Bishop Smith's E-pistle for July 1
| The Rt. Rev. Kirk S. Smith Bishop of ArizonaIt seems that everywhere we turn, the economic news is grim: record prices for gasoline, a real estate market that has lost 30% in Arizona, increasing work layoffs, talk of world-wide market collapse.
Continued at: http://www.azdiocese.org/dfc/newsdetail_2/383
| Blogging from Lambeth Conference | Want to travel to Lambeth with the Bishop and Laura Smith? They will be traveling to the Lambeth Conference in Canterbury, England from July 10 to Aug. 4. You can do so electronically by checking in frequently to the special website www.lambethdaily.blogspot.com. Here Bishop Smith will post daily impressions (and some pictures we hope) of the conference. Look for the first entries beginning July 11th. | American Girl club to start | Greta Huls Communication's Officer
PHOENIX - Please join St. Stephen's, Phoenix as they form an American Girl Club for people of all ages. The first organizational meeting on Saturday, July 12 will begin with a potluck breakfast before they go to see the new American Girl G-rated movie "Kit Kittredge" (www.kitkittredge.com) at a local theater.
Proposed activities include reading, cooking, field trips, an overnight lock-in, doll first aid, customized dolls, and guest speakers. We hope to meet every 1-3 months, depending on the interest.
Attendees do not need to have an American Girl (www.americangirl.com) doll to attend, just an interest in history and a willingness to join in the fun.
Please contact Greta at either 480-946-7861 or ghuls@amug.org or St. Stephen's at 602-840-0437. On the Net: http://azdiocese.org/events/79
| News from Chapel Rock | Dave White Chapel Rock Executive Director
Full SessionsAll four sessions of W.I.L.D. (Wilderness Introduction to Leadership Development) are full. Our week for middle school/junior high kids, July 6-12, is nearly full. Prayer Needed We would greatly appreciate your prayers for safety and the success of our ministry during the next five weeks. Please consider adding Chapel Rock to the Prayers of the People. Send a Letter Kids really enjoy getting mail at camp, and a letter from their pastor, youth leader, or Sunday School teacher would be a way of letting them know you are thinking of them as they grow in their faith. Consider dropping them a note-if you mail it early in the week, we should get it in time. The address is: Camper Name Chapel Rock 1131 Country Club Dr. Prescott, AZ 86303
Scholarship Help Needed Thanks to the generosity of parishes and individuals from around the Diocese, we have been able to award nearly $10,000 in camp scholarships to deserving kids. We have at least 20 more potential campers waiting. If your parish or any individuals in your parish would like to help meet this need, please have them contact me or go to our website ( www.chapelrock.net) to contribute. | Heat relief maps available online | Lita Johnson Arizona Ecumenical CouncilWe are in triple digit weather. Survival for those living on the streets, in homes without refrigeration, for the disabled and elderly is at a crisis level. The need for hydration and refuge is immediate. A bottle of water can save a life! Now is the time to organize water drives and continue them throughout the summer! Continued at: http://azdiocese.org/dfc/newsdetail_2/358 | ERD responds to Iowa flooding | ERD - Episcopal Relief and Development ( www.er-d.org) is providing emergency assistance to communities devastated by ongoing flooding in Iowa. So far the flood waters are responsible for the deaths of five people, the displacement of 38,000 others and have inflicted up to $1 billion in damage to Iowa's agricultural sector. The damage to infrastructure is severe. Across eastern Iowa, the flooding rivers have washed out railroad lines, halted barge traffic on the Mississippi River and closed major roadways. Twenty-four counties have been declared disaster areas to date. More rain is expected in the region and officials fear that flood waters will breech 27 levees along the Mississippi River in Iowa and Missouri later this week. Working with its partner the Episcopal Diocese of Iowa, ERD is providing emergency assistance to people who have been displaced from their homes. Families will be given temporary shelter and provided with food, clothing, first aid and other basic necessities. Full story: http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_97952_ENG_HTM.htm | Alleluia Fund benefits missions | Remember Arizona's Alleluia Fund. It builds new churches and supports new growth initiatives in existing churches! Your contribution of money, stocks, or land will make a vital difference. For more information, contact Carol D. Maher at either (623) 455-9515 or alleluiafund@azdiocese.org.
You can also support the Alleluia Fund by purchasing items from our CafePress store. | A Final Thought | | The rhetoric from the recent GAFCON conference of ultra-conservative Anglicans in Jerusalem was about what was to be expected. Although the group did not go so far as to formally separate themselves from the rest of the Anglican Communion, they vowed to make life miserable for those who don't agree with them by continuing to interfere in the internal affairs of other provinces. You can read their statements, and well as the response of the Archbishop of Canterbury at www.episcopalcafe.com. The statement from our own Presiding Bishop sums up the situation succinctly: "Much of the Anglican world must be lamenting the latest emission from GAFCON. Anglicanism has always been broader than some find comfortable. This statement does not represent the end of Anglicanism, merely another chapter in a centuries-old struggle for dominance by those who consider themselves the only true believers. Anglicans will continue to worship God in their churches, serve the hungry and needy in their communities, and build missional relationships with others across the globe, despite the desire of a few leaders to narrow the influence of the gospel. We look forward to the opportunities of the Lambeth Conference for constructive conversation, inspired prayer, and relational encounters.
"It remains to be seen how these latest actions will affect the gathering at Lambeth. My guess is, not much, since most of the participants have already announced that they are boycotting that gathering. How sad it is that when Africa is imploding under the stress of poverty, hunger, political corruption and HIV/Aids, so many of its bishops can find nothing better to do than to attack the doctrinal purity of the relatively tiny American and Canadian Episcopal Churches."
+Kirk | | To the best of my knowledge, every single church, mission, and preaching station within the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona now has (at least) a very basic website. Please go to www.azdiocese.org/map/list.html and check your church's website and its posted information and let me know of any changes that need to be made. Peace, Greta Huls Communications Officer Episcopal Diocese of Arizona | | | |