Mission Statement

The Chapel of the Cross, historically linked to the University of North Carolina and the Town of Chapel Hill, bears faithful witness to the presence of the living God on the campus, in the community, in the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, and throughout all the world.

We are called to:

• worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness,
• learn and teach the Christian faith,
• love one another
• strive for justice and peace among all people,
• care for those in need
• share our many blessings

and to do all with truly thankful hearts in the name of Jesus.

From the Rector

Dear Friends,

The first part of our parish's mission statement, adopted by the vestry seven years ago, reads: "The Chapel of the Cross, historically linked to the University of North Carolina and the Town of Chapel Hill, bears faithful witness to the presence of the living God on the campus, in the community, in the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, and throughout all the world." Much is summed up in those words. They acknowledge our identity and ministry, developed over 163 years as an Episcopal congregation in this southern university community. They elaborate our various fields of engagement: the campus, the community, the diocese, the whole world. Perhaps most importantly of all, they articulate the vision that our basic raison d'etre is relational. In other words, we do not exist for ourselves. We do not serve ourselves; of ourselves we are incomplete. We serve God and all God's children.

Our involvement then as a parish and individually in its ministries is to engage us with God and with others. Our worship, our fellowship, our education, our outreach, our use of our time and energy and money, our utilization of our buildings and our budget is not simply to create a safe and supportive environment for us in the midst of a demanding and chaotic world. Rather all these facets of our ministry are to call us into relationship with the loving God who creates, saves, and sustains us and with all of our sisters and brothers, whom God calls into that same relationship.

That vision informs our parish programming, our annual budget, our building policies, our personnel priorities, our local and global outreach. Individually too that vision is to guide our worship habits, our volunteer commitments, our attitudes toward those who differ from us, our generosity with all we have been given. While this is so for all congregations, I think it holds true particularly for us at the Chapel of the Cross. We are blessed with so much communally and individually. Our history and legacy, our location in this place, our beautiful worship spaces, our place in this community and this diocese, our educational resources, our opportunities to connect and to influence and to serve, all call us to look beyond ourselves individually and as a parish and to make ourselves available to the world's hunger and need.

In this issue you will read about some of the ways we try to live out that calling at the Chapel of the Cross. But there is no end to the possibilities for each of us and all of us together to do so. It is easy to regard those opportunities as more burdensome obligations.In truth they are the pathways to new life and to fuller relationship with God and our neighbor.

- Stephen

Vestry Actions - June 16, 2005

At its June meeting, the vestry:

• Met with representatives from Hartman and Cox, Architects, regarding the development of a master renovation/building plan
• Approved disbursements of $22,500.00 to community organizations from ABC Sale proceeds
• Received a written report from the Stained Glass Committee and planned to discuss the report at the August meeting
• Received a positive, preliminary audit report.

A "10-Talent" Congregation: The Chapel of the Cross as a Resource Parish

Robert E. Wright and Lee A. Thomas

For it will be as when a man going on a journey called his servants and entrusted to them his property; to one he gave five talents, to another two, to another one, to each according to his ability. Then he went away. He who had received the five talents went at once and traded with them; and he made five talents more. So also, he who had the two talents made two talents more. But he who had received the one talent went and dug in the ground and hid his master's money. Now after a long time the master of those servants came and settled accounts with them. And he who had received the five talents came forward, bringing five talents more, saying, `Master, you delivered to me five talents; here I have made five talents more.' His master said to him, `Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a little, I will set you over much; enter into the joy of your master. For to every one who has will more be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
Matthew 25: 14-21, 29

The Anglican Communion, of which our parish is a vital and vibrant part, is an unusual and somewhat paradoxical creature, as press of the past few years has illustrated, usually to the befuddlement of the general populace. We are both catholic and reformed, evangelical and reforming. We are orthodox, yet progressive. We are hierarchical, yet - particularly in the United States - democratic. We are deeply respectful of the three-fold order of ordained ministry - bishops, priests, and deacons - yet we value the role of lay ministry as much or more than any other part of the Body of Christ. We treasure our traditions, yet we are open to the Holy Spirit's breathing new life into the Church.

To grasp this sense of self-identity, corporately and individually, is no quick and easy task. Some 60 % of adult Episcopalians are, for want of a better word, "converts" from other Christian traditions or increasingly, especially among the young adult population, those who have no formal religious background. When one further considers the relation of parish life, which is the touchstone for the vast majority of us, to that of the larger Church, the challenge becomes greater, more exciting, and more rewarding, personally and spiritually.

Our own pilgrimages to the Episcopal Church came through circuitous and very different routes. Robert was an Army brat, who lived around the world and whose earliest Christian education and worship experience was in Army post chapels. He then moved to Winston-Salem, where he grew up in a large (evangelical but moderate) independent Baptist church, where the only recognized expression of the "Church" was the local congregation. Lee grew up in a large downtown Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, where the "prince of the pulpit" tradition reigned and the music program was the principal source of evangelism. Robert first visited our parish in 1976, because of a beautifully crafted poster announcing the Easter Vigil, and he arrived full time in 1979. Lee came in 1982, because he moved from Durham to North Street in Chapel Hill, and, on the afternoon of his first Sunday here, received a call from Van Quinn: "You tried to slip out, but you were spotted. You're joining the Senior Choir." The real point is that God was drawing us into the Anglican tradition. (Talk about music as evangelism!)

The Episcopal Church is one in which the basic unit is the Diocese, and the Bishop the chief pastor - which is why, when he visits, we do not "welcome" him to his own church. The Diocese is, in turn, a constituent member of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, one of many self-governing national churches which comprise the worldwide Anglican Communion, of which the Archbishop of Canterbury is the spiritual and symbolic head. As such, we, the parishioners of the Chapel of the Cross, are members of something much larger than ourselves, and we - especially as a relatively prosperous community - therefore bear the responsibility for something beyond ourselves.

When we talk about stewardship, we too often take the term as a euphemism for financial stewardship, fund-raising, money. That is, of course, an integral and necessary part of it. But the larger and more inclusive definition is provided by the Catechism of the Book of Common Prayer: "The duty of all Christians is to follow Christ; to come together week by week for corporate worship; and to work, pray, and give for the spread of the kingdom of God" (p. 856).

As the rector put it in his 2001 Annual Address to the parish: "We are, of course, not just a community church, but a part of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, which extends from Tarboro to Charlotte. We participate in the work of the diocese by accepting our full diocesan monetary asking each year and through the involvement of many of you in its various ministries and oversight committees."

The Chapel of the Cross has a long, devoted, and quietly proud history of service to the Diocese and to the national church. Many of these persons serve God, night and day, as part of the communion of saints, and their earthly remains are in our churchyard. Many others have the privilege of serving him here, as part of the Church militant. The names are numerous, and should not be listed here, lest even one distinguished Christian servant be left out; their names are known to God, and to many of us.

O Zion, haste, thy mission high fulfilling, to tell to all the world that God is Light; that he who made all nations is not willing one soul should fail to know his love and might. Publish glad tidings: tidings of peace, tidings of Jesus, redemption and release. (Hymnal 1982, # 539)

At the risk of attempting what the authors of the previous article cautioned against, the following list of people who are currently serving the Church beyond their parish work is offered. Consider, too, the parishioners who have been instrumental in the development of the diocese and the number of clergy who have been ordained from the Chapel of the Cross.

OFFICERS AND COMMITTEE ASSIGNMENTS

Stephen Elkins-Williams - Diocesan Council

Tammy Lee - Chair, Bishop's Committee on Clergy Wellness

Martha Hart - Secretary, Bishop's Committee on the Diaconate, Commission on Ministry

Bill Joyner - Chair, Bishop's Committee on the Diaconate

Joseph Ferrell - Deputy to the 75th General Convention (Lay Order), Secretary to Diocesan Convention, Commission on Constitution and Canons

Syd Alexander - President, Standing Committee

Robert Wright - Treasurer of the Diocese; Board of Trustees, General Theological Seminary

John McGee - Treasurer elect of the Diocese

Peter DeSaix - Trustee, the University of the South

Don Stedman - Chair, Ministry in Higher Education (Department of Christian Formation)

Bob Chase - Ministry in Higher Education (Department of Christian Formation)

Michael McElreath - Ministry in Higher Education (Department of Christian Formation)

Bill Easterling - Chair, Board of Trustees, Penick Village

Vivian Varner - Chartered Committee on Communications

Service Beyond the Parish

Hugh Tilson

After the service is over and the choir and clergy have processed to the back of the church, the deacon sends the congregation out into the world "to love and serve the Lord." In effect, this dismissal calls on all present to be ministers once they leave the church. The catechism of the Episcopal Church defines ministry as representing Christ and his Church; bearing witness to him everywhere; carrying on Christ's work of reconciliation in the world; and playing a role in the life, worship, and governance of the Church. This praxis-oriented theology is underscored in the rite of Holy Baptism where the congregation is asked if they will seek and serve Christ in all persons, strive for justice and peace among all people, and respect the dignity of every human being. The celebrant also prays God to send the newly baptized into the world in witness to God's love.

The mission statement of the Chapel of the Cross calls us to worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness, learn and teach the Christian faith, love one another, strive for justice and peace among all people, care for those in need, and share our many blessings. Accordingly, the Chapel of the Cross has historically provided a variety of opportunities for its parishioners to serve as ministers of Christ to those beyond the parish.

One way that the parish serves the community is through the use of the space in its buildings. For example, it has long been a tradition for the buildings to remain open during the day for student study and for prayer in the chapel. The parish allows also numerous community organizations to use its facilities at no cost. Over the course of a 3-4 week period, outside organizations, such as the Johnson Intern Board, Girl and Boy Scout Troops, Habitat for Humanity, White Ribbon Campaign, Alcoholics Anonymous, English as a Second Language, Earth Action Fest, and the UNC Meditation Group, use facilities at the Chapel of the Cross for their meetings. In 2004, the church also provided space to nearly 50 preschool children. Over the last 33 years, more than 1000 children of diverse backgrounds and cultures have been taught at the Chapel of the Cross Preschool.

It has often been said that the budget of an organization reflects its priorities. If that is true, then reaching out beyond the parish is a high priority for the Chapel of the Cross. The annual parish budget includes line items for organizations such as Habit for Humanity and the Inter-Faith Council for Social Services. In addition, the Chapel of the Cross provides funds for nearly 30 groups through its community organization and discretionary funds. In addition, it is a policy of the parish that 30% of all undesignated bequests is allocated to the outreach endowment. Each year, the Chapel of the Cross sponsors the Attic, Basement and Closet (ABC) Sale to sell furniture, books, clothing, items for the garden and household. In 2005, proceeds from the ABC Sale - $22,500 - were allocated to 17 charitable organizations.

The Social Ministry Committee works to bring Christ's love, justice, and mercy into the world through education, stewardship, and leadership in social outreach. One of the primary responsibilities of the committee is to identify needs in the community and coordinate opportunities for parishioners to participate in social outreach activities. The committee also makes recommendations to the vestry concerning allocation of funds received from bequests and financial support through the parish budget. The committee also sponsors special outreach activities. For example, in 2004, the Social Ministry Committee worked with other local churches to provide housing for homeless men during the renovation of the IFC housing facility. The committee also led an effort to collect food for the local food bank and helped facilitate the resettling of refugees from Burma.

The Chapel of the Cross is one of a handful of parishes in the diocese that has two deacons, Martha Hart and Bill Joyner, who function to serve all people, but particularly the poor, the weak, and the lonely. Martha is involved in a number of outreach activities, including serving meals at the Inter-Faith Council for Social Services, helping patients and families at Ronald McDonald House, tutoring disadvantaged students, and conducting services at the Carol Woods Health Center and at the Cedars. Bill leads the parish CROP Walk effort to collect money to feed the hungry and leads a monthly special worship service for people with developmental disabilities. He also works with Project FAST of the ARC of Orange County to help provide assistance to families with members who are disabled and with the parish's Habitat for Humanity partnership. He is also involved in the emerging effort to develop Global Outreach ministry by the parish.

The Chapel of the Cross provides several opportunities to support national and international outreach efforts. In 2004, a number of high school students worked with Native Americans in Wyoming to improve housing and participate in educational activities. The parish has recently formed a Global Outreach Committee to build on two previous adult missions in which parishioners from the Chapel of the Cross and St. Paul AME went to Costa Rica to help build churches. The Global Outreach Committee is currently in the process of determining the site and nature of the next mission trip, which will probably be held in the spring of 2006. The Chapel of the Cross also provides annual support for orphans at El Hogar, an orphanage associated with the Episcopal Church in Honduras.

The parish continues to support efforts for reconciliation at the local and international levels. In the spirit of racial reconciliation, the Chapel of the Cross and St. Paul AME have engaged in a sister parish relationship for more than 10 years. In addition, the International Community of the Cross of Nails has established a St. Paul AME-Chapel of the Cross Center for the Cross of Nails, which has worked to promote racial reconciliation. The Chapel of the Cross also regularly contributes to the Martin Luther King, Jr., Scholarship Fund.

As a part of their personal ministries, parishioners at the Chapel of the Cross are involved in a number of outreach activities. For example, some parishioners are involved in care teams that provide assistance for those facing debilitating life situations, while others visit church members unable to attend services and other activities at the church. The parish AIDS ministry continues to prepare meals at the AIDS House in Carrboro. Several parishioners serve on the Board of Directors and/or volunteer to serve meals or provide other services at the Inter-Faith Council for Social Services. The Chapel of the Cross has also played an active role in obtaining resources and labor to build homes for Habitat for Humanity in Orange County. In addition, the parish has provided monetary resources to build Habitat houses in other countries such as Honduras. Several parishioners are actively involved in prison ministry at the Orange/Alamance County Prison, while others are involved in collecting clothing for children at the Thompson Children's Home. Parishioners volunteer their services for a number of local organizations, such as the Augustine Project, Best Buddies International, Blue Ribbon Mentor, Carolina White Ribbon Campaign, OKAY Opportunities for Kids and Youth, Orange County Literacy Council, Orange County Rape Crisis Center and Freedom House.

In his sermon on June 19, the rector, Stephen Elkins-Williams, told the congregation that our ministry is two-fold - tell others about the immediacy of the kingdom of God and show others about the reality of that kingdom so that they may experience it for themselves. To a large extent, the members of the Chapel of the Cross have responded to that call to ministry. Our shared vision of the Kingdom of God, however, is still incomplete; much work remains to be done. Poverty and homelessness continue to be problems in our community. Many of the citizens of Orange County are uninsured or underemployed. Men, women, and children are utilizing emergency shelters with increasing frequency and domestic violence is on the rise. Crisis intervention and distribution of emergency food are increasing annually, particularly for new immigrants in the community. Racism is still prevalent in our society and the need for reconciliation between people of different ethnic backgrounds is high. Over the years, the Chapel of the Cross has been one of the faithful witnesses to Christ's love in the world. Yet, much remains to be done to bring about the kingdom of God. The next time the deacon sends forth the congregation with the admonition "to love and serve the Lord," where do you think your ministry will lead you?

MUSIC - To Create Something Beautiful for God

Van Quinn, Organist and Choirmaster

After a relaxed summer schedule, the choirs will return to their Fall routines over the next few weeks. All of our choirs will have room for new choristers. If you have been thinking that you ought to use your voice (the only instrument, after all, created by God rather than human invention) for the praise and glory of God and the good of his church, or if you want your child to cultivate his or her spirituality in this way, perhaps this is the time to take some action! Please check details of any groups which may be of special interest to you.

Junior Choir - for third graders through high school. The first rehearsal will be held on Wednesday, August 24 in the parish house. Registration activities for the choir will begin immediately after school, will continue with a rehearsal at 4:00 and a pizza party and parents meeting, ending by 6:30. Boys with changed voices will meet regularly on a schedule to be determined, and will join forces with the trebles on occasion.

Senior Choir - an auditioned group that sings for the 11:15 Sunday Eucharist, occasional Evensongs, and observance of Holy Days. Call Dr. Quinn to inquire about openings and to arrange an audition. For returning choristers, the first rehearsal will be on Wednesday, August 24.

Parish Choir - sings at 5:15 and other services. Open to everyone, including young people and students. No audition is required. Rehearsals are on Monday nights at 7:00 p.m. All voice parts are needed. First rehearsal will be August 29.

Compline Choir - sings Gregorian chant and polyphony in a late Sunday evening service of Compline. New singers are needed in all parts. Please contact Dr. Quinn to discuss this remarkable opportunity. The first rehearsal (followed by service) will be on Sunday, September 11 at 8:00 p.m.

Training Choir - for first and second graders to prepare them for the Junior Choir. Information about this group and its start-up schedule will be mailed to all parents of first and second graders. The Director is Linda Everhart. Please call her or contact Dr. Quinn if you have questions.

HOLY CROSS DAY

Our Parish Patronal Feast Day

Sunday, September 18 (transferred), 2005

11:15 a.m.

Missa in C- dur (K. 258)

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

Senior Choir, Soloists, and Orchestra

How is your prayer life?

The Rev. David Frazelle, Associate for Parish Ministry

How is your prayer life? This is a confusing and uncomfortable question for many Christians. If asked, many of us will respond that we want to "pray better" or "pray more" or that we "should" do so but don't know how. Ironically, discomfort around the topic of prayer prevents us from wanting to approach God in prayer. Some of us feel that something is wrong with us if the liturgy seems dry. Others wonder why we keep praying to God with so many words, since God knows everything already. And yet we all carry with us a longing for God in the depths of our being.

For me and for many other Christians across the globe, Centering Prayer has been a place to go with these concerns about prayer and with our yearning for God. Centering Prayer offers a way for ordinary Christians to live faithful, prayerful lives with extraordinary love.

In a sentence, centering prayer is a contemporary form of an ancient, silent, wordless way of contemplative prayer, or "resting in God." Centering Prayer is the opening of mind and heart - our whole being - to God, beyond thoughts, words and emotions, whom we know by faith is within us, closer than breathing, thinking, feeling and choosing, closer than consciousness itself. It is a process of interior purification leading, if we consent, to union with God.

Centering Prayer is not trendy or glamorous: It offers no quick fixes and it will not get your name in the newspaper. Nor does Centering Prayer aim to cultivate "spiritual feelings," a blank mind, relaxation (although this is often a side-effect), or any other sensory or psychological experience. The principal effects of Centering Prayer are experienced in daily life, not in the time of prayer itself. Namely, the principal effects are increased faith, hope, and love, and the fruit of the Spirit listed by Paul in Galatians 5 (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control), expressed in ordinary life.

Centering Prayer is drawn from ancient prayer practices of the Christian contemplative heritage, notably the Desert Fathers, the monastic practice of Lectio Divina (praying the scriptures), The Cloud of Unknowing, St. John of the Cross, and St. Theresa of Avila. It presents this earlier teaching in an accessible form and order. Centering Prayer is Trinitarian in its source, which means that the prayer draws us into the relationship that Jesus has with the Father through the Holy Spirit. It is Christocentric in its focus, which means that the prayer draws us into closer friendship and union with Christ. It is ecclesial in its effects, which means that it builds communities of faith and bonds the members together in charity. Centering Prayer is meant to enhance, not replace, other kinds of prayer.

Centering Prayer is not right for everyone; if it were, then everyone would do it. It is, however, a life-changing discovery for many who learn about this dimension of Christian prayer. One does not need to be introverted or extroverted. One does not need to possess pious feelings or any other set of psychological or emotional capacities. There are no pre-requisites for this extremely simple prayer. If you are attracted to silence, or if you long for God, then you may wish to try Centering Prayer. I invite you to the Introduction to Centering Prayer offered at the September 17 Quiet Day, and to the follow-up sessions on the following Tuesday afternoons. Detailed information is on the following page.

Portions of this article were adapted from The Method of Centering Prayer brochure, by Thomas Keating, 1995, St. Benedict's Monastery.

AUTUMN QUIET DAY

AN INTRODUCTION TO CENTERING PRAYER

Leader:The Rev. David Frazelle

Saturday, September 17, 2005

9:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

St. Matthew's Episcopal Church Parish Hall

Hillsborough, North Carolina

Optional follow-up sessions

Tuesday afternoons through October 25^th

5:30 p.m. - 6:30 p.m.

Chapel of the Cross Chapel

Please call 919-929-2193 or stop by the parish office to sign up, get directions, and let us know if you need to carpool. If you have questions, please contact Jan Seabock at 919-967-2895

Christian Education Planning

Godly Play Workshop

Parents, grandparents and potential Church School teachers: We will be hosting a workshop with national Godly Play trainer J.D. McNutt on Sunday, August 14. Specific information about the event is posted on the bulletin board in the dining room. Godly Play uses a unique storytelling technique that invites the hearer to wonder and more fully experience the biblical story. It is a wonderful technique to use in the home with your children and grandchildren. We presently have one Godly Play classroom which engages the kindergarten aged children, but over the next few years we hope to expand this program to the 4 year old and 1^st Grade classes. We will need leaders! Anyone reading this is encouraged to consider attending the workshop. There are no expectations accompanying attendance. Registration will be limited and other churches are participating so register early. A donation will be taken to help defray some of the cost.

Save the Dates

Family calendars fill all too quickly! Mark your August calendars with these important parish events. August 14-Godly Play Workshop; August 21-Church School Teacher Orientation; August 28-Church School begins, annual barbeque.

Educational Leaders Sought

A full listing of teaching and leading positions is posted on the Christian Education bulletin board in the dining room. Some parishioners have already signed on for Church School teaching and Children's Chapel leadership. Please refer to this list and consider where you might give your time and talents in the ministry of teaching.

Ten Talents of Environmental Stewardship

Linda B. Rimer, Environmental Stewardship Committee Chair

In Matthew 25:14-30, we read Jesus' parable about the man who was going on a long trip and asked his servants to care for his property while he was away. It could be said that the man asked his servants to be stewards of his property during his absence. These servants were each given "talents" to assist them in their stewardship responsibilities.

Likewise, God has asked us to be stewards of his creation, our planet, Earth. And likewise, God has given each of us "talents" that enable us to exercise that stewardship of our air, our water, our land, and the plants and animals with which we share this amazing planet.

Exercising these talents is often not a difficult thing to do though it may, at times, require us to be thoughtful in our actions. Two rather simple automobile-related examples that call on us to be thoughtful include: consolidating our errands to minimize car trips, thus saving energy and protecting our air quality; and fueling our cars only in the early morning or late in the day, thus reducing the likelihood of the formation of ozone, which again, helps to protect the quality of the air we breathe.

Some other ways in which we exercise our stewardship talents are seemingly small, but are hugely significant in their accumulated values. Two examples include turning off the water while brushing our teeth and turning off lights in rooms that are not being used. The amount of water conserved and energy saved over the course of time is extraordinary.

Listed below are ten "talents of environmental stewardship" for you to consider adopting into your everyday habits. There are many more but these can get you started.

Consume less: analyses by the Earth Council, an organization set up to monitor the recommendations made by the 1992 Rio Earth Summit, demonstrate that humanity as a whole is consuming at a rate 35% beyond the limit where nature can still sustainably regenerate itself.

Conserve water: compost your food waste instead of always using the garbage disposal; collect rain water in barrels for plant irrigation; use low flow shower heads and low flush toilets.

Conserve energy: unplug cell phone chargers when not in use; buy "energy star" appliances and office equipment (www.energystar.gov/); turn off any lights not in use.

Household actions: use non-toxic cleaning products; buy all recycled paper products; participate in your recycling programs (plastics, glass, batteries, metal and anything else you can recycle.)

Garden actions: plant native plants; use drip irrigation and organic fertilizers; compost.

Plant a tree(s): this protects water and air quality, provides habitat, holds the soil, and cools the air around us.

Climate protection: drive less; walk and bike when possible; use public transportation; do not cut down existing trees - plant more trees instead; use and buy the most fuel-efficient vehicles that you can.

Be informed - Let your voice be heard: while many of our individual actions can havea powerful cumulative effect, many of the decisions that will need to be made to sustain our planet must be made by elected officials. Be informed on environmental issues and let those who represent you in local, state and national legislatures know that you expect them to vote in ways that will protect the Earth.

Experience nature: For God so loved "the world" - not just humans but all in creation - animals, plants - go outside, look at the stars, feel the wind, and observe the plants and animals around you.

Express appreciation to God for the bountiful natural world: extend your love to the natural world and pray that we, together, might take better care of our planet.

1 Corinthians 4:2Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.

Genesis 1:26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness; and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth."

ASKED AT THE CHURCH DOOR

Q : Why is there always a special chair for the bishop?
What does it mean?

Bill Joyner's reply: The word for the church of the bishop, cathedral, comes from the Latin cathedra, meaning chair. A chair was the ancient sign of the authority to teach, so the bishop's chair is a symbol of the bishop's teaching and pastoral office in the diocese. (Sometimes the bishop's chair had two stools on either side for deacons, who serve directly under the bishop.) Some parish churches, such as the Chapel of the Cross, have also adopted the custom of a bishop's chair which is traditionally on the (liturgical) north wall of the sanctuary (the part of the church inside the altar rail). At the Chapel of the Cross, there is also a bishop's chair in the chapel, which we bring to the church for confirmations and ordinations. This chair is decorated with the seal of the Diocese of North Carolina.

These chairs are not used except by the bishop; their empty presence reminds us that the bishop is our chief priest and pastor, our link to the apostles and to the universal church, and the principal celebrant of the Eucharist.

If you have a particular question, you'd like addressed in this column, please send it to info@thechapelofthecross.org

Around Our Diocese... Summer 2005

THE EPISCOPAL DIOCESE OF NORTH CAROLINA

200 W. MORGAN STREET, STE. 300, RALEIGH, NC 27601

PHONE: 919.834.7474 800.448.8775 FAX: 919.834.7546

In everything do to others as you would have them do to you;

for this is the law and prophets.

Matthew 7:12

School of Ministry - Re-Thinking Mission

Living into our vision of a missionary diocese is a challenge, especially as we bring a deepening understanding of mission to bear upon that which we are and do in our own parishes. This fall the School of Ministry will host three regional events on the theme Re-thinking Mission. We'll discuss mission as a diocesan family... with fellowship, a common meal and worship. Join us on Saturday, Sept. 10, at St. Mary's Church in High Point, with Bishop Marble; Sept. 17 at St. Peter's Church, Charlotte, with Bishop Gloster; or Oct. 1 at St. Paul's Church, Cary, with Bishop Curry. They're open to all. You may register online at www.episdionc.com/schoolofministry, or call 336-273-5770.

Training In Practical Hospitality, Evangelism and Welcome: The Magnetic Church

The Magnetic Church is a workshop in practical evangelism, hospitality and new member incorporation for mainline churches. Three Magnetic Church conferences have been held in our diocese previously; two more conferences are scheduled for this fall.

FRIDAY EVENING, OCT. 7, & SATURDAY, OCT. 8, 2005:
Sponsored and hosted by St. Martin's Church, 1510 East Seventh St., Charlotte. Registration fee: $35.00 per person or $30.00 each if prepaid and preregistered in groups of 4 or more by Sept. 23. Contact: Fr. Murdock Smith, 704-376-8441,fax 704-376-4203, msmith@stmartins-charlotte.org.

FRIDAY EVENING, OCT. 28, & SATURDAY, OCT. 29, 2005:
Sponsored and hosted by St. Francis Church, 3506 Lawndale Dr., Greensboro. Registration fee: $35.00 per person or $30.00 each if prepaid and preregistered in groups of 4 or more by Oct. 13. St. Francis members: $20.00 each. Contact: Rae Augustin, 336-288-4721, fax 336-288-4760, rae@stfrancisepis.org.

Sharing a Way to Live with Teens

Come join youth leaders, both lay and clergy, at Trinity Center for the 2005 Youth Workers Conference, co-sponsored by the The Diocese of East Carolina and The Diocese of North Carolina. Registration fee for the conference is $135, payable to The Diocese of East Carolina, and due Aug. 1. Register early; space is limited. Scholarships available. Contact Robert Sitton (robert@summityouth.org, 800.486.0533) or visit www.episdionc.org.

Fall 2005

Fall Middlers September 30 -October 2 Happening #45November 18-20
Young Adult Gathering - October 7-9 Bishops' Ball - December 2-4
Clergy Conference - October 10-12, 2005 at The Summit

Letter from the Bishop

The letter below is reprinted from the July 1, 2005, issue of Please Note,

a bimonthly epistle from the Bishop of the Diocese of North Carolina

A Missionary Diocese

LIVING GOD'S DREAM

Making Disciples, Making a Difference

What Jay Z, Ms. Dynamite, the Archbishop of Canterbury and Jim Wallis Have In Common

What do Jay Z, Dave Matthews, Bono, Ms. Dynamite, Rowan Williams and Jim Wallis have in common? I'm sure there is quite a bit, but there is one thing of note. Each one, in their own way, is part of a gathering movement working to eradicate human poverty in our time, in line with the Millennium Development Goals of the United Nations.

Tomorrow, these and other stars will participate in Live 8, a global concert intended to both raise money and consciousness in the name of eradicating poverty, specifically on the continent of Africa. Last week the Archbishop of Canterbury hosted a meeting of religious leaders addressing the issues of global poverty (the text of their communiqué is below). Next week the leaders of the G8 nations will be at a Summit focused greatly on practical steps toward the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals. Serious consideration is being given to implement the goal of nations designating 0.7% of GNP to global development work to end poverty and disease.

I am writing to ask you to consider a commitment of money. Specifically, I'm writing to invite us as a diocesan community to set aside 0.7% of our budgets, personal and congregational, toward efforts that work to eradicate poverty in line with the Millennium Development Goals adopted by the United Nations, the General Convention of the ECUSA and the Convention of our Diocese. The Diocese did this in the 2005 Mission and Ministry budget adopted by our Annual Convention. I have personally made that commitment a part of my tithe. As we begin to consider parish and personal budgets for 2006 I invite us all to consider doing the same.

The United Nations Millennium Development Goals pledge to:

1. eradicate extreme poverty and hunger;

2. achieve universal primary education;

3. promote gender equality and empower women;

4. reduce child mortality;

5. improve material health;

6. combat HIV/AIDS;

7. ensure environmental stability; and

8. develop a global partnership for development.

There is much that divides us as a human community. Our common ground may well be found in the higher ground of practical compassion, justice and love that makes a difference.

"What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but do not have works? Can faith save you? If a brother or sister is naked and lacks daily food, and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace; keep warm and eat your fill,' and yet you do not supply their bodily needs, what is the good of that? So faith by itself, if it has no works, is dead."

James 2:14-17

Keep the faith,

+Michael