Episcopalians near Idaho fires taking precautions

From ENS-

 In case anyone needed further evidence of how bad the wildfires are that are burning around Hailey, Ketchum and Sun Valley in Idaho, the number of people attending Sunday Eucharist at St. Thomas Episcopal Church in Ketchum was a sure sign.

While the resort town parish normally welcomes about 230 worshippers on a Sunday this time of year, only 60 came to church on Aug. 18.

“That tells me that over half of our congregation has been evacuated or decided to leave because of the smoke,” the Rev. Ken Brannon, St. Thomas’ rector, told Episcopal News Service, via phone on Aug. 19.

Brannon said the service on Aug. 18 was different due to the small number of people who attended and the fact that there was no music because it was not clear if the music director would be able to stay “and many in the choir had evacuated”

“It was still the liturgy – it was what we always do – but there was a lot more space for silence and kind spontaneous prayer at the Prayers of the People,” he said.

Brannon, who said that St. Thomas often functions as the “village church” in Ketchum, added he wrote his sermon with the entire community in mind, not just the members of the parish.

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2013/08/20/episcopalians-near-idaho-fires-taking-precautions/

Twin Falls Church Lends Land to Community Gardeners

From Idaho-

The land was just sitting there, sprouting grass. Nothing special.

Parish members from the Episcopal Church of the Ascension knew it could do so much more.

So, they decided to transform the grassy lot into a place people can gather, grow produce and work the soil together.

For the first year, the Episcopal Church of the Ascension, at 371 Eastland Drive N., is lending its land to anyone who wants a little garden to call his or her own.
That might be particularly welcome news in Twin Falls, where the College of Southern Idaho’s community garden has a waiting list for its plots and a city committee hasn’t yet announced a location for its planned garden. City Councilwoman and committee liaison Rebecca Mills-Sojka hopes to get City Council approval on a location this month.

But if you’re interested in the Episcopal garden, there’s no need to wait and wonder.
Twelve 10-by-15-foot free lots on the church’s property are up for grabs. Gardening rookies and green thumbs alike — particularly those without yards of their own — are invited to apply by April 15. For details, call Betsy Wiesmore at 735-1151 or Susan Kelley-Harbke at 734-8969.
The church had already transformed some of its land into soccer fields.

Read more:

http://magicvalley.com/lifestyles/relationships-and-special-occasions/twin-falls-church-lends-land-to-community-gardeners/article_b6913268-7abf-11e1-86bc-0019bb2963f4.html#ixzz1qmmx99Z9

Orthodox Christian iconographer in Boise is part of an ancient tradition

From Kansas City (but from Boise)

Matthew Garrett makes a living from the tip of his paintbrush.

The 34-year-old paints nearly every day, re-creating scenes from the Bible and heavenly images of the risen Jesus, Christian saints and angels on wood and canvas. He carries forward the ancient tradition of Orthodox Christian iconography in a modest West Boise, Idaho, house that he shares with his wife, Lisa, and her cat, Cecelia.

Garrett has been commissioned by individuals and churches all over the country over the past 17 years, finding jobs through old-fashioned word-of-mouth and through his website. His work is in several churches, among them, St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Boise.

With a parishioner's donation, the church commissioned an icon of the Martyrdom of Stephen. After 40 days of prayer, the church unveiled the 3-by-4-foot icon at its 49th anniversary celebration in September.

"It is splendid. ... I think a lot of people in the parish were moved by how beautiful it was," said Father David Wettstein of St. Stephen's.

Iconography isn't part of the Episcopal tradition, but it's not uncommon to find icons in Protestant churches, Wettstein said. He sees icons as "windows to Heaven." "They teach us about holy living and holy lives," Wettstein said. "A lot of people learn best visually, or their hearts are captured visually by painting.

Read more:

http://www.kansascity.com/2011/11/09/3256034/orthodox-christian-iconographer.html#ixzz1dIqz9NzR

Helping the hungry

From Idaho-

The Bible says to feed the hungry, so that's what Coeur d'Alene's St. Luke's Episcopal Church did.

St. Luke's, along with seven other Episcopal churches, raised more than $90,000 through the new "Organizing for Mission" program in March and April, the season of Lent.

"The parish teams went above and beyond, raising 125 percent of their original dollar goal," said Tracey Waring, Organizing for Mission's spokeswoman. "They discovered that they had skills that they had never been able to use before."

Father Pat Bell of St. Luke's Episcopal Church was excited about the amount of money they raised.

"We are extremely thrilled, we raised far beyond than we could imagine," Bell said. "This was just a very gratifying experience."

Fifty percent of the proceeds will be sent to El Hogar in Tagucigalpa, Honduras, which feeds and shelters young homeless boys in Honduras. The remainder will go to a local hunger relief initiative of each parish's choice in North Idaho and eastern Washington.

More here-

http://www.cdapress.com/news/local_news/article_d27d032d-02a1-57bd-b5e8-912ad145ca16.html

Episcopal members to join in walk to know their neighbors

From Idaho-

Jesus taught, “love thy neighbour as thyself.”

In an effort to better know who their neighbors are, members of the Episcopal Church of the Ascension will host a neighborhood walk around the church on Tuesday.

“We’re doing this as part of our strategic planning in terms of who are our neighbors,” said Pastor Deb Seles.

She hopes that members will reach out and talk to people they might meet on their walk.
“At the beginning of Lent, when we held our pancake supper, we went and put door hangers at the apartments near the church, inviting people to the supper,” Seles said. “I don’t think we’ve done as much in the way of outreach at those apartments.”

Nor in some of the other neighborhoods near the church, she said.

When members meet Tuesday at the church, they’ll be assigned different routes in a one-mile radius. Members, whom Seles said should invite a friend to join them on the walk, are to be observant as to what they see and who they meet.

More here-

http://www.magicvalley.com/lifestyles/faith-and-values/religion/article_099e44aa-b59d-5787-a247-be9e8ba997e7.html

Bishop Bainbridge Remembered for Compassion

From The Living Church-

The Rt. Rev. Harry Brown Bainbridge III, 12th Bishop of Idaho and chairman emeritus of Episcopal Relief and Development, died May 27 at age 70.

The bishop died at Talbot Hospice in Easton, Md. He was rector of Christ Church, Easton, from 1988 to 1998, when he was elected in Idaho. He retired as bishop in 2008. He had been diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer in 2007.

Bainbridge was born in 1939 in Knoxville, Tenn. He completed a master’s degree at the University of the South, served in the Navy — he was a communications officer aboard the USS Norfolk during the Cuban Missile Crisis — and completed his seminary studies at the University of the South’s School of Theology in 1967. He was ordained deacon in 1967 and priest in 1968.

He joined the board of Episcopal Relief and Development in 2001 and was its chairman from 2003 to 2008. The board’s executive committee elected him as chairman emeritus in March.

“I am profoundly saddened by Bishop Harry’s death. He played a critical role in the life of this organization and served as a personal mentor and friend to me,” said Rob Radtke, president of Episcopal Relief & Development. “Harry was a wonderful man whose love, humor, humility and numerous contributions will remain with all of us.”

More here-

http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2010/6/1/bishop-bainbridge-remembered-for-compassion

Good Stuff in TEC: Idaho

Boise religious groups ride wake of financial crisis

Beyond the unemployment offices and the rows of foreclosed homes, faith-based organizations have been quietly caring for victims of the economic train wreck.

"You can't just talk about finding God when people's stomachs are empty," said Rabbi Dan Fink of Congregation Ahavath Beth Israel in Boise. "On the surface that may not seem like spirituality, but it absolutely is."

The congregation's budget is struggling, Fink said.

It's a time to get creative and to take care of the most vulnerable community members, Fink said.

"(Crises) take us as a community away from abstract issues of philosophy and observance and bring us down to Earth," Fink said. "The first priority becomes taking care of those who are hurting."

One of the ways his congregation is doing that is by collaborating with All Saints Episcopal Church. Ahavath Beth Israel is working to provide another day of staffing at the free clinic housed in one of the church's buildings.

Marie Blanchard opened Friendship Clinic in 2004. It's only open for a few hours on Monday nights.

"I was so excited when the synagogue wanted to partner with us," said Blanchard, who has been a member of the All Saints congregation for 30 years. "Most of our (patients) can't afford a minimum payment. They really can't."

http://www.idahostatesman.com/localnews/story/697919.html

You can see all of the Good Stuff posts by clicking on Good Stuff in the labels below.

Good Stuff in TEC: Idaho

Project finds homes for homeless

For the chronically homeless, the life change is sudden and profound.

"Today, God has seen fit to bless you," James Hamilton's counselor told him last month on a day that Hamilton began in a fusty bunk bed in a Washington homeless shelter.

By nightfall, Hamilton's permanent home was a quiet one-bedroom apartment in an iffy neighborhood in Southeast Washington, for which the city pays a HUD-subsidized $900 a month plus utilities.

It's furnished with a new $1,200 furniture set, including a green plush sofa, bureau and end tables. It also comes with a new oak kitchen table and chairs, a bed, linens and a $300 Target gift certificate for incidentals.

Hamilton, a lean and chatty 51-year-old, hawks newspapers at a Washington subway station from 6 until 10 each morning. In the afternoons, he helps a clothing distributor make deliveries to fancy retailers.

In between, Hamilton spends a lot of time at Grace Episcopal Church in Georgetown, his spiritual home. With its help, he's now enrolled in an educational lay-ministry course at Wesley College Seminary in Washington. He types his papers at a nearby public library.

http://www.idahostatesman.com/102/story/551716.html

You can see all of the good stuff posts by typing good stuff into the blog's search engine.