By Mary W. Cox, editor

With the theme “40 and FOR-WARD,” clergy and delegatesgathered Nov. 13-14 at St.Paul’s, Key West, to celebrate the40th birthday of our diocese, giv-

ing thanks for our history, acknowledging the chal-lenges of the present, and looking ahead to “what Godis calling us to do.”

Delegates welcomed a “favorite daughter,” now abishop, as preacher at the Eucharist; donated food forthe hungry; recognized congregations that are makingsignificant progress in hospitality and growth; re-sponded positively to proposals from the youth of thediocese; and heard a call from Bishop Leo Frade andthe archdeacons to continue the work of mission high-lighted on banners at the front of St. Paul’s nave:“Bring them in; build them up; send them out; tendtheir needs; harvest God’s fruit.”

Three congregations were honored this year withthe bishop’s HII (Hospitality, Invitation, Incorporation)Award for outstanding, consistent growth in weeklyaverage worship attendance (AWA): St. Patrick’s, West

Palm Beach—seven years of continuous growth; AllSaints, Fort Lauderdale—five years of continuousgrowth; and St. Mark’s, Palm Beach Garden’s—fouryears of continuous growth.

Volume 40 No. 6 December 2009

OFFICIAL PUBLICATION OF THE DIOCESE OF SOUTHEAST FLORIDAwww.diosef.org

Photos by Mary W. Cox

Snapshots of Diocesan Convention: Episcopal Charities’ Director of Development Margaret Hudson and Business Operations Director Elizabeth Smiley (photo atleft) watch the food donations pile up at the ECSEFL table in the exhibit hall; Bishop Leo Frade and his former archdeacon, Bishop Mary Gray-Reeves of El CaminoReal, (in center photo) prepare to greet worshipers after the Convention Eucharist; Fr. Alejandro Hernandez of Todos los Santos, Miami, Fr. Hallock Martin of HolySpirit, West Palm Beach, and the Rev. Christina Encinosa of Holy Redeemer, Lake Worth, (in photo at right) look like Olympic medalists with their Nehemiah awardsfor their congregations’ increased attendance.

40th Diocesan ConventionSE Florida looks forward

See DIOCESAN CONVENTION, Page 2

Convention coverage onlineConvention coverage online

Go to www.diosef.org and click on the DiocesanConvention link on the left side of the page to findlinks to:■ Bishop Leo Frade’s address to convention■ Resolutions approved■ Approved budget for 2010■ Elections and ratified elections/appointments■ Sermon by Bishop Mary Gray-Reeves■ Youth Commission Report■ Report of the 2009 General Convention

Deputation■ Report of the Diocesan Office of Immigration

and Social Justice■ Convention photo galleries

2 The Net, December 2009 THENET www.diosef.org News

In his address to convention Frade gave thanks forthe leadership of the diocese’s first two bishops, thelate James L. Duncan, and retired Bishop Calvin O.Schofield, Jr., as well as the “men and women, layand ordained, who in the past through their sacrificeand obedience to our Lord established our church inthis part of the world.”

He praised the “creativity of many in this diocese”in the development of regional and collaborative min-istries during the past year, and specifically com-mended the three congregations— Todos Los Santos,Miami; All Souls’, Miami Beach; and All Saints’,Jensen Beach—that have attained self-supportingparish status.

He spoke of the work of the Cursillo communityand its plans to share the Cursillo movement with theDiocese of Jamaica, and thanked Episcopal Charitiesof Southeast Florida for its work in meeting humanneeds in our communities.

Looking forward, he announced that he plans four“visioning days” in 2010 in different locations in thediocese, at which he will ask the people of the dio-cese to help him determine the direction of our dioce-san ministries in the next five years.

The bishop also announced that he will name theRev. Dr. Carlos Sandoval, a medical doctor and psy-chiatrist, as well as priest-in-charge of St. Simon’s,Miami, as Canon for Health, a new position intendedto help the diocese address avariety of public health issues.

Frade also said that plan-ning is almost complete forbeginning a Portuguese-lan-guage ministry with theBrazilian community in thePompano Beach area ofBroward County. He notedthat that the three towns in theUnited States with the largestpopulations of Brazilians arefound in that area.

He noted plans to build aswimming pool and garden of the Duncan Confer-ence Center, and said he would like to have a pool aspart of his legacy in the diocese: “Name it the TGIFSwimming Pool…TGIF stands for: ‘Thank God it’sFrade.’”

(Excerpts from Frade’s address are found on pp.10-11, and the complete text is posted on his blog,http://blog.diosef.org/.)

As he did during his address last year, Fradeturned to the archdeacons to report on their min-istries, saying, “The three archdeacons work veryhard to carry out our mission to restore all people tounity with God and each other in Christ.”

Archdeacon for Immigration and Social JusticeFritz Bazin, recovering from throat surgery, was un-able to speak to the convention, but presented a writ-ten report of the initiatives undertaken by his office,noting work in three areas: immigration issues; thedevelopment of a diocesan Social Justice Association(see story p. 6); and ethnic (Hispanic/Latino, Haitianand African-American) ministries. His complete re-port is posted at the Diocesan Convention link atwww.diosef.org.

Archdeacon for Congregational DevelopmentBryan Hobbs spoke of past and present leaders, layand ordained, who in differing circumstances have al-

ways been people who “don’tknow ‘can’t.’”

Work with the more than 50%of diocesan congregations whohave been or are participating inthe Nehemiah Process has been“the most fun,” he said.

(See p. 4 for a report fromHobbs on the Nehemiah Process,and a list of those who receivedNehemiah awards this year.)

“I think this is one of the mostdynamic, exciting, fun dioceses inthe Episcopal Church and I amproud to be a part of this place,”Hobbs said. “I am so proud of ourrich heritage and diversity. I amso thankful for how we have ad-justed to the challenges, joys, andsorrows of our everyday lives tolive the dream of the Gospel andto be part of what God is creat-ing.”

Archdeacon for DeploymentTom Bruttell noted some the suc-cessful transitions in the diocesethis year—the institution of newrectors, Fr. Frisby Hendricks atAll Saints’, Jensen Beach, and Fr.John Tidy at All Souls’, MiamiBeach; new clergy leadershipbringing increased attendance atSt. Margaret’s and San Franciscode Asis, Miami Lakes, withpriest-in-charge Richard Aguilar,and Holy Comforter, Miami, withpriest-in-charge Rafael Garcia; and attendance tripledat Church of the Resurrection, Biscayne Park, withlay pastoral leader Alberto Cutié.

Clergy need to be trained, Bruttell said, for better,stronger leadership: leadership that understands“we’re not the innkeepers at the ‘Coral ReefMotel’”— the little old motel by the side of the roadin every Florida town, the place where no one’s ex-cited about staying. Instead, we need to be “theHilton,” he said, offering excellence.

Appropriately, given the convention theme, “40and FORWARD,” four of the ten resolutions passedby convention related to, or were proposed by, dioce-san youth.

The convention passed an amendment to thediocesan constitution that would grant seat and voicein convention to each deanery’s Youth Coordinator.Other resolutions approved included three proposedby the diocesan Youth Commission: One calling forrestricting the use of bottled water “at all churchsponsored activities, starting immediately;” one des-ignating the Bishop’s Spring Conference for 2011 as“an experiential music workshop,” and asking thatthe Bishop and the Executive Board form a commit-tee to develop a list of music resources for the dio-cese to be presented at the 2010 DiocesanConvention; and the third calling for the formation ofa steering committee to study the viability of estab-lishing a diocesan Youth Retreat Center.

An additional resolution submitted from the floorby the Broward Deanery called for the expansion ofguidelines for use of youth fund reserves; this did notpass.

The convention approved resolutions to changethe deadline for submission of canonically requiredparochial reports to reflect the current date andprocess for submitting these reports electronically to

the Episcopal Church Center in New York; and tobring the canonical qualifications for seating of laydelegates at convention into conformity with the pro-hibition of clergy from being seated due to failure tosubmit canonically required reports by the specifiedtime.

Three resolutions from the Clergy and Lay Com-pensation and Insurance Committee were approved:Clergy Compensation Guidelines for 2010; a call forthe compensation of lay employees to “be given thesame consideration” for increases as is outlined in theClergy Compensation Guidelines; and the resumptionof publication of clergy compensation in the Dioce-san Journal.

The convention also approved a resolution to ex-press thanks for the newly approved full-communionrelationship between the Episcopal Church and theMoravian Church and to send greetings to the Mora-vian congregations in southeast Florida communi-ties—three in Miami and one in West Palm Beach.

The convention approved a budget for 2010 of$3,518,253, slightly lower than the amount approvedat last year’s convention for 2009, but slightly higherthan the revised 2009 budget of $3,399, 453 approvedby Executive Board after the 2008 convention.

In the approved budget the assessment percentagefor congregations will remain at the current 13.99percent. In order to maintain this rate, diocesan staffwill receive no COLA raises in 2010, and one staffposition will be eliminated.

The preacher for the convention Eucharist wasBishop Mary Gray-Reeves of El Camino Real. Gray-Reeves is a Miami native who grew up as a parish-ioner at St. Stephen’s, Miami, and served as rector ofSt. Margaret’s, Miami Lakes, from December 1998

DIOCESAN CONVENTIONfrom Page 1

Photo by Janeth Muñoz

Sailboat song

Fr. Larry Hooper, rector of St. Paul’s, joins in the spirited singing of adiocesan favorite at communion: “Tú has venido a la orilla” —“The Sail-boat Song.”

See DIOCESAN CONVENTION, Page 3

Sandoval

The Net, December 2009 3THENET

News www.diosef.org

until she was appointed diocesan Archdeacon for De-ployment in early 2005.

Welcoming her to convention, Frade jokingly ad-mitted his “mistake…to share my Archdeacon for De-ployment as a candidate for bishop of El CaminoReal,” but added that “in the short time she has beenthere, she is transforming that diocese.”

“I am honored to be with you,” Gray-Reeves said.“You are part of me, and I am part of you; I literallycannot unwind myself from you, the connection is so

significant.”She told the congregation to

“dwell in the word…to discernwhat the word is saying directly tous,” and to “dwell in our commu-nity… dwelling in a neighborhoodmeans that you don’t study it, youhave a relationship with it.”

“There is no substitute for a re-lationship,” she said.

“It is so important to rememberthat we do not exist for the institu-tion, we exist for the sheep,” sheconcluded. “I stand here as a visiblepresence of the institution to saythat we do not exist for ourselves.We create a healthier institution notfor the sake of itself, but for thesheep that long to come home, thatlong for a life with the shepherd,that long to be told with great aban-don that they are loved. For some,we are the only place that such a re-ality may be found…

May we never forget that weexist for the sheep who long forJesus, who long to be told they areloved, who long to come home.”

The convention also welcomedthe Rt. Rev. Todd McGregor, areabishop for Toliara (or Tulear), in theDiocese of Antananarivo, Madagas-car, and his wife, the Rev. PatsyMcGregor, who presented an up-date on their ministries. The diocesehas partnered in various ways withthe McGregors since they first wentto Madagascar as lay missionariesin 1991, and Antananarivo is one ofSoutheast Florida’s companion dio-ceses.

Bishop McGregor thanked thediocese for prayers and financial support; for theStanding Committee in the mid-90s that took “the riskof investing in the McGregors;” and for mission teamsthat have visited and worked with them, both inMadagascar and during the time they served in Kenya.

“For Tulear, you are apostolic,” he said, “and weare your flesh in Madagascar.”

The $2,281 received as offering from the con-vention Eucharist was divided equally between theMcGregors’ work and Episcopal Charities of South-east Florida.

As part of its convention presentation, EpiscopalCharities asked delegates and guests to bring dona-tions of non-perishable food items. Donations over-flowed boxes and baskets at the ECSEFL table inthe exhibit hall; a representative basket of the foodwas offered at the convention Eucharist and pre-sented at the Saturday session of convention to theRev. Stephen Braddock of Loaves and Fish in KeyWest and the Rev. Debra Andrew McConaugheyfrom St. Columba, Marathon, for Keys Area Inter-denominational Resources (KAIR) in Marathon.

Most of the food collected went to those twofeeding ministries; but as the Rev. Donna Dambrot,ECSEFL president, told the convention, not all thegroceries made it into the exhibit hall: “A homelessgentleman” collected some of the food from dele-gates on the porch and shared it with other peopleon the street who needed it.

When she first realized what was happening, shewas annoyed, Dambrot said, but then realized the

man was doing what the diocese was trying to do.“We are called to feed the hungry,” she said.

(See p. 5 for more on ECSEFL’s new “FeedingOur People” initiative.)

In his report to convention Youth CommissionPresident Michael Sahdev told delegates, “Theyouth of our diocese have truly been engagedthroughout the nation and beyond. Our passion forChrist in this diocese is inexhaustible, and withGod’s grace we have spread His word through ouractions both at home and on a national level.”

He spoke of the success of the Happening pro-gram and of participation by diocesan youth inprovincial and churchwide events, including hisown leadership as a member of the Official YouthPresence at General Convention.

“The Youth Commission takes seriously the re-sponsibility of building the next generation ofChristian leaders for our church and the world,” hesaid.

He thanked the bishop for his support and guid-ance, and acknowledged diocesan administrativeassistant for youth ministry Mary Cobiella as “thelife blood of the Youth Commission.”

“In a diocese that values its youth as much asours does, there is nothing but good ahead for us inthe future,” he said.

The convention adjourned with an invitation fromCanon Kerry Robb, interim rector at St. Mary’s, Stu-art, to the 41st Diocesan Convention, to be held Nov.12-13, 2010, at St. Mary’s. ■

Hospitality award

Photo by Mary W. Cox

Dean Don Sullivan, rector of St. Peter’s, Key West, and his friendBear acknowledge the applause for the Nehemiah award given to Bearin “Special Recognition for Generous Hospitality.”

Elected at ConventionElected at Convention

Standing Committee:Clergy member — The Rev. Jennie LouReid, St. Faith’s, Cutler Bay; Lay member — Karen Phillips Smith, AllSaints’, Jensen BeachEcclesiastical Trial Court:Abe Bailey, St. Ambrose, Ft. LauderdaleUniversity of the South: Clergy trustee — The Rev. Richard J.Aguilar, St. Margaret’s & San Francisco deAsis, Miami Lakes Cathedral Chapter:Lay member — Juanita Miller, Holy Family,Miami Gardens

Ratified at ConventionRatified at Convention

Deanery Elections to Executive Board:■ North Palm Beach — Clergy Representa-tive, The Rev. Frisby Hendricks, All Saints’,Jensen Beach■ South Palm Beach — Dean, The VeryRev. Martin Zlatic, St. Joseph’s, BoyntonBeach■ Broward — Lay Representative, PamelaSahdev, St. Benedict’s, Plantation■ North Dade — Lay Representative, Ar-nett Hepburn, Historic St. Agnes, Miami■ South Dade — Dean, The Very Rev.Corinna Olson, St. Luke the Physician,Miami; Lay Representative, Charles John-son, St. Thomas, Coral Gables ■ Keys — Clergy Representative, The Rev.Debra Andrew Maconaughey, St. Columba,Marathon

New Appointments to Commission on Ministry:Steven Ragsdale, St. Andrew’s, Lake WorthPamela Fuller, Diocesan School liaison

Officers Elected by Youth Convention:President — Michael Sahdev, St. Bene-dict’s, PlantationVice-president — Melanie Veizaga, HolyCross, MiamiSecretary — Graceleen Garcia, Holy Cross,Miami Administrative Assistant — Emily Gonzalez-Holland, St. Mary Magdalene, CoralSprings

Standing Committee President:(elected by Standing Committee) The Rev.Hallock Martin, Holy Spirit, West Palm Beach

DIOCESAN CONVENTIONfrom Page 2

4 The Net, December 2009 THENET www.diosef.org News

By the Ven. Dr. Bryan A. Hobbs, Archdeacon for Congregational Development

“Success is …Knowing your purpose in life,Growing to reach your maximum potential, andSowing seeds that benefit others.”

— John C. Maxwell

“Success” is such an elusive term, especially as itapplies to the church and even more so when appliedto “my” church. It is easy, although superficial, topoint to increased or decreased attendance (AverageWeekend Attendance—AWA) or to income, or to thenumber of baptisms and confirmations, or to a specialministry that had a significant impact. Such measure-ments are helpful, but somewhat elusive in capturingthe authentic and empowering nature of “success”—at least for us in the church.

I was very, very excited with the Bishop’s Hospi-tality, Invitation, and Incorporation (HII) Awards and

our NehemiahProcess Awardsgiven at the 40thDiocesan Conven-tion in Key West.They signifiedyears of prayer,struggle, successes,failures, dreaming,perseverance, hopeand joy on the partof a cadre of clergyand lay leaders whoare attempting totake their rightfulplace in God’sKingdom.

On this 40th an-niversary of our diocese, the Bishop awarded threeparishes the HII Award for meritorious achievementin growing their AWA: St. Patrick’s, West PalmBeach—seven years of continuous growth; All Saints,Fort Lauderdale—five years of continuous growth;and St. Mark’s, Palm Beach Garden’s—four years ofcontinuous growth. This kind of achievement de-mands discernment of God’s call, enthusiasm fortheir mission, commitment to sharing the Kingdom, astrong lay and clergy leadership team—and a wholelot of grace.

The Nehemiah Awards were also quite impressive.A full list of the congregations and clergy recognized

is in the box below, but here is one example: Attendance (AWA) increases alone were remark-

able: Iglesia Episcopal Trinidad, Miami—a smallmission congregation—grew 50% in its AWA in oneyear; Church of the Atonement, Lauderdale Lakes;Holy Redeemer, Lake Worth; and Holy Spirit, WestPalm Beach, all grew 14+%; and Todos Los Santos,Miami, grew 11.4%.

The seven years of continuous efforts by our Ne-hemiah parishes are beginning to show some data thatcorresponds with their increase in spiritual health. Allof our Nehemiah Classes since 2003 increased theirAWA from 2007 to 2008, and all exceeded the dioce-san average AWA: Class of 2003—2.2% increase;Class of 2004—1% increase; Class of 2005—2.9%increase; Class of 2006—0.2 % increase.

I would so like to say that the Nehemiah Processhas been successful in achieving her goals as illus-trated by the data above, but that would be mislead-ing. Yes, the data help to affirm the ministries of somany parishes, yet these figures point to an evendeeper and more profound issue that is at the core ofthe Nehemiah Process.

Real “success” is to be found in the hearts andminds of our parish clergy and leaders. They haveachieved some level of measurable success only be-cause of their ongoing prayerful attempt to knowtheir purpose in life, grow to their maximum poten-tial, and sow seeds that benefit others. This is wherereal “success” is to be found in our faith communi-ties. And the deeper truth is that all of our laborscould bear no fruit without God’s gift of grace. ■

Nehemiah AwardsNehemiah Awards

Special Recognition to Clergy for Applying the Nehemiah Principles and PracticesThe Rev. Orlando Addison, The Rev. Willie Allen-Faiella, The Very Rev. Carol Barron,The Rev. Frisby Hendricks, The Rev. AlejandroHernandez, The Rev. Rosa Lindahl-Mallow, TheRev. Leonel Ortez, The Rev. Hallock Martin, TheRev. Debra Andrew Maconaughey, The Rev. JackStanton, The Rev. Chip Stokes, The Very Rev. Ho-race Ward

Increase in AWA from 2007 to 2008Iglesia Episcopal Trinidad, Miami, 50%; Holy Re-deemer, Lake Worth, 14.9%; Atonement, Laud-erdale Lakes, 14.8%; Holy Spirit, West Palm Beach,14.4%; Todos Los Santos, Miami,11.4%

Increase in Plate and Pledge from 2007 to 2008St. Paul et Les Martyrs D’ Haiti, Miami,110%;Todos Los Santos, Miami, 57.8%; St. Columba,Marathon, 34.3%; Holy Cross, Miami, 34.3%; St.Faith’s, Miami, 20.2%;All Saints’, Jensen Beach, 16.2%; St. Luke’s, PortSalerno, 16.2%

Increase in Easter Sunday Attendance from2007 to 2008St. Stephen’s, Miami, 31.4%; St. Paul’s, DelrayBeach, 28.2%; St. Columba, Marathon, 26.2%; St.James the Fisherman, Islamorada, 25.7%; HolyFamily, Miami Gardens, 22.9%; St. James-in-the-Hills, Hollywood,16.7%

Special Recognition for Generous HospitalityHoly Family, Miami Gardens; Holy Spirit, WestPalm Beach; St. Matthew’s, Delray Beach; “Bear”,St. Peter’s Key West.

Nehemiah SteeringCommittee

The Ven. Dr. BryanHobbs, Linda Schlepp-Gray, The Rev. OrlandoAddison, The Rev.Richard Aguilar, The Rev.Rosa Lindahl-Mallow,Karen Phillips Smith,Canon Richard Miller,Bob Moore, Bill Swaney,The Very Rev. HoraceWard

Nehemiah congregations’ achievements help define ‘success’

Photo by Mary W. Cox

Archdeacon Bryan Hobbs presents Fr. Jim Cook, rector of St. Mark’s, Palm Beach Gardens, with theBishop’s HII (Hospitality, Invitation, and Incorporation) Award for his congregationís four years of continuousgrowth.

Celebrating growth

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Episcopal Charities launches “Feeding Our People”

The food drive at Diocesan Convention was an in-troduction to a major initiative by Episcopal Charitiesof Southeast Florida, “Feeding Our People,” whichwill begin officially with Episcopal Charities Sunday,Jan. 24.

On that Sunday parishioners in every congregationwill be asked to make a financial contribution to EC-SEFL for feeding ministries throughout the diocese, aswell as to bring items of non-perishable food that willbe distributed through these feeding programs.

EpiscopalCharities re-ports that con-gregationalfood ministriesare seeing in-creased need:not only theneeds of mem-bers of theircommunitieswho are hun-gry, but alsoneeds of foodpantries andsoup kitchensfor additionalsupport, assupplies, dona-tions and government funding dwindle.

The “Feeding Our People” initiative is a way forEpiscopal Charities to respond to these growing needsof its congregational outreach ministry partners. Epis-copal Charities is planning a variety of programs andevents in 2010 that will focus on ways to provide foodfor the growing numbers of hungry people in our dio-cese.

There will be two roundtable meetings of congre-gational feeding ministries to discuss challenges, solu-tions and the opportunities to work collaborativelywith each other: Saturday, Feb. 20, at St. Andrew’s,Palmetto Bay, 9:30-11:30 a.m.; and Saturday, Feb. 27at St. George’s, Riviera Beach, 9:30-11:30 a.m.

Episcopal Charities also plans to offer training tocongregations wishing to begin a feeding ministry. Notall communities feel called to start a food pantry or asoup kitchen, but there are many opportunities to help.ECSEFL will provide information on how to becomeinvolved in such ministries as becoming a Food Stampapplication site; distributing free lunches to childrenduring the summer months; or joining a “gleaning”team, in which parishioners, including youth, cangather extra produce at local farms, with the harvestbeing distributed to the poor.

Episcopal Charities is developing a manual of bestpractices for feeding programs to offer to congrega-tions in 2010.

For more information on “Feeding Our People,”visit the ECSEFL website at www.ecsefl.org and signup for Episcopal Charities’ e-newsletter. ■

By Mary W. Cox, editor

“It is our aim to humanize our his-tory,” said Kathy Walker, president ofthe Theodore R. Gibson Chapter of theUnion of Black Episcopalians, as sheopened the third in our diocesan seriesof “Telling Our Stories” events at His-toric St. Agnes, Miami, on Oct. 24.“Telling Our Stories” is an ongoing proj-ect of the diocesan Anti-Racism Com-mission.

Previous “Telling Our Stories” dayslast year focused on black Episcopalcongregations in Palm Beach andBroward Counties. The Oct. 24 eventfeatured oral histories from St. Agnes,Christ Church, Transfiguration and In-carnation in Miami and St Peter’s in KeyWest, along with a gallery of photos andartifacts from those parishes.

The first speaker, Regina JolivetteFrazier, spoke of her family’s 90-year re-lationship with St. Agnes, beginningwith her grandfather, A.T.S. Reeves.When the white vicar, the Ven. P.S. Irv-ing, was forced to leave town in 1921be-cause of threats—and a physicalattack—against him for serving a blackchurch, he entrusted the church keys toReeves, who later was ordained as a dea-con.

Frazier herself is a Roman Catholic,but her family is still intimately con-nected with St. Agnes: Her son is mar-ried to the daughter of St. Agnes’ rector,Canon Richard Barry.

Fr. Samuel Browne, retired rector ofSt. Patrick’s, West Palm Beach, gave some of the his-tory of St. Peter’s, Key West, one of the oldest con-gregations in the diocese, organized as a parish in1875.

The church building was twice destroyed bystorms and rebuilt; the present structure, completedin 1924, was built by parishioners, who even madethe bricks.

At one time, the flourishing parish had over 500members.

Browne said he was the first son of the parish tobe ordained there. More than 450 attended his ordina-tion to the diaconate on July 4, 1959; “people werestanding outside,” Browne said.

Barry said it’s important to recognize that manyclergy have come out of the black congregations ofour diocese. “If it were not for these congregationswe would not have had these vocations.”

Leome Culmer of St. Agnes told the group, “I wasbaptized in this very building [now the parish’sBlackett Hall]…I am 84 years old, and this church is109 years old.”

She recalled as child “coming here every day ofthe week…there was always something here for us.”

There were more than 400 children in the SundaySchool, and a boys’ choir. Then “the girls became

jealous” and a girls’ choir was formed; Culmer wasthe secretary of that group.

In 1941 she became the parish secretary at St.Agnes, and in 1947 she married the widowed rector,Fr. John Culmer. “We were the first couple of color tobe married at the cathedral in Orlando,” she said.

Her husband was the archdeacon, she said, andserved all the black Episcopal churches along the eastcoast of Florida when they were without clergy.

“Fr. Culmer was very forward-looking,” addedBarry. “He took the church to where the peoplewere.”

Church of the Incarnation celebrated its 50th an-niversary this year, said Marion Frank Major, re-counting the story of how four laymen from theLiberty City neighborhood met with Bishop HenryLouttit in 1949 to discuss starting a mission congre-gation. The mission’s first service, led by then-Dea-con John Jarrett, was held in the Liberty CityCommunity Center on Pentecost, June 5, 1949.

The mission became a parish in 1974, with itsseventh vicar, Fr. J. Kenneth Major as rector; 35years later, he is still the only priest to serve as Incar-nation’s rector.

Kathy Johnson of Transfiguration remembered

‘Telling Our Stories’ keeps black churches alive

Deacon Ruby Cruz views the exhibit from Christ Church, Miami,at the “Telling Our Stories” event on Oct. 24.

Memories shared

Photo by Mary W. Cox

See TELLING OUR STORIES, Page 7

6 The Net, December 2009 THENET www.diosef.org News

With activities ranging from liturgical dance to ten-nis lessons, children of the diocese celebrated togetherat the annual ECW Children’s Sunday event on Oct.18 at Holy Family, Miami Gardens.

The afternoon began with worship led by childrenand youth. Holy Family’s Liturgical Dance Troupe ledthe procession. Samara Rolle read a prayer of thanks-giving, which was followed by readings of Luke18:15-17 in English, Spanish and Creole by AnastasiaFerguson, Jessica Romero, and Melissa King. Christo-pher Chinyere led the congregation in singing “JesusLoves Me.”

Diocesan ECW President Lillie Clarke and BishopLeo Frade welcomed the children, parents, adult lead-ers and ECW members to the day’s events.

Then the bishop called the children forward to thechancel, where he blessed the prayers they had pre-

pared and placed in a basket, and told the children toenjoy themselves on the day dedicated to givingthanks for the young people of our diocese.

A steel drum solo by Cameron Haye concluded theservice.

Then there was pizza, and an afternoon filled withfun: face-painting, hula hoops, a bounce house, bas-ketball, tennis lessons, a football throw and a particu-larly animated game of musical chairs.

Some of the Episcopal Churchwomen hosting theevent enjoyed themselves dancing to some songs re-membered from their own teenage years—the Twistdrew a great response.

The message of the day was one of joy and hope,celebrating the faith of our children. ■

Adapted from a report by Susan Manwaring, dioce-san ECW Board member.

Artress will lead labyrinth workshop at Duncan Center

The Rev. Dr. Lauren Artress, whose writing andteaching have reintroduced the ancient pattern of thelabyrinth as a spiritual tool for meditation and heal-ing, will present a labyrinth workshop Jan. 22 and 23at the Duncan Center.

Artress is an honorary canon of Grace Cathedral,San Francisco; the founder of Veriditas, a non-profitorganization dedicated to teaching the use of thelabyrinth; and the author of Walking a Sacred Path:Rediscovering the Labyrinth as a Spiritual Practice,The Sand Labyrinth Kit and The Sacred Path Com-panion: A Guide to Walking the Labyrinth to Healand Transform.

The January event includes a Friday evening lec-ture from 7-9 p.m., and a Saturday workshop from9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. The cost is $25 for the eveninglecture only; $125 for the Saturday workshop, in-cluding continental breakfast and lunch; and $175per person for the lecture, workshop and overnightaccommodation (double occupancy).

For additional information and registration, go towww.duncancenter.org. ■

Fr. Matthew to share new mediaskills at Bishop’s Spring Conference

The featured speaker for the Bishop’s SpringConference, Mar. 12-13, 2010, at the Duncan Center,will be Fr. Matthew Moretz, curate at Christ’sChurch, Rye, New York, whose “Father MatthewPresents” videos having been sharing the GoodNews with creativity and humor to a growing audi-ence on YouTube since 2006.

Moretz will give three presentations. The firstwill focus on the new media landscape that has de-veloped online, “especially interms of the democratizing di-rection of online publishingand viewing, the place of faithand faith institutions in ourpresent day, the frank andsometimes raunchy culture,and how the EpiscopalChurch could distinguish it-self in this new environment.”

The second presentationwill be a full walkthrough of thedevelopment and scope of “Fa-ther Matthew Presents:” how it functions, how it ismade and distributed, “and the community that I cul-tivate.”

In his third presentation Moretz says he will lookto the future, in light of his online experience, andhow dioceses and/or seminaries must assist in retool-ing our clergy (and laity) for the new online land-scape.

Between presentations, he plans to teach somebasic script-writing, and then have participants breakup into groups that will each write a script for onlinevideo on some aspect of the life and teaching of theEpiscopal Church, utilizing dramatic action, narra-tive, and images. The groups will then present their“videos” to the full gathering, with comments wel-come—as would be the case online.

Additional information about the conference willbe published soon on the diocesan website,www.diosef.org, and made available to congrega-tions. Registration will be online.

For more about Moretz and to view his videos,go to www.fathermatthewpresents.com. ■

Moretz

Bounce house

Photo by Susan Manwaring

Children attending the Children’s Sunday Service enjoyed a bounce house, part of an afternoon of fun thatfollowed than annual worship service.

Children’s Sunday celebrationmarked by worship and fun

The Diocesan Office of Immigration and SocialJustice has announced the formation of a diocesan So-cial Justice Association, which will bring together peo-ple from throughout the diocese to pray and work tolive out the promise made in our Baptismal Covenant,“to strive for justice and peace among all people andrespect the dignity of every human being.”

Members of the association will be asked to prayregularly for social justice; to train themselves andothers to become aware of unfair discrimination in the

church and society; and to work actively for change.Anyone interested in this ministry is invited to an

organizational gathering Jan. 30, 10 a.m.-lunch, at St.Paul’s, Delray Beach. There is no cost for this event,but registration is needed and will be available online.

For additional information email Archdeacon FritzBazin, jfritzbazin@gmail.com.

The Diocesan Office of Immigration and SocialJustice was recently designated a Jubilee Ministry ofthe Episcopal Church. ■

Jan. 30 meeting to launch diocesan Social Justice Association

The Net, December 2009 7THENET

News www.diosef.org

Trinity will sponsor Women’s Mystical Poetry event and contest

On Saturday, Jan. 30, 2010, from 7:30 to 9 p.m.,Trinity Cathedral, Miami, will offer a Women's Mys-tical Poetry and Music Celebration, followed by areception in the Cathedral Hall.

The event will present spiritual poetry and musicwritten by women and performed by women, withbrief introductions of each of the poets represented.Although it will be an interfaith presentation, thework and lives of several Christian mystics will befeatured, including St. Teresa of Avila, St. Catherineof Sienna and Hildegard Von Bingen, as well as thework of contemporary female Christian poets.

In conjunction with this event, the cathedral issponsoring a poetry competition for spiritual poetrywritten by women. The contest is open to all womenof all faiths. Poems can be any style and must be 30lines or fewer. Poems must be the entrant’s ownwork and must not have been published previouslynor have won any prize in any previous competitionof any kind. Entries should be mailed to: Women’sMystical Poetry Contest, Contest Chair Brenda Mez-ick, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, 464 NE 16th Street,Miami, FL 33132. The deadline for submissions isDec. 28.

Complete contest guidelines can be found on thecathedral website, www.trinitymiami.org. For addi-tional information contact Brenda Mezick, Bren-daMezick@MiamiSAO.com. ■

when services at the new mission, Transfiguration,were held at Rainbow Park Elementary School.

“Church was a block away from my house, andour house had a big picture window…there was noway I was not going to Sunday School!”

She said of her congregation and the clergy whohave led it, “The hard work and determination of afew individuals can have a huge influence on thecommunity.”

Thelma Gibson, widow of Canon Theodore R.Gibson, Miami civil rights leader and longtime rec-tor of Christ Church, recalled her childhood in theparish, when church on Sunday was “an all-daything—same as it was in the Bahamas,” with wor-ship in the morning, Sunday School at 3 p.m., and“YPSL” (youth group) and Evening Prayer in theevening.

She spoke of her husband’s emphasis on givingto the church. In 1955 Christ Church became a self-supporting parish, she said, because “Canon Gibsonwas adamant that we couldn’t continue to have whitepeople paying our way.”

The final speakers of the day were Dorothy J.Fields and Timothy Barber of the Black Archives,History and Research Foundation of South Florida,who urged their audience to help them preserve thehistory of black churches.

The information that needs to be preserved is “inyour closets, under your beds, in shoeboxes,” Fieldssaid. She noted that Mrs. Culmer has already do-nated a collection of artifacts to the archives.

“I can tell the strength of the black communitiesthrough their churches,” she said. “ We need yourmaterials to document the 20th century—that’s US!”

For more information on black history in SouthFlorida, go to www.theblackarchives.org.■

TELLING OUR STORIES from Page 5

There was a full house—about 300 guests—at thediocesan World Mission Commission’s Nov. 15 fund-raising dinner to benefit the ministries of Bishop Toddand the Rev. Patsy McGregor in Toliara, in our com-panion Diocese of Antananarivo, Madagascar.

Proceeds from the five-course gourmet Italian din-ner and silent auction, along with matching gifts of$30,000 from two anonymous donors, brought theevening’s total receipts to more than $73,000.

The dinner was prepared under the direction of Fr.Marty Zlatic, chair of the World Mission Commission,rector of St. Joseph’s—and also a chef who learned his

Italian cuisine in Rome. Servers were members ofyouth groups from around the diocese.

“It took an army of people to pull that off,” Zlaticsaid.

The funds will go specifically to support the build-ing of the “Bishop’s Gathering Place,” which willhouse not only the bishop’s office and residence, butalso a conference and training center for the new dio-cese of Toliara.

Contributions to the McGregors’ ministries can bemade through SAMS to www.sams-usa.org. For moreinformation, go to www.peoplereaching.org. ■

Photo by Ric Filer

Bishop Todd and the Rev. Patsy McGregor greet the crowd at the Nov. 15 World Mission Commission dinner.

Dinner raises more than $73,000 for McGregor’s ministries

Fundraising success

The Rt. Rev. Gayle Harris, bishop suffragan inthe Diocese of Massachusetts, will be the preacherfor the annual diocesan Absalom Jones Service,scheduled for Feb. 13 at Church of the Incarnation,Miami.

The annual observance commemorates AbsalomJones, the first African American to be ordained apriest in the Episcopal Church and founder of thefirst African American Episcopal parish, St. ThomasAfrican Episcopal Church in Philadelphia, Pa. AnAbsalom Jones service has been held annually in thisdiocese since 1984.

The service, which beginsat 10 a.m., will be followed bya luncheon and fashion show,sponsored by the Theodore R.Gibson Chapter of the Unionof Black Episcopalians (UBE).

For more information con-tact Kathleen Walker, presidentof the Theodore R. GibsonChapter of the UBE, atkathywalker001@gmail.com ■

Harris to preach at Absalom Jones service

Harris

■ Church of the Advent, Palm City, celebratedthe Feast of St. Andrew, the patron saint of Scot-land, (Nov. 30) with a “Kirkin’ of the Tartan”service on the First Sunday of Advent, Nov. 29.A piper led the procession that morning, andScottish hymns were used to celebrate the Scot-tish heritage of the Episcopal Church—it wasthe Episcopal Church of Scotland that conse-crated TEC’s first bishop, Samuel Seabury, in1784.■ Bethesda-by-the-Sea, Palm Beach, will pres-ent its annual Boar’s Head and Yule Log Festi-val—featuring the Bethesda choir, soloists, apipe-and-drum corps, a brass quintet, dancers,jesters and a cast of 165—on Sunday, Jan. 3, at2:30 and 4:30 p.m. Seating is limited and is on afirst-come, first-served basis. A donation of $15is suggested. For more information go towww.bbts.org or call 561-655-4554.■ St. Mark’s, Palm Beach Gardens, will hosta Disciples of Christ in Community (DOCC)training Jan. 15-17. DOCC is a congregational-based Christian formation program for adultsthat builds community, while encouraging indi-vidual spiritual growth. The DOCC training atSt. Mark’s will offer an opportunity for anyoneinterested in being trained as a DOCC presenteror facilitator. For additional information contactkim@stmarkspbg.org or call 561-622-0956.■ Holy Redeemer, Lake Worth, a congregationwith many members from Mexico and CentralAmerica, observed the traditional Mexican FeastDay of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Dec. 12, be-ginning with songs and prayers at 6 a.m., fol-lowed by the Rosary at 7 a.m. At noon therewere Aztec dancers and a celebration of the Eu-charist. The fiesta continued with mariachi musi-cians and folkloric dancers in the afternoon.■ St. Cuthbert’s, Boynton Beach, has started apraise dance group for girls ages six-12. Instruc-tor Letisha Johnson has worked with the groupsince early October, preparing them to dance atthe offertory on Christmas Eve.■ The Palm Chapter of the Order of St. Luke atSt. Joseph’s, Boynton Beach, will offer a Heal-ing Mission on Jan. 16, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. Lunch willbe provided. The Mission will close with a heal-ing Eucharist, led by Fr. Marty Zlatic. The guestspeaker will be healing prayer facilitator SandyStegall, of Good Shepherd Methodist Church,Lake Worth. There is no charge, but donationswill be accepted. For further information andregistration, call the church office at 561-732-3060.■ St. Nicholas, Pompano Beach, celebrated its50th anniversary on St. Nicholas Day, Dec. 6,with a festive Eucharist, followed by a luncheon.■ Members and friends of the Swedish LutheranChurch held a service at St. Martin’s, PompanoBeach, on the afternoon of Dec. 6. Among theparticipants was the Swedish ambassador to theUnited States, Jonas Hafström.■ St. Margaret’s and San Francisco de Asis,Miami Lakes, have just launched a new websiteat www.episcopalmiamilakes.com.■ Holy Cross, Miami, has been celebrating“Las Posadas,” the Latin America tradition thatrecalls the search of Mary and Joseph for lodg-ing in Bethlehem (posada means “inn”), inhomes of parishioners throughout December.The last evening of the celebration will be at thechurch on Dec. 23, beginning at 7 p.m.■ Church of the Resurrection, Biscayne Park,

is holding a Christmas Dinner Dance on Dec. 19from 7-10 p.m. For information call 305-893-8523.■ Iglesia Episcopal Trinidad, Miami, hostedsix other congregations on Oct. 24 for the annualdiocesan Hispanic Festival. Participants werefrom St. Margaret’s/San Francisco de Asis,Miami Lakes; Todos los Santos, Miami; HolyCross (Santa Cruz), Miami; Holy Comforter,Miami; St. James-in-the-Hills, Hollywood;and St. Paul et les Martyrs d’Haiti, Miami,with which Trinidad shares facilities. Celebrantfor the Eucharist was Bishop Onell Soto, and thepreacher was Rev. Alejandro Hernandez. Fol-lowing the mass there was a reception withmusic, dancing and food representing the tradi-tions of different Hispanic/Latino countries.■ Chapel of the Venerable Bede, CoralGables, sponsored a Fair Trade gift sale for Uni-versity of Miami students and staff on Nov. 17,18 and 19, and concluded it on the Chapel patioon Sunday, Nov. 22. All of the items for sale, in-cluding chocolate and coffee, as well as jewelry,housewares and Christmas decorations, were onconsignment from a company that representscraft cooperatives all over the world, so proceedswould go directly to give a fair price to thosewho produced the merchandise.■ On Oct.12, the Social Outreach Committee ofSt. Philip’s, Coral Gables, served its 150th mealat the Homeless Assistance Center, a project ofCommunity Partnership for the Homeless. St.Philip’s first became involved in this program inJanuary of 1996; since that time about 225 vol-unteers from the parish have participated in theministry, which now provides dinners for ap-proximately 400 residents twelve times a year.■ Children at St. Faith’s, Cutler Bay, had avisit from St. Nicholas on his feast day, Dec. 6,and led a traditional Swedish celebration of theFeast of St. Lucia on Dec. 13. St. Lucia was ayoung Sicilian woman martyred in the fourthcentury. In Scandinavia she has always been as-sociated with light; celebration of her feast dayincludes candlelight processions, and often ayoung girl dressed in white and wearing a crownof candles serves food to family and friends.■ St. James the Fisherman, Islamorada, plansto hold its Sunday service on Jan. 24 at a bar—the Caribbean Club in Key Largo. The club isowned by members of St. James, who offeredthe venue for the parish outreach committee’sfundraiser for prevention of youth homelessnessin the Keys. Instead of making everyone hurryfrom the church to the club that day, interim rec-tor Fr. Jack Stanton suggested that worship beheld on the beach in front of the club. Localartists will display their work at the event andlocal musicians will perform.■ Children (and their parents) at St. Francis-in-the-Keys, Big Pine Key, participated in a CandyWorkshop on Saturday, Dec. 5. Families madecandy for themselves, as well as for patients inthe Plantation Key Convalescent Center.■ St. Paul’s, Key West, will offer a “LongestNight” service, beginning at 5:30 p.m. (sunset)on Dec. 21. The service will include hymns,prayers and readings “that acknowledge a holypresence for those who mourn, for those whostruggle” with bereavement, illness, broken rela-tionships, unemployment or other troubles thatmake them feel especially isolated at this time ofyear. ■

8 The Net, December 2009 www.diosef.org THENET www.diosef.org The Net, December 2009 9 Parishes in Progress

Green building

John Capella (center) andDoug Williams (right), mem-

bers of All Saints, Ft. Laud-erdale, make sure everything

is in order for the GrandOpening of the Bountiful

Treasures Gift Shop atChurch of the Intercession,Ft. Lauderdale, on Nov. 21.The thrift shop, which is the

most recent project of theshared ministry between the

two congregations, raisedover $300 on its opening

weekend—and provided In-tercession’s neighbors with

some good bargains.

Photo by Kelee Shilling

Las Posadas

Middle school students at St. Mark’s School,Palm Beach Gardens, eat a low-income lunch

at the schoool’s Oxfam Hunger Banquet on Nov.18. Students were given tickets that randomly

determined what kind of meal they would re-ceive, based on statistics on world-wide poverty

and hunger. The 15% in the high-income tierwere served a full meal; the 35% in the middle-

income section had rice and beans; and the 50%in the low-income tier were given small portionsof rice and water, which they ate seated on the

floor. Students were given the option of donatingthe school lunch they would have received thatday to the soup kitchen at St. George’s, Riviera

Beach. Student members of the National JuniorHonor Society also sponsored a food drive in

conjunction with the Oxfam program. Photo by Robin Lawrie

Meager meal

Photo by Thomas Winter

New deacon

Photo by Pat Kharimanian

Bishop Leo Fradeintroduces DeaconCarter Smith to thecongregation at his ordination Dec. 5 at St. Maryís, Stuart.

Grand opening

“Maria y Jose,” JeannieGutierrez and Pablo Conde ofSt. Margaret’s and San Fran-cisco de Asis, Miami Lakes,wait to be welcomed into the“inn”—a home in MiamiLakes—at a celebration of theLatin American custom of LasPosadas on Nov. 29. The cele-bration recalls the search byMary and Joseph for lodging inBethlehem, and involves a pro-cession, with songs, around theneighborhood, ending in some-one’s home for more singing,prayers and a feast. Fr.Richard Aguilar, priest-in-charge of St. Margaret’s andSan Francisco, and his wife,Janet (left), hosted the evening,beginning a new tradition forMiami Lakes Episcopalians.

Photo by Mary W. Cox

Bearing light

Dancers from the Fabulous FeetDance Center lead the Gospel

procession, carrying the Light ofChrist, at the Nov. 7 service of

Institution for Fr. Frisby Hendricksas rector of All Saints', Jensen

Beach. Hendricks had been priest-in-charge for five years; his

institution as rector marked the congregation’s successful return tothe status of self-supporting parish.

Photo by Roger Allee

Students at St. Stephen’s Episcopal DaySchool in Coconut Grove (Miami) gather onNov. 3 for the “topping off” ceremony for thenew school building. When a building is“topped off”—completed to roof level — asmall tree is often lifted to the peak of theroof, a symbol of the wood that was used inthe construction. The tree is an especiallygood symbol for St. Stephen’s building,which will be LEED-certified for its environmentally-friendly design and construction.

Today at this Diocesan Convention weare celebrating the 40th Anniversaryof the creation of our Diocese as oneof the 110 dioceses of the EpiscopalChurch. Prior to 1969 we were part

of the Diocese of South Florida. In 1969 our GeneralConvention approved the division of that diocese intothree dioceses—Southeast, Southwest and CentralFlorida.

I also wouldlike to point outthat we are gath-ered here today atSt. Paul’s Episco-pal Church, a con-gregation that wasestablished 177years ago and isthe oldest congre-gation of this dio-cese and alsoamong the mostancient congrega-tions of the Stateof Florida.

We can indeedsay with the au-thor of the 12th chapter of the Letter to the Hebrews:“we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses….therefore let us run with perseverance the race that isset before us.”

We are celebrating our 40th year, and we are mov-ing forward.

But as we move forward, let us remember andthank God for the lives of men and women, lay and or-dained, who in the past through their sacrifice and obe-dience to our Lord established our church in this partof the world; men and women who, under leadershipof their bishops, were able to endure whatever cametheir way in the midst of the uncertainty of their times.

We have a debt of gratitude to those who have pre-ceded us, among them Bishop Henry Loutitt, Bishopof South Florida; Bishop James Duncan, first bishop ofour diocese; Bishop Calvin Schofield, our secondDiocesan Bishop; and Bishop John Said, who servedwith Bishop Schofield as his Bishop Suffragan.

Let’s not forget their work and the work of many

laypersons, priests and deacons who labored togetherwith those bishops and were able to plant our church inthis part of Florida.

Today we celebrate 40 years of ministry as the Dio-cese of Southeast Florida, and now is the time that Godhas given you and me as ministers of the Church tocarry on its mission, which is to restore all people tounity with God and each other in Christ…

I say all of this to remind you, as we are gathered asa big family, that whatever we do in each of our indi-vidual congregations is much greater, and has a biggerimpact that blesses the rest of the diocese and theChurch, than we can imagine. Each Episcopal congre-gation of this diocese is interconnected with the rest ofthe congregations and institutions of Southeast Florida.

Just like the Deanery of the Keys, made up of indi-vidual congregations on separate islands that are inter-connected by bridges that unite them in onecommunity, we are all interconnected with one anotherin this diocese.

We are gathered here today, people of God who callourselves Episcopalians, part of the Anglican Com-munion. We come from many different places, differ-ent theological positions, different colors of skin,different languages, different sexual orientations, dif-ferent socio-economic classes, different political posi-tions and different worship styles; but regardless ofthose differences we become one through the power ofthe Holy Spirit, and through our common belief thatJesus Christ is Lord.

It is he, our Lord Jesus, who is the bridge that inter-connects each one of us, regardless of our differences,and it is through him that we can find our unity.

As I reflect back on my years with you as yourbishop, I must say that we have lived through very in-teresting times, and some of those times, we all know,have been quite challenging.

The terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, just oneyear after my enthronement, was one of those chal-lenges, not only for our country but for the Church it-self. The consequences of this major terrorist attackhave caused many changes and turmoil in the life ofour country and the Church.

General Convention 2003 and the consecration ofthe bishop of New Hampshire also caused divisions inour Church, and we need to own that, in order to be re-minded that there is always a price to pay when you

stand for justice and equality. In the past The Episcopal Church paid dearly for

our stand for justice; we paid for our stand on CivilRights that led to the loss of many members of ourChurch, especially in dioceses in the southern part ofthe United States.

Another recurring challenge for us in this part ofthe United States is that we are in the path of the hurri-canes…Also during my time as your bishop we havefaced the avian flu and at present, the swine flu.

And sadly, during these past years the United Stateshas been involved in two wars that seem endless andthat have caused many casualties and affected oureconomy.

Distressing also have been the two collapses of oureconomy that we have encountered during this pastdecade. One of them happened after September 11, andthe other one during the past year and a half, the effectsof which have caused great pain in all of our communi-ties. At present the financial outlook seems to be im-proving, and our prayers are that unemployment,foreclosures and depression will become soon a thingof the past.

No one could say that we have gone through easytimes.

Yes, it has been hard; yes, these crises and chal-lenges have affected all of us; but we have endured andwe have persevered with our mission. We can indeeddo all things through Christ who strengthens us…

But let us not lose sight of the fact that all of theabove calamities that we have encountered duringthese past years are nothing new.

Those who lived before us never hesitated to do themission that God had given them. During the time thatGod gave them, they experienced two major worldwars, plus the Korean and Vietnam wars; they perse-vered during the worst Wall Street financial collapse ofAmerican history in the 1930s and through the majorunemployment of those days.

They also had to deal with various strains of in-fluenza, like swine flu, and other pandemics like polio;they lived through horrible, devastating hurricanes thatrepeatedly damaged their church buildings. They alsohad to face several conflicts in our church thatbrought division, as we took a stand against slavery,against discrimination and segregation based on race;when marriage was forbidden between persons of dif-

Official publication of theEpiscopal Diocese of Southeast Florida

Episcopal Communicators’ Award of Excellence“General Excellence” for the year 2000

The Rt. Rev. Leo Frade, Bishop

The Rt. Rev. Calvin O. Schofield, Jr.S.T.D., Retired Bishop

The Rt. Rev. John L. SaidRetired Bishop Suffragan

Kathryn BlantonConvener of Communications Ministry

Mary W. Cox Editor

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Letters to the Editor The Net welcomes letters to the editor. All letters

must include the name, address, phone number, and ifavailable, email address, of the writer. Parish affiliation isalso requested, when applicable.

The Net reserves the right to refuse publication, andto edit letters for length, spelling and grammar.

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The Net, December 2009 10THENET

From Our Bishop www.diosef.org

Reflecting on 40 years

ferent races who loved each other. Divisions tookplace due to our acceptance of birth control and ourpastoral stand on the remarriage of previously di-vorced persons, and 33 years ago a major conflicttook place due to our approval of the ordination ofwomen to the priesthood and the episcopate.

That was the time that those who preceded us hadto face, but now is the time that God has given for usto live…

You and I as ministers of the Church have a mis-sion to do as we face the next 40 years. Are we goingto face the future with vigor, in order to restore allpeople to unity with God and each other in Christ, ordo you prefer to wait for the better times that maynever come in the future?

Well, let me tell you something: That time in thefuture is for others to fulfill, others that will comeafter us, but for you and me this is the time that Godhas given us to do his mission.

I will never forget what the late Bishop HerbThompson of Southern Ohio said to me in his sermonthe day of my enthronement as your diocesan bishop,Sept. 16, 2000.

Bishop Thompson said that I must never forget thefact that in the end the reality is that I am only the in-terim bishop between the second and the fourth bishopof this diocese. You see, this is the time that God hasgiven me as the third diocesan bishop of SoutheastFlorida, and my mission is to continue building uponthe work of those that were here before me and to pre-pare the way and strengthen the church in order thatsomeday the fourth bishop will continue building uponour common work…

I give thanks to God that he has given me thestrength to serve you and this diocese as the interimbishop between the second and the fourth bishop, but Iam also aware that time passes quickly. Therefore, Iwant to make sure that the years I have ahead as yourbishop will be used in a creative way.

I have some clear ideas of how to proceed, but Iwant us to work together in discovering God’s will forus on how to proceed, and to determine what kind ofdiocese we want to hand to the fourth bishop when heor she gets here.

I am in the process of preparing four Visioning Daysto take place in 2010 in different parts of the diocese.The dates and venues will be announced before the endof this year, and anyone in the diocese will be welcometo participate in whichever one of the gatherings is mostconvenient.

What I am proposing is for us to concentrate onwhat we believe that God is calling us to do during thistime, yours and mine, as interim ministers of this dio-cese, especially during the immediate future, the yearsfrom 2011 until 2015.

I am aware that some of this visioning has alreadybeen taking place.

We know that the creativity of many in this diocesehas allowed us to develop regional ministries, such asthe shared ministry of All Saints, Ft. Lauderdale, withthe Church of the Intercession and El Centro EpiscopalTodos Los Santos.

In the Deanery of South Palm Beach we laud the co-operation of two Boca Raton congregations, St. Gre-gory’s and the Chapel of St. Andrew. In the North PalmBeach Deanery, St. Mark’s, Palm Beach Gardens, issharing ministry with St. George’s, Riviera Beach.

I know there are other collaborative ministries thatare developing—these are only a few examples of thecreative work happening in our diocese.

Let me also share with you an initiative that hastaken a long time to get here. I spoke of it at my veryfirst diocesan gathering, called First Step, at St. An-

drew’s School in Boca early in 2001. There I talkedabout my desire to start a ministry among the manyBrazilians that live in our diocese.

I don’t know if you know that the three towns in theUnited States with the largest populations of Braziliansare found in our diocese, more specifically in andaround Pompano Beach. We have been working withFr. Tim Thomas and Dean Bernie Pecaro, both rectorsof churches in the Pompano Beach area, in order to co-ordinate the beginning of this ministry. We now have aPortuguese- speaking person to start this ministry. He isthe Rev. Jose de Jesus Sanchez, who is here with hiswife Glenda. I ask your prayers for the success of thisministry.

I also want to commend the ministry that has takenplace in several Hispanic congregations of our diocese.Todos Los Santos, Miami, this past year became a self-supporting parish. In addition to that, the growth ofplaces like Holy Cross, Miami, and Holy Comforter,Miami, are exciting as they, too, move closer to self-supporting parish status.

It is good to share with you the news that in additionto Todos Los Santos, two other churches, All Souls’,Miami Beach, and All Saints’, Jensen Beach, have be-come self-supporting parishes.

I also would like to mention the strengthening andrevitalization of our Cursillo Movement. I want tothank many that have made this possible, and in partic-ular I want to thank Dede Lewis for her effort and sup-port to make this possible.

I am also happy to announce that with the approvalof Bishop Alfred Reid we are in the process of export-ing the Cursillo Movement to the Diocese of Jamaica,with the cooperation of the Diocese of the Bahamas andTurk and Caicos, which also has a strong CursilloMovement. This is indeed an exciting day.

And now let me say something about our DuncanCenter. I am very happy to share with you the goodnews that it continues in the black and is flourishing in-deed. The occupancy keeps increasing and our DuncanCenter has become a vital part of our ministry. We arenow in the process of starting a new effort to raise thefunds for a swimming pool and gardens.

In the past you named the Duncan Center to honorour first Diocesan Bishop James L. Duncan; you also

named the chapel for Calvin O. Schofield, Jr., to honorour second Diocesan Bishop. Well, I don’t want to beleft out: I would like us to have a pool and name it theTGIF Swimming Pool, and TGIF stands for: “ThankGod it’s Frade.” At the exhibit hall next to the churchyou will find a model of the proposed TGIF Pool andGardens, so please make an effort to go and see the pro-posed project that will make the Duncan Center moreattractive and marketable.

I also want to invite you to a birthday party nextyear; on April 18 we will celebrate the 25th Anniver-sary of the Duncan Center…

I also want to announce that I will be naming theRev. Dr. Carlos Sandoval as Canon for Health. As Imentioned earlier, we have been facing one pandemicafter another—HIV/AIDS, avian flu and now the“swine flu,” H1N1. Today’s issue of USA Today re-ported that swine flu has swept through about 22 mil-lion Americans from April through October of this year,killing an estimated 3,900 people, 540 of them children,according to the Center for Disease Control.

Dr. Sandoval is a medical doctor and a psychiatrist,as well as a priest of our diocese, and we will work withhim to make sure that we protect ourselves from illnessduring these days ahead of us.

I would be remiss if I did not mention an organiza-tion in our diocese that has been working very hard tohelp the needy in our midst. I am referring to EpiscopalCharities of Southeast Florida, which under the guid-ance of its new director, the Rev. Donna Dambrot, anda very dynamic board, has brought new energy to itsministries in recent months. I thank Episcopal Charitiesfor the initiative asking delegates to bring to conventiona donation of food for those in need in the Keys…

Before I end, allow me to make some commentsabout other important issues.

First let me say to you that during this coming trien-nium we will be involved in discussing the AnglicanCovenant that eventually will be presented to the Angli-can Communion. Some have already come out to sup-port the Covenant and others to attack it. Well, theproposed Covenant is not out yet and we will wait tohave the complete draft in our hands in order to studyand analyze it after it comes out.

I also want to mention something that has been inthe news recently in reference to the invitation of thePope in Rome for Anglicans to join their church. Oneof the newspapers of Miami came out with a headlinethat read: “Stampede of Anglicans and Episcopalians tojoin the Catholic Church.”

Well, the rumor of our demise has been greatly ex-aggerated. The reports from around the world whereour Communion has flourished show that even the mostconservative groups have declined the invitation. As Icheck around other dioceses the report shows a lack ofenthusiasm to the invitation.

But let me say this, too, not to brag, but because itneeds to be said: The number of Roman Catholics, layand ordained, that are received into our church contin-ues increasing.

Our doors will remain open to those who want tocome to our church. ■

+Leo Frade

This column is excerpted from Bishop Leo Frade’sNov. 13 address to Diocesan Convention. The com-plete text can be found on his blog,http://blog.diosef.org/.

The Net, December 2009 11THENET

Points of View www.diosef.org

“TGIF” pool?

Duncan Center Director Alison Walsh shows offthe model of proposed improvements to the Center,including a swimming pool that Bishop Leo Frade iscalling the “TGIF—Thank God It’s Frade” pool.

12 The Net, December 2009 THENET www.diosef.org Youth

By Daniel Ledo

“Instead of going to church or youthgroup and having adults tell you what faithshould be like, Happening is a bunch ofyouth talking to you about their own faith.It’s easy to relate to.”

That is how one of the youth at Happen-ing 25, Oct. 23-25 at Camp Choee in southMiami-Dade County, described the weekend,and that is what Happening was like for me,too.

As soon as I arrived, I was welcomed bythe other youth and was immediately ac-cepted. This ease-of-acceptance became ablessing for me, and I will never forget theexperiences we shared.

There were 43 “Happeners” from 13 con-gregations in all parts of Miami-Dade,Broward and Palm Beach Counties. Theteam included 22 youth, representing sevencongregations, as well as eight full-time andfive part-time adult leaders, from 10 differentchurches.

Bishop Leo Frade spoke at the closing,and called us all to be active participants inour parishes and in the diocese.

Over the course of two days we becameone body of human love, loving each otherthe way that Christ asked us to love one an-other. All 43 participants came in not know-ing each other; and yet by the time closingceremony came around, we had shared tearsof sorrow, tears of joy, an amazing religiousexperience and much more.

To me, the last part of the weekend wasthe ideal of what Christ asked of us all: Webecame one body in Christ, and we willnever stand alone.

After the Happening weekend, I can hon-estly say that our diocese has some of thegreatest teens—noble, kind and loving. Thekids I met will forever be a part of my life,and the gift they gave me in accepting meand sharing so much with me left me rejuve-nated and ready to conquer anything thatcomes my way.

I highly recommend Happening as an en-counter that every teenager should experi-ence. Through Happening, we can shareChrist’s love with one another and becomethe Church that Christ created. ■

Daniel Ledo is a member of St. Stephen’s,Miami.

By Demetrius Jones

Acolytes from eight churches represented the Dio-cese of Southeast Florida at this year’s NationalAcolyte Festival on Oct. 10 at Washington NationalCathedral: St. Anne’s, Hallandale; St. James-in-the-Hills, Hollywood; Church of the Incarnation, Miami:Church of the Resurrection, Biscayne Park; HistoricSt. Agnes, Miami; Holy Cross, Miami; Holy Family,Miami Gardens; and Trinity Cathedral, Miami.

Bishop Leo Frade came with the group fromChurch of the Incarnation. This was the first time thatour diocesan bishop attended the Festival with theacolytes of Southeast Florida.

When I attended the Festival two years ago, Ithink there may have been more acolytes who madethe trip. Two years ago we were not in the economiccrisis that is now impacting our budgets, and acolyteguilds were coming from everywhere. However, de-spite the difficulty for all churches of raising fundsfor the trip, acolyte guilds from as far west as Califor-nia still came to Washington, D.C., to celebrate, eachguild bringing approximately ten acolytes.

St. Anne’s acolytes were praised for our precisionin the procession down the cathedral aisle. We’ve cre-ated a move called the “shift,” which is the rotation ofthe six torches around the cross and back into theoriginal order of procession. The shift is executedafter we acknowledge the bishop and before we con-tinue processing to our places.

We also executed the “kick step,” which is similarto a military march step. While many of the acolyteguilds paced quickly through the cathedral and didn’tstop to reverence the bishop, we were slow and tookour time.

Because of our style of procession, we noticedmany people from other churches pointing to us, say-ing “look at the church from Hallandale Beach,

Florida.” Our acolyte master and trainer MaceoBrown heard some of the acolytes from otherchurches saying, “Look at St. Anne’s!”

Bishop Frade gave our guild thumbs-up for ourperformance at the cathedral; he said we were “out-standing,” and his wife stated she is very proud of us.

I want to thank Mr. Brown, our acolyte master, forhis training for the past seven years. It’s because ofthe long hours of practice time he has given up to usthat we were able to perform with such precision.

Two years ago, our youngest acolyte, Amari Rain-ford, who was then three years old, made the spot-light as the youngest acolyte present—maybe the

youngest acolyte in any Episcopal Church. Now five,he remains the one of the youngest acolytes in ourdiocese, along with Joshua Parker, also five, fromHoly Family.

When asked by Bishop John Chane of the Dioceseof Washington what church he belonged to, Amari ex-claimed “I don’t know!” in front of the whole cathedralcongregation. After the service was over, Amari said tohis dad, “You never told me the name of my church!”

He knows now, and we’re all proud—of ouryoungest acolyte, of our St. Anne’s team and of allthe acolytes who represented Southeast Florida thisyear. ■

Eight guilds represent SE Florida at Acolyte Festival

Happening 25 Rector Krista Lamberti (left) shows team membersLara Copeland and Stefania Copeland a poster from the “Happeners”thanking them for the weekend.

Youth share their faith at diocese’s Happening weekend

Photo by Dominic Lamberti

Thank you note

Home team

Photo by Divina Brown

Southeast Florida acolytes asked Bishop Leo Frade (back row, in front of banner) to join them for photoswith some of the other acolytes at the National Acolyte Festival.

The Net, December 2009 13THENET

Our Diocese www.diosef.org

T he Blessing of the Animals has become an annual event in many of our congregations. TheOct. 4 Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, whose joy in all of creation is recalled in stories of hisfriendship with birds and animals, provides an opportunity for congregations to welcome theirneighbors—both four-legged and two-legged.

At parish day-schools, like St. John’s, Homestead, and St. Stephen’s, Miami, stuffed animals (and even aplastic dinosaur) were blessed, along with the living creatures. Zoo animals received a blessing from Fr. GregMansfield, chaplain at St. Mary's Hospital in West Palm Beach, and an exotic visitor from a wildlife rescueorganization came to St. Thomas, Coral Gables. Parishioners at St. Margaret’s and San Francisco de Asis,Miami Lakes, could request “house calls’’—Fr. Richard Aguilar blessed pets in their own homes.

For a gallery of animal blessing pictures from around the diocese, go to www.diosef.org, click on “Newsand events,” “Images and multimedia,” and look in “Diocesan photo galleries.”

Here are a few of the best, chosen by a panel three diocesan communicators: Jim DeLa, Diocese of South-west Florida; Herb Gunn, Diocese of Michigan; and Melodie Woerman, Diocese of Kansas. Thanks to thesejudges for their expert help. ■

Welcoming creatures ...GREATandsmall

Fr. Mario Milian (right) watches as Fr. Roger Tobin, rector of St. Thomas, Coral Gables, carefully feeds thebaby lion that came to be blessed on the Feast of St. Francis.

Feeding baby...

Blessing Mr. Turtle

Kristen Winter, and sons Tommy and Charliemake sure that “Mr. Turtle” (hidden in his box) gets ablessing from Fr. Steve Fregeau at St. Mary’s, Stu-art

Yikes!

Little girl, big pet

A father and daughterwait for their very largepet to be blessed at St.

Joseph’s, BoyntonBeach. Fr. Roger Tobin tries to figure out exactly

how to bless this pet from the Environ-mental Science classroom at St. ThomasSchool.

Peace

Two of the animals blessed at Church of the Ad-vent, Palm City, greet each other in the spirit of St.Francis.

Photo by Georgia Handy

Photo by Thomas Winter

Photo by Aric Ireland

Photos above and center by Cristy Carbajales

14 The Net, October 2009 THENET www.diosef.org Diocese

By Mary W. Cox, editor

Looking for a job in a time of rising unemploy-ment doesn’t necessarily begin with updating a re-sume—sometimes it begins with prayer.

St. Mark the Evangelist, Ft. Lauderdale, andBethesda-by-the-Sea, Palm Beach, have both begunoffering weekly support groups that provide job-seek-ers with practical help in skills like networking andwriting resumes, but also offer spiritual support and acommunity in which those who are looking for workcan share their experiences and find encouragement.

Jim Wells, a member of St. Mark’s with a back-ground in finance, had started a job search supportgroup at his former parish in New York, using skillsand insights he had learned when he was betweenjobs himself.

He began the group at St. Mark’s in late August.The group has been small—six people, at most, Wellssaid at the Oct. 21 session—but the results have beenencouraging.

He emphasizes empowerment, urging job-seekersto figure out what they want, find out which compa-nies offer opportunities for that kind of work, andthen “go for it.”

“Do you want to fill the requirements of someoneelse’s flow chart, or do you want to fulfill your owndreams?” he asks.

One of those attending the Oct. 21 meeting wasNimal, a recent immigrant from Jamaica with a back-ground in computer science. His wife had also partic-ipated in the group, he said, and had recently found ajob in a field she loves, marketing and communica-tions.

The St. Mark’s group “has given me a differentperspective on how to look…how to use my net-work,” Nimal said.

He is currently focusing on freelance web-devel-opment activities for several businesses he discoveredin his networking process, while being the stay-at-home parent for the couple’s six-month-old son.

Wells advises the people in his group to keep net-working notebooks with information on their con-tacts—that’s how Nimal found the companies forwhich he is now freelancing—and always to focus onwork they would love.

“Hiring managers have no defense against enthu-siasm,” he said.

Wells starts every session with prayer, and partici-pants agree that the spiritual focus is essential.

“I never fail to come to one of these meetings thatmy energy doesn’t get picked up,” said Nimal.

Another participant, Laura, who was excited abouthaving found a short-term job with good possibilities,said, “I honestly believe that God gave me this timeoff for a reason…this meeting keeps me focused onmy belief.”

Wells recently offered an evening meeting forpeople who are employed, but looking for change,and has been exchanging emails with one of the per-sons who attended, offering suggestions. He says willoffer the evening meeting again if there is sufficientinterest.

When Bethesda-by-the-Sea announced last springthat the Men of Bethesda (MOB) planned to start ajob-search support group, parishioner Mary JaneRange immediately offered to lead it. Range workedfor more than 20 years in international banking and

had her own executive search firm before retiring toPalm Beach four years ago.

She now meets weekly with a group of from sevento 20 job-seekers, sharing tips on resumes and net-working, and guiding role-playing for interview situa-tions. She has done a webinar on how to use thenetworking site LinkedIn.

Sometimes she meets one-on-one with someonepreparing for an interview.

Members of the group also share information on-line. They’ve become a community for each other,Range said, and have even met a few times when shecouldn’t be there.

“It’s a safe place to come and talk about frustra-tions,” she said. “They’re an enormous help to eachother.”

Not all members of the group are parishioners,Range said; one woman got information about thegroup from her banker.

“I have stories of people who have not been inchurch in years who are now coming to Bethesda be-cause of this group.”

“It’s a lot of work, but these people are in suchpain,” Range said. “It’s been very rewarding for me.”

Nimal, from St. Mark’s, appreciates the opportu-nity to deal with his job search in the context of faith.“It’s important to spend time talking to the One whomakes it happen,” he said. ■

St. Mark’s job-search support group meets onWednesdays from 10 to 11:30 a.m.; for informationcontact Jim Wells, jrwells2@comcast.net. The groupat Bethesda meets on Thursdays at 1:15 p.m.; contactMary Jane Range at mjrange@comcast.net.

Two parishes offer support for job seekers

St. Paul’s, Delray Beach, and its rector, Fr. William “Chip” Stokes, have been awarded a$47,685.00 grant from the Lilly Foundation’s National Clergy Renewal Program for 2010.

The purpose of these grants is to fund sabbatical time for full-time clergy serving in ac-tive parish ministry. Family members are also often included in the grant award and the St.Paul’s grant proposal was intentional in including the full participation of Stokes’ wife,Susan, the parish’s director of Children, Youth and Family Ministries, in the sabbatical.

The Stokes’ sabbatical, which the proposal called, “From Wilderness to Wilderness:Sounds of Silence, Songs of Solitude,” will begin in July of 2010 with their participation inthe Sewanee’s Writers’ Conference at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee.They will return to St. Paul’s for the balance of the summer, and then leave for extendedsabbatical time following Labor Day Weekend.

Their extended sabbatical will take them to the St. Thomas Retreat Center in Cody, WY,where they will explore the concept of centering prayer and have an opportunity to visit Yel-lowstone National Park.

In late September they will journey to Jerusalem, where they will participate in “Ways inthe Wilderness” a course of continuing education offered by St. George’s College, whichwill include journeying into the deserts of Sinai and Egypt while exploring the desert tradi-tion in both the biblical and monastic experiences.

Following “Ways in the Wilderness” they will travel to Ireland, visiting family and ex-ploring family roots on Susan’s side while also engaging in reflection about the CelticChristian tradition and visiting monastic ruins in and around Ardee.

After this, they will travel to the Lake District in England where Chip will considerWordsworth’s conception of “reflection in solitude” and take time to do some creative writ-ing.

They will return to their ministries at St. Paul’s the first weekend of Advent.Throughout the sabbatical, the program at St. Paul’s will offer connections with the

Stokes’s sabbatical experience, including courses on centering prayer; the Desert Fathers;Celtic Christianity and Wordsworth and Recollection in Solitude. ■

Deacon Peter Wallace, member of The Mighty Band of God

The Rev. Peter Wallace, deacon at St. Ambrose, Ft. Laud-erdale, died Oct. 30 at age 76, after sev-eral years of declining health.

Born June 2, 1933, in Buffalo, NY,he attended Vanderbilt University on ascholarship and was a veteran of theKorean War. His ashes are to be interredin Arlington National Cemetery.

As a contractor, he built much of theCity of Plantation, and during the yearshe served as volunteer sexton at St. Am-brose, he built the main altar and organloft at the church.

Wallace served on the board of St.Laurence Chapel, but he was best known in the diocese as aleader in the Cursillo movement—and as the string bass playerin The Mighty Band of God, a group that has led music at Cur-sillo weekends, ultreyas and many diocesan events.

During his preparation for ordination Wallace suffered sev-eral catastrophic heart problems, including a massive strokethat impaired his ability to read, but was eventually able to beordained to the diaconate on Nov. 19, 2005.

Fr. David Peoples, priest-in-charge at St. Ambrose, re-called, “Through hard work and determination Peter regainedmuch of what he lost and served fully as a deacon—with dis-tinction — despite physical limitations.”

Wallace is survived by his wife, Eilene, and two stepsons,Michael and Mark Tibbetts. ■

Obituary

Wallace

Stokes receives Lilly Foundation grant for sabbatical

The Net, December 2009 15THENET

Diocese www.diosef.org

By Christopher Hagman

All baptisms are special. At St. Joseph’s, BoyntonBeach, the Brotherhood of St. Andrew makes bap-tisms extra special: Each newly baptized child re-ceives a hand-made faith chest built by members ofthe Brotherhood.

The chests are filled with gifts—most of them,like the chests, hand-made—from parishioners andministry groups in the parish. Each chest contains aBible, a Christian music CD and age-appropriatebooks. The “Sassy Sewers,” led by Marla Peck, makea personalized quilt for each infant and young toddler.Parishioner Sherry Thomas embroiders a personal-ized burp cloth or towel with a picture of a sheep andthe words, “I’m in God’s Flock” for each baptizedperson. Professional ceramist Sally Antonelli, hand-paints a porcelain cross with the baptized person’sname and date of baptism. Olive Gill crochets a lambfor the babies and toddlers.

In addition to the gifts in the faith chests, parish-ioner Joan Fox creates individual small banners foreach baptized person that attach to a large banner.The large banner is part of the procession at everybaptism, and each January at a family worship serviceall those baptized in the previous year are presentedwith their banners.

Our chapter has been making faith chests for sev-eral years. Although the project is not difficult, it is acommitment of money and time. Throughout the yearour chapter has fund-raisers, like pancake andspaghetti dinners, which raise money to pay for mate-rial costs. Periodically, we order enough pre-cut woodfrom a wholesale cabinet manufacturer in North Car-olina to make about thirty chests. Our chapter buyshardware locally and custom cuts some of the screws.

We are fortunate to have Brothers like Bob Lees,Jeff Nurge and Dennis Paul who have good woodworking skills. They show others what to do or howto assist. Several Brothers work on each faith chest,which takes about two hours to build. Our chapter hasbuilt hundreds of faith chests and has learned fromour mistakes. Now we have a solid system of how tomake them right.

Children’s Minister Dee Zlatic keeps us informedabout the number of upcoming baptisms. Wheneverwe get low on faith chests, I call a working meetingon a Saturday morning—usually at someone’s garage.We start early and work until mid-morning or noon.The working meetings sometimes include bagels andjuice and are excellent fellowship opportunities for

current and new members.St. Joseph’s rector, Fr Marty Zlatic says, “In our

baptismal covenant the congregation promises thatwe will do all in our power to support this person inhis/her life in Christ… The faith chest presentationbecomes a visible sign of our continued support forthis spiritual journey together and enables us to beginmarking the moments of the spiritual milestones thatwe, as a spiritual family, will share together as thatchild continues to grow in wisdom, stature and in theeyes of God.”

It is awesome to give a family a hand-made faithchest that contains gifts that represent so much love

and caring. Through the years our chapter has re-ceived much gratitude and appreciation from familieswho have received faith chests filled with gifts fromvarious ministries. ■

Christopher Hagman is chapter director of theBrotherhood of St. Andrew at St. Joseph’s. This arti-cle is adapted, with additional material from St.Joseph’s Director of Children’s Ministries, DeeZlatic, from one published in the summer 2009 issueof the St. Andrew’s Cross. Since its publication, sev-eral Brotherhood chapters in other states have con-tacted St. Joseph’s chapter about the faith chestproject.

St. Joseph’s and BSA make baptism ‘extra special’Baptismal gifts

Photo by Ric Filer

Brotherhood of St. Andrew members (left to right) Dennis Paul, Bob Lees and Jeff Nurge present faithchests to a family at a baptism service at St. Joseph’s, Boynton Beach.

Thank you, gracias, merci!

Thanks to everyone who has made a donation to TheNet! By the second week of December we had received$4,279 from faithful subscribers—nearly $600 more thanwas received by the end of January this year in response tothe 2008 appeal. In our present economic difficulties, thisrepresents an extraordinary commitment to communicationsministry in our diocese.

Thanks go also to all of you who continue to submit thearticles, photographs and information that make The Networth reading.

— Mary W. Cox, editor

St. Andrew’s, Lake Worth, begins itsfourth annual free lecture series on Sunday,Jan. 3, with a presentation by Dr. NathanKatz on the Dalai Lama.

The evening will begin with a potlucksupper at 5:30 p.m., followed by the lectureat 6:30.

The theme of this year’s series is “TheDynamics of Diversity: An Exploration ofReligious Pluralism.” Subsequent lectures

are set for Saturday evenings--Feb. 6, Mar. 6and April 24—beginning with worship at 6p.m., followed by a potluck supper, then thelecture at 7:30 p.m.

Topics include “Palestinian Judaism inthe First Century: Understanding the SemiticMind of Jesus” (Feb 6); “Sharing the Legacyof Abraham: The Forefather of Judaism,Christianity, and Islam” (Mar. 6) and “Hait-ian Vodou: Its True Face” (April 24).

Parish lecture series will explore religious pluralism

16 The Net, December 2009 THENET www.diosef.org Committed to Mission

Berni Longobardi, a parishioner at St. Andrew’s, Pal-metto Bay, is a five-year breast cancer survivor and anactive member of Miami's first and only all-breast-can-cer-survivor competitive Dragon Boat team, Team SOSMiami.

Save Our Sisters (SOS) is an organization that worksto raise breast cancer awareness and provides both fi-nancial assistance for women who cannot afford mam-mograms, and support and guidance to women battlingthe disease.

Dragon Boat racing is adapted from a Chinese tradi-

tion, and has become a popular sport with breast cancersurvivors not only for its health and fitness benefits, butalso for the friendships and personal empowerment itprovides.

On Oct. 9 about 100 parishioners and friends cameto St. Andrew’s to view a new documentary film pro-duced for WLRN-Channel 17 about the SOS DragonBoat team. Longobardi and several of her teammateswere present for a question-and-answer period after thefilm. Donations were requested for SOS, and the parishraised nearly $900 for the organization’s work. ■

Photo by Joe Longobardi

Ready to race

Team SOS shows off its readiness before a Dragon Boat race in September. Front row, left, is St. Andrew’sparishioner Berni Longobardi.

St. Andrew’s supports workof breast cancer survivors

All Saints leads ecumenical approachto social justice

By Todd Hoover

Four hundred people from 25 churches andtemples gathered at All Saints, Ft. Lauderdale, onNov. 10 for the Broward Organized Leaders DoingJustice (BOLD Justice) Community Problems As-sembly.

All Saints helped found BOLD Justice in 2007,and members of the congregation have joined with1,800 other multi-faith worshippers to bring socialjustice changes to Broward County. Through thepower of people in the pews working together todemand change, BOLD Justice has convincedcounty leaders to provide low-income rental hous-ing; a dental plan for the uninsured; and reforms inthe unemployment claims process. BOLD is a di-rect action agency not a direct service agency.

In the past year, Broward County has funded$2.4 million for the rental units with 350 alreadybuilt and 263 units under construction. Top leadersfrom Nova University, the Hospital Districts andthe American Dental Association partnered to-gether for the first time to finalize opening up den-tal care to the uninsured and low-income residents.The Rev. Rosa Lindahl-Mallow of All Saints andCentro Hispano Todos los Santos chaired this den-tal committee and aggressively pushed these lead-ers to do the right thing; she wouldn’t take no foran answer.

This year BOLD has demanded that the countycommission require Work Force One to fix clericalerrors at the local centers so that unemploymentclaims would be expedited. Over thirty percent ofinitial claims were “flagged”, delayed—for weeksat a time in some cases—to due to clerical errors.Reforms to the claims process literally saved lives:There had been a spike in suicides of laid-offworking men in their 30s, who had never experi-enced a recession and had reached the point of des-peration.

The week before the big action assembly lastspring, the county commissioner responsible forrequesting the change told us the commissionwouldn’t do it. Once he walked into the church andsaw over 1,500 people at the assembly, he immedi-ately said “yes”—and the needed reforms weremade within 30 days.

At the Nov. 10 meeting the members from allthe participating religious organizations voted thatCrime/Community Relations be the issue for 2010.This broad issue will be narrowed down and speci-fied once the newly formed research committee in-vestigates the most pressing need in this area anddevelops a recommendation.

On April 22, 2010, all these people of faith willgather together for the Nehemiah Action Assem-bly, at which they will present the issue, alongwith a workable solution, to county leaders.

For more information on becoming a part ofBOLD Justice or involving your congregationswith ecumenical social justice initiatives in yourcommunity, contact Todd Hoover at todd@all-saintsfl.org.■

Thompson Sunderaj of St. Matthew’s,Miami, gives all the fixings for Thanks-giving dinner to a young woman atBethany Church of the Nazarene inMiami. Parishioners Emilie Young (atright, in the truck) and Janelle Aizpurua(center left, in pink shirt) were part ofthe team that gathered, packed and dis-tributed the food. St. Matthew’s Thanks-giving Basket Outreach ministry is nowin its 18th year; the parish works withGerman Izquierdo, director of the Edi-son Neighborhood Service Center, whoknows where there are families whoneed the food and finds a neighborhoodchurch to host the distribution.

Photo by Karen Jones

Sharing Thanksgiving