Karen Schlabach Named New Youth Missioner

Nov. 29, 2012

Karen Schlabach named new Youth Missioner

In an announcement on Nov. 27, Bishop Dean Wolfe introduced Karen Schlabach as the new Youth missioner for the diocese. She will begin her ministry in mid-January.

The full announcement is online at

Diocesan policy on blessing same-sex relationships is announced

Bishop Wolfe has issued a policy that permits priests in the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas to bless same-sex relationships, beginning in Advent, in accordance with actions of this summer’s General Convention.

The policy is available on the diocesan website at

A PDF of the authorized liturgical rite is available from that page, or it can be accessed directly at

Jan. 4 is deadline for scholarship aid requests from clergy children

Jan. 4 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. 4; for the fall term, no later than Aug. 2.
• 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.

Advent resources offered

Observing Advent in spiritual, faithful avenues via social media is being conducted by the Episcopal Church Office of Communication. Advent is the liturgical season that occurs four weeks prior to Christmas, beginning on Sunday, Dec. 2. Advent is a time of reflection and preparation.

• The Episcopal Church Facebook page and Twittertwitter.com/iamepiscopalianfeatures special Advent and Christmas elements such as conversation-starting inquiries, a word of the day and videos.
• On Dec. 2, an Advent Calendar goes live on the Episcopal Church IAmEpiscopalian Pinterest board: The Office of Communication has partnered with the brothers of the religious order The Society of Saint John the Evangelist to create the Advent Calendar. Each day of Advent a new image will appear on Pinterest linked to a meditation from the brothers’ brief daily devotional “Brother, Give Us A Word.”
• To engage children in a more active role during worship this Advent, the Episcopal Church is offering a four-week series of lectionary-based children's sermons at no fee, providing clergy and lay leaders with step-by-step instructions on how to help the children lead the adults in worship: The sermons are also available in Spanish on the Sermones que Iluminan website:
• Episcopal Church Young Adult Ministries is offering an Advent Meditation Blog at:
  
• Youth ministries Office is offering the d365 daily devotional, for Advent through the Feast of the Epiphany in January. Named “Following the Star,” the devotions are presented through an ecumenical partnership with the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and the Presbyterian Church USA. Available at

Does your parish website reflect your Advent plans?

Now is the time to make sure any special Advent services are listed prominently on your congregation’s website. If you have a church Facebook page, be sure to share links to that information there, too.

By mid-December, start posting your Christmas Eve and Christmas Day service times, too, so travelers and guests who are checking online can make attending your church part of their plans.

Clergy news

The Rev. Richard McCandless will celebrate the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood on Dec. 21, and two special celebrations are planned in his honor.

A Eucharist will take place at Trinity, El Dorado, 400 W. Ash, this Saturday, Dec. 8 at 2 p.m. Bishop Wolfe will be the celebrant, and the Rev. Tom Wilson will preach.

An open house at St. John’s, Parsons, is set for Saturday, Dec.15 from 2-4 p.m. at the church, 1801 Corning.

All members of the diocese are invited to attend either or both events.

Youth news

Still accepting registrations for ADVENTure! Dec. 8-9 at Grace Cathedral in Topeka. This is a new youth event this year and is an overnight event focusing on the season of Advent. Activities and speakers will be centered on this season of preparation for the coming of Christ. Registrations can be found at Registrations were due Monday, Nov. 26 but space still is available. Contact Michael Funston at if you still would like to sign up.

Miqra. Jan. 19-21, 2013, at Grace Cathedral and St. David’s 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 we should care and how to read it. Registrations are available now online at

Summer youth ministry internship applications now available. Do you know a college student interested in pursuing a vocation in ministry? While many of your college-age parishioners are coming back to their home parishes for the holidays, why not ask them if they are interested in applying for the Summer Youth Ministry Internship. Applications for the program are due Feb. 23. Learn more about the program and how to apply:

UTO grant criteriaare available; deadline is Feb. 28

Applications for a grant through the United Thank Offering will be accepted online between Jan. 1 and Feb. 28, 2013. They will be reviewed in March and voted on in May. Grant awards will be announced in June.

New grant criteria now have been posted on the UTO website:

The United Thank Offering supports projects that are involved with:

• alleviating poverty (domestic and international);
• making significant impact;
• demonstrating new and innovative programs/projects/work; and
• transforming unjust structures of society.

The online application will be available starting Jan. 1.

For further information about UTO, contact Barbi Tinder, UTO Board Grant Committee Convener, ; Sarita Redd, UTO President, ; or Michelle Jobson, UTO Grant Associate, , (800) 334-7626, ex. 6022.

Grants are funded by the Blue Box offerings made by Episcopalians throughout the church.

Upcoming KSM classes

A variety of classes offered by the Kansas School for Ministry still may have room for students who want to enrich their own spiritual life by extensive study on one of these topics:

• Jan. 13-14: Old Testament II, the Pentateuch (Dr. Melissa Tubbs Loya); New Testament II, the Gospels (Dr. Jim Lewis)
• Feb. 10-11: church dogmatics survey (the Rev. Andrew Grosso); history of the Episcopal Church (the Rev. Bill Wolff)
• March 9-10: Christian ethics survey (the Rev. Andrew O’Connor); church canons (Mr. Larry Bingham)

The cost to attend is $100 per course for non-ordination students. Fees cover tuition, overnight accommodations in the Bethany Place Conference Center (starting later this fall, after renovations), and four meals. The cost of books and other materials are not included.

Those wanting to enroll or who need more information should contact KSM Coordinator the Rev. Andrew Grosso at or (913) 367-3171.

Video shows Episcopal Church relief efforts after Superstorm Sandy

The Episcopal Church Office of Communication has produced a video about the efforts of one church in the Diocese of Long Island to serve people in need a month after Superstorm Sandy hit the New York City area. The effort is being called “Occupy Sandy.”

The Church of St. Luke and St. Matthew in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn, is the operational base. They are training and sending out volunteers into the still-affected areas of Brooklyn, such as Red Hook and Coney Island, where tens of thousands of people still have no power. The rector, the Rev. Michael Sniffen, opened the church for use as a staging point to move goods and supplies. More than 20,000 volunteers have assisted, with 10,000 meals a day cooked and delivered.

Donations can be made through the church’s Amazon.com registry.

The video is online at

Report on situation in Gaza provided by American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem

The recent fighting in Israel and Gaza has prompted a report from the American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, a non-political, independent nonprofit that raises funds for and promotes the humanitarian work of the Diocese of Jerusalem and its institutions so it may better serve the needs of all people in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, Palestine and Israel.

An update on the situation was sent by e-newsletter to subscribers on Nov. 19, including a report by retired Bishop John Bryson Chane. He describes the effect of the fighting on the work of Al Ahli Hospital in Gaza City, a diocesan institution, as well as other places where the diocese ministers.

The newsletter is available at

Fair trade coffee and chocolates are featured in ERD Christmas boxes

Episcopal Relief and Development is offering two Bishops Blend coffee Christmas boxes for the 2012 holiday season: a coffee box with three special roasts, and a coffee and chocolate box with two coffee roasts and three bars of Guatemalan chocolate.

Each version sells for $29 and is shipped with a personalized message. A portion of the sale of Bishops Blend coffee helps to sustain ERD’s work worldwide.

To ensure delivery before Christmas, order no later than Dec. 11. Order online at or by calling (877) 469-1431.

Anniversaries of ordinations

Congratulations go to these people as they celebrate the anniversaries of their ordination in the next two weeks:

Nov. 30: The Rev. Joseph Bayles, retired (45 years); Bishop Michael Milliken, Diocese of Western Kansas (to the priesthood – 39 years); the Rev. James Cox, retired, Diocese of Western Kansas (22 years); the Rev. Bruce LaBarron, retired, Diocese of Western Kansas (39 years)

Dec. 1: The Rev. Gail Greenwell, St. Michael and All Angels, Mission (11 years); the Very Rev. Edward Fellhauer, St. Francis Community Services, Salina, Diocese of Western Kansas (25 years)

Dec. 6: The Rev. Gar Demo, St. Thomas the Apostle, Overland Park (15 years); the Rev. Kelly Demo, St. Thomas the Apostle, Overland Park (15 years); the Rev. Philip Hubbard, St. Clare’s, Spring Hill (4 years); the Rev. Laurie Lewis, St. Stephen’s, Wichita (4 years); the Rev. Sarah Knoll Sweeney, non-parochial (4 years)

Dec. 7: The Very Rev. Steve Mues, St. Stephen’s, Wichita (39 years); the Rev. Mary Siegmund, St. Matthew’s, Newton (14 years); the Rev. Jerry Jones, retired, Diocese of Western Kansas (47 years)

Dec. 8: The Rev. Dennis Gilhousen, St. Michael and All Angels, Mission (33 years)

Dec. 9: The Rev. Bill Breedlove, St. Michael and All Angels, Mission (3 years)

Dec. 10: The Rev. Jim Cook, St. Luke’s, Shawnee (23 years)

Dec. 11: The Rev. William Wood, retired (45 years); Deacon Keith Akins, retired (19 years); Deacon John Roper, St. Andrew’s, Derby (31 years)

Dec. 12: The Rev. Nancy Shank, non-parochial (25 years)

Next DioLog

The next edition of DioLog will be sent to subscribers on Thursday, Dec. 12. Information to be included should be sent to Melodie Woerman, diocesan director of communications, at , no later than Tuesday, Dec. 10.

DioLog is a publication of the Office of Communications of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas.

Parishes are free to excerpt anything printed in DioLog; attributionthat material is reprinted fromDioLogis appreciated. Feel free to copy this and make it available to parishioners in whatever way is most useful.