Episcopal Diocese of Albany - Priests and Deacons Update

Business Office: 68 South Swan Street - Albany, NY 12210 - (518) 465-4737
Christ the King Spiritual Life Center: 575 Burton Road - Greenwich, NY 12834 - (518) 692-9550

Friday, March 7, 2008

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I arrived at Camp Allen, Texas, yesterday afternoon, in preparation for the Spring House of Bishops Meeting which begins today. I would ask you to please keep me and all the members of the House of Bishops in your prayers this coming week. In my prayers this morning, the Lord brought the following passage from 1 Peter 5 to mind:

“God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore,
under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety
on Him because He cares for you. Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil
prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing
firm in the faith.”

May the Holy Spirit manifest Himself in a mighty way during this gathering, touching and transforming the hearts, minds and souls of every bishop here, guiding and leading us in all that is said and done, that it will be in accordance with His will, and to His honor and glory and the benefit of His Church and people. Come Holy Spirit! Come now and come with power to cleanse and redeem your Church. We need you Lord Jesus. Amen.

As usual I am far behind on my written correspondence with all of you, and for that I apologize. Rather than go back and try to catch up on all that I would like to have shared over the past couple of months while I was on the road crisscrossing the Diocese with Crown Ministry presentations, deanery visitations, ordinations, parish leadership conferences, and various and sundry other things on top of the regular day to day activities, I’ve decided to start a fresh and try to do a better job from now on. Thank you for your patience.

Now to bring you up to date on a few more recent developments, I want to thank Fr. Darius Mojallali for his past service as Dean of the Metropolitan Deanery. Returning from his recent sabbatical, Fr. Mojallali asked if he could be relieved of his responsibilities as dean in order to have more time to focus on his parish of St. Stephen’s, Delmar. Honoring his request, I have asked Fr. Michael Gorchov, rector of St. Paul’s, Troy to be the new dean. I believe he will do an excellent job and am very appreciative of his willingness to accept this new ministry.

As most of you know Col. Forest Rittgers has served as our Diocesan Deployment Officer for the past several years, where he has done an outstanding job. This has been on top of a number of other ministries that he has been actively involved in. Forest and Sally have recently decided to move to Texas later this spring to be closer to their daughter. Forest and Sally will be greatly missed. They have been such a blessing to me personally, to our Diocese and to the larger Church.

I have asked Beth Strickland to be our new Diocesan Deployment Officer. I believe she has much to offer and will do a wonderful job carrying on the work Forest has been doing. I am very appreciative of her willingness to serve. Beth and Forest will be working together for the next couple of months to aid in the transition.

Canon Bob Haskell is stepping down as Chair of the Commission on Ministry in order to be able to focus more of his time as my Canon to the Ordinary. Fr. Peter Schofield has agreed to accept the position as the new Chair of the COM. I am very appreciative of his willingness to serve and know that he will continue the outstanding work that Fr. Haskell has been doing.

Regarding one other key personnel change, Ray Farrara has completed his term as Lay Director of Cursillo, where he has faithfully served for the past several years. I want to thank Ray for all that he has done for Cursillo. I have asked Ron Edwards, a member of Calvary Church, Burnt Hills, to be the new Lay Director. Ron comes highly recommended. He has been actively involved in Cursillo for a number of years, has a true love for the Lord, and a burning desire to serve His Church.

Now for some upcoming dates and events to mark on your calendar:

Just a reminder to all of our parishes, Parochial Reports are due by the end of March. Please complete and turn in the reports in a timely manner. Your assistance with this is greatly appreciated. If you have questions or need assistance in filling out the report, please don’t hesitate to call the Diocesan Office and either Canon Jerry Carroll or Joan Ecker should be able to assist you.

In an attempt to say thank you to the brave men and women who serve our country so faithfully in the military and to minister to combat veterans and their families, the Diocese of Albany is sponsoring what has come to be called the Welcome Home Initiative. It is a three day retreat at Christ the King SLC, for the veteran and their family. The first of what is hoped to be regular ongoing retreats will be held this March 17th to the 19th. If you know of a service member who would benefit from this, please contact Sandra Lester at Christ the King (518) 692-9550. I would like to say a special thank you to Fr. Nigel Mumford and Noel Dawes for all their efforts in organizing this important ministry.

Holy Week is soon approaching. As in the past we will have three Chrism Masses, one in each of the three following locations:
The Cathedral of All Saints, Albany (Monday, March 17th at 6 p.m.)
St. James, Oneonta (Tuesday, March 18th at 6 p.m.)
St. Thomas, Tupper Lake (Wednesday, March 19th at 12:00 noon.)

This year, both priests and deacons will be invited to renew their ordination vows. It is my hope and prayer, that every deacon and priest in the Diocese will be able to join me in one of these services if at all possible. You are invited to stay for dinner/lunch following the Mass. Please contact the host rector by Wednesday, March 12 if you will attend so he may make the appropriate arrangements for dinner/lunch. Clergy spouses and clergy widows(ers) are invited to both the Mass and meal.

In addition to the Chrism Mass, I would be honored if all the priests of the Diocese (Canonically resident and licensed) would join me on April 1st thru the 4th, for our annual Priest Retreat. It will be held at Christ the King SLC. You should each be receiving a personal invitation in the next day or so. This is an important time of rest, prayer, spiritual growth and fellowship. If possible, I would encourage each parish to pay the way for their rector / vicar to attend the retreat. The cost is $194 for double occupancy, $272 for a single room or $104 for a commuter. The Rev. Dr. Les Fairfield will be the retreat leader. He will be speaking on “Authentic Anglicanism.”

Finally, this year’s annual Clergy Wives Conference is scheduled for May 2nd - 4th, at Christ the King. Allyson Tomkins, the sister of Fr. Brad Jones, and a very gifted speaker and women’s retreat leader will be the guest speaker. She will be focusing on ways Christ speaks to us and brings joy into the various phases of our lives. It is my hope and prayer that every clergy wife will be able to get away and take advantage of this retreat time together. All the costs will be covered by the Diocese except for $50 per person. If your parish is able to help with the remaining $50, I know the wives would be very appreciative. Clergy wives should be receiving a personal invitation in the next day or so.

Please pray for a full and timely recovery for Deacon Polly Bailey who had surgery this week.

Faithfully Yours in Christ,
+Bill

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