Episcopal diocese's Rev. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas makes Earth's care her ministry

From Westerm Mass-

The Rev. Margaret Bullitt-Jonas may have recently taken up a new ministry focused on environmental spirituality for the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts, but it is topic that has long been a focus for her.

"I've been increasingly concerned about climate change. In particular, I've been trying to help people of faith understand that tackling climate change is an urgent spiritual and moral issue," said Bullitt-Jonas, who has been involved with environmental activism for 20 years. She is part of an upcoming panel at the Springfield Central Library.

"It's climate change that wakes me up in the middle of the night -- more outbreaks of disease, rising sea levels, difficulty producing food. I worry about my son and my grandchildren. I think about climate change as the most urgent problem that faces human beings today."

More here-

http://www.masslive.com/living/index.ssf/2014/01/episcopal_dioceses_rev_margaret_bullitt-jonas_makes_earths_her_ministry.html

Episcopal minister Christopher Carlisle uses technology to knit together small communities of faith

From Western Massachusetts -

A new ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts is described as "an eclectic expression of church that is as cutting edge as the moment and as ancient as first-century Palestine."

The ministry, Clearstory Collective, says it seeks to reach out to college students and other young adults, homeless and otherwise marginalized people of faith who have become disaffected by the institutional church and who seek informal and often spontaneous faith communities. It is doing so through technology.

However, the collective is conceived to be more than email communication. Containing blogs, descriptions of the various communities comprised of photographs, video clips and radio interviews as well as key people and community contacts, the churched and unchurched alike can become and remain connected to these communities and their members.

More here-

http://www.masslive.com/living/index.ssf/2012/12/episcopal_minister_christopher_carlisle_uses_technology_to_create_knit_together_small_communities_of.html

Worshipers offer heartfelt goodbye as Springfield Episcopal Bishop Gordon P. Scruton retires

From Western Mass.-

In his final service at Christ Church Cathedral, retiring Episcopal Bishop, the Rt. Rev. Gordon P. Scruton, told worshipers it had been a privilege to serve as their pastoral leader for the past 16 years.

Worshipers from Episcopal churches across the state gathered for Scruton’s last mass at the cathedral as the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts, the bishop and his wife, Rebecca, greeted each member of the church for a heartfelt goodbye.

“It was a joy to share with people who we came to love and share our life and ministry,” Scruton said. “It was a joy to be able to say ‘Thank you.’”

Scruton described Sunday’s service at the Cathedral as a more intimate service, where some of the most devout followers came to say farewell. 

More here-

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/10/worshipers_offer_heartfelt_goo.html

Blessing OK’d for gay pairs Western Mass. Episcopalians offer a choice

From Western Massachusetts -

Starting in December, the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts will let clergy bless gay couples, a change announced after a national Episcopalian convention this month approved a new rite for same-sex relationships.

The diocese will continue to forbid clergy from performing gay marriages, something its Eastern Massachusetts counterpart allows. But in an interview last week, the incoming Western Massachusetts bishop said he plans on asking worshipers whether they want to revisit the prohibition.

By a wide margin, Episcopalians at this month’s national General Convention approved a new rite blessing same-sex relationships. Each diocese in the country can decide whether to perform the blessing.

Following the convention, the Diocese of Western Massachusetts announced it would give parishes the option to perform the same-sex blessing.

More here-

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2012/07/16/episcopal_diocese_of_western_massachusetts_to_allow_clergy_to_bless_gay_couples/

Western Massachusetts' new Episcopal Bishop, Douglas Fisher, pledges to work with community

From Western Mass-

The new bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts said he believes the key to success is to become a servant to the community and answer to its needs.

Rev. Douglas J. Fisher, 57, director of Grace Church in Millbrook, N.Y., was elected Saturday from a field of five nominees to head the Western Massachusetts diocese. He will succeed Rt. Rev. Gordon P. Scruton, who is retiring after 16 years as bishop.

Fisher, who holds a doctorate of ministry from Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, has held a number of jobs in New York, including pastor of Holy Innocents in New York, chaplain to the U.S. Military Academy in West Point and chairman of the Standing Committee for the Diocese of New York.

Western Massachusetts “is a great diocese and it has a lot of blessings and a lot of challenges and I’m looking forward to serving it,” Fisher said.

The diocesian territory stretches from Interstate 495 west and has 65 parishes. Fisher said he liked many elements of the diocese, but the main one was the members’ willingness to take risks.

One of the biggest challenges the churches face is a common one throughout the church: Fewer and fewer people of all denominations attend church and one survey showed church participation has dropped 25 percent in 11 years, he said. 

More here-

http://www.masslive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/06/new_episcopal_bishop_of_wester.html

Fisher elected Episcopal bishop

From Western Mass.

The Rev. Dr. Douglas J. Fisher, a former Roman Catholic priest and former chaplain of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, has been elected the ninth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts.

“We are overwhelmed, humbled and honored by this election,” said the bishop-elect, who is currently the rector of Grace Church in Millbrook, N.Y. “The diocese was so prayerful and spirited in this process and is aware of the many gifts that God has given them.”

The diocese serves about 60 parishes spread across Central and Western Massachusetts, including churches in Worcester County.

Rev. Fisher will succeed Bishop Gordon P. Scruton, the former pastor of St. Francis Church in Holden, who announced last June that he would step down at the end of this year. 

More here-

http://www.telegram.com/article/20120603/NEWS/106039756/-1/NEWS05

Five vie to be Episcopal bishop Vote Saturday in Springfield

From West Mass-

The five candidates seeking to become the ninth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts, which includes Worcester County, come from diverse backgrounds and include a former music industry executive, a former Roman Catholic priest and book editor, and a former banker.

Clergy and lay delegates will vote on a new bishop next Saturday at Christ Church Cathedral in Springfield.

Pending the consent of the church’s 77th General Convention, which will be held in July, the new prelate will be ordained Dec. 1 during ceremonies at the MassMutual Center, also in Springfield.

The diocese has been seeking a new spiritual shepherd since Bishop Gordon P. Scruton, who served for 16 years, announced last June that he would retire at the end of this year.

More here-


http://www.telegram.com/article/20120527/NEWS/105279804/-1/NEWS06

Five vie to lead Episcopal Diocese of Western Mass.

From Western Massachusetts-

The panel charged with drawing up the slate of nominees to replace retiring Bishop Gordon P. Scruton, the spiritual head of the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts, which includes Worcester County, apparently cast a wide net — selecting candidates from Connecticut, New York, Idaho and California.

Church officials last night announced that five clerics, one of them a woman, are under consideration to become the diocese’s ninth bishop.

They are: the Very Rev. Richard A. Demarest, 55, the dean at St. Michael’s Cathedral in Boise, Idaho; the Rev. Dr. Douglas John Fisher, 57, the rector at Grace Church in Millbrook, N.Y.; the Rev. Nancy Gossling, 60, the rector of St. James’ Church in Glastonbury, Conn.; the Very Rev. Ron W. Griffin, 58, the rector of Christ Church in Eureka, Calif.; and the Very Rev. Mark B. Pendleton, 49, the dean of Christ Church Cathedral in Hartford.

More here-

http://www.telegram.com/article/20120420/NEWS/104209694/1003/NEWS03

Episcopal Diocese set to announce 5 bishop nominees

From Western Massachusetts-

The Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts, which encompasses Worcester and four other counties, is expected to announce today the five nominees under consideration to replace retiring Bishop Gordon P. Scruton.

Bishop Scruton, who was consecrated in 1996 and who served at one time as rector of St. Francis Church in Holden, announced last June that he would step down as spiritual shepherd of the local church at the end of 2012.

The process to find a replacement formally began last August with the appointment of Search and Transition committees.

“At this point, we’re coming near the end of our search for a new spiritual leader,” said the Rev. Tanya Wallace, the chairman of the Transition Committee and rector of All Saints Church in South Hadley.

More here-

http://www.telegram.com/article/20120419/NEWS/104199805/1003/news03

Episcopal diocese under fire over Bement Camp funds

From Western Mass-

As the Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts prepares to close on the sale of the Bement Camp and Conference Center near Worcester this week, a group of camp alumni has called on the state attorney general to investigate the handling of funds held in trust by the diocese.

In a statement Tuesday, the diocese said it was both "surprised and disappointed" by the development and said the funds entrusted in its care have been handled properly.

"All diocesan funds, including those to support the Bement Camp and Conference Center, are invested, managed and expended in compliance with the directions of the donor, if any, church canons and applicable Mass. and federal laws," Steven Abdow, administration and finance officer, wrote to the Gazette on behalf of the diocese.

Situated on more than 300 acres in Charlton and Spencer, the camp closed in 2009 after 60 years of operation. The sprawling grounds, which once drew nearly 1,000 summer campers from New England and various countries, has been on the market and is expected to change hands this week, according to the diocese.

Given the impending sale, former camp alumni under the Bement Alumni Association are pressing the AG's office to investigate what they describe as "appearances of irregularities" in the management of money held in trust by the diocese. On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the AG's office said it was not yet aware of an official complaint from the group and therefore could not say whether a review is under way.

More here-

http://www.gazettenet.com/2011/11/30/episcopal-diocese-under-fire-over-camp-funds

Robert Hatch, Retired Bishop of W. Mass., Dies

From The Living Church-

The Rt. Rev. Robert M. Hatch, 99, retired Bishop of Western Massachusetts, died on July 16, in Louisville, Colo., where he had lived for the past five years. He was the fourth bishop of that diocese, and during his tenure helped establish new missions, support the civil rights movement, and was involved in many environmental causes.

Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., he was a graduate of Harvard University, Columbia University, and the Episcopal Theological Seminary. He was Bishop of Western Massachusetts from 1957 to 1970. Prior to that he was Bishop Suffragan of Connecticut from 1951 to 1957. He was also involved in parish ministry in the dioceses of Massachusetts, Connecticut and Delaware. After retirement he served in interim ministry in Berlin, N.H.

He was married to Helen Crocker Addison, who died in 1998. Bishop Hatch was survived by two daughters, Martha Balph of Utah and Louise Cass of Louisville, Colo., three grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2009/7/22/robert-hatch-retired-bishop-of-w-mass-dead-at-99

Good Stuff in TEC: Western Massachusetts

Cars for Liberia, Relief for Haiti, and Nuns. Where do you get a hat like that?

The Sisters of St. Margaret in Haiti are doing their best to cope with the incredible devastation that has occurred in their country in the past few months. They struggle daily to respond to the needs of the people who have been left homeless, orphaned, unemployed and without adequate water, food, or clothing due to the recent hurricanes and subsequent flooding. They have asked for your help. They desperately need the following items:

http://www.diocesewma.org/News/newsnnotes.html

Good Stuff in TEC: Western Mass.

A report from the Diocese of Western Massachusetts about their clergy conference and new vision for mission that has captured their imagination.

“The Holy Spirit was moving at clergy conference, touching the hearts and minds of the clericus,” said Archdeacon William Coyne. “We are looking at effective new ways to live the Gospel.” Now, clergy and congregations from across the Diocese are excited about the potential for commitment to the Partnership for Missional Church process through the Church Innovations Institute. Bill says that 15 congregations have expressed interest in the program and others are interested in facets of the program. “There’s a wave here of the Spirit moving and people saying, ‘Tell us more,’” he said.

http://www.diocesewma.org/newsAug08PS/catch_the_excitment.html

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