Camp gives children of incarcerated a chance to thrive

From Northern Indiana-

A childhood with one or both parents serving time behind bars is a life-altering experience at an early age.

When Charlotte Strowhorn, of Gary, first heard the idea of a summer camp providing not only escape, but also spiritual, educational and inspiration focus for children of parents in prison, she made it her own personal mission.

“This annual camp opportunity was something needed in Northwest Indiana,” Strowhorn said.

“I needed help and support, so I turned to my own faith and foundation in my church community to make this camp a reality.”

Strowhorn, a member of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana, asked the Right Rev. Edward S. Little II, bishop for the 36 episcopal churches in Northern Indiana, for help and guidance, and in 2006, she founded Camp New Happenings.

More here-

http://www.elkharttruth.com/news/indiana/2015/06/14/Camp-gives-children-of-incarcerated-a-chance-to-thrive.html

The Strategic Legacy of Bishop Ed Little

From Vital Practices-

From the beginning of his ministry as the seventh bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana, the Rt. Rev. Edward S. Little II has beamed a spiritual focus to follow. Personifying the lighthouse on the diocesan seal, Little has delivered powerful messages that illuminate priorities for Christ centered living and ministry.

Communicating the right priorities is one of the keys to strategic leadership. I offer a glimpse of Little here as a model of such leadership.

Little’s strategic legacy began with his seating sermon in 2000, in which he called on his new flock to embrace the lighthouse as a vision for individual and congregational ministries. To prompt and guide, he set four core values for the diocese:

A passion for the Gospel of Jesus Christ
A heart for the lost
A willingness to do whatever it takes
A commitment to one another

More here-

http://www.ecfvp.org/posts/the-strategic-legacy-of-bishop-ed-little/

Northern Indiana: Bishop Ed Little will resign in 2016

From ENS-

Bishop Edward S. Little II recently announced the he will resign at the end of June 2016.

Little, 68, was ordained and consecrated in March 2000 as the diocese’s seventh bishop.

He included the following letter in the April edition of the “Around the Diocese” newsletter.

Dear brothers and sisters,

This past Tuesday I presented a letter to the Standing Committee, announcing my retirement as of June 30, 2016. At the time, I will have served as bishop of this wonderful diocese for 16 years. My ministry as your bishop, however, will actually conclude three months earlier – March 31, 2016 – when I begin a three-month sabbatical to write a long-planned book.

More here-

http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/ens/2015/03/27/northern-indiana-bishop-ed-little-will-resign-in-2016/

Web letter by Edward S. Little II: Episcopal Church celebrates 175 years in Fort Wayne

From Northern Indiana-

On Saturday, May 10, the Episcopal Church celebrates the 175th anniversary of its ministry in Fort Wayne, the City of Churches. It has been a privilege for us to be immersed in the life of this vibrant community, to contribute to its growth and prosperity and in turn to receive a welcome that characterizes the city of Fort Wayne.

In 1839, the Right Rev. Jackson Kemper – the first missionary bishop of the Episcopal Church – passed through this area. As he traveled, he preached the Gospel, gathered Christian communities and pioneered the church’s mission to what was then called the West. Today we commemorate the first worship service in Fort Wayne, and we give thanks for the opportunity that God has given to us – and to brothers and sisters from other Christian traditions – to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a city known for its warmth and its deep roots. Fort Wayne is a wonderful environment for us to seek to follow Jesus and to apply our Christian faith in all aspects of our lives.

More here-

http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20140509/EDIT09/305099999/-1/EDIT01

A Letter from the Bishop

Bishop Ed Little Writes his Diocese-

Dear brothers and sisters,

As an avid mystery reader - I must confess that the more gruesome the tale, the more I enjoy it - I make it a point of pride never to sneak a peek at the end. I want to wait until the very last moment before discovering “who done it.” Was it the jilted fiancé? The bitter business partner? The resentful cousin? Part of the pleasure is in the waiting. While some mystery readers do their best to figure out who’s guilty, I prefer the surprise. I don’t want to know - until the very last page. A gasp of surprise is the sign of a great mystery.

That’s why Advent presents something of a challenge to me. It tells the story in reverse. Advent begins at the end, on the last page, and moves to the beginning. And so, on the First Sunday of Advent, our focus is on the second coming of Jesus. “Give us grace to cast away the works of darkness . . . that in the last day, when [Jesus] shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal” (Collect for 1 Advent, BCP p. 211). On the cusp of a new church year, we gaze into the future and recognize that Jesus has history well in hand. As John puts it in his vision of the future: “I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Revelation 21:1-2). From the opening moments of the Christian year, we know how things are going to turn out!

Having opened the book and sneaked a peek at the end of the story, we move to the middle - to John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin and forerunner, who appeared on the bank of the Jordan River when Jesus was about 30 and preached about the coming Savior. The Second and Third Sundays of Advent focus on John’s ministry of preparation. This year, the Gospel readings come from Luke. “[John] went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins,” we will hear on 2 Advent (Luke 3:3). And then, the next week, John will confront us with his grim yet hopeful message. “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” And yet, John adds, “I baptize you with water; but one who is more powerful than I is coming; I am not worthy to untie the thong of his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Luke 3:7, 16). John invites us to review our lives and prepare our hearts for the coming of Jesus. His message is always fresh, always challenging, and always appropriate.

Much more here-

http://www.ednin.org/ednin/

Conscience Without Sunset

A must read from Bishop Ed Little and the Living Church-

Four years ago I wrote an article, “Living With Tares,” responding to an editorial in the evangelical magazine Christianity Today that had described schism as sometimes necessary and offered the Episcopal Church as its primary cautionary tale. I argued that I remain in the Episcopal Church because biblical faithfulness requires me to do so; because Jesus is Lord of the Church, and it’s up to him—and not us—to sort things out in the end.

In light of the actions of the 76th General Convention, I find myself revisiting that article and asking the question again: Why do I stay? Does our Lord have a continuing purpose for people like me, a bridge-building conservative and evangelical Catholic, in the Episcopal Church? If so, what is it? And what are the conditions required for continuing and faithful engagement with the church?

I ask these questions with a heavy heart. The bonds of affection in this church are deep. I minister, and gratefully so, to gay and lesbian parishioners all around my diocese. Many of my most beloved friends are colleague bishops who vote on the opposite side of the issues that divide us. I see Jesus in them, and I pray they see him in me. They are brothers and sisters in Christ.

Yet reality forces hard questions. General Convention took definitive action. Resolutions D025 and C056 answered two questions with clarity. The first has to do with human sexuality. “[S]ame-sex couples living in lifelong committed relationships ... have responded to God’s call and have exercised various ministries in and on behalf of God’s One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. ... God has called and may call such individuals to any ordained ministry in the Episcopal Church” (D025). “[T]he Standing Commission on Liturgy and Music ... [shall] collect and develop theological and liturgical resources”; and, in the meantime, “bishops, particularly those in dioceses within civil jurisdictions where same-gender marriage, civil unions, or domestic partnerships are legal, may provide generous pastoral response to meet the needs of members of this Church” (C056).

We have made our decision. The restraint called for in B033 of the 75th General Convention has been set aside. Bishops may authorize blessings (that’s the clear implication of the “generous pastoral response”), and liturgies are on their way. Our course has been inexorably determined. The conversation about human sexuality is effectively over.

We answered a second question at General Convention as well: The question of the Anglican Communion, and its life and ministry. The Windsor Report presents a nuanced and balanced picture of the Church, a Catholic vision of interdependent life, carefully weighing the need for autonomy on one side of the scale and the need for accountability on the other. Our actions put us clearly on the autonomy side of the spectrum. In approving Resolutions D025 and C056, we have said No to the Anglican Communion. We have rejected two of the three moratoria requested by the Windsor Report and the four Instruments of Communion (most recently, at its May meeting, by the Anglican Consultative Council), and ignored the plea of the Archbishop of Canterbury in his General Convention sermon that we do nothing to exacerbate our divisions. The trajectory of the Episcopal Church propels us to the fringe of the Anglican Communion. Again, the conversation about ecclesiology is effectively over.

More here-

http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2009/9/25/conscience-without-sunset

In an online world, all (church) politics is global

But the controversy has done more than jeopardize Thew Forrester's promotion and stoke already-high tensions in the 2.2 million-member Episcopal Church. It also heralds a new era in church politics that mirrors mainstream culture, when online research and partisan tactics can combine to make or break a career, observers say.

"Thirty years ago, if a person was elected as bishop, it would be almost impossible for the church, broadly speaking, to see his sermons," said Bishop Edward Little of Northern Indiana. "I'm not sure if that's good or bad, but that's the way it is."

Little himself examined Thew Forrester's sermons after finding them online and decided -- regrettably, he said -- to vote against him.

"They indicate that there may have been some transformation of his Christianity as a result of his embrace of Buddhism," Little said. The Indiana bishop said members of his diocese have repeatedly asked him about Thew Forrester, even though the Michigan priest works in a small, out-of-the-way diocese. "Lots of people in the diocese troll the Internet and know the issues."

Thew Forrester maintains he is not a Buddhist, but has used the techniques of Zen meditation, which he has practiced for nearly a decade, to revive Christianity's own centuries-old contemplative customs.

"It seems to me we've lost the memory of the fullness of our tradition," he said in an interview. At the same time, "we must reform our faith, our liturgy and our polity so that we are ever more congruent with the divine will and the Gospel, and that is what we have done here," he said.

Read it all here-

http://pewforum.org/news/display.php?NewsID=17919

Good Stuff In TEC: Northern Indiana

Dear brothers and sisters,

I have asked Tim Skimina of St. Timothy’s, Griffith to share with you the experiences of the recent mission team we sent to our companion Diocese of Honduras.

Yours in Christ,

+Ed Little

Compañeros en Cristo

The purpose of our mission trip was get to know the villagers of Delicias del Norte - a small village in the mountains near San Pedro Sula , Honduras . A secondary purpose was to work along side the villagers building stoves, pillas (above ground cisterns with a scrub board and faucet) and a latrine. We spent the first two days visiting the churches, daycare center and clinics we helped to build or support over the years. As we traveled across the country, we visited the people we worked with on past trips.

On a hill in the village stands San Lucas an Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Honduras. The people in the village are kind and filled with the spirit of Christ’s love. That is evident to any who come into contact with them. One day while Rev. Dan Layden was working on a stove, his work group ran out of cement to mix. He recalls, “My shoulders are still sore from mixing cement with a shovel all week, but that is another story.

Anyway, I was glad for a little break. In our down time, I struck up a conversation through the translator with Bonifacio the local mason in charge of our work group. I asked him a simple question, ‘How do you like your Church?’ To my surprise he told me of how the Church had come to the village a few decades earlier and how he had been baptized. He went on to say that the church changed his life. As he told his story I could see the deep feeling in the man. I thought to myself, ‘Thank God for those who brought the Gospel here to this village some years ago.’ I further thought how amazing God’s love is. Here I sit in a place I have no business otherwise being and the love of God shines to me through a man with which I have so little in common.”

(The rest is here)

http://www.ednin.org/ednin/

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

Good Stuff in TEC: Northern Indiana

A report about a church service and repentance. My good friend Ed Little Bishop of Northern Indiana is featured.

The church also welcomed the Rev. Edward Little, the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana, who did a fine job weaving ancient scripture and modern scenarios to help bridge 2,000 years.

First, he confessed his "unholy fascination" with the popular TV show "Deal or No Deal," explaining that it illustrates human greed at its worst. He weaved this pop culture epiphany into our primal instinct of wondering "what's next?" in our lives. He also hemmed it into the Christian season of Advent, wryly wondering, "What does Jesus have in his briefcase for all of us?"

Little then confessed about a heated e-mail exchange he recently had with a fellow bishop, leading to one last angry e-mail that he later regretted sending. In the middle of the night, Little was awoken by guilt and compelled to send another e-mail apologizing for his cyberspace outburst.

But, for some reason, the angry-outburst e-mail never reached the other bishop, he was told, sort of absolving him of his cyber-sin.

"It proves that God wipes the slate clean, even on the Internet," he joked, prompting laughs from the three dozen parishioners in attendance.

Little also explained the definition of "repent," meaning to change your mind or change your direction about something.

"Repent has since come to mean something else, but that's not true," Little told us.

http://www.post-trib.com/news/davich/1342152,davich.article

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

Viewing Episcopal split through historical lens

From Fort Wayne- My good froend Bishop Ed Little is quoted.

With another schism in the headlines this week - a possible split in the Episcopal Church due in large part to the appointment of an openly gay bishop in 2003 - it's good to remember that such conflicts are neither new, nor unique to Christianity.

That's because, while God may be perfect, we human beings most definitely are not.

All of which is of little comfort to the Rev. Edward Little, Episcopal bishop for the Diocese of Northern Indiana. Even though he opposed the consecration of New Hampshire Bishop V. Gene Robinson because it required “changing Christ's doctrine in a serious way,” he said this week he is saddened by the proposed split and wants no part of it. Neither, he said, do his diocese's 36 congregations, including three in Fort Wayne.

“In John 17 Christ prays that we ‘may be one.' Schisms never solve anything, they make us less effective,” Little added. “Many of the people with whom I disagree love the Lord. This isn't the same as disagreeing about the resurrection or the nature of the Trinity. We need to work out these issues, even though it may take decades or even centuries.”

In other words, disagreement over fundamentals of the faith is one thing. A schism over the church's response to homosexuality does not.

He's right, although - no pun intended - the devil is, as always, in the details.

http://www.news-sentinel.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081206/NEWS/812060326/0/FRONTPAGE

Bishop Ed Little's Reflections on the Lambeth Conference

My friend, Ed Little, the Bishop of Northern Indiana reports back to his diocese about his experience at Lambeth. Ed is another conservative Bishop who wants to work for reform in the Church.

"I did sense throughout the Conference a deep yearning for the unity of the Anglican Communion, a yearning that penetrated every conversation, every public session, every worship service. We’re living through a strange, even dark time in the Communion; but I was heartened by the good will of my colleague bishops, and their willingness to invest themselves in the long and sometimes tortured processes of the Conference. Meanwhile, it will be for future generations of church historians to tell the tale of Lambeth 14, and draw their own conclusions. "

http://www.ednin.org/ednin/