Utah’s Episcopalian bishop announces his retirement

From Utah-

The Right Rev. Scott B. Hayashi, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Utah, announced this week that he will be retiring. 

In a letter posted on the Episcopal Diocese of Utah’s Facebook page, Bishop Hayashi, who was consecrated as the 11th bishop of Utah in November 2010, said his calling “has been and continues to be a blessing and joy that I never expected to have in my life.” 

The letter also noted the date of the election for a new bishop has not been firmly set, but will be held in the spring of 2021.

“I pledge to you that I will be diligent in my responsibilities of being your bishop until the ordination of the new bishop of our diocese,” the letter reads.

According to the diocese’s website, Bishop Hayashi, who graduated from Harvard Divinity School, was ordained a priest in 1984 and served as a parish priest Washington, Utah and California. In 2005, he became the canon to the Ordinary — or bishop’s office in the Diocese of Chicago.

More here-

https://www.deseret.com/2019/10/11/20910312/utahs-episcopalian-bishop-announces-his-retirement

Park City Episcopal church parishioners targeted by scammers four times in the last year

From Utah-

A Summit County Episcopal church wants community members to think twice if they receive a message asking for money after its parishioners became targets of a scam for the fourth time in the last year.

Rev. Charles Robinson said scammers used e-mail to impersonate him and ask parishioners for money the first three times. He said each time, the scam became more creative and sophisticated.

“What was really scary was the third time, the scammer had software that masked my exact e-mail address, even though it wasn’t being sent from me,” he said.

He said he became aware of the fourth and most recent incident last weekend after three parishioners alerted him about it. This time, the scammers masked his phone number and contacted them via text message.

More here-

https://www.abc4.com/news/local-news/park-city-episcopal-church-parishioners-targeted-by-scammers-four-times-in-the-last-year/

More than 40 faith leaders oppose efforts to 'delay or limit' Utah's Medicaid expansion

From Utah-

More than 40 Utah faith leaders have signed on to a letter released Thursday urging Gov. Gary Herbert and Republican legislative leaders to oppose efforts "to delay or limit" the full Medicaid expansion approved by voters.

A bill backed by House and Senate GOP leadership, SB96, has already received initial approval in the Senate, but a final vote that had been expected as soon as Thursday has been delayed.

Sen. Allen Christensen, R-North Ogden, the sponsor of SB96, said he has issues with the fiscal note detailing how much the bill will cost taxpayers. That note has not yet been made public and Christensen declined to specify the bottom line.

More here-

https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900053374/more-than-40-faith-leaders-oppose-efforts-to-delay-or-limit-utahs-medicaid-expansion.html

The Utah State Legislature opens to protests over Medicaid ballot initiative repeal bills

From Utah-

The 2019 Utah State Legislature opened with protests over bills that would repeal voter-approved Proposition 3.

Hundreds packed the Utah State Capitol rotunda to demand lawmakers enact what they voted on.

"We decided to take it into our hands as voters and the people of Utah!" said Stacy Stanford, who racked up $250,000 in medical expenses and lived in the coverage gap.

Bishop Scott Hayashi of the Episcopal Diocese of Utah warned lawmakers that if Prop. 3 isn't put into place, "people will die."

Prop. 3 passed in November with 53% of the vote. It implements a sales tax hike to cover thousands of Utah's poorest by providing them with Medicaid.
But lawmakers fear it will be a budget buster. They worry the sales tax hike that voters approved will not cover ballooning costs.

More here-

https://fox13now.com/2019/01/28/the-utah-state-legislature-opens-to-protests-over-medicaid-ballot-initiative-repeal-bills/

'What Jesus would have us do': Utah religious leaders urge support of Medicaid expansion initiativec

From Utah-

The Rt. Rev. Scott Hayashi, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Utah, said he believes Utahns' decision on Proposition 3 amounts to a moral choice.

"As a person of faith, as a person of belief that all people have dignity, because they have been made by a creator, I believe that doing this is not only the good thing to do, but the right and the moral thing to do for Utah," Bishop Hayashi said.

The ballot initiative would increase the state sales tax from 4.7 to 4.85 percent in order expand Medicaid coverage to all Utahns earning up to 138 percent of the federal poverty level, bringing eligibility to an estimated 150,000 people who otherwise do not qualify.

More here-

https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900034938/what-jesus-would-have-us-do-utah-religious-leaders-urge-support-of-medicaid-expansion-initiative.html

Utah Episcopal Diocese leader rips Trump administration over separation of families

From Utah-


Bishop Scott Hayashi of the Episcopal Diocese of Utah blasted
Attorney General Jeff Sessions and the Trump administration for their justifications of separating migrant families at the border.
In a statement released last week, Bishop Hayashi condemned the actions and particularly their use of the Bible in supporting it. He wrote:

“The use of the Bible by Attorney General Jeff Sessions to justify the inhumane policy of separating immigrant families is shameful.

He said: ‘I would cite you to the Apostle Paul and his clear and wise command in Romans 13, to obey the laws of the government because God has ordained the government for his purposes,’ Sessions said during a speech to law enforcement officers in Fort Wayne, Ind. ‘Orderly and lawful processes are good in themselves. Consistent and fair application of the law is in itself a good and moral thing, and that protects the weak and protects the lawful.’

ttorney General Sessions cites the same verses that were used to justify the institution of slavery in the United States. Following A.G. Sessions’ ‘logic’, one can imagine him in Germany in WWII utilizing his same thinking to justify the slaughter of the Jewish people.

If you are are a citizen of the United States, remember, what is being done by our nation is being done in our name. If you are a Christian living anywhere in the world – this is being done under the banner of Christianity. This is sin.”

Bishop Hayashi is the first Utah religious leader to openly condemn the actions of separating migrant families. Bishop Oscar Solis of the Catholic Diocese of Salt Lake City called on the Trump administration to rescind the policy.

More here-

http://fox13now.com/2018/06/18/utah-episcopal-diocese-leader-rips-trump-administration-over-separation-of-families/

 

LDS musician writes music for St. Mary's Holy Week celebrations

From Utah-

For the Christian world, Sunday begins the celebration of Holy Week, the days leading to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, also known as the Passion. It is followed by Easter Sunday, and what Christians believe was his resurrection.

To celebrate these series of events, St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Provo will feature special presentations from Christian Asplund’s “The Passion and Resurrection according to St. Mark” at 7:30 p.m. Good Friday and 8:30 a.m. Easter Sunday.

Asplund, a Mormon and professor at Brigham Young University in music composition and music theory, is known for his avant-garde pieces and garage/home performances.

The Asplund version of the Passion involves a marriage of classical and jazz with a bit of hymns from The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints blended in for choral pieces.

“I’ve been doing house concerts all my life,” Asplund said. “I do music that’s between the cracks.”

More here-

https://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/faith/lds-musician-writes-music-for-st-mary-s-holy-week/article_40f30315-c49e-5b04-8a4d-9c4f030be1f0.html

Utah's Episcopalian bishop cites LDS donations as example of differing faiths working together

From Utah-

Saying Americans “are hungry” for disagreeing people who continue to maintain positive relationships, the Episcopal Diocese of Utah is citing recent humanitarian donations from the LDS Church and the latter’s hosting of Episcopal Migration Ministries officials as evidences of successful efforts shared by differing faiths.

“I believe that it is very important to demonstrate that people can work together, value each other, and have friendships with each other, even though there are points of profound differences between us,” wrote the Rt. Reve. Scott B. Hayashi on the Episcopal Diocese of Utah’s Facebook page in a Thursday evening post. “I believe that the people of this nation are hungry to see people disagree and still be in positive relationship.”

More here-

https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900007984/utahs-episcopalian-bishop-cites-lds-donations-as-example-of-differing-faiths-working-together.html

Utah churches grapple with a scary scenario: What to do if a shooter shows up?

From Utah-

Utah’s Episcopal Bishop Scott Hayashi knows how it feels to have a bullet rip through his flesh.
Decades ago, the future clergyman was a 19-year-old clerk in a Tacoma, Wash., record store when three robbers stormed into the place. One hopped over the counter and demanded the young Hayashi give him all the money in the cash register. It was $9.

As the young clerk turned his head, the thief thrust his gun at Hayashi’s abdomen and fired.

“Even though I had been shot,” the Utah bishop says in a video produced by the Episcopal Diocese of Utah, “I did not feel any pain.”

He laid on the floor in shock until others found him. A few months and multiple surgeries later, Hayashi emerged from his hospital bed forever changed.

At no time, though, did he wish he had a firearm at the store.


More here-

http://www.sltrib.com/religion/local/2017/11/26/utah-churches-grapple-with-a-scary-scenario-what-to-do-if-a-shooter-shows-up/

Every person has God-given dignity. We must protect those who are vulnerable.

From Utah-

As a person of faith, as an ethnic and religious minority, as a human being, I know what it means to be harassed, ignored and treated as less than a valued member of society by some people. I am grateful that these experiences have not been frequent.

The unfortunate reality is that at some point in our life’s journey we will meet someone who refuses to recognize our inherent, God-given human dignity. Those moments will be hurtful and diminishing, but for many will not necessarily be threatening to life, limb or property. Others, however, will not be so fortunate. The question for our government leaders during the 2018 legislative session is what will they do to combat those circumstances when life, liberty and property are seriously threatened based on nothing more than a person’s perceived religion, nationality, race, sexual orientation, gender, disability or age?

More here-

https://www.deseretnews.com/article/865692196/Op-ed-Every-person-has-God-given-dignity-We-must-protect-those-who-are-vulnerable.html

Goats hired to clear Utah church’s weedy lot become unexpected evangelism tool

From ENS-

The Rev. Mary Janda has new perspective on Matthew 25:33. If God is to separate the righteous from the cursed like sheep from goats, Janda’s recent experience at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in West Valley City, Utah, has gotten her thinking Matthew was a bit unfair to the goats in destining them for eternal punishment.

“I mean, give the goats a break,” said Janda, the vicar at St. Stephen’s.

Janda is not alone in her newfound affection for these biblically maligned animals. She, her congregation and its neighbors spent nine eventful days in May getting to know a flock of 108 goats – give or take a few, due to one death and three births. The goats proved surprisingly useful in taming the church’s field of weeds, when they weren’t escaping and getting into mischief in the neighborhood.

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2017/06/02/goats-hired-to-clear-utah-churchs-weedy-lot-become-unexpected-evangelism-tool/

The trendy way faith leaders are saving the homeless

From Salt Lake City-

The Rev. Connie Pearson-Campbell calls it a "God moment." She says divine influence put Ralph Johnson in her path last summer.

She'd been at the city offices to learn whether building codes in Bozeman, Montana, allowed for tiny homes, residences generally smaller than 400 square feet. She thought the trendy spaces could fill a gap in the city's anti-homelessness efforts.

Johnson, an architecture professor at Montana State University, was in meetings about potential student projects. A city engineer sent one of his aides to catch the Rev. Pearson-Campbell before she left the building, telling her and Johnson they might be able to help one another.

"Right then and there, the collaboration was born," said the Rev. Pearson-Campbell, a deacon at St. James Episcopal Church.

More here-

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865678796/The-trendy-way-faith-leaders-are-saving-the-homeless.html

Q&A: Why evangelism shouldn't just be about increasing church attendance

From Salt Lake City-

The Most Rev. Michael Curry, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, has witnessed an incredible amount of change over his 40 years of ministry.

He's seen women serve as priests for the first time, congregants struggle over same-sex marriage and the church expand its understanding of evangelism, watching in amazement as worshippers overcame their differences to work toward compromise.

"There’s a consensus to be compassionate," he said. "We don’t have to all agree, but we can agree — even when we disagree — not to be disagreeable."

This approach to conflict has served Bishop Curry well in recent years, as he has transitioned from leading the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina to heading up the entire denomination. He was elected presiding bishop in June 2015 during the Episcopal Church's general convention in Salt Lake City, and he will serve in that role until 2024.

More here-

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865676894/QA-Why-evangelism-shouldnt-just-be-about-increasing-church-attendance.html

Episcopal leader speaks about Utah’s interfaith efforts, church divisions, dwindling membership, social causes

From Utah-

It has been a rare and long journey for Michael Bruce Curry, beginning with his mother's improbable decision, as a woman of color, to embrace the then-predominantly white Episcopal Church.

Enamored with the writings of Anglican C.S. Lewis, Curry's mother not only brought him along, but also Curry's father, a Baptist pastor. It was, in segregated Buffalo, N.Y., during the 1950s and '60s, an unusual transition, to say the least.

The younger Curry went on to be ordained as an Episcopal priest in 1978, laboring in Eastern and Southern parishes while earning a reputation for pastoral care, ecumenical outreach and service to the inner-city poor.

In 2000, he rose to bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina and became an advocate on social-justice issues, including immigration policy and marriage equality. Then, in June 2015, during the church's national convention in Salt Lake City, Curry was elected the first black president of the Episcopal Church (which includes the U.S. and 16 other countries).

Nearly two years later, the 64-year-old cleric returns to Utah this week as an honored guest and speaker during the annual diocesan convention marking the church's 150th anniversary in Utah.

More here-

http://www.sltrib.com/home/5098648-155/episcopal-leader-speaks-about-utahs-interfaith

Police cheered at Park City meeting after vowing not to assist feds with deportation efforts

From Utah-

About 300 Summit County residents worried about immigration enforcement found reason to cheer at a meeting Thursday night when two top law enforcement officers vowed not to help with deportations.

Summit County Sheriff Justin Martinez and Park City Police Chief Wade Carpenter told the crowded gathered at St. Luke's Episcopal Church in Snyderville that their agencies would not enter into agreements that would “deputize” officers to carry out federal operations.

“I will not be doing that as a sheriff,” Martinez said to loud applause. “I have a responsibility to Summit County. This is a federal immigration issue and therefore I will not be participating in that (and be) deputized.”

Carpenter echoed a similar sentiment.

More here-

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865674140/Police-cheered-at-Park-City-meeting-after-vowing-not-to-assist-feds-with-deportation-efforts.html

Utah’s Episcopal bishop calls for unity in these divisive, Trump era times

From Utah-

Utah Episcopal Bishop Scott Hayashi is urging his flock to slow down and take a breath amid rising agitation over the election of President Donald Trump and the signing of his controversial executive orders during the past two weeks.

Political divisions within families and with co-workers have resulted in "the breaking of familial bonds and friendships," Hayashi said in a pastoral letter to be read Sunday at Episcopal churches across the state. "This is deeply troubling and heartbreaking to me."

The Utah church as well as the national Episcopal Church unswervingly support gender equality, efforts against gender violence, and the protection of the environment, the letter said, and works to address systemic racial injustice as well as many other social-justice concerns.

More here-

http://www.sltrib.com/news/4901061-155/utahs-episcopal-bishop-calls-for-unity

Person 2 Person: Bishop Scott B. Hayashi of The Episcopal Diocese of Utah

From Salt Lake-

Bishop Scott B. Hayashi is the spiritual leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Utah, which covers the entire state of Utah and a little bit of Arizona.

Hayashi has been a clergy person in the Episcopal Church since 1984.

"I enjoy the work very much, mainly because of working with people," he said.

You can imagine that his role keeps him very busy; he considers managing time as the most challenging part of his job.

"I think with any professional position, the demands can be pretty intense," Hayashi said. "And then to find the personal time that all of us need to recreate, to exercise, to read, to be with family--all of those things need to be attended to."

Hayashi's family and his staff help him maintain balance in his life. He and his wife have been married since 1981.

More here-

http://kutv.com/features/person-2-person/person-2-person-bishop-scott-b-hayashi-of-the-episcopal-diocese-of-utah

First newly-ordained Episcopal priest in years wishes for interfaith unity

From Utah-

When one thinks of religion in downtown Provo, the thought unsurprisingly turns to the LDS Provo City Center Temple. But just a few blocks away at St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, a congregation of Christians meets each week to worship and sing praises in their own way.

On Saturday, the Episcopal Church was the site of a rare occasion. The Rev. Timothy Yanni was ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church in a service rich with worship, praise and rites sacred to the church. In general, only a few priest ordinations occur each year, but in Provo, this was the first priest ordination in several years.

“I feel calm, I feel very serene,” Yanni said shortly after his ordination service. “I don’t feel nearly as anxious as I was this morning.”

More here-

http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/faith/first-newly-ordained-episcopal-priest-in-years-wishes-for-interfaith/article_3d6f4741-7213-534c-8489-286cdc7943da.html

Everyword Interfaith Symposium discusses Holy Bible, launches collaborative website

From Utah-

Gathered within the historic brick chapel of St. Mary’s Episcopal Church in Provo, Holy Bible followers of various faiths gathered Wednesday night at the first Interfaith Bible Symposium.

The symposium was sponsored by Everyword Bible, an online interfaith collaborative Bible study group. Wednesday’s event was the physical kickoff event that hopes to bring together groups online throughout the world.

“The symposium was to help foster discussion about the Bible, and to allow people to meet. But the life of what we are trying to do is on the website,” said Josh Sabey, co-founder of Everyword Bible. “In a keynote address at UVU's Constitutional Symposium for Religious Freedom, Dallin H. Oaks suggested that one of the most hopeful outcomes of the growing fight for religious freedoms is the new push to cross ‘denominational lines that were insurmountable a few years ago.’”
More here-

http://www.heraldextra.com/news/local/faith/everyword-interfaith-symposium-discusses-holy-bible-launches-collaborative-website/article_70734d55-c48f-549f-ad09-b108c029dd62.html

Op-ed: The homeless have names, and at our Centerville church, the name was Dave

From Salt Lake-

Dave was one of us. He wandered into the Episcopal Church of the Resurrection in Centerville one day, introducing himself and his cause: bringing the lottery to Utah. He wore a leather jacket embroidered with "UTAH LOTTO" on the back. He drove a car, when it was operable, on which he had painted the American flag. He had printed up flyers about his candidacy for the governorship of Utah and fully expected to be elected.

Dave was one of us. He came to church most Sunday mornings, an hour or two early to make himself some coffee. To charge his cell phone. To get warm. He sat as best he could through the liturgy and the sermon and came forward to take holy communion. Whenever he received the bread from me, he said "Thank you." He came to our monthly community dinners, and our fellowship time following Sunday morning service.

More here-

http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/3573031-155/op-ed-the-homeless-have-names-and