wfn.org | [ENS] Newsmakers: Royals visit, Tutu preaches, Tyson reflects,

["Matthew Davies" <mdavies@episcopalchurch.org>]

Daybook, from Episcopal News Service

Thursday, November 10, 2005 -- Newsmakers

* BAY AREA: Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall visit Inverness parish *
LOS ANGELES: Diocese, Pasadena parish welcome Archbishop Tutu * PASADENA:
Actress Cicely Tyson reflects on Rosa Parks, tributes * CLEVELAND:
Churches Uniting in Christ names interim director * PITTSBURGH: Canon
Richard Davies celebrates 50 years of ministry * CONNECTICUT: Pioneering
priest Clifton Jones recognized * NEW YORK: Communicators welcome veteran
colleague Magee Anderson

BAY AREA: Prince of Wales, Duchess of Cornwall visit Inverness parish

Excerpted from a report by Sean T. McConnell

[Source: Diocese of California] Charles, the Prince of Wales, and Camilla,
Duchess of Cornwall, attended All Saints Sunday services November 6
at the Parish Church and Retreat House of St. Columba's in the quaint
California seaside town of Inverness.

The royals were in the middle of a visit that included stops to an
organic farmers' market in the town of Point Reyes; lunch with farmers
in the hidden coastal community of Bolinas; a visit to the long-running
San Francisco cabaret show "Beach Blanket Babylon," accompanied by former
Secretary of State George Shultz and his wife Charlotte Maillard Shultz,
San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, author Danielle Steel, and Episcopal
Bishop William Swing and his wife, Mary Swing; and a tour of the Berkeley
Edible Schoolyard led by chef Alice Waters of Berkeley's Chez Panisse
restaurant.

The little redwood Church of St. Columba's was filled to capacity for the
royal visit, as the security contingent and media entourage practically
doubled the population of this Northern California hamlet.

A misty rain fell as the motorcade pulled up the drive to the church.
The congregation sat quietly anticipating the entry of the prince, the
duchess, and their attendants. From inside the church it was obvious
that the royal couple had stepped from the limousine because the strobe
of camera flashes illuminated the church windows.

The entourage, with all members wearing poppies of remembrance on their
lapels, entered first, then the royal couple followed. The duchess smiled
warmly at members of the congregation as an officer of the Royal Air
Force escorted her and the prince to their seats in the front pew.

Rector Tom Brindley's sermon reminded the congregation that all who
are in Christ are bound to Christ in a dynamic union by being bound to
one another, and to all the saints. He told those gathered, royal and
commoner, that it is when we are all bound together as the Body of Christ,
that we are made perfect.

Before Holy Communion, the rector presented the royal couple with a
gift of two cross-stitched bookmarks depicting crosses, and a picture
illustrating Isaiah 12:2, colored in by children from the congregation.

After meeting the royal couple, Diane Archibald, senior warden of St.
Columba's, said: "God was honoring this holy place by bringing the future
head of the Church of England to worship with us."

When asked what the visit meant to him personally, Brindley said, "For
a priest in the Anglican Communion it's the opportunity of a lifetime.
There are some in places where this happens all the time. Praise God
that the Lord has placed them there and given them those gifts. But for
most of us, it is once in a ministry that you get this opportunity laid
before you by God.  It's humbling."

-- Sean McConnell is editor of Pacific Church News, the newspaper of
the Diocese of California.

- - - - -

LOS ANGELES: Diocese, Pasadena parish welcome Archbishop Tutu

[ENS] In an All Saints' Sunday sermon stating that God's people "are
meant to be family," Archbishop Desmond Tutu called Anglicans everywhere
to remember the "comprehensiveness" of their tradition.

"Jesus did not say, 'I if I be lifted up I will draw some,'" Tutu said,
preaching in two morning festival services at All Saints' Church in
Pasadena, California. "Jesus said, 'I if I be lifted up I will draw
all, all, all, all, all. Black, white, yellow, rich, poor, clever, not
so clever, beautiful, not so beautiful. It's one of the most radical
things. All, all, all, all, all, all, all, all. All belong. Gay, lesbian,
so-called straight.  All, all are meant to be held in this incredible
embrace that will not let us go. All.

"Isn't it sad, that in a time when we face so many devastating problems --
poverty, HIV/AIDS, war and conflict -- that in our Communion we should
be investing so much time and energy on disagreement about sexual
orientation?"  asked Tutu, the Nobel laureate and Archbishop Emeritus
of Southern Africa.

Pointing to the Anglican tradition of tolerance, Tutu said the Communion,
which "used to be known for embodying the attribute of comprehensiveness,
of inclusiveness, where we were meant to accommodate all and diverse
views, saying we may differ in our theology but we belong together
as sisters and brothers" now seems "hell-bent on excommunicating one
another. God must look on and God must weep."

Emphasizing the connectedness of the human family, Tutu further asked:
"How could we then -- we who are family -- go on spending obscene
amounts on budgets of death and destruction, knowing full well that a
minute fraction of these would insure that children everywhere would
have clean water to drink, would have enough food to eat, would have
adequate, affordable health care, would have decent homes. How could
we if we really are those who pray as our Lord has taught us? How can
we be willing to drop bombs on those who are our sisters and brothers,
children of God, members of our family?  God's family. How could we?"

Yet when Christians are found to be "caring, gentle, compassionate,
sharing, embracing everyone ... God is smiling," Tutu said.

Tutu began his sermon with repeated "thank you's" to All Saints Church,
which stood by him faithfully in the fight against apartheid. Rector J.
Edwin Bacon and Rector Emeritus George Regas joined in welcoming Tutu
to the parish.

Los Angeles Bishop J. Jon Bruno honored Tutu with a November 5 dinner
attended by nearly 90 gathered at the city's landmark California Club.
Praising Tutu's unparalleled ministry, Bruno presented the Archbishop
with a framed photograph of Tutu visiting with Rosa Parks some years
before her death on October 24.

The Archbishop departed Pasadena on November 10 to meet in Santa Barbara
with Oprah Winfrey on the subject of girls' education in Southern Africa.

- - - - -

PASADENA: Actress Cicely Tyson reflects on Rosa Parks, tributes

[ENS] Actress Cicely Tyson -- well known for her portrayal of "Miss Jane
Pitman" among other roles -- told Archbishop Desmond Tutu on November
6 that civil rights leader Rosa Parks was "strong even in death."

Tyson -- who eulogized the recently-deceased Parks at three memorial
services in Montgomery, Detroit, and Washington D.C. -- said she was
deeply moved as she viewed Parks' body.

"I've never seen a face that showed more strength," Tyson told a lunch
gathering honoring Tutu. "The strength in this woman's being was oozing
out every pore. I maintain the reason was that King Jesus was her Driver.
She was not to be moved; she was like a tree planted by the river."

In life, Parks consistently told the story of her historic 1955 arrest,
for refusing to yield her bus seat, "in a quiet and humble" manner,
Tyson said.  Parks died October 24 at age 92 in her Detroit home.

Tyson, who joined Pasadena's All Saints Church in welcoming Tutu, said she
found particularly poignant the placement of Parks's casket in the U.S.
Capitol rotunda, and the crowds who lined the streets in homage. "It's
a journey I would not have missed," Tyson said, "and I am so honored to
have been part of it."

- - - - -

CLEVELAND: Churches Uniting in Christ names interim director

[Cleveland, Source: CUIC] Churches Uniting in Christ (CUIC) has called
the Rev. Dr. Thomas E. Dipko, a United Church of Christ minister, to
serve a six-month term as CUIC interim director.

An ecumenist and liturgy scholar, Dipko was from 1989-2002 a member of the
Executive Committee of the Consultation on Church Union, the predecessor
of CUIC. He has served his denomination as a parish pastor in Pennsylvania
and Massachusetts, Ohio Conference minister, and executive of the Church
Board for Homeland Ministries.

In announcing Dipko's appointment, CUIC's president, the Rev. C. Dana
Krutz, said: "The Coordinating Council of Churches Uniting in Christ
unanimously approved the calling of Dr. Dipko to serve as interim director
for the coming six months. He brings a wealth of ecumenical experience and
administrative ability to this position at a critical time of renewing
the CUIC member communions' commitment to this relationship of unity
and mission...." Krutz underscored the importance of reconciliation and
anti-racism initiatives engaged by CUIC participants.

- - - - -

PITTSBURGH: Canon Richard Davies celebrates 50 years of ministry

[SOURCE: Diocese of Pittsburgh] St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Mount
Lebanon, Pennsylvania, will celebrate the ongoing ministry and the 50th
anniversary of Canon Richard Davies' ordination on November 13. Davies,
who currently serves on the staff at St. Paul's and has charge over Old
Saint Luke's in Woodville, was ordained in 1955.

Davies spent his first two years of ordained ministry at St. Paul's,
Monongahela. In 1957, he was called to St. Peter's, Brentwood where he
served 25 "great, glorious and happy years" as rector. During that time,
he oversaw the construction of the new church. In 1958, St. Peter's
Child Development Center was formed to meet the needs and educate
Down's Syndrome children and their families. Growing from the pleas of
parishioner that Davies, "do something" for her daughter at a time when
very few others considered the needs of special children, the ministry
spread to six locations and is now known as the Early Learning Institute.

In 1983, Davies was called to be Executive Officer and Canon to the
Diocese, a role he filled for four years. Then, he was named Director
of Episcopal Service Ministries, until his retirement in 1990. It was
then that he assumed his place at St. Paul's, the role in which many
best recognize him.

In honor of Davies' many years of service, there will be a special Welsh
High Tea on November 13 immediately after the 10:15 a.m. service at St.
Paul's in Mount Lebanon.

- - - - -

CONNECTICUT: Pioneering priest Clinton Jones recognized

[SOURCE: Diocese of Connecticut] An Episcopal priest who pioneered in
developing counseling and support programs for sexual minorities will be
honored at a dinner November 12 at Christ Church Cathedral in Hartford,
Connecticut.

The Rev. Canon Clinton R. Jones, 89, has earned a national reputation
for his ministry and research in the fields of sexual orientation and
gender identification. He served as an ordained priest for more than 60
years and was named canon emeritus of the cathedral in 1987.

The dinner, sponsored by the Friends of the Cathedral, will also be
the occasion for announcing an award in Jones' name which annually will
recognize community leaders in the areas of pastoral care, counseling
and social work.

Jones' work with sexual minorities began in the early 1960s when his
research on homosexuality spurred the formation of a special task force,
known as Project H, by the Greater Hartford Council of Churches. He
later served on a similar task force for the House of Bishops of the
Episcopal Church.

Through the years he has lectured at many schools, churches, universities
and social institutions. He is the author of three books on homosexuality
and has written many articles and research papers. He lives in Manchester,
Connecticut.

- - - - -

NEW YORK: Communicators welcome veteran colleague Magee Anderson

[ENS] Margaret "Magee" Anderson was welcomed back to the Episcopal Church
Center -- which she helped open in 1963 and served as a communication
staff member for 25 years before retirement -- during a November 9
dialogue with current Communication Office staff.

"The mission remains the same today," Anderson said. "The priority
is serving parishioners and clergy in the congregations, dioceses and
provinces of our church to support them in their local ministries."

During her tenure, Anderson served as interim director of the Office of
Promotion, and as manager of audio-visual materials.

Anderson's visit included a tour of offices newly refurbished at
the Church Center in its first renovation since opening February 3,
1963. "The improvements are impressive in every way," she said.

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