December 11, 2014
Bishop Wolfe names the Rev. Don Compier as Canon Theologian
On Dec. 10 Bishop Dean Wolfe announced that the Rev. Don Copier, dean of the Bishop Kemper School for Ministry, has been named Canon Theologian for the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas. In this capacity he will advise the bishop on a variety of theological matters and join him in making decisions about the Tocher Lecture series.
In making the announcement Bishop Wolfe said, “It is a great joy for me to announce that the Reverend Dr. Don Compier has accepted my appointment as Canon Theologian to the Bishop of Kansas. The Reverend Dr. Andrew Grosso served with distinction as the previous Canon Theologian, and now that Father Grosso has joined the Nashotah House Seminary staff, we are fortunate to be able to make good use of Dr. Compier’s distinctive skill set. Having served as a member of the faculty of one Episcopal Church residential seminary and taught at seminaries of other denominations, Don has enjoyed a unique and rich ministry, and I look forward to being able to ordain him to the Sacred Order of Priests in January so that he may continue to expand his work for Christ and the church.”
Compier said of his appointment, “It is a tremendous honor for me to serve the diocese in this position. I am very grateful to Bishop Wolfe for entrusting me with this task.Bishop Wolfe and the people of the Diocese of Kansas recognizethe importance of theology in the life of the church. Theology is careful teaching of and reflection on the Christian story. It supportsthe faithful and relevant witness of God's people in today's world. The episcopacy is the primary teaching office of the church. Canons theologian serve as advisors to bishops in the exercise of this vital role.”
Compier, who has a Ph.D. in theology from Emory University in Atlanta, was named dean of the Bishop Kemper School for Ministry this summer. Most recently he led the graduate program in religion at Graceland University in Independence, Mo., where he developed an innovative online curriculum.
He also taught courses in theology, philosophy and modern church history at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific and the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, Calif. He also has offered classes at Saint Paul School of Theology in Kansas City, Mo., and Eden Theological Seminary in Webster Groves, Mo.
Checks to the diocese must be in by Dec. 26
From diocesan Comptroller Jay Currie: Any checks to the diocese for things such as parish apportionment or other payments for the calendar year 2014 must be in the diocesan office no later than Friday, Dec. 26 to be credited to this year.
Address checks to:
Episcopal Diocese of Kansas
835 SW Polk St.
Topeka, KS 66612
Anyone with questions about this may contact Currie at or (785) 235-9255 of (800) 473-3563.
Reminder: diocesan health insurance rates for 2015 are available online
Information about the health plans authorized by the diocese, along with a list of rates for 2015, are posted in the diocesan website’s Resource section:
The list and costs of the three authorized medical insurance plans, along with the three optional dental coverage plans, are in a PDF document at
You can give the gift of attendance at a diocesan youth event
Do you need a meaningful gift for a teen or tween in your life? Consider a gift certificate to a future diocesan youth event.
Gift certificates are good for any of our weekend retreats (typically $50) or summer camp.
More information about this opportunity, along with a link to make your online purchase, is at
Three to be ordained priests on Jan. 10
Bishop Dean Wolfe will ordain three people – Don Compier, Steven King and Vivian Orndorff – to the Sacred Order of Priests during a diocesan ordination service set for 10:30 a.m. at Saturday, Jan. 10 atGrace Cathedral, 701 SW 8th Ave. in Topeka.
All members of the diocese are invited to attend. A reception will follow the service.
Clergy are invited to vest (red stoles) and walk in procession. Please be in the cathedral’s lower level parish hall by 10 a.m.
Cycle of prayer for 2015 now is online
The diocesan cycle of prayer for 2015 has been updated and now is available on the diocesan website at
Entries for the remaining Sundays of 2014 are listed, as well as for all Sundays of 2015.There also are links to a Word document version of the list for both years.
The cycle of prayer includes special intentions for the churches of the diocese and other diocesan and youth events, members of the Anglican Communion, and nations of the world.
Jan. 5 is deadline for scholarship aid requests from clergy children
Jan. 5 is the deadline for clergy children to apply for a Father Young Fund grant for the spring semester. All students interested in receiving an award from the Father Young Fund should send a letter addressed to Bishop Wolfe stating:
- Who they are (their relationship to a clergy person in the diocese);
- Where they are attending school;
- Their year in school; and
- What they plan to study.
Awards from the Father Young Fund are sent directly to the student at their home address in the third week of January.
Guidelines for applying for assistance from the Father Young Fund:
- Assistance will be provided for eight semesters of undergraduate work only.
- Assistance is normally reserved for students attending Kansas colleges or universities.
- Application for the spring academic term is to be made no later than Jan. 5; for the fall term, no later than Aug. 3.
- According to the conditions of the original gift, this fund can only be used for children of clergy canonically resident in the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas.
- Once enrolled in college, a student becomes eligible to apply for assistance from the Father Young Fund.Assistance has averaged $750 - $1,000 each semester and is based on the number applying and the amount of interest earned on the fund.
To apply, each semester the student should send a letter to the bishop before the closing date. As soon as all applications have been received from the students, the amount of financial assistance will be determined, and a check will be sent to the student.
If you have any questions, please contact Jeanne Atha at or (785) 235-9255 or (800) 473-3563.
Calling all photos of St. Nicholas
Did your church have a visit from St. Nicholas recently? If so, the diocesan Office of Communications would like to have photos for possible use in a diocesan publication or on the diocese’s Facebook page.
Please email high resolution photos (about 1 MB in size) to Director of Communications Melodie Woerman, , no later than Tuesday, Dec. 16.
Questions? Contact her at , (785) 235-9255 or (800) 473-3563.
Youth news
Register for Miqra now! Jan. 17-19 at Grace Cathedral in Topeka. For youth in grades 6-12. Miqra (meek-rah) is a weekend retreat that focuses on the Bible and allows teens to discover what’s in it, why they should care and how to read it. This year’s educational focus will be on the Pentateuch.
Registrations are due Thursday, Jan. 1 and are available online at
Parents, clergy and friends are invited to help us complete this awe-some feat! There are online sign-ups for reading from 9 a.m. Friday to 1 p.m.Saturday,before youth participants arrive. We also need parents to help supervise the reading overnight (so our on-site volunteers can get some sleep!). Sign-up online to read or supervise at
Youth PeerMinistry applications now are being accepted. The diocesan youth peerministry program is accepting applications to join the 13 current Peer Ministers. The peerministry program seeks to provide an opportunity for high school students in the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas to grow in their faith, receive training in ministry and life skills, assume roles of liturgical leadership, welcome other students into the body of Christ, and develop other young leaders. If you know a youth in your parish who would fit this position or would be interested in this position, invite them to apply to be a peerminister. Applications are due by Feb. 1 and are available on the youth website at
If you have questions about the peerministry program, contact PeerMinistry Coordinator Michael Funston at r diocesan Youth Missioner Karen Schlabach at .
Summer youth ministry internship applications now available. Do you know a college student interested in pursuing a vocation in ministry? If so, ask them if they are interested in applying for the Summer Youth Ministry Internship. Applications are due Feb. 28. Learn more about the program and how to apply at
Special UTO grant to be offered for young adult ministry
The United Thank Offering board has created a special grant for new young adult ministry programs in celebration of the 125th Anniversary of the United Thank Offering’s ministry.
One grant can be recommended by each diocese, and in turn, the UTO Board will select one application from each of the nine provinces of the Episcopal Church. Grants will be made for up to $1,250.
Applications must be for a new ministry and must engage one of the Five Marks of Mission:
- To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom
- To teach, baptize and nurture new believers
- To respond to human need by loving service
- To seek to transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and to pursue peace and reconciliation
- To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the life of the earth
Applications must be submitted to Bishop Wolfe no later than Feb. 1, 2015.
Grant application forms and additional information are online at
United Thank Offering grant application now is available
Application forms for the 2015 United Thank Offering now are available online at There applicants also will find helpful information about the application process and grant criteria.
Grants must focus on the fourth of the Five Marks of Mission established by the Anglican Communion: To seek to transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind, and to pursue peace and reconciliation.
Applications also must be for start-up costs for a new ministry, not for the continuation of an ongoing ministry unless there is a definite new direction added to the existing program.
Because each diocese can submit only one application, those considering applying are asked to read the application information on the website listed above and then contact Canon Pastor George Wiley before proceeding. He can be reached at or (785) 813-3149.
Episcopal Relief & Development matching grant ends Dec. 31
In honor of Episcopal Relief & Development’s 75th Anniversary Celebration, a group of generous donors has pledged $750,000 in matching funds for the organization’s 2014 MatchingGift Challenge.
Any donation to the organization received before Dec. 31 will be matched, dollar-for-dollar, up to the total match amount. This includes contributions through “Gifts for Life,” Episcopal Relief & Development’s alternative giving catalog, and monthly donations scheduled during the Challenge period.
The matching amount for all donations will go to the 75th Anniversary Fund, which enables the organization to respond to needs where they are greatest. The overall fundraising goal of the 75-week-long celebration is to secure $7.5 million to support programs that touch the lives of more than 3 million people in nearly 40 countries.
More information is on the agency’s website,
Young adults note: application deadline is Jan. 2 for Young Adult Service Corps
The Episcopal Church offers untold opportunities for young adults age 21 to 30 to live, work and pray with brothers and sisters around the Anglican Communion through the Young Adult Service Corps – but the deadline to apply is Jan. 2.
Current YASC members are working in administration, agriculture, development, education and technology. They are serving in Brazil, Burundi, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Haiti, Hong Kong, Italy, Japan, Kenya, the Philippines, South Africa, Spain and Uruguay.
More information about the program, and an application to serve, are online at
Year-end tips for gifts of stock
From the Episcopal Church Foundation:
Because of gains during 2014 in the stock market, parishioners who pay their pledges through gifts of stock may wish to increase their giving. By donating stock to the church, they can offset some market gains with a tax credit based on the appreciated value.
How can churches take advantage of this opportunity?
- Make sure people in your congregation know who to contact to make a gift of stock. Contact your church treasurer to see if your church can accept stock transfers in 2014 for credit to 2015 pledges.
- Many planned-giving instruments, such as charitable gift annuities, can be funded with appreciated stock. These offer the tax advantage of a charitable gift, and some also create income for the donor.
- Gifts of appreciated stock may be a boon to capital campaigns. Donors can offset capital gains, and the additional revenue from these gifts may reduce the need for bridge loans to finance building and renovation projects.
Donors should consult their own legal or financial advisers before making a final decision on these gifts.
Additional information about giving options is on the Episcopal Church Foundation website at They also can be reached by email at or by phone at (800) 697-2858.
ECF is an independent, lay led organization that responds to the needs of Episcopal faith communities by empowering them to engage in visioning and planning, develop effective lay-clergy leadership teams and raise financial and other resources for ministry.
Clergy news
Deacon Karen Wichael has announced that she will retire on Dec. 31 as Director of Pastoral Care at St. Michael and All Angels in Mission. She will remain assigned there for diaconal ministry.
The Rev. David Lynch, who previously served as curate at St. James’, Wichita, and supply priest at Trinity, Atchison, has extended an invitation to all members of the diocese to attend his installation as the second rector of St. Mary Magdalene Church in the Diocese of West Missouri. It will take place on Saturday, Dec. 20 at 10 a.m. at the church, located at 16808 Holmes Rd., in the Village of Loch Lloyd, Mo., just south of Kansas City, Mo.More information is on the church’s website,
Anniversaries of ordinations
Congratulations go to these people as they celebrate the anniversaries of their ordination in the next week:
Dec. 11:Deacon John Roper, St. Andrew’s, Derby (33 years); the Rev. William Wood, retired (47 years; Deacon Keith Akins, retired (21 years)
Dec. 13: The Rev. Herman Page, retired (62 years); Deacon John Coleton, retired (46 years); the Rev. Phyllis Flory, St. John’s, Great Bend and Holy Apostles, Ellsworth, Diocese of Western Kansas (6 years); the Rev. Mary Hixson, Grace, Anthony, Diocese of Western Kansas (12 years)
Dec. 14: The Rev. Matt Zimmermann, St. Margaret’s, Lawrence (18 years); the Rev. Neil Macintosh, retired (52 years)
Dec. 16: The Rev. Jim D’Wolfe, retired (59 years)
Dec. 18: The Rev. Ruth McAleer, retired (22 years); the Rev. Phillip Rapp, retired, Diocese of Western Kansas (53 years)
Dec. 19: The Rev. Frank Cohoon, retired (60 years); Deacon Suzanne Layne, retired (21 years)
Stay in touch via Facebook and Twitter
You can find news, features and updates from the diocese on social media. We’re on Facebook – EpiscopalDioceseofKansas ( – and Twitter – @EpiscoKs.
Next DioLog
The next edition of DioLog will be sent to subscribers on Friday, Dec. 19. This will be the final edition of DioLog for 2014.
Information to be included should be sent to Melodie Woerman, diocesan director of communications, at , no later than Wednesday, Dec. 17.
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DioLog is a publication of the Office of Communications of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas, 835 SW Polk Street, Topeka, KS 66612.