Houses of worship confront COVID-19 as some reopen buildings

From Rhode Island-

Meanwhile, the Episcopal Dioceses of Rhode Island is taking a more measured approach. Church buildings can reopen for very small groups of worshipers if they choose to do so. But most services will remain online for now. It’s something Bishop Nicholas Knisely said has been a surprise blessing.

"We are worshiping in ways, and more effectively, than I would have even guessed," Bishop Knisely said. "We've actually seen in the diocese here, attendance has gone up."

The online services have been especially popular with older people and parents of young children who can't necessarily come to church in person, and Episcopal churches plan to continue to livestream them even once it’s safe for people to attend in person.

"It's as if we have done two decades worth of evolution in two months," Knisely said.

More here-

https://turnto10.com/i-team/houses-of-worship-confront-covid-19-as-some-reopen-buildings

Churches preparing return to services

From Rhode Island-

At St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, the Rev. Christa Moore-Levesque will continue to conduct her live-streamed Sunday sermons via Zoom. The virtual meetings have allowed the congregation to remain connected, albeit remotely.

“They really like seeing each other’s faces,” she said. “I try to say hello to everyone when they come in, and people really like that. It makes them feel like we’re still a community. Everyone knows who’s there worshipping together.”

The online sermons have been about as long as they would have been if the church was open, but Moore-Levesque said her sermons are “not very long” in the first place, typically lasting about 10 minutes in length. The subjects of her virtual sermons have touched upon the coronavirus pandemic, how to cope with feelings of isolation and how neighbors can help one another.

“The content has definitely been different,” she said.

Additionally, Moore-Levesque has offered a weekly children’s message on her YouTube channel, and she also posted videos during Holy Week in April. She has been sending bulletins and children’s activities to families since the shutdown, and following Easter, she began posting stories for children featuring spiritual stories each Friday afternoon.

The decision to continue the live streams in lieu of reopening St. Matthew’s came following guidance from Bishop W. Nicholas Knisely, the Episcopal leader for Rhode Island. He recommended churches in the diocese continue worshipping online through June. According to Moore-Levesque, there have been religious leaders who were surprised by Rai- mondo’s decision to incorporate churches into her second phase of reopening.

More here-

https://www.jamestownpress.com/articles/churches-preparing-return-to-services/

Former R.I. clergyman pleads guilty to child-porn charge, now listed as ‘credibly accused’ in Mass.

From Rhode Island-

Gregory Lisby, an Episcopal priest who served at churches in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, pleaded guilty Friday to possessing child pornography, and has separately been “credibly” accused of abusing a teenager, the Diocese of Western Massachusetts alleged.

In a letter sent to congregants Friday, Western Massachusetts Bishop Douglas J. Fisher revealed that, since Lisby was charged last September, the diocese has found “devastating credible evidence” that Lisby sexually abused a teenager “after he was ordained as a priest in 2007.”

A diocese spokeswoman provided the letter but said she could not comment further, citing concerns about the victim’s privacy. She declined to say whether police had been notified or were investigating.

More here-

https://www.providencejournal.com/news/20200225/former-ri-clergyman-pleads-guilty-to-child-porn-charge-now-listed-as-rsquocredibly-accusedrsquo-in-mass

Ex-St. George’s chaplain Howard White charged with child sex abuse in N.C.

From Rhode Island-

White, 76, who was stripped of his Episcopal priesthood last fall and is behind bars in Massachusetts for raping a prep school student in the 1970s, faces nine counts alleging various sexual abuse of a juvenile boy and a girl back in the 1980s, while he worked at Grace Church in the Mountains, in Waynesville, North Carolina.

Howard W. White Jr., the former associate chaplain at St. George’s School, in Middletown, now behind bars in Massachusetts for raping a prep school student in the 1970s, is facing numerous similar charges in North Carolina.

White, 76, who was stripped of his Episcopal priesthood last fall, faces nine counts alleging various sexual abuse of a juvenile boy and a girl back in the 1980s while he worked at Grace Church in the Mountains, in Waynesville, North Carolina.

More here-

http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20180418/ex-st-georges-chaplain-howard-white-charged-with-child-sex-abuse-in-nc

Clergy Corner: Use Ten Commandments as your guide through life

From Rhode Island-

How many of you recognize the Crosby, Stills and Nash song from the 1960s? I thought of it immediately while reading the 10 Commandments from the Book of Exodus.

In the second book of the Torah, Moses, that greatest figure of the Torah, to whom history has credited as the author of the first five books of the bible, is preparing the people of God for life in the real world. He has definitely been on the road and the code to live by is the Ten Commandments — for starters. Our actions speak louder than our words, as all the great prophets have written and lived.

All religious traditions show us that life is full of ways to live together in community. Life is full of challenges to the faith, of obstacles to community rules, of wisdom and discernment about how to follow God’s laws and how to be a model for our children. A very tall order for the people of Israel; a very tall order for the people of first century Palestine; it is our tall order: How do we raise our children in the life of the faith. Or, in the words of Crosby, how do we “teach our children well?”

More here-

http://www.newportri.com/newportdailynews/columns/clergy_corner/clergy-corner-use-ten-commandments-as-your-guide-through-life/article_83f004e2-06fd-581d-822e-e5d7b0b45db9.html

The blessing of kindred people

From The Bishop of Rhode Island-

Yesterday morning, as we began our House of Bishops meeting, we were greeted by two representatives of the native communities on whose ancestral lands we have gathered. The speakers began by telling us that this was the common custom of the native people’s of Alaska – that when people came for a visit, it was proper to be greeted by the people who lived in the place.

One of the speakers was a the leader of consortium of tribes and native communities in the Fairbanks area. He talked at length of the challenges facing his people, how they were trying to balance the resources of the modern world with the wisdom and traditions of their people. He talked specifically about an issue that had arise regarding the foster care for a village child. The state system wanted to take the child out of the village and place the child with state certified foster parents. But the community insisted that the child stay with the village and in their extended family so that the child would know their customs and would learn how to live according to the traditions. The chief who spoke to us said that they had been successful, that the child was now a young man who was doing well and starting a family – and because he had stayed in the community and learned the traditional ways – had not fallen into habits of drinking, etc that are such a challenge for the native communities right now.

More here-

https://entangledstates.org/2017/09/22/the-blessing-of-kindred-people/

Cranston Episcopal church welcomes Jewish congregation into its home

From Rhode Island-

It could be considered a tale of three religions involving a Jewish congregation, the state’s only Hindu temple, and an Episcopal parish.

On Sunday, Congregation Or Chadash marked its move from the Hindu temple that once served as its home to its new home at Trinity Episcopal Church in Cranston with the ceremonial carrying of its three Torahs through Pawtuxet Village.

“This whole event is to celebrate a new life,” said Judith Bessoff. The congregation’s name itself — Or Chadash — stands for new light, she said.

The procession started in the parking lot of the former Bank Cafe, in the heart of the village on the Warwick side. Three congregation members carried hefty Torah scrolls, each containing five books central to Jewish teachings, under the cover of a sheer white chuppah. The group made its way across the Narragansett Parkway, over the Pawtuxet River Bridge and onto Broad Street up Cranston.

“When you move a Torah, you’re supposed to hold it close to keep it safe,” Bessoff explained.

Traffic halted to let the procession pass in the blazing heat. Onlookers shot photos as the parade of 30-plus members of Or Chadash and Trinity Episcopal marched through the village, as a light breeze blew under overcast skies. The group passed restaurants, ice cream shops and a liquor store as it made its way.

More here-

http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20170611/cranston-episcopal-church-welcomes-jewish-congregation-into-its-home

New Jewish congregation finds home in Episcopal church

From Rhode Island-

Gaspee Days is a good time for a fresh beginning.

Beth Veltri hadn’t thought of it that way, but the timing for a new Jewish congregation to move from its former temple in Warwick to Trinity Church in Pawtuxet coincides with the day for the closing of the celebration of the colonial defiance of British rule in 1772.

On Sunday, June 11 at 1 p.m. Veltri, who is president of the Or Chadash Congregation, and an estimated 30 members in addition to untold others from the Episcopal Church and the community will assemble near Pawtuxet Park. The park should be busy. There will be a colonial encampment with tents with local militia. There will be games for the kids and at 4 p.m. people will focus on the cove where a group will set fire to the Gaspee.

By then Or Chadash, New Light in Hebrew will be ensconced in Trinity Church. The congregation will occupy a classroom in the church that had formally housed day care. The congregation will have access to church facilities including the kitchen and meeting room.

More here-

http://cranstononline.com/stories/new-jewish-congregation-finds-home-in-episcopal-church,124821

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

Alleged victim of sexual abuse steps forward

From Rhode Island-

Meg Yarbrough will join the Women's March on Washington on Saturday as a personal statement against sexual abuse; and against a president whom she opposes.

The 48-year-old registered nurse is also shedding anonymity in her own allegations against former Episcopal priest Howard W. "Howdy" White Jr. Previously quoted anonymously in The Providence Journal, Yarbrough says she wants to use her name because "hiding implies I did something wrong, which I certainly did not."

White, ex-assistant chaplain at St. George's School in Middletown, was one of six named alleged perpetrators in a scandal involving widespread sexual abuse dating to the 1970s, that roiled the elite Episcopal school last year. He was charged last month with sexually assaulting a St. George's student in Boston in 1973.

More here-

http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20170118/alleged-victim-of-sexual-abuse-steps-forward

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

R.I. Episcopal bishop seeks to quell political rancor

From Rhode Island-

In the wake of the presidential election and the bitter divisions exposed throughout the country, the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island is calling for people to show respect for each other and not delve into hateful language.

The Rt. Rev. W. Nicholas Knisely, who leads the diocese encompassing 53 congregations in Rhode Island, acknowledged on Friday the turmoil and heated rhetoric over the election.

"Our country is deeply divided along regional, racial, gender and economic lines. The divisions are real and painful," Knisely said in a statement. "The divisions are ending friendships and threatening family relationships. There are people in our communities and congregations who are delighted and people who are devastated. The emotions are real and raw, and their intensity is hard for some to understand.

More here-

http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20161111/ri-episcopal-bishop-seeks-to-quell-political-rancor

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

Growing St. Thomas Episcopal Church opens doors this weekend

From Rhode Island-

Standing in the heart of Smithfield’s Greenville village as the ebb and flow of traffic continues on Routes 116 and 44, St. Thomas Episcopal Church remains a historic sanctuary to the community it serves.

With a growing congregation over the last few years, along with renovations to its structure, the church will open its doors to the community on Saturday and Sunday for an open house filled with food and information.

“Come on by and see what you’re missing,” says church rector Susan Carpenter.

Carpenter says this is the first time the church, which has been a staple in Smithfield since the late 1800s, has had such an open house.

“It’s a way for the community to come in as we open our doors and invite the community to come and see what we’re all about,” said Carpenter. “The community has been noticing we’ve been more active and vibrant.”

More here-

http://www.valleybreeze.com/2016-09-28/observer-smithfield-west/growing-st-thomas-episcopal-church-opens-doors-weekend#.V-z0HGOlUhY

Punishing road to redemption for St. George's School sex-abuse victim

From Rhode Island-

The investigator's report hit Anne Scott "like a freight train."

It brought her back nearly 40 years to a locked room at St. George's School where athletic trainer "Doc Gibbs" raped and sexually molested her time and again until her mind nearly fractured. She was 15, a sophomore at the elite Episcopal boarding school in Middletown. The abuse lasted a year and a half.

In subsequent years, Scott cycled through one psychiatric hospitalization after another. She starved herself. She binged and vomited. She dwindled to 98 pounds on a 5-foot-8 frame. She buried memories of the abuse by Al Gibbs, who molested her while she lay on a table, being "treated" for field hockey injuries. She shut down, cocooned with her parents, unable to work. It took decades to find her footing — and her voice.


More here-

http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20160917/punishing-road-to-redemption-for-st-georges-school-sex-abuse-victim

Florida diocese investigating ex-head of Rhode Island school

From Charlotte-

An Episcopal diocese in Florida says it is investigating a former headmaster at the elite Rhode Island boarding school St. George's, which is at the center of an abuse scandal.

The Rev. George E. Andrews is accused of failing to report sexual abuse by a teacher to authorities when he led the school in the 1980s. He now runs a consulting firm that places chaplains at Episcopal and other schools. His son-in-law is the Fox News personality Tucker Carlson, and his daughter sits on the St. George's board.

The Diocese of Southeast Florida opened an investigation into Andrews earlier this year after news broke that dozens of students had been abused at the $58,000-per-year school in Middletown. The church investigation was put on hold while police and independent investigator Martin Murphy looked into St. George's, according to Bishop Peter Eaton of the Diocese of Southeast Florida.

Read more here:

http://www.charlotteobserver.com/entertainment/tv/article100408292.html#storylink=cpy

Former WV priest named in school’s report of sexual abuse

From West Virginia-

A former Episcopal priest from West Virginia was among those named in a report this week that described how an elite New England boarding school became a kind of “private hell” for dozens of students who were sexually abused in the 1970s and 1980s.

The students at St. George’s in Middletown, Rhode Island, were manipulated and abused by faculty and staff, according to a report issued Thursday by an independent investigator, Boston lawyer Martin Murphy. He was hired by the school and the survivors’ group SGS for Healing.

The most prolific offender was athletic trainer Al Gibbs, who abused at least 31 girls, the report said. Gibbs was fired in 1980 after being caught taking photographs of a naked girl in his office, but the report found that he was paid a $1,200 annual grant for “distinguished service” that continued until he died in 1996. The school acknowledged in December that he abused 17 students.
- See more at:

http://www.wvgazettemail.com/news-education/20160902/former-wv-priest-named-in-schools-report-of-sexual-abuse

Report on St. George’s finds cauldron of sexual exploitation

From Rhode Island-

After a months-long investigation of sexual abuse at St. George’s School, a report released Thursday described the elite Rhode Island prep school in the 1970s and ’80s as a cauldron of sexual exploitation of students.

Sixty-one alumni gave investigators first-hand accounts of the abuse they say they suffered, with 51 saying the abusers were faculty or staff and an additional 10 reporting abuse by classmates. Two staff members abused at least one student every year they worked at St. George’s.

More here-

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/09/01/stgeorges/4so7ElWQwjTsnDkv5eI3NJ/story.html

also here-

http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20160901/st-georges-sex-abuse-scandal-report-excoriates-school-for-decades-of-unchecked-abuse

The Rev. Howard White, ex-St. George's assistant chaplain, accused of sex abuse at N.H. prep school

From Rhode Island-

An alumnus of St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire, has accused the Rev. Howard W. "Howdy" White Jr. of sexually abusing him during White's time there between 1967 through 1971, the school confirmed Tuesday. White served as a chaplain and teacher at the prestigious Episcopal boarding institution.

White, who subsequently became assistant chaplain at St. George’s School in Middletown, is one of a half-dozen former staff members who figured in a sex-abuse scandal at St. George's. A Rhode Island State Police investigation, concluded in June, found no prosecutable criminal misconduct against any of the alleged perpetrators, or the school, in part due to statutes of limitations.

St. George’s announced a confidential settlement last week between the elite Episcopal prep school and up to 30 alumni whose abuse claims reach back to the 1970s. Those sex-abuse claims include allegations against White, whom the school fired in 1974 for admitted sexual misconduct but never reported to authorities.

In Concord, St. Paul's rector Michael G. Hirschfeld wrote to alumni Aug. 5 of the recent allegation against White. Hirschfeld said the school had hired former Massachusetts attorney general Scott Harshbarger "to lead our investigative efforts and pursue any complaints" following the St. George's allegations.

More here-

http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20160809/rev-howard-white-ex-st-georges-assistant-chaplain-accused-of-sex-abuse-at-nh-prep-school

Elite R.I. private school and abuse accusers settle

From The Boston Globe-

St. George’s School, reeling after months of allegations of sexual abuse of students, has agreed to what one lawyer called a “very significant” financial settlement with up to 30 alumni, for incidents going as far back as the 1970s.

The settlement, whose terms remain confidential, was announced jointly by school officials and some of the aggrieved former students. It caps a time of tumult at the elite school in Middletown, R.I. The allegations, made by dozens of former students, have led to independent investigations of the school, and to a probe by the Rhode Island State Police. The embattled headmaster, Eric Peterson, announced in June that he won’t seek to renew his contract when it expires next year.

More here-

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/08/03/survivors-sex-abuse-reach-settlement-with-george-school/E7Vwrl7YEg34Sx1ElScLLP/story.html

Also here-

http://www.providencejournal.com/news/20160803/st-georges-school-victims-group-reach-settlement-in-sexual-abuse-case