The Maryland Church News Online
Spring, 2007: Urban Ministry
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Urban Ministry in the Episcopal Church
From the Office for Ministry Development of the Episcopal Church
BRIDGE the Gap
In a democracy, whether and how citizens participate in government has an ethical and spiritual dimension. Faith and politics cannot be separated, because beliefs affect actions.
For New Americans, MCN print edition page 9
ERICA touches many lives. Here are two stories of hope and generosity.
Calvert County Apostles Build
With the help of the four Calvert County Episcopal Churches, Patuxent Habitat for Humanity has completed its first Apostles Build.
Looking Ahead with Love
Val Hymes, Maryland Church News contributing editor and member of St. James’ Church, Lothian, remembers a special connection with Bishop Ihloff.
Urban Ministry in the Episcopal Church
From the Office for Ministry Development of the Episcopal Church
In speaking about urban ministry in the Episcopal Church, one is reflecting on several perspectives that are informed by the variety of contexts that our urban culture manifests, and the state of mind of the persons engaged in the ministry. Ministry in the city takes place primarily through neighborhood-based congregations that must contend with an increasingly varied demographic reality and, most often, an aging physical plant.
There are also major downtown churches that reflect a metropolitan consciousness and encompass a multi-cultural constituency. There also exist congregations that are based on race and/or ethnicity. All face in common, however, a variety of social issues which impact their members and affect the climate in which the ministry must take place. Read more...
BRIDGE the Gap
By the Rev. Jane Mayrer
In a democracy, whether and how citizens participate in government has an ethical and spiritual dimension. Faith and politics cannot be separated, because beliefs affect actions. Each time we renew our baptismal vows, we pledge that with God's help we will strive for justice and peace among all people, and we will respect the dignity of every human being. That is why voting is a spiritual concern. And that is why there is BRIDGE, a social ministry in Baltimore City.
BRIDGE, or Baltimore Regional Initiative Developing Genuine Equality, is an interfaith organization of some 30 institutions, including the diocese and the Cathedral of the Incarnation, working to “BRIDGE the gap” between rich and poor, urban and suburban and communities. The BRIDGE vision is for all people in Baltimore to be able to live in communities of opportunity, where decent housing is available to people of all income levels, where the streets are safe, where residents have access to living wage jobs, and where the schools provide children with an adequate education. BRIDGE engages in politics; that is, it works with local and state elected officials, to make the vision a reality.
BRIDGE has been instrumental in pursuing that vision. Together with other coalition partners, BRIDGE worked with the Baltimore City Council to establish the Baltimore City Inclusionary Zoning and Housing Task Force. A BRIDGE representative served on that task force. Council Bill 06-0558, introduced before the City Council in December, is based on the recommendations of the task force.
The Inclusionary Housing Bill has two main objectives: (1) to increase resources available to support affordable housing by creating and funding a trust fund using 20 percent of current city transfer taxes and recording fees, and (2) to increase the number of affordable housing units in the city by requiring new development to include a percentage of affordable housing. BRIDGE is now working to see this legislation enacted.
In 2003, General Convention reaffirmed the Episcopal Church's commitment to provide affordable housing for the poor (Resolution No. 2003-D040). Local parishes and interfaith community partnerships were “strongly encouraged” to “address the lack of affordable housing for low- and moderate-income families.” Working with BRIDGE to support passage of the Inclusionary Housing Bill in Baltimore City is one way to make good our Church's commitment. It is one way in which to be faithful to our baptismal covenant.
The Rev. Jane Mayrer is a deacon and chairperson of the BRIDGE Clergy Caucus. She can be reached at 410-664-6081.
BRIDGE Executive Director David Caseycan be reached at 410-542-0395 (BRIDGE office) or 443-857-0831 (cell phone), or via e-mail dchcasey@aol.com.
For New Americans: ERICA touches many lives. Here are two stories of hope and generosity
By Judith Cloughen
Gilberto's story
“My wife and daughter and I came to the U.S. on March 3, 2003. We arrived with a six-month tourist visa from Colombia. I am blind and had been a teacher at the National Institute for the Blind in Colombia. I was interested in coming here because at the time it was a difficult situation in my country.
I wanted to secure work here and believed I could but that took me some time, more than the six months granted through my original visa. To stay meant I needed to pay for the extension. A Peruvian friend living here in Baltimore suggested I visit ERICA and apply for a loan. This was hard in any other place because I had no stability. The people at ERICA looked at my education and the economic situation I had come from and they trusted me. They gave me a $2,000 loan, interest-free. This allowed me and my family to apply for political asylum and we were granted work permits. We were able to find work, which took time.”
Gilberto is now a Vocational Rehabilitation Teacher at the Division of Rehabilitation Services. He earned his MA from the College of Notre Dame, and now is certified to teach English to speakers of other languages (TSOL). As soon as Gilberto got his job, he arranged repayment of his loan and has now paid it off.
Thomas’ story
This is a compelling story about Thomas, who escaped from Liberia after Charles Taylor’s army targeted him for execution. He left his family behind to lie low while he figured out a way to get them to sanctuary in the United States.
In the fall of 2005, the Department of Homeland Security granted visas to allow Thomas’ family to rejoin him here – but there were strings attached. Thomas need $5,000 for airfare, and had only three months to scrape together the money and bring his family to safety; after that, the visas would expire, sending his family to the back of the immigration line, where the wait might be as long as 10 years.
Thomas was desperate. He had saved diligently for the airfares, but had to spend $2,000 for DNA testing to prove paternity of his children – a step required by the State Department when he was unable to produce his children’s school records from the chaotic war zone where they lived. Desperate for cash, Thomas applied for bank loans, and was told his income was too low. With help from ERICA, he applied for a refugee reunification grant from a national foundation, but was told his income was too high.
Time was running out, and Thomas turned to a Liberian “mutual aid” society for a loan that allowed him to buy the plane tickets and get his family to safety – but again, there were strings attached, this time in the form of 60 percent interest on the loan. To bail him out, ERICA found donors who contributed enough to repay the loan, before the loan payments ballooned from the usurious interest rate.
The final $100 came from fellow immigrant, a Nigerian who was expecting to be deported any day. When he learned of Thomas’ plight, he said he would like to help a family that could stay, and he left $100 in cash at the front desk of the Diocesan Center, in an ATM envelope marked “for the Liberian family.” No one ever heard from the anonymous donor again. When Thomas learned of all the donors who had come to his aid, he was quiet, but jubilant, and said simply, “Thanks be to God!”
Calvert County Apostles Build
By Nancy Favor
“I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move.” Mt. 17:20
With the help of the four Calvert County Episcopal Churches – All Saints’ Church, Sunderland; Christ Church Parish, Port Republic; Parish of Middleham & St. Peter’s, Lusby and Solomons; and St. Paul’s Parish, Prince Frederick – Patuxent Habitat for Humanity has completed its first Apostles Build.
An “Apostles Build” is a name given to a Habitat project where 12 churches come together to provide the funds and labor to build a house. The name refers to serving and leading as the apostles of Jesus served and led.
The first thoughts of being a part of this were met with reluctance. Each church had reservations about a commitment, wondering how they could participate with their busy schedules and struggles to support their own church needs. Monthly meetings with other churches and an ecumenical fund-raising dinner opened eyes to ways they could show God’s love to a family that so desperately needed a decent home.
One by one each church was able to provide support, more than they ever imagined. Through prayer and faith, even “as small as a mustard seed,” these churches were able to participate in a community project that would provide an opportunity for a family to own a simple, decent home.
It was a huge accomplishment.. From basket bingo fund-raisers to alms offerings, alternative giving fairs, in-kind donations and individual cash donations, the resources came together. Youth groups put lunches together and volunteers worked many extra hours to get this family moved into their home by Thanksgiving.
At the house dedication ceremony, the Rev. Julie Wizorek, rector of St. Paul’s Parish, blessed the Bible that was presented to the partner family. The now-homeowner, Jerri Reed, gave her thanks and with a lump in her throat told how much she appreciated everyone’s kindness and generosity toward her and her children. Reed and her 12-year-old son, Wesley, no longer have to carry 7-year-old Jason, who has special needs, to a basement apartment to go to bed.
It has been a good experience for church groups to reach out to the community and help people change their lives. We thank God for the love and power that inspired them to lend a helping hand and show their compassion for somebody less fortunate.
Patuxent Habitat for Humanity serves Calvert and St. Mary’s Counties. Watch for the next Apostles Build to be in St. Mary’s county.
Nancy Favor is the church relations coordinator for Patuxent Habitat for Humanity and chairperson of the Calvert Apostles Build. She is a member of Middleham & St. Peter’s in Lusby.
Thinking of volunteering for Habitat for Humanity? Here is what a typical workday entails...
For a volunteer, the typical workday can vary considerably, depending on what phase of construction one is in, but in general a group of volunteers meets at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning and, following a brief prayer, the house leader describes the work for the day. If necessary, the tasks to be completed will be demonstrated, and the appropriate and safe use of tools will be taught. Work in the morning runs until around noon when there is (usually) a one-hour lunch break. Work continues until around 3 p.m. when the house is “cleaned up” tools and materials are returned to the Habitat warehouse and work ending by 4 p.m.
Volunteers work alongside the future homeowners, who are required to put in 330 or more “sweat equity” hours on their own or someone else’s house. Church members are generally asked to sign up to work one Saturday a month for the duration of a project which, depending on the size and condition of the house and the skill of the workers, can last from six to12 months or more.
– Sarah Stevens-Rayburn
Rebuilding St. Peter's Organ
By Thomas G. Hesson
Although, the fruits of my labor are visible and audible to everyone, more important to me than the rebuilt organ, is the faith that I built while doing it. For the last 35 years of my life, I have been an organ technician. My entire career has been spent repairing organs, not building them out of parts and scraps from other organs. To a true organ builder, the fact that I was successful in building an instrument that looks and sounds as wonderful as this one does, would surely be called dumb luck. I think of it more as divine intervention.
Before starting this organ-rebuilding project, the circa 1940 3-rank Wicks organ was enclosed in a rather ugly wooden box. Above the organ was an old warehouse-style heater that had ceased to work many years ago. But, the copper water pipes for that heater were still there and the water was still in the system. This was a disaster waiting to happen. If those pipes were to burst, the water from the heater would have ruined the already ailing organ.
On Thanksgiving Day 2005, the ailing organ developed a problem that forced it to be shut down. As I attempted to repair the problem, I found that I would literally have to tear the entire instrument apart, just to do a patch job. After many minimum repairs on this organ, I submitted a proposal to completely rebuild the organ and make additions that would improve the sound and appearance of the instrument. The proposal was accepted, and I began the rebuild project on Dec. 26, 2005. The organ was ready for its debut on this January. However, final work will continue on the console and the pipe cases for the next year.
Leap of faith
When I began to build the wooden case for this organ, I had not taken into account the cost of wood. That, along with some other problems that I was encountering, caused me to panic slightly. One night while I was in the church working, I took a few minutes and knelt down at the altar. I poured out my problems to God and begged for help, then went back to work.
A few days later some of the choir members and I were discussing the layout of the choir loft. We proposed removing the pews and making the tri-level floor flat. This would allow us to move chairs and the organ console around as needed. When the question came up about what we should do with the pews, the answer was get rid of them. The light went on and I said, “This is an answer to my prayers. I had asked God to help me and what do you know…here’s the wood that I needed.”
Throughout the process, I encountered problem after problem. Each time I hit an obstacle, I set that part of the project aside, prayed about it, and went on to another part of the rebuild. Sometimes the prayers were answered quickly while others took several weeks. And, sometimes the answer was no.
After proclaiming the many miracles that he has granted me, one week before the organ dedication recital, I was faced with a devastating problem. While guest organist Nancy Stavely was practicing for the recital, a major problem occurred. I worked and prayed into the night but was no closer to solving the problem. I knew what was NOT causing all of the pipes on the organ to play at the same time, as if I was laying down across the keyboards.
My faith was being tested, but I was too pre-occupied with this organ problem to realize that all I had to do was wait for the answer. If God wanted this recital to happen on Jan. 14, he would supply me with the answers and the parts to repair the problem. I didn’t sleep well that night but that could have been avoided if I had only trusted my faith.
The next morning, I made a call to a technician who was able to give me some ideas. I went to the church that night and within a half-hour I was able to correct the problem. I think God just wanted to remind me how much he helped. He succeeded!
When in our music God is glorified, let every instrument be tuned for praise. Alleluia! On Jan. 14 the organ was dedicated to the Glory of God and to all who praise him through the ministry of music.
Thomas Hesson is a professional organ repairman and member of St. Peter’s Church.
Bob Ihloff: Looking Ahead with Love
Val Hymes, Maryland Church News contributing editor and member of St. James’ Church, Lothian, remembers a special connection with Bishop Ihloff.
On one of his visitations to St. James' Parish, Lothian, Bishop Ihloff wore a chasuble and stole decorated with grapevines. I admired them and asked where they were made. He replied, "In Mendham, NJ." In that moment I realized that I had come full circle -- from a 12-year-old sent off during World War II to St. John Baptist Episcopal boarding school in Mendham, NJ, all the way to the Diocese of Maryland and a bishop with ties to my old school.
The school, run by the sisters of the Community of St. John Baptist, had become my home, the place I happily returned to three more times until I graduated. Bishop Ihloff had been there too -- he celebrated the Eucharist at and visited the convent many times.
The fact that my bishop had been to my little school told me I had come to the right place -- the right parish and the right bishop in the right diocese.
Published quarterly, the Maryland Church News is a resource for Episcopalians throughout the diocese with messages from the bishops on current events and mission-specific issues, diocesan and parish news, features, information and events. It is a vital tool that mirrors where we are as a church and how we witness to our community, and provides an in-depth analysis of our mission.