Congratulations are in order for AJ Scott and Andrew Scott. They have been selected to be part of our diocesan delegation to the Episcopal Youth Event. EYE is a triennial gathering of hundreds of youth from throughout the Episcopal Church. EYE17 will be held on July 10-14, 2017 on the campus of the University of Central Oklahoma in Edmond, OK in partnership with the Diocese of Oklahoma. The theme of the gathering is Path to Peace. "Path to Peace represents both the inward and outward actions we are called to engage as members of the Jesus Movement," explained Bronwyn Clark Skov, Presiding Bishop's Staff Officer for Youth Ministry.
We are very pleased that they were accepted and the Bishop's Committee is in full support of their participation. Please keep them in your prayers. We will keep you updated as more details are available. As you may recall last month I wrote Part I of a two part series on the former Calgary Protestant Episcopal Church in Townville, PA.
As mentioned in Part I the CPE Church in Townville was admitted to convention in the Diocese of Pittsburgh on June 15, 1870. Bishop Kerfoot, who was the Bishop of the Diocese of Pittsburgh at the time, appointed Rev. G. W. Lewis of Corry to take charge of the CPE. He traveled by train to Tryonville and was met by some members of Mr. Rose's family. Rev. Lewis held services on Thursday evenings twice a month. After Rev. Lewis no longer provided services, there was a lengthy list of ministers who conducted services on occasion i.e. Rev. Henry Purdon, who was Rector at St. James from 1862-1898! There were a few years when no minister was available to conduct services. In order to keep the doors open to the Church, the attention focused on Sunday School work. During the Christmas season of 1864 a Christmas tree was displayed in the vestry room. Many of the presents were handmade by Mrs. Eliza Rose and her daughters. In 1910 the Diocese of Erie was established. Roger Isreal, former rector at Meadville was elected Bishop of the Diocese of Erie. Bishop Isreal was very interested in the CPE Church. In 1914 Rev. Albert Broadhurst, Rector of St. James in Titusville, supplied services on Sunday afternoons at CPE. Rev. Broadhurst was accompanied by the choir from St. James as well as several parishioners who supplied transportation for the choir. Upon Rev. Broadhurst's retirement from St. James in 1947, he moved near Townville and continued to serve CPE on Sunday evenings during the summer months. Rev. Broadhurst died in 1966. The information I have states that no services were held at CPE after Rev. Broadhurst's death. I discovered through conversations with Eda Scales and Vic Kinnunen there were services held at CPE after the death of Rev. Broadhurst. Vic recalled two Episcopal ministers from Christ E piscopal Church in Meadville provided services on occasion at CPE. In fact, Vic filled in for one of the ministers at CPE when the assigned minister was not available for the scheduled service. Here is some additional information about items in the CPE and whom they are in memory of. The Baptismal Font is in memory of Rev. S. Lord, who was a minister from the Meadville Episcopal Church. The Deacon Bench is in memory of Peter Rose, who was Sr. Warden from 1867-1882. There is a kneeler in front of the church in memory of Eliza Rose wife of Peter Rose. The altar was dedicated in memory of Rev. Maycock in 1884. He provided services at CPE. There are several stain glass windows in the church. One of the windows was given by St. Stephens S.S. in New Hartford, NY. Another one of the windows is in memory of Ann T. Costa given by the Girls of the S.S. of Christ Church, Philadelphia, PA. There is letter in the Narthex from the PA Historical & Museum Commission that states the church and its contents have been evaluated by the staff and determined worthy of inclusion as a historic place. The letter was addressed to the then owners of the CPE Mr. and Mrs. James Gillette, Freemont St., Townville. The Gillette's lived next to the church for several years. The church has been owned by a few Townville families. The current owners are Wilbur & Gladys Graybill. A note of interest re: the graveyard at CPE. When I first began my work there, you could not read the names, dates of birth & death of those buried there. You can now read the information on each headstone. With the help from a couple friends we cleaned-up around the headstones, raked leaves, used a chain saw to cut limbs, etc. Even though the cemetery is small it looks respectful and peaceful. As I went about my work at the CPE, I couldn't help but think of those faithful parishioners who are buried there. In the Baptismal Covenant, two promises we make are especially meaningful to those who serve at the Soup Kitchen on Tuesdays. 'Will you seek and serve Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor as yourself?' And 'Will you strive for justice and peace among all people and respect the dignity of every human being?' Preparing and hosting a meal every week for one hundred plus people of diverse background and experiences presents challenges and opportunities to our living into our Baptismal Covenant. Add to that mix, twenty volunteers with various opinions and expectations, situations occasionally arise that cause us to pause and ask ourselves, "What would Jesus do?" or WWJD. Living into our Baptismal Covenant is not hypothetical but is played out in real time every Tuesday. Serving Christ in all persons, loving your neighbor, and respecting the dignity of every human being are not always easy but the spiritual rewards are always great. God has truly blessed the Soup Kitchen by providing an abundance of food for our Titusville community, providing the willing hands to serve and giving us abundant opportunity for spiritual growth as individual children of God and as a church.
Next Bag Day food give out -- May 9 and 23 Barb Ives visit to help with VA, SSA, Medicare and Housing questions -- May 2 and 16 A limited number of grocery store gift certificates are available for those with food emergencies. Comunicant: A communicant of the Episcopal Church is a member who has received Holy Communion in the church at least three times in the past year. An adult communicant is someone who meets the basic requirement and who is also sixteen years of age of older. A communicant in good standing is one who has received Holy Communion at least three times (“unless for good cause prevented”) and who has also been “faithful in working, praying and giving for the spread of the Kingdom of God.” One must be a communicant in good standing to be eligible for election to the vestry or mission committee. All parishes and missions are required to keep rosters of their members and communicants. See member.
Member, Membership: Because the church is both the Body of Christ and a very human institution which has to care about membership numbers, the definition of what makes one a member of the Episcopal Church has recently undergone change. At one time, only those w ho had been confirmed by and Episcopal bishop could receive communion. Those who had been baptized as Episcopalians were m embers of the church but were not communicants until they were con firmed. Those baptized in non-Episcopal churches were considered Christians but not Episcopalians until they were confirmed by an Episcopal bishop (or received into the Roman Catholic or Orthodox Churches). Recently, however, we have recovered the full implications of Baptism as the full rite of initiation into the Body of Christ. The institutional consequences of this are still being worked out, and consultation with the rector or vicar is recommended. At the moment, however, a member of the Episcopal Church is one who has been baptized by water in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit in the Episcopal Church or in another Christian church and whose Baptism has been duly recorded in the Episcopal Church. An Adult member is a member sixteen years of age or older. The Episcopal Church also expects that its adult members will have made, after appropriate instruction a mature public affirmation of faith and commitment to the responsibilities and promises made by or for them at Baptism and have been confirmed or received by a bishop of the Episcopal Church or a church in communion with the Episcopal Church (such as another member church of the Anglican communion). Members who have received Holy Communion at least three times in the past year are also considered communicants. See communicant. |
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