Diocese of New Jersey | Bishop Councell

A Prayer of Evelyn Underhill, Spiritual Writer (1875-1941)

For Wholeness

O Lord, penetrate those murky corners
where we hide memories and tendencies
on which we do not care to look,
but which we will not disinter
and yield freely up to you,
that you may purify and transmute them:
the persistent buried grudge,
the half-acknowledged enmity
which is still smoldering;
the bitterness of that loss
we have not turned into sacrifice;
the private comfort we cling to;
the secret fear of failure which saps our initiative
and really is inverted pride;
the pessimism which is an insult to your joy, Lord;
we bring all these to you,
and we review them with shame and penitence
in your steadfast light.

John 10:10 Tour — Lookin' for Life in All the Right Churches.
I was pleased to make my first official visitation to Holy Trinity, Collingswood on May 29th. As it happened, my visit fell on the day after a grand street fair in Collingswood. Holy Trinity's Rector, Mark Chattin, and parish leaders had worked very hard all day serving strawberry shortcake and bottles of water as a fund-raising effort. Then the Bishop showed up the next morning. Nevertheless, the Vestry and I had coffee and a good conversation together. I then visited with a wonderful group of Confirmands. The worship was lovely and uplifting, including a wonderful offering by the Bell Choir. I was presented with a purple baseball cap emblazoned with a Holy Spirit Dove (not a Yankees' logo!) and an invitation to attend a Camden Riversharks baseball game. A great acolyte team served that day, including a liturgical leap by one of the torchbearers!

After a trip to Evanston, Illinois, to attend a Board Meeting and Commencement for Seabury Western Theological Seminary, I returned to New Jersey for a couple of wonderful celebrations on Saturday, June 4th. It was my privilege to celebrate and preach at a festival Eucharist in thanksgiving for the 175th anniversary of the founding of St. Paul's Church in Camden. I was grateful to see so many clergy and members of neighboring parishes and to learn of their support for the outreach ministries of St. Paul's. This is one congregation that has "opened the doors of the church" to all people. In a city that is often described as one of the poorest and most dangerous in our nation, in circumstances that are akin to those in developing nations of the world, St. Paul's and their Rector, Martin Gutwein, carry on faithful ministries and care and compassion, in the name of Jesus and in the power of his love.

That afternoon, at Trinity Cathedral in Trenton, it was my delight and privilege to install the following members of the Senior Staff of our Diocese as Canons of our Diocese: the Reverend Lee Powers; the Reverend Elizabeth Geitz; the Reverend Tom Kerr; Wanda Greene; Cynthia McFarland; and Kep Short. The Reverend Martin Gutwein was also installed as an Honorary Canon of the Cathedral. The Cathedral Choir went above and beyond and led our praise and thanksgiving. Ann Notte and Sarah Paige arranged for a lavish and festive reception.

I made a visit to The Church of the Holy Spirit in Lebanon on June 5th. A beautiful and creative Liturgy was enriched by a wide spectrum of styles of music – including a piece on which the Rev. Phil Carr-Jones and I played drums. Great fun!

Christ Church, Woodbury welcomed their new Rector, the Rev. Brian K. Burgess and his family at the Celebration of a New Ministry on the Feast of St. Columba, June 9. A very full church was filled with joy and thanksgiving as we worshipped in the beauty of holiness. It is one of the greatest of joys in "bishopping" to share in these celebrations. A glorious reception followed and I recalled the advice that I received at the College for New Bishops: "Watch out for the sheet cakes!" What a wonderful night.

On St. Barnabas' Day a very large and very warm (!) congregation assembled at our Cathedral to rejoice in the ordination of four transitional deacons and six vocational deacons. We heard a very fine and very challenging sermon by the Reverend Thomas Breidenthal, Dean of Religious Life at Princeton University. A splendid choir lifted our praises higher and higher and, as always, Dean Nancekivell and the Cathedral staff and members were most gracious hosts.

St Peter's, Perth Amboy

Pray for Valerie Balling, Sheelagh Clarke, Cipher Devours, Martha Dooley, Catherine Esposito, Carol Gilbert, Blake Hutson, Donald Krautter, Theodore Moore and Deborah Piggins, that their ministry as Deacons may give Glory to our God and inspire us all to be a Servant Church for the sake of the world that God so loves.

On June 12th I took a historic journey from our oldest to our second oldest parish. I began that morning in Perth Amboy, where the first Anglican service was held in 1685, 100 years before the founding of the Diocese of New Jersey and 130 years before John Croes (ancestor of Rod Croes, now in his 29th year as Rector of St. Peter's) was elected the first Bishop of New Jersey. In 1698, the Reverend Edward Portlock, first Rector of St. Peter's, conducted services in neighboring Woodbridge, which led to the founding of Trinity Church.

Trinity, Woodbridge: interior

This outreach preceded by four years the arrival of the Reverend George Keith, missionary of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, who, along with the Reverend John Talbot, conducted the first services in Burlington, leading to the organization of St. Mary's, in 1702.

St. Peter's was in great form. We had glorious music and a large congregation and a splendid reception. I received a baseball cap (with a huge "P", for St. Peter's; not a Yankees' cap, to my great relief) along with parish t-shirts for my wife and for me, which were gifts of the youth group.

From there I drove to Woodbridge, wondering how long it took the Reverend Mr. Portlock, 307 years ago. There I greeted another very full church and a great class of Confirmands. The Confirmands wrote a psalm, the verses of which were placed in a ceramic jar, marked "Prayers," that now sits on the mantle in my office. A favorite verse: "The holy flame of God will keep the faithful warm." Amen. My "cousin" (as I call him), Bob Counselman, will celebrate his 25th year as Rector of Trinity, next January.

The Millennium Development Goals
The Millennium Development Goals are a set of eight goals to reduce human suffering across the globe. In September 2000, the United Nations, non-governmental organizations, the World Bank Group, and 189 governments (including the United States) pledged to accomplish these goals by 2015:

Eradicate extreme hunger and poverty
Achieve universal primary education
Promote gender equality and empower women
Reduce child mortality
Improve maternal health
Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases
Ensure environmental sustainability
Develop a global partnership for development

Included in the UN Millennium Declaration: We will spare no effort to free our fellow men, women, and children from the abject and dehumanizing conditions of extreme poverty.

Our 220th Diocesan Convention, meeting in 2004, adopted a resolution of support of the Millennium Development Goals. The resolution endorsed the designation of 0.7% of our diocesan budget for international outreach efforts to achieve these goals and encouraged all congregations of our diocese to designate 0.7% of their budgets for such international outreach efforts. I was deeply gratified that the 221st Convention adopted a budget for 2005 that included nearly $20,000 for outreach efforts in support of the MDGs.

I commend to everyone the organization Episcopalians for Global Reconciliation, Zero Garden Street, Cambridge, MA 02138. Please visit their web site: episcopalglobalreconciliation.org. I encourage everyone to join EGR and to join in this prayer for the work of EGR:

Most loving God,

As your desire for mercy for the poor is unrelenting, may we be unrelenting in our pursuit of mercy for all;

As your compassion for the suffering of the poor knows no limit, may our hearts overflow with compassion for all;
As you long for justice for the poor, may we strive for justice for all.

Forgive our meager faith that doubts your providence and bounty, and our abiding neglect of your Son in the poor and needy of the world;

Open our eyes to the structures of oppression from which we benefit, and give us courage to accept our responsibility, wisdom to chart a sound course amid complexity, and perseverance to continue our work until it is thoroughly finished;

Breathe your life-giving Spirit afresh into your Church to free us from apathy and indifference, and so bless and direct our endeavors that we may be agents of your mercy, compassion, and justice, to the end that new life and hope may abound and your Name be praised in every place; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Recently Read:
Understanding the Windsor Report: Two Leaders in the American Church Speak Across the Divide, by Ian T. Douglas and Paul F. M. Zahl. These two brothers really show us the reality of the "Divide" and the bonds of affection that bind them together. Good reading for the understanding the Windsor Report and in preparation for our diocesan clergy conference next fall (October 16-18) with Bishop Mark Dyer.

Reading:
Fireweed Evangelism, by the Reverend Canon Elizabeth Geitz. In a future blog I will review this wonderfully practical guide for evangelism in a pluralistic world.

Waiting to be Read:
Why Study the Past? The Quest for the Historical Church, by Rowan Williams. Healing God's Creation, compiled by Archdeacon Taimalelagi Fagamalama Tuatagaloa-Matalavea; edited by the Reverend Canon Jeffrey Mark Golliher.

This week, on the episcopal CD changer:

The Way Up (68:10), by the Pat Metheny Group: An amazing jazz symphony.

Motets of Guillaume de Machaut, by the Hilliard Ensemble: Fourteenth-century motets of such beauty that they pierce the heart.

Haunted Heart, by Renee Fleming: A great voice singing great love songs.

Nebraska, by Bruce Springsteen: Recorded in '82 and still a great album. "At the end of every hard earned day people find some reason to believe." Yeah.

I Feel Like Goin' On, by Ronnie Earl – Blues and Gospel: "Through floods and storms / whether people do me right or wrong / I'm not always strong/but still I feel yes, I do like goin' on."

Bare, by Annie Lennox: Two years after its release, it's still "Wonderful."

New Jersey, nearly two years after moving here — it's still wonderful, too.

Right Onward!

+George

The Right Reverend George Edward Councell
XI Bishop of New Jersey