Showing items filed under “The Rt. Rev. George Sumner”

Intercessors

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Sometimes great questions for a community are also quiet ones.  We live in a time when questions about ethics have proved momentous. Older questions of liturgical approaches remain. We avoid political questions, wisely, though they exist.

But the question I have been thinking about recently grows out of the following fact. A generation of lay leadership in our diocese was the fruit of the spiritual power of Cursillo. It was born of the lay witnessing in the rollos and continued in fourth day gatherings etc.  I appreciate the important efforts of by our Cursillo leadership to find new ways to present and format the weekend for a new generation. But the wider question is this:  what form does spiritual renewal take in the present moment, renewal that will bear fruit in a new generation of lay leadership?

Clearly the place to begin is by praying for renewal. I commend this calling to all of you. I know that our own evangelist, Carrie Headington, is hoping to develop a network of intercessors across parishes to this very end.

Peace,

+GRS

A Word From The Bishop About Formation

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Dear Brothers and Sisters, 

Greetings in our risen Lord. No area of our common life is more important than the preparation of future clergy. It is also an area I am familiar with from the seminary.
 
I am writing to tell you about how I am thinking about various matters under this heading. I want you to hear my thoughts directly lest there be misunderstanding.
 
I am strongly committed to Christian education for all, and especially for lay leaders. For this reason there will, I hope, be a higher profile for the Stanton Center, not lower! We will broaden its subject matter and gradually make parts of it accessible by Internet.
 
I would like to develop our range of lay callings: evangelist, catechist, lay reader, etc. These too need discernment and preparation. I believe that these can be of special value to rural churches.
 
I have been impressed with the devotion and commitment of our deacons.  But those who come to me wishing to see if they are called to it have a varied sense of what it is!
 
I think we do best if we set this discernment squarely in the context of a variety of possible callings. I also believe that input from teachers, rectors, and the Bishop should accompany the discernment of the individual.  We are not ending the diaconate!  We are reframing it to enhance its discernment.
 
We have been working hard on our process for presbyterial formation. I do believe in residential seminary as you can imagine! But there will be a couple of more local options as well.
 
Finally, I want to stress that anyone along in any ordination process will continue without any change at all.  Furthermore the normal functioning sacramentally week to week for deacons will also continue unchanged.
Peace grs
 
Peace
+GRS

 

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