St. Luke's, Altoona, to Host AIDS Candlelight Memorial

St. Luke's, Altoona, will host an AIDS candlelight memorial service on Sunday, May 17. The event will begin with a short neighborhood walk commencing at 5:00 p.m. with a short service of rememberance to begin at 6:00p.m. All are invited to attend.

The International AIDS Candlelight Memorial, a program of the Global Health Council, is one of the oldest and largest grassroots mobilization campaigns for HIV/AIDS awareness in the world. Started in 1983, the Candlelight Memorial takes place every third Sunday in May and is led by a coalition of some 1,200 community organizations in 115 countries hosting local memorials that honor the lost and raise social consciousness about the disease. The Candlelight is also much more than just a memorial. It provides opportunities for leadership development, policy advocacy, partnerships, and improvement of community mobilization skills. With 33 million people living with HIV today, the Candlelight continues to serve as an important intervention for global solidarity, breaking down barriers, and giving hope to new generations.

Diocese Responds to Northern Michigan Episcopal Election

Editor's Note:
The Diocese of Northern Michigan - comprised of 27 parishes - recently elected the Rev. Thew Forrester as their new bishop. Under the canons of the Episcopal Church, the election of any bishop must be ratified by both the bishops and standing committees of the various other dioceses. For an election to be valid, the majority of each group must "consent" to the election.

The Standing Commitee of our Diocese recently issued its consent to the election in Northern Michigan. Bishop Baxter has chosen not to give his consent to that election. He has released the following explanation of the reasoning behind his choice not to consent to the election.

Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I want to share with our Diocese my decision not to give my consent to the election and consecration of the bishop-elect of Northern Michigan. The Standing Committee, after much consideration, has voted in the majority to give its consent, and I do respect their decision..

My principal reasons for withholding consent have to do with what I feel is needed to be a bishop for the whole Church, in serving both as a symbol of unity and a model of theological clarity about the fundamental faith or core doctrine of the Church. Having read the Bishop-elect’s sermons and his letters of explanation regarding regular use of liturgical innovations, I am further concerned that he does not model appropriately for the Church, especially at this time of strains within the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion.

I have no concern that the bishop-elect is a good person and, as a priest, may have served meaningfully in the culture and values of his diocese, including the pioneering work of Total Ministry in Northern Michigan. However, the liturgies of the Book of Common Prayer, particularly the Eucharist and Baptismal liturgies, represent not just approved ceremonies, but the core theology and Christology of the Episcopal Church. That his spiritual practice includes Zen Buddhist meditation may not be a matter of major doctrinal concern; except that, even as he explains its modesty of importance (i.e. not an ordination), a ceremony of inclusion in a Buddhist community is not a helpful model of essential commitment to Jesus Christ. My greatest concern is that his sense or understanding of the trinity lacks an appreciation of the essential atoning and incarnate role of Jesus. Salvation seems more about self-enlightenment and a resulting union with God. Our liturgies are consistent and clear about the core doctrinal understanding of sin, atonement, and the centrality of Jesus in the salvation act of God.

I have personally hosted the Dali Lama and other Buddhist leaders on many occasions. I have a great respect and affection, especially for the Dali Lama, regarding spiritual integrity, moral philosophies and openness to interfaith sharing. And like yoga, Buddhist spiritual exercises can be easily adaptable to Christian practice and entered into without theological intent. However, there are clear distinctions between Buddhist a-theistic philosophy as a path to salvation and the Christian understanding and commitment to a Christ-centered path to salvation. The Bishop-elect's adaptations of liturgies, hermeneutical and theological interpretations, as I have read them, do not make a clear commitment to the core doctrines and liturgical discipline of the Episcopal Church as broadly expressed in the Book of Common Prayer.

I hasten to say that I do not question either his journey, nor the respect that many have for him and his ministry, nor that he wishes to be a part of the Episcopal Church. Many notable clergy and lay leaders have been creatively eclectic in their spirituality, and theologically experimental in their liturgical expressions. In some examples, their experiences have proven inspirational for others in the Church. Other times it leads to a kind of religious Gnosticism or liturgical individualism. Exactly where that line may be is a matter between those persons and their pastoral or spiritual overseers. (Thomas Merton, the most notable example offered in support of the Bishop-Elect, encountered such a call to accountability in the core values of his community. He did reluctantly submit to the discipline of his order when it was felt that his sincere experiments were distracting from the community’s core commitments. He writes about the difficulty and ultimate benefit he found in such submission.) However, my essential concern is for the lack of demonstrated commitment necessary for one to be a clear symbol of unity and a guardian of the core doctrine and discipline of the whole Church. What ever liberties may be afforded in other orders of ministry, these are among the most unique expressions of a bishop’s vows, ministry and vocation.

One of the core qualities of Anglicanism is its ability to endure tensions. While I am sure that some of my colleagues in the House of Bishops will differ with me, I hope this note will help clarify the reasoning behind my decision to withhold my consent.

Faithfully,
†Nathan

St. Benedict's Celebrates Five Years
The congregation at St. Benedict's, New Freedom, celebrated their five years of worshipping together at a Eucarist on March 1. Participating in the liturgy were (l. to r.) Lay minister Jeannie Bowen, retired Bishop Michael Creighton, Canon Joseph Seville, the Rev. Fred Stevenson, and Deacon Patrick Strohl.

Bishops Begin Lent
Four bishops with ministries in Central Pennsylvania gathered on February 25 to observe Ash Wednesday at St. Stephen's Cathedral. They are (left to right) retired Bishop Michael Creighton, Diocesan Bishop Nathan Baxter, retired Bishop Charlie McNutt, and retired Bishop Robert Rowely (Maryland), who is currently Bishop in Residence at St. Andrew's, York.

Clergy Gather for Annual Conference
Diocesan clergy met with Bishop Baxter and two specially invited guests for two days of fellowship and discovery at the annual Clergy Conference in early February at Precious Blood Retreat Center in Lancaster County. Pictured at left, Bishop Baxter with one of two speakers. Dr Charles Ferguson. Dr. Ferguson is the Presiding Bishop's assistant for ecumenical affairs.

St. Luke's, Mechanicsburg, and Uganda's Masereka Clinic

Three parishioners from St. Luke’s, Mechanicsburg, renewed their congregation’s relationship with the Bishop Masereka Clinic in Kasese, Uganda, during a two-week trip to Uganda last month. Elizabeth Singer, Jim Ellison, and Val Bugosh traveled to Kasese to assess progress at the facility, meet the many students whose school tuition the congregation supports, and assist in the clinic’s efforts among those in the area who are sick or who suffer from HIV-AIDS. After arriving in Entebbe and spending a couple of days there, the trio traveled to Kasese to begin their work.

Jim Ellison was a second-time visitor to the clinic, having visited there three years ago, when St. Luke’s involvement was just beginning. Conditions then were primitive, lacking even the most basic supplies and equipment. Today, there are beds for most of the patients, and most of these include the mosquito netting that is essential to prevent the spread of malaria. A solar panel helps provide backup electricity during all-too-frequent power outages. Most importantly, the clinic now has effective laboratory equipment that is housed in a climate-controlled room. In an area where the nearest “hospital” is seven kilometers away—and where it is a seven-hour drive to the only hospital that might meet western medical standards—this facility is an essential element of a facility that provides assistance 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Most of the funds for these improvements came from the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania, and most of that contribution came from the people at St. Luke’s.

If things at the clinic have improved, they are still far from even adequate by western standards. Kasese is a city of roughly 50,000, and there are several clinics. Still, there is no shortage of patients. There is no running water, and basic hygiene is only an academic concept. But the scope of the illnesses that the clinic confronts renders these niceties moot. One does what one can do with what one has, and there is always hope that things will improve tomorrow.

Over the past three years, the people of St. Luke’s have sent three teams of physicians to assist in the clinic, each for a period of about two weeks. Val Bugosh is a registered nurse with a Masters degree in nursing education, and a member of the faculty at Harrisburg Area Community College. One of her hopes in making this trip was that she could help teach and care for patients at the clinic. That proved a daunting process for reasons both practical and cultural. How can you teach the importance of timely triage of critically ill patients in a culture whose concept of the importance of time is so different from ours? Elizabeth Singer summed it up by quoting a Dutch emigre whom they met. Describing his Ugandan counterparts, he said, “We have watches; they have time.” And in a world where the sick just keep coming, caregivers seem to value any single life differently. It’s a difficult concept for Americans, yet the clinic’s accomplishments remain remarkable, even by our standards.

And then there are the orphans. They are the children whose parents have died of AIDS. They go to school only if someone else can pay their tuition. Education is not free in Uganda. The Masereka Foundation has sought tuition funds from abroad, and the people of St. Luke’s have been supporting 43 such children. The congregation will add support for 25 more soon. In total, the Foundation provides tuition for 500 children; another 700 are on a waiting list. But there are 21,000 orphans in need of education.

The trio from Central Pennsylvania visited two area schools. Conditions are primitive. Commented Elizabeth, “The school in Little House on the Prairie would be luxurious by comparison.” Students sit on ancient benches in front of desks that are little more than a board set atop a support. Yet school is where hope is. The sign on the schoolhouse wall says it all: “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance.”

While the clinic has made huge progress over the past few years, there is more to do, and the folks from St. Luke’s intend to be part of that effort. Their first commitment: raise $2,500 to purchase 500 additional mosquito nets for beds in the clinic. After that, there is a commitment to begin collecting the $40,000 or so that it will take to equip the clinic with its own operating room. When even primitive surgical facilities are miles away, an on-site capability makes sense.

The clinic’s long-term goal is to relocate from the rented land they currently occupy to a new parcel that the Foundation has purchased nearby. Such a move would provide room for further expansion, while also reducing monthly operating costs. It’s an ambitious goal, but the clinic is now an essential part of the area’s health care.

Trinity, Williamsport, Pitches In

Trinity, Williamsport, parishioners Abby Walker, left, and Mary Ann Novak, right, at a January Habitat for Humanity work session

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