 St Alban’s Episcopal Church Bolivar, Missouri Saturday, July 9, 2022 Ryan’s ordination exams General Convention News  Ryan’s ordination exams You may know that Episcopalians in the process towards ordination are required to do studies in all the “canonical” areas, including Scripture, theology, liturgy and worship, Episcopal policy and governance. Ryan, who already graduated with his Master of Divinity from Duke, was required to do some specifically Episcopal studies. Since our diocese, as opposed to nearly all other dioceses, does not ask students who have participated in the “local” classes (if Topeka, Kansas is local!) to take the national General Ordination Exams, it has its own. Ryan has his set of questions, and he is expected to write comprehensive essay responses to them, using whatever resources he wishes, over a period of couple weeks. Because he is working for his father during the week and helping with children, he is completing them this weekend. We will see him back when this work is done. I ask your prayers for him as he works, so that his anxiety is low and his energy is adequate to the task.  Delegates to this year’s General Convention from the Diocese of West Missouri – Summary of Day 1 at GC 2022(largely borrowed from the report by the rector of St Mary’s, KC- the Rev. Charles Everson)As you know, the Convention has been shortened due to the risks of COVID, and far fewer people are there than usual. Participants are asked to test every morning at their hotels before joining the group, and everyone us masked. The Eucharist was celebrated in each “house” separately: the elected delegates and the bishops, so that the risk of passing the virus from one group to the other was lessened. But then, as they began to work, there was a widespread wi-fi outage, so no one could deliberate or vote for a period of time. The House of Bishops approved a resolution including the Rt Rev. Barbara Harris, our first ordained woman bishop, in our calendar of saints. The decision was made to put the focus on the event of her consecration itself – which we will begin to celebrate on February 11 – assuming the House of Deputies concurs. Another important resolution that passed unanimously involves requiring a historic audit on the financial and all other assets of the Episcopal Church that are directly tied to the enslavement of humans, the slave trade, and historical and current racial injustices. in order that we can tell the whole story of our history. Charles remarked that “I’ve become aware that we need to have this conversation at St Mary’s. Mary Troost donated the land and most of the money for our building, and much of those funds were likely earned off the back of slave labor at her husband’s plantation. This is work we need to do, no matter how uncomfortable it is.” |
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