Husband of Episcopal bishop killed in bicycle crash with car

From California-

The husband of Bishop Mary Gray-Reeves, the first female Episcopal bishop in California, died Saturday after being struck by a car while riding his bicycle in Monterey County.

Michael William Reeves, 54, was riding on Saddle Road north of Padeo Del Sur when he was struck by a 2013 Toyota shortly after 2:30 p.m., according to the CHP and the Monterey County Coroner's Office. He was taken by helicopter to Salinas Valley Memorial Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The 83-year-old driver was not injured. The cause of the accident is under investigation by the CHP. Drugs and alcohol are not believed to have been a factor in the collision, the CHP said.

A celebration of the life of Michael William Reeves is scheduled for 5 p.m. Friday at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, located at 13601 Saratoga Avenue in Saratoga, according to the diocese website.

A reception will be held following the service.
More here-

http://www.mercurynews.com/obituaries/ci_26018010/husband-episcopal-bishop-killed-bicycle-crash-car

Bishop Richard L. Shimpfky remembered for support of ethnic ministry

From ENS-

The Rt. Rev. Richard Lester Shimpfky was remembered March 1 as an ardent supporter of Episcopal Asiamerican and Latino ministries, and for his spiritual leadership and humility.

Shimpfky, 70, served as the second bishop of the Diocese of El Camino Real from 1990 to 2004, and most recently was bishop-in-residence at Christ Episcopal Church in Short Hills in the Diocese of Newark. He died Feb. 28 with his wife of 45 years, Jamel Kassim Shimpfky, and other family members gathered around him, according to an email from the Newark diocese.

"The people of Episcopal Diocese of El Camino Real give thanks to God for the life and work of Bishop Shimpfky as their second bishop. While we are saddened by his death, we rejoice that he is now at peace," Bishop Mary Gray-Reeves said in a statement emailed to ENS. "We will honor Richard's life with a memorial service at Trinity Cathedral in San Jose at a later date.

"Several members of the diocese will attend his services in Ridgewood, New Jersey," Gray-Reeves added.

A memorial service will be held at 11 a.m. Saturday, March 12, at Christ Church in Ridgewood, with Bishop Mark Beckwith officiating.

"As former Asian missioner of the Diocese of El Camino Real, I will miss Richard as a bishop, a pastor and a personal friend," said the Rev. Winfred Vergara, missioner for Episcopal Asiamerica ministries for the Episcopal Church.

More here-

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/80263_127370_ENG_HTM.htm

Calif. Bishop Respects ‘Very Key Symbol’

From The Living Church-

Responding to requests from two bishops elsewhere in the Anglican Communion, the Bishop of El Camino Real did not attend the consecration of Bishops Diane Jardine Bruce and Mary Glasspool in Los Angeles on May 15.

A friendship began forming among the Rt. Rev. Mary Gray–Reeves and her two brother bishops — the Rt. Rev. Michael Perham, Bishop of Gloucester, England, and the Rt. Rev. Gerard Mpango, Bishop of Western Tanganyika, Tanzania — during the Lambeth Conference of 2008. The bishops formed companion relationships among their dioceses, and celebrated those new ties during a service in September 2009 at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, San José, Calif.

Bishop Gray–Reeves wrote that her fellow bishops asked her to abstain from granting consent to Bishop Glasspool’s election or from participating in her consecration.

“In our system, it is consents that allow a bishop to be ordained,” Gray–Reeves wrote in a letter requested by Louie Crew, founder of Integrity, a nonprofit organization of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Episcopalians and their supporters. “I consented to Mary’s election without hesitation. The laying on of hands makes a bishop, and in other provinces where there is no consent process like ours, this is a very key symbol.”

Gray–Reeves wrote that she “did not come easily to the decision of not attending,” adding: “But the truth is, Mary and Diane had plenty of bishops to get the job done, and my hands were not needed there on May 15th. They were needed to reach other places and so I did.”

More here-

http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2010/5/25/el-camino-real-bishop-respects-very-key-symbol