”

Is it okay to want it?

As we know, to love money brings us to the root of many evils. It’s not about money being evil, having money being bad, or needing money making you someone destined for eternal suffering.

We have been given teachings meant to shape us into the way humans are to relate to others and to the material world. There are some things we absolutely must have. About these things we pray that we have what we need.

More here-

http://cumberlink.com/news/local/neighbors/pets/faith-in-focus-for-love-of-money/article_0b35df12-44d2-54ad-828d-dcefa0be49fa.html

Servants To All to open overnight homeless shelter

From PA (Trinity Epsicopal is invloved in the project)

Servants To All is opening up an overnight homeless shelter before temperatures drop this fall at the United Presbyterian Church, 214 Mahantongo St., Pottsville. Thirteen beds will be available at the church starting in October, Albert Nastasi, program director, said Wednesday.

“We certainly want to thank the church and the congregation,” Nastasi said.

The shelter will be for men and women and staffed at all times. It will only be open overnight from 8:30 p.m. to 7:30 a.m.


More here-


http://republicanherald.com/news/sevents-to-all-to-open-overnight-homeless-shelter-1.2087220

Miraculous church celebrates 150 years

From Central PA-

Iris Reigle’s life changed when she was 9 years old.

So did the daily life of the church her family attended.

It was after Holy Week’s Wednesday evening prayer service on April 6, 1977 when her mother asked Iris, now Iris Chowka, if she had seen anything on the tabernacle cloth on the main altar.

"I said I saw Jesus," Chowka, 48, of Coal Township, said during Holy Trinity Episcopal Church’s open house on Sunday. "It confirmed what she saw. It just confirmed what other people thought they saw."

Her mother told her to go and tell her grandmother in the parish hall in the next room. When news of the image spread, the number of visitors began to grow. On Pentecost Sunday, June 3, 1979, people claimed to have seen a second image of Jesus with outstretched arms, which sparked a renewed interest for a brief time. Then Guideposts magazine published a story in June of 1981 of a Holy Trinity parishioner dying from cancer who went into the church for his last communion, recalled William Hazzard, the church’s senior warden. The man claimed to feel a powerful presence from the veil and later was found to be free of cancer.

More here-

http://www.dailyitem.com/news/miraculous-church-celebrates-years/article_3fa8d0c6-1b00-11e6-b668-239b01df7cc3.html

Boarding school agrees to new investigation of sex abuse

From NBC- (Other links below)

An elite Rhode Island boarding school agreed Thursday to hire a new, independent investigator to look into allegations of sexual abuse made by at least 40 former students covering four decades.

Lawyers for the people who allege they were molested or raped by former school employees and students said they reached an agreement late Thursday with administrators at St. George's School, a $56,000-a-year coeducational, Episcopalian school in Middletown, Rhode Island.

Many of the alleged victims had questioned the thoroughness of the school's first investigation, which was led by the law partner of the school's attorney. In a report last month, the school said that investigation found that 26 students had been sexually abused in the 1970s and '80s by six former employees. The school acknowledged it didn't report abusers to authorities at the time and apologized for not doing more.

Since then, Massachusetts lawyers Eric MacLeish and Carmen Durso said they have heard from at least 40 people who say they were abused by former staffers and students at the prep school.

More here-

http://www.wmbfnews.com/story/30911988/episcopal-priest-suspended-amid-abuse-claims-at-prep-school

also here

http://www.630wpro.com/2016/01/07/episcopal-priest-suspended-amid-abuse-claims-at-st-georges-school/

and here-

http://wjhl.com/2016/01/07/episcopal-priest-suspended-amid-abuse-claims-at-ri-prep-school/

New York Times-

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/08/us/rhode-island-new-inquiry-into-school-scandal.html?_r=0

Pennsylvania bishop suspends former assistant chaplain at St. George's School

From Rhode Island-

A Pennsylvania bishop moved swiftly to suspend the Rev. Dr. Howard White, former assistant chaplain at St. George's School in Middletown, from his Pennsylvania church ministry following Tuesday's revelation that White "is among the subjects of an investigation into widespread sexual abuse during the 1970s and 1980s" at the school.

The Rev. Canon Audrey Cady Scanlan, bishop of the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania, wrote a letter to members of her Episcopal diocese Wednesday that explains her decision. White is now a retired Episcopal priest, and has served as a long-term supply priest at St. James Episcopal Church in Bedford, Pa., a borough of fewer than 3,000 people. He could not be reached for comment Wednesday.

"I have moved to immediately restrict Father White’s ministry and to provide for the pastoral care of the congregation that he currently serves," the bishop wrote.

More here-

http://www.providencejournal.com/article/20160106/NEWS/160109581

Diocese of Central Pennsylvania to install new Episcopal bishop

From Central PA-

The consecration of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania’s 11th Bishop, the Rev. Dr. Audrey Scanlon, will be held this weekend in  Harrisburg.

Scanlon, the diocese’s first female bishop, previously served the Diocese of Connecticut.

Bishop-elect Scanlon's formal installation ceremony will be held Saturday from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and will include Episcopalians from across the diocese, featuring more than 20 bishops (including Lutheran and Moravian.)

The seating of Scanlon will take place  at Saint Stephen's Episcopal Cathedral, 221 N. Front St., Harrisburg, at 10:15 a.m. Sunday. In the Episcopal tradition, the new bishop must knock on the red front doors of the Cathedral church and ask to enter. Once entry is granted, the bishop is formally seated. Scanlon will preach the sermon at the service.

More here-

http://lancasteronline.com/features/faith_values/diocese-of-central-pennsylvania-to-install-new-episcopal-bishop/article_85833e48-57f0-11e5-aa22-131101c0caae.html

Central Pennsylvania diocese announces 3 nominees for bishop

From ENS-

The Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania has announced a slate of three nominees to stand for election as the 11th bishop of the diocese.

The nominees were presented to the Standing Committee by the Bishop Search Committee on Dec. 1.
The three are:

The Rev. Canon David A. Pfaff, 50, canon to the ordinary, Diocese of Milwaukee;

The Rev. Canon Audrey Cady Scanlan, 56, canon for mission collaboration and congregational life, Diocese of Connecticut;

The Rev. Douglas Everett Sparks, 58, rector, St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Rochester, Minnesota (Diocese of Minnesota).

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2014/12/10/central-pennsylvania-diocese-announces-3-nominees-for-bishop/

Nathan Baxter reflects as he prepares to retire as bishop of Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania

From Lancaster PA-

As Nathan Baxter prepares to step down as bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania, he recalls to the beginning of his tenure as a newly minted prelate.

Though he had grown up in the area, and served it as both professor and priest, Baxter, 65, says that when he arrived at the diocesan headquarters in Harrisburg, he still felt the weight of his new responsibilities.

"I remember saying to God: 'Oh God, I don't know if I can do this or not.'"
Wandering to his office window on Front Street, he stared reflectively across the Susquehanna River.

More here-

http://lancasteronline.com/lancaster/news/nathan-baxter-reflects-as-he-prepares-to-retire-as-bishop/article_e05df81c-c0de-11e3-b249-001a4bcf6878.html

Church built to honor Civil War soldiers turns 125

From Central PA-

When Gettysburg's Episcopalian community set out to honor fallen soldiers in 1888, they didn't think of a graveyard.

They built a church.

The Memorial Church of the Prince of Peace is the only Gettysburg church designed specifically as a Civil War memorial, parish publicist Art House said. The building houses more than 150 stones and plaques for fallen Union and Confederate soldiers, including 140 that form the foundation of the church's bell tower.

Nearly 100 congregants gathered Sunday for a service meant to honor soldiers, re-dedicate the church and continue its mission as a welcoming, vibrant religious community.

Prince of Peace was “not partisan at a time when we recognized the need for healing,” said the Right Rev. Nathan Baxter, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania.

The Civil War "was the first time the country realized that wars are fought by young people,” Baxter said. “When we realize they are just children, young men and women, it forces us to ask the question, 'What can we do for peace?'”

More here-

http://www.fredericknewspost.com/arts_and_entertainment/arts_and_entertainment_topics/history/article_9a167471-62c9-5fb8-88eb-c9efe450e292.html

Central Pennsylvania bishop to retire due to health reasons

From ENS-

The Rt. Rev. Nathan Baxter, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania, has announced his intent to retire due to health issues.

Baxter, who has recently returned from a three-month sabbatical, told members of the diocese that, although his recent health issues are much improved, “it has also become clear to me that my health challenges will not allow me to serve you with the sustained energy and consistency required for the future of this work.”

Baxter noted that he has continued to deal with migraine headaches, vertigo and fatigue and he felt these ailments would interfere with his ability to execute his duties fully. He noted that, by the time his successor is ordained, he will have served as bishop for eight years. Most bishops in the Episcopal Church serve an average of 10 years before retirement.

The bishop informed the diocesan Standing Committee earlier this month and then sent letters to the clergy and to the diocese as a whole. He noted in his letter that the selection process for a new bishop normally takes about 18 months. He pledged to continue to serve until a new bishop is ordained.
Bishop Clay Matthews, head of the Office of Pastoral Development for the Episcopal Church is scheduled to be at a joint meeting of the council of trustees and Standing Committee of the diocese July 9 to help guide the process of selecting a new bishop.

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2013/06/25/central-pennsylvania-bishop-to-retire-due-to-health-reasons/

Gettysburg church finds, installs 21 memorials

From Gettysburg-

Prince of Peace Episcopal Church in Gettysburg recently installed 21 memorials that were recorded in the parish's archives, but were not displayed in the church.

The "missing" memorials were originally purchased in 1888 to remember soldiers who fought in the Civil War, but had since been damaged or discovered to be nonexistent.

Of the new 21 installations, 13 replaced memorials that had been damaged in a 1970 fire - 10 of which were destroyed beyond repair and three were restored but not redisplayed on the grounds. Eight were paid for but never created.

Doing research for the church's 125th anniversary this summer, parishioner Jim Thomas of Biglerville compared original parish ledgers, receipts and plans for the placement of the memorials. He found that eight memorials had been purchased but not placed among more than 150 existing church stones.

The missing memorials now hang on the church back wall.

More here-

http://www.eveningsun.com/ci_23340768/gettysburg-church-finds-installs-21-memorials

Gettysburg Civil War church plans anniversary events

From Gettysburg-

Gettysburg's Civil War memorial church is planning a series of events and commemorations to mark the 125th anniversary of the laying of its cornerstone, an event that coincides with the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg.

Anniversary plans at The Memorial Church of the Prince of Peace, Gettysburg's Episcopal parish, are well along, with additional projects under consideration. Parishioner Mark Purdy has taken on the task of coordinating the various efforts, some of which have been underway for a number of years.

The church, which is home to more than 150 memorials to soldiers and units of both sides of the Civil War, is seeing the addition of the first new memorials placed in the church since 1935. The church stands at the corner of Baltimore and High Streets in Gettysburg.

"Prince of Peace's heritage and that of the Civil War go hand in hand, " according to Bob Gough, senior warden of the parish. Gough noted that, as a gesture of peace and reconciliation, memorials were welcomed for both Union and Confederate servicemen.

More here-

http://www.eveningsun.com/localnews/ci_23137551/gettysburg-civil-war-church-plans-anniversary-events

In Pennsylvania’s capital, a mission is reborn

From ENS-

Founded as a mission more than a hundred years ago St. Andrew’s in the City rapidly grew into a parish in the thriving area of Allison Hill in Harrisburg. With movement out of the city during the post-World War II period, St. Andrew’s in the City established a mission church in the Linglestown area of Harrisburg – St. Andrew’s in the Valley.

With the rapid movement of residents out of the city and the economic decline of Harrisburg due to the loss of industry, the demographic of the city changed. Over time, the economic vitality of the city shifted to the more suburban valley. The parish continued to operate as one with one vestry and one rector, but the city church faced increasing challenges as the neighborhood of Allison Hill changed and the parish got older.

St. Andrew’s in the City still provided the endowments to pay off the Valley church’s mortgage and gave significant operating funds to the valley church. But a move grew to collapse the city church into being just the valley church.

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2013/04/26/in-pennsylvanias-capital-a-mission-is-reborn/

Area religious leaders divided on same-sex unions

From Williamsport PA-

Local religious leaders remain divided on whether couples of the same sex should be allowed to marry.

Some area churches are discussing performing 'blessing' ceremonies to mark the unofficial union of same-sex couples.

"Our parish board is taking up the issue at our meeting this Monday," said the Rev. Thomas Reeder, of Christ Episcopal Church. "I, for one, as the pastor have already made my views known to the parish for years now that I'm in favor of same-sex blessings."

In those denominations, like the Episcopal and the United Church of Christ, that have endorsed same-sex marriage at the national level, individual churches or dioceses make their own decisions on the issue.

"When the UCC passes an amendment or an edict, it applies as a whole," said the Rev. Dr. Karin Stork-Whitson, of New Covenant United Church of Christ. "It does not mandate local congregations to endorse that, or even to be welcoming of people from the gay community."

"The Episcopal church tries to have a wide breadth of conservative and liberal views," said the Rev. Ken Wagner-Pizza, of Trinity Episcopal Church. "Jesus is our focus we have different opinions on everything ranging from this to abortion to politics."

Trinity is also considering having same-sex blessing ceremonies, Wagner-Pizza said.

More here-

http://www.sungazette.com/page/content.detail/id/591192/Area-religious-leaders--divided-on-same-sex-unions.html?nav=5011

On the issue of gay marriage, leaders of Catholic and Episcopal churches in central Pennsylvania strike contrasting reactions

From Central PA-

The heads of the Catholic and Episcopal churches in south central Pennsylvania on Wednesday struck contrasting reactions to findings of a poll that shows voters would be in favor of approving gay marriage legislation. 

The Rev. Joseph McFadden, bishop of the Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg, decried the narrow favoring for gay marriage, while the Rev. Nathan Baxter, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania welcomed it as good news.

The Quinnipiac University poll found that Pennsylvanians narrowly favor gay marriage -- 47 percent of voters indicating they would approve gay marriage, and 43 percent opposing it. The poll found greater disparities along religious lines.

White Catholics indicated support for same-sex marriage 50-40 percent, while white Protestants oppose it 60-31 percent, the poll found. Voters under 35 also support same-sex marriage 68-25 percent, as do voters aged 35 to 54 years old 48-41 percent. But commonwealth voters over 55 oppose it 52-39 percent.

More here-

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/index.ssf/2013/01/gay_marriage_quinnipiac_poll.html