Church to thieves: Give our bell back and all will be forgiven

From RNS-

Who would steal a 400-pound church bell?

That’s the question baffling the parishioners of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church near Norris, S.D., where the hundred-year-old bell has chimed for news, services and emergencies from atop its small wooden tower.

The bell was swiped between Dec. 30 and Jan. 6, the church’s pastor guesses, and would be welcomed back with thanksgiving and forgiveness.

“(B)ecause that’s what we do in the Church,” the Rev. Lauren Stanley said in a Facebook post appealing for the bell’s return.


More here-

http://gazette.com/church-to-thieves-give-our-bell-back-and-all-will-be-forgiven/article/1618854

Episcopal Diocese of SD moves offices to Pierre

From South Dakota-

The offices of the Episcopal Diocese of South Dakota are moving to Pierre, and the Episcopal bishop – the former rector of a Pierre congregation – is moving back.

The Right Rev. John Tarrant, who was consecrated bishop of the South Dakota Diocese on Oct. 31, 2009, was formerly rector at Trinity Episcopal Church in Pierre.

Now, after nearly six years serving in the that statewide role from offices in Sioux Falls, Tarrant is back in Pierre. He moved his family to Pierre on July 14-15.

More here-

http://www.capjournal.com/news/episcopal-diocese-of-sd-moves-offices-to-pierre/article_a8631540-35a0-11e5-91f9-8b25411fa7dd.html

Healing the past: Episcopal program studies history of church, Native culture

From South Dakota-

South Dakota's Episcopalians are working to mend what one priest calls “historical trauma” between the church and Native Americans.

“It can hurt, but it’s very important,” said the Rev. Paul Sneve who facilitates efforts to mend the wounds of the past. “The more we talk about it, that’s how we begin to heal our historical trauma.”

Twice a year, the former rector of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church in Rapid City leads a workshop on the history of the Dakota and Lakota people and the impact of assimilation on their culture, traditions and spirituality. Episcopalian clergy, parishioners and others attend the two-day Dakota Experience, which was recently held in Rapid City.

“We discuss the good and the bad in our history,” Sneve said.

More here-

http://rapidcityjournal.com/lifestyles/faith-and-values/healing-the-past-episcopal-program-studies-history-of-church-native/article_74deaf5b-6b80-5d6d-b6a6-8f2036e00716.html

Episcopal bishop leaves legacy of caring

From South Dakota-

Twenty years after choosing law over religion, Creighton Robertson changed course once more and enrolled at the University of the South's Episcopal seminary.

He had been a trailblazer as an attorney, graduating from the University of South Dakota School of Law in 1976 and becoming one of only a handful of Native Americans with that distinction. Robertson also was the first law-trained magistrate in tribal courts.

As an ordained Episcopal priest, Robertson continued to make history. His consecration as the ninth bishop of the Diocese of South Dakota on June 19, 1994, marked the first time it was served by a Native American diocesan bishop.

More here-

http://www.argusleader.com/story/news/2014/10/30/episcopal-bishop-leaves-legacy-caring/18160761/

Retired bishop brings personal and Anglican history to Rapid City

From South Dakota-

Bishop Frank Gray is down to just one remaining copy of "For Thou Art With Me: Interned in the Philippines," the self-published memoir that chronicles his family's three years in a Japanese concentration camp in the Philippines during World War II.

And after three months of filling in at St. Andrew's Episcopal Church in Rapid City, he plans to leave it as a farewell gift to his adopted congregation.

"We've loved the community and are happy to experience this beautiful part of the country," Gray said recently of his summer filling in as rector at St. Andrew's for the Rev. Kathy Monson Lutes, who was awarded a $50,000 Lilly Foundation travel sabbatical.

He and his wife, Karen, have been in Rapid City since June and have been visited at various times during their stay by their three children and eight grandchildren.

Gray, 73, retired from his post as bishop for the Diocese of Northern Indiana in 2006. As the author of two books of poetry, and who is currently at work on a chapbook of poems relating to Psalm 139 ("O Lord, you have searched me and known me ..."), he also published the family memoir in 2010.

Gray was just 2 years old when his family went into the camp, and 5 when they and the other 600 prisoners were liberated by U.S. forces. 

More here-

http://rapidcityjournal.com/lifestyles/faith-and-values/religion/retired-bishop-brings-personal-and-anglican-history-to-rapid-city/article_9d21761d-b5d7-594c-9fcd-2794e654de8c.html

May 17: William Hobart Hare, Bishop of Niobrara, and of South Dakota, 1909

From Holy Women Holy Men-


William Hobart Hare was a missionary bishop to the Niobrara Territory and later the first bishop of South Dakota.

Hare was born in Princeton, New Jersey, in 1838. Although he studied at the University of Pennsylvania, he never received a degree and prepared for ordination without attending seminary. He was ordained to the diaconate in 1859 and to the priesthood in 1862. He served St. Luke’s and St. Paul’s, Chestnut Hill, both in Philadelphia.

He moved to Minnesota in 1863 with the hope that a different climate would improve his wife’s failing health. It was there that he first came into contact Native Americans, an encounter that would change his life and shape his vocation. Hare returned to Philadelphia in 1867 to become the Rector of the Church of the Ascension, but his personal interest in the church’s ministry among Native Americans never waned.

In 1871, the House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church created the Missionary District of Niobrara encompassing much of the Dakotas. A year later, the House of Bishops elected Hare to become the Bishop of Niobrara and he was ordained to the episcopate on January 9, 1873.

Bishop Hare, often referred to as “The Apostle to the Sioux,” devoted himself to work among the Native Americans in the vast expanse of the Niobrara Territory. Well ahead of his time in his approach to mission work, Hare believed it was important to honor as much of the tradition and culture of the people as possible. His desire was not to destroy the fabric of Sioux culture, but to bring the gospel into the midst of it so that the people could also come to know Jesus. Instead of suppressing the customs of the people, he saw them as vessels that could communicate God’s grace.

More here-

http://liturgyandmusic.wordpress.com/2011/05/17/may-17-william-hobart-hare-bishop-of-niobrara-and-of-south-dakota-1909/

Protecting "a gift from God," Episcopal priest works for prairie preservation

From South Dakota-

From a craggy limestone ledge above the place called Pe' Sla, Linda Kramer admired the land she loves.

"This is it," the 65-year-old Episcopal priest said with a sweep of the hand. "This is Pe' Sla, the holy place."

Her gesture took a visitor's eyes down the slope of Flag Mountain, out over a ponderosa pine forest speckled with beetle-killed trees and on to the tawny prairie beyond. There, the undulations of grass and thicket and occasional pine spread out across the high prairie north of Deerfield Reservoir for roughly 4,000 acres.

To most non-Native people, the place is known as the Reynolds Prairie, even though the ranch family of that name owns only part of the massive high-country meadow. The Reynolds' land, however, is a big part, and one that has made news far beyond this quiet hideaway in the Black Hills.

The announcement that Leonard and Margaret Reynolds were planning to sell about 2,000 acres of the prairie sent shock waves through Northern Plains tribes who hold the land here sacred. Among them are the Dakota, Nakota and Lakota people who believe Pe' Sla holds many of the truths of their creation. Many come to the place to pray and reflect and believe.

More here-

http://rapidcityjournal.com/news/protecting-a-gift-from-god-episcopal-priest-works-for-prairie/article_c5813f38-2d1c-5e03-b083-f4ec47d8617d.html

Taize movement brings throwback appeal to U.S.

From The Washington Post-

Chris Soukup was on the verge of leaving the Episcopal Church as a 19-year-old freshman at South Dakota State University. He had grown tired of years of going to church just because his parents said so. When he was asked to take a job as a counselor at a church camp, he had his reservations, but decided to give it a try.

Soukup was moved by the Taize-style camp that was led by a visiting brother from France. Three weeks of singing simple phrases over and over, extolling God as the light out of darkness, and quiet time to pray and meditate on passages that exemplify living the life of the gospel captivated Soukup’s soul.

“It’s a really relaxing style of worship that you don’t get with a lot of the denominations ... where they’re focused on more of a sermon style or a praise-and-worship kind of thing,” Soukup said. “The silence is really the biggest thing for me where you just have time to reflect.”

By the end of the three weeks, Soukup realized how much he longed for church. He now goes twice weekly for spiritual nourishment and a strong sense of community, both at home and at school.

More here-

http://www.washingtonpost.com/national/on-faith/taize-movement-brings-throwback-appeal-to-us/2012/05/24/gJQAUygvnU_story.html

S.D. Moments: Church honors woman for missions

From South Dakota-

A South Dakota woman who served as a missionary in New York state and established a shelter for abused women in her home state has been honored by the Episcopal Church.

The late Margaret Hawk, who joined a society of lay missionaries in the Anglican Communion in 1963 at the age of 50, was a recipient of the House of Deputies Award of Distinguished Service by the National Episcopal Council.

Hawk, who died Feb. 18, 1993, was known as Sister Margaret by the people she served.

“The Church Army used to refer to women as sisters,” said Bishop John Tarrant, head of the South Dakota Episcopal Diocese.

More here-

House of Deputies president presents award to family of Church Army pioneer

From ENS-

Episcopal Church House of Deputies President Bonnie Anderson recently presented an award to the family of late Sister Margaret Hawk, a missionary and church leader, to honor her pioneering ministry posthumously.

The presentation came Sept. 10 during the Diocese of South Dakota's annual diocesan convention in Pierre. The President of the House of Deputies Award for Distinguished Service honors "individuals and communities who have exhibited an exceptional commitment to the work of reconciling a broken world," according to a press release.

Hawk was a native of Red Shirt, South Dakota, on the Pine Ridge Reservation of the Oglala Sioux. In 1963, at the age of 50, she joined the Church Army, a society of lay missionaries in the Anglican Communion. After training in New York and missionary work in Buffalo, New York, she returned home to the Pine Ridge and Rosebud reservations where she served for 18 years, the release said.

Anderson presented the award to Hawk's granddaughter Alice Testerman and her family. Anderson said she was especially struck by Hawk's commitment to seek training and education in New York, 1,700 miles from her home in South Dakota.

More here-

http://www.episcopalchurch.org/80263_129759_ENG_HTM.htm

Episcopal church on reservation get new life

From South Dakota-

Bishop John Tarrant’s initial message to the Rev. Bob Two Bulls was viewed with skepticism by the pastor of Christ Church Episcopal in Red Shirt Table.

“I was suspicious when I got an e-mail from the land office there at the diocese, saying Bishop Tarrant wanted to meet with me,” Two Bulls said recently, seven months after Tarrant was installed as bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of South Dakota and about 18 months after the diocese officially “closed” Christ Church and eight other small churches on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation.

Since that initial contact, Two Bulls and Tarrant have had three face-to-face visits. They’ve developed a friendship and a change of heart, if not a change of policy, in the diocese’s approach to those nine Pine Ridge congregations.

In 2008, then-Bishop Creighton Robertson announced plans to close Episcopal churches in Oglala, Wolf Creek, Wakpamni Lake, Manderson, Kyle, Potato Creek, Porcupine, Allen and Red Shirt Table because of falling attendance and failing finances. The move sparked controversy throughout the reservation and acrimony within the diocese.

Eventually, each of those properties was declared “inactive” by the diocese, and ownership of them was transferred back to the Oglala Sioux Tribe. But the churches themselves were never officially “deconsecrated” by the diocese, and Tarrant, who was installed as bishop Oct. 31, has since made it clear to Two Bulls and other Pine Ridge Episcopalians that they are free to continue to use the churches for worship services and community events, as members in good standing within the diocese. Tribal officials are supportive of that use, as well.

More here-

http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/news/article_c08c8ae6-818e-11df-a9f6-001cc4c002e0.html

SOUTH DAKOTA: Bishop appeals to Episcopal Relief and Development after ice storms down 3,000 power lines

From Episcopal Life Online-

Bishop John Tarrant of the Episcopal Diocese of South Dakota has requested emergency disaster relief funds from Episcopal Relief and Development to assist residents affected by winter storms and massive power outages on the Cheyenne River Sioux Reservation.
Ice storms downed an estimated 3,000 utility poles, leaving about 30,000 residents in two communities without water, electricity or heat for at least a week, said Randy Barnhardt, diocesan canon to the ordinary, during a Feb. 5 telephone interview from his Sioux Falls office.

"We are gathering relief funds and have designated Feb. 14 as a day for all the churches in this diocese to help with ice storm relief," he added.

The diocese had been able to disburse about $2,000 for purchase of propane gas for those with propane heaters. "But you can't help 30,000 people with $2,000, so we do the best we can," he said.

Tribal Chairman Joe Brings Plenty declared a state of emergency on the reservation, which is about the size of the state of Connecticut and encompasses 14 Episcopal congregations.

"The loss of electricity has also knocked out the reservation's aging water system," said the tribal chairman, who had also asked the federal government to declare a state of emergency on the reservation. "We have no running water on the entire reservation, it is also affecting reservation communities such as Faith, whose water is supplied from pipes running through the reservation," he added.

Meanwhile, snow continued to fall Friday and another storm system was on the way, said Virginia Traverfie, senior warden of Emmanuel Church in White Horse, who lives on the reservation.

More here-

http://www.episcopal-life.org/81803_119217_ENG_HTM.htm

New bishop ordained in the Episcopal Diocese of South Dakota.

From South Dakota-

A Michigan native who believes his church can make a difference in the staggering rate of reservation suicides was ordained Saturday as the 10th bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of South Dakota.

Six hundred people gathered in the Sioux Falls Convention Center to witness the ordination and consecration of the Rev. John Tarrant in a two-hour ceremony.
Tarrant will succeed the current bishop, the Rev. Creighton Robertson, who is expected to retire at the end of the year.

Saturday’s pomp and circumstance was a mix of tribal nuances and high Anglican tradition – revealed in Lakota and Dakota music and the vestments of an Episcopal lineage that now counts Tarrant as the 1,038th bishop since the beginning of the church in America.

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, chief pastor to the Episcopal Church's 2.4 million members in 16 countries and 110 dioceses, presided over Tarrant’s ordination.

There were eight other Episcopal bishops present as well, and a variety of other ecumenical leaders – Bishop David Zellmer of the South Dakota Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Bishop Paul Swain of the Sioux Falls Catholic Diocese, Bishop Deborah Kiesey of the United Methodist Church, and Ed Kauffman, executive conference minister for the Mennonite Church USA.

http://www.argusleader.com/article/20091031/UPDATES/91031003/1001/news

New Episcopal bishop says he'll make visiting reservations a priority

The new bishop-elect for the Episcopal Church in South Dakota says he’ll make visiting reservation congregations a top priority.

“A priority of mine -- and this is not meant as an assessment or judgment of the past, because I live in the present, not the past – but a priority of mine is to be among the congregations,” the Rev. John Tarrant said.

Tarrant, 57, was elected May 9 to succeed Bishop Creighton Robertson as the leader of the Episcopal Diocese of South Dakota. He has been pastor of Trinity Church in Pierre since 2005 but spent the majority of his ministry career in Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Robertson, who suffered health problems during his 15-year tenure as bishop, including a kidney transplant in 2005, was criticized by some Native American Episcopalians for a lack of visits to their parishes over the years, as well as his recent decision to close nine small churches on the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation. Robertson, a member of the Sisseton Wahpeton Sioux tribe, was the first Native American diocesan bishop in the church.

Although defending the closure decisions as “not taken by Bishop Robertson alone,” Tarrant promised a “ministry of presence” to the people of Pine Ridge and elsewhere. “One of my first priorities would be to visit congregations and do a whole lot of listening,” he said. “That’s no commentary at all on Bishop Robertson. That’s my style and what I perceive to be a need.”

More-

http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2009/05/12/news/top/doc4a08adb51ef4e220425879.txt

Pierre man elected bishop of Episcopal Diocese

The Episcopal Diocese of South Dakota has elected a Pierre man to be its 10th bishop.

The Rev. John Tarrant is rector of Trinity Episcopal Church in Pierre and was elected Saturday on the second ballot at a special convention in the capital city.

Nearly 200 delegates from the state's 80 churches took part.

Tarrant grew up in Michigan and served parishes in Massachusetts and Connecticut before moving to Pierre in 2005.

The bishop-elect must be ratified in July at the general convention of the Episcopal Church. He'll be consecrated as bishop Oct. 31 at the Sioux Falls Convention Center.

http://www.kmeg14.com/Global/story.asp?S=10333503&nav=menu609_2_4

Four Nominees for South Dakota Bishop Coadjutor

The Diocese of South Dakota announced a slate of four candidates for the election of a bishop coadjutor. The candidates are:

- The Rev. Douglas Robert Dunn,rector, St. Luke’s Church and High Plains Regional Missioner, Denver, Colo.

- The Rev. John F. Floberg, canon missioner, Standing Rock Reservation, Bismarck, N.D.

- The Rev. Peter A.R. Stebinger, rector, Christ Church, Bethany, Conn.

- The Rev. John T. Tarrant, rector, Trinity, Pierre, S.D.


The election is scheduled to be held May 9 at a hotel convention center in Pierre. Because the election falls within 120 days of the start of the General Convention, the bishop-elect will need to receive consents from a majority of diocesan deputations and bishops with jurisdiction. Assuming those are forthcoming, Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori will consecrate the new bishop Oct. 31 in Sioux Falls.

The Rt. Rev. Creighton Robertson, Bishop of South Dakota since 1994, previously announced his intention to resign no later than Dec. 31, 2009.

http://www.livingchurch.org/news/news-updates/2009/3/30/four-nominees-for-south-dakota-bishop-coadjutor

Sioux Indians quit US Church

Members of nine congregations closed last year on a Sioux Indian reservation have quit the Diocese of South Dakota and formed the Lakota Oyate Episcopalian Church.

On March 14, the clergy and members of the nine redundant rural churches created the new group, which they say will not be affiliated with either the Episcopal Church or its rival Anglican Church in North America, to oversee the reservation churches.

Speaking to the Rapid City Journal, Lori Ann Two Bulls said the group has petitioned the tribe’s Land Committee to transfer ownership rights to the church properties from the diocese to the Lakota Oyate Episcopalian Church. It asked the tribal council to allow it to “continue operating the churches expelled by The Episcopal diocese,” she explained.

On Nov 22 the vicar of Christ Church, Red Shirt, the Rev Robert Two Bulls, filed suit in the tribal court, seeking an injunction halting the closure of nine of the sixteen Episcopal Churches on the reservation. The tribal court has yet to address the request, which Ms Two Bulls said is now moot given the formation of the new group.

The Diocese of South Dakota has not opposed turning over the church properties to the tribe, and last year Bishop Creighton Robertson defended the closures in his diocesan newspaper saying “this is not an ‘Indian War’,” but “a responsible review of property and use of resources entrusted” to us.

http://www.religiousintelligence.co.uk/news/?NewsID=4142

Good Stuff in TEC: South Dakota

Cornerstone filling more needs than food, housing

Emmanuel Episcopal Church members served the meal Sunday night at the mission, and member Karen Psiaki read from the Bible, sang a hymn and prayed with the people gathered.

At the end, she asked for prayer requests, and several hands waved in the air, asking for continued sobriety, reduced bail for a family member, and healing from a sickness. One man asked for prayers for his daughter and pressed his fingers to his eyes to catch tears before they came.

Some volunteers at Cornerstone focus primarily on just that - the spiritual needs of the people coming for help.

Sunday service supervisor Ben Holstlaw was up at 4 a.m. Sunday, his mind reeling with scripture to add to his weekly message. He has been volunteering at the mission for almost a decade, ministering to those in need and giving a sermon Sunday mornings to a packed cafeteria.

http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2008/12/29/news/top/doc49585d3f81d3c122368471.txt

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

Church members sue Episcopal Diocese over reservation land

A different sort of property battle in South Dakota. (Another interesting hat)

Members of 11 Episcopal churches on Pine Ridge Indian Reservation have filed lawsuits in Oglala Sioux tribal court asking that the Episcopal Diocese of South Dakota be prevented from closing their churches and from deconsecrating buildings and cemeteries in the process.

On Monday, the executive committee of the Oglala Sioux Tribal Council also unanimously approved a resolution stating that the diocese should return those properties to the tribe in compliance with federal laws that govern the use of reservation lands for missionary or educational works.

The rite of deconsecrating a church allows that building to be used for secular purposes, but it would not necessarily prevent it from being used as a church again at some point.

The legal papers were served Monday at the diocesan offices in Sioux Falls but had not been signed by a tribal judge as of Tuesday. The plaintiffs seek an immediate hearing to stop the closures.

http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/articles/2008/11/26/news/local/doc492c905525e66962253000.txt

Local congregation finds new hope

South Dakota moves to make sure another parish is secure

A New Hope

This year, meeting places for the congregation varied between the FIS Chapel and Eastman Hall. Just when its members started to lose hope in ever having their own facility again, and wondering what to do with the windows, Barnhardt gave them the good news.

“He just said to me, 'how would you like a church to worship in?'” said Margo Zephier, senior warden of lay ministry of the Episcopal Church of Flandreau.

By way of an anonymous donation of $35,000, a United Thank Offering grant of $15,000 and a $50,000 loan taken out by the Episcopal Diocese, a new church facility is being built for the small, hopeful congregation. And in other good news, The Rev. Charlie King was appointed to serve St. Mary's in a permanent basis, the first permanent minister that the church has seen in four years. In another bit of good news for the congregation, all seven of the refurbished windows from the old facility will be used in the construction of the new facility. And Barnhardt promised the congregation that it would have its facility in time for Christmas Eve services.

Its all here-

http://www.moodycountyenterprise.com/main.php?story_id=3266&page=23