June 5, 2013
June Editor's Letter
Most weekdays, I watch Charlie Rose and CBS This Morning’s The World in 90 Seconds as I drink my first cup of coffee. Some mornings the lead story is not a happy one: a devastating tornado, a train derailment, a shooting. Why do I continue to watch? For the resurrection stories – and stories of hope and human kindness – that always follow.
At ECF Vital Practices and Vestry Papers, we place a priority on sharing stories of hope and action. Every day our congregations – and congregational leaders – face challenges as they engage in what it means to be an Episcopal Church. What is it that distinguishes hopeful or vital churches from churches that get stuck, particularly in a time of crisis?
This month our Vestry Papers features four congregations who refused to become stuck in spite of facing significant challenges. In each case, the choices made by congregational leaders set the parish on a path to resurrection.
When the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth split apart, many continuing Episcopal congregations, including St. Alban’s Church in Arlington were shut out of the church buildings they had worshipped in for years. In “After the Storm,” Melanie Barnett Wright, writing during a recent tornado watch, reflects on how the choices made following the split have helped St. Alban’s grow and thrive.
With churches often seen as places of sanctuary and safety, the May 2012 shooting at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church in Ellicott City, Maryland was devastating. For the families of the three people killed, the congregation, and the community, their grief and shock at this senseless, terrible act, united them in mourning. Together, they asked: How can we recover from this? How can we make these senseless deaths somehow have a deeper meaning? How can we overcome this tragedy? A year later, Katherine Schnorrenberg reports on the congregation’s commitment to “Becoming a Resurrection People.”
Emmanuel Church in Moorefield, West Virginia is a tiny church with an older congregation, unable to support even a half-time rector. Yet each week for over five years, in response to significant and increasing unemployment in their community, this congregation has provided a free lunch to people who are hungry. In “Leap of Faith,” Jack Hauber shares the secret of how this small congregation sustains its own loaves and fishes story.
The sense of powerlessness that sets in following a crisis can be paralyzing. At St. Luke and St. Matthew Episcopal Church in Brooklyn, the fire not only caused significant damage, having been ruled arson, it also threatened to engender fear. “From the Ashes” by Michael Sniffen relates the congregation’s decision to embrace rather than fear their neighbors, choosing to stand in the prophetic line of faithful communities who have given themselves up in service to the Gospel.
Following each article is a list of resources offering additional information and/or practical tools. Interested in what else might be on the ECF Vital Practices’ website? Use the Topics index on each page of the site to find other resources related to leadership including past Vestry Papers articles, blog posts, and the many resources found in our Your Turn and Tools sections.
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Faithfully,
Nancy
Nancy Davidge
Editor, ECF Vital Practices
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