Rt. Rev. Deon K. Johnson ordained as bishop of Episcopal Diocese of Mo

From Missouri-

The Rt. Rev. Deon K. Johnson was ordained as the 11th bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri, representing more than 10,000 worshipers from 42 parishes throughout the eastern half of the state. He is the first black, openly gay bishop in the diocese’s 179-year history.

“To find ourselves in this moment, the ancestor of a slave, to be called to be the Bishop of Missouri – God is good!” said Bishop Johnson during his ordination service. “To the people of Missouri, we have a whole new story to tell and a whole new boldness to tell it with. So, I look forward to the adventure.”

Before two dozen worshipers and Episcopal clerics at Christ Church Cathedral in downtown St. Louis, Johnson was consecrated as the spiritual leader of eastern Missouri’s congregants during a service that was livestreamed on the diocesan Facebook page.

More here-

http://www.stlamerican.com/religion/local_religion/rt-rev-deon-k-johnson-ordained-as-bishop-of-episcopal-diocese-of-mo/article_8163aaf4-b660-11ea-a0a8-ef3b1255f281.html

Missouri makes history with first black, openly-gay bishop ordination

From Missouri (with video)-

The Episcopal Diocese of Missouri has a new leader and it's a choice that's making history.

Reverend Deon K. Johnson was ordained Saturday as the 11th Episcopal Bishop of Missouri.

He is the first black, openly-gay bishop in the diocese's 179-year history.

“To find ourselves in this moment, the ancestor of a slave, to be called to be the Bishop of Missouri – God is good!” Johnson said during his ordination service. “To the people of Missouri, we have a whole new story to tell and a whole new boldness to tell it with. So I look forward to the adventure.”

More here-

https://www.kmov.com/news/missouri-makes-history-with-first-black-openly-gay-bishop-ordination/article_db173cae-adec-11ea-8259-ff2027a5acff.html

First Openly Gay Bishop To Lead The Episcopal Diocese of Missouri With Hope And Vision

From Missouri-

The Episcopal Diocese of Missouri will soon have a new bishop. The Rev. Deon Johnson officially will become the 11th bishop of the diocese when he is consecrated on June 13. Johnson’s transition into the role is historic: He’s the first openly gay bishop to lead the Diocese of Missouri. 

He and his husband and their two kids moved to St. Louis in February with hopes of getting adjusted to the region. That was put on hold as the coronavirus pandemic grew. St. Louis Public Radio’s Marissanne Lewis-Thompson spoke with Johnson about his new role and how he’s approaching the position in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. 

Marissanne Lewis-Thompson: What kind of guidance has the diocese given as a result of everything that’s going on with the coronavirus?

Deon Johnson: In the midst of all of this, the highest priority are the people in our communities, making sure that they stay safe. So, one of the things that has come out of the bishop's office here in the Diocese of Missouri is that we have closed all public worship until the end of May, at which point we'll re-evaluate. But we really wanted to make sure that those vulnerable populations, our neighbors in Christ, were not going to be impacted directly by actions of either clergy or just going to church or getting together.

More here-

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/first-openly-gay-bishop-lead-episcopal-diocese-missouri-hope-and-vision#stream/0

Jefferson City church celebrates first black priest, former member

From Missouri-

Grace Episcopal Church on Sunday commemorated the lives of two African Americans whose contributions shaped both the Episcopal Church in general and Grace Episcopal specifically.

Sunday's special service honored Absalom Jones, the first black ordained priest of the Episcopal Church, and Julia Cooper, a former member of Grace Episcopal Church.

Jones, who was disappointed with racism/discrimination at Methodist Church in 1787, founded the Free African Society — a mutual aid society for blacks — with Richard Allen. Jones went on the found the first black Episcopal congregation in 1794, and in 1802, he became the first priest to become ordained as a priest in the Episcopal Church.

More here-

https://www.newstribune.com/news/local/story/2020/feb/17/area-church-celebrates-first-black-priest-former-member/817017/

Trinity Episcopal Church Gains National Recognition

From St. Louis-

Trinity Episcopal Church is receiving national recognition for its contributions to LGBTQ history in St. Louis. 

The Central West End church became the first and only site in Missouri and the Episcopal Church to be named on the National Register of Historic Places for its role in the LGBTQ community.

The church became an early supporter of gay rights and LGBTQ parishoners in 1960s and people living with AIDS in the 1980s. Trinity was ahead of the game, said the Rev. Jon Stratton, the rector at the church.

“We were inclusive far before the national church was,” Stratton said. “We have been a place of welcome for the LGBTQ community for well over 50 years. Which again was not a typical thing in churches and wasn’t really even typical within the Episcopal Church going that far back.”

More here-

https://news.stlpublicradio.org/post/trinity-episcopal-church-gains-national-recognition#stream/0

An Anglican church in Missouri has elected a gay, black, immigrant man in a same-sex marriage as its new bishop.

From Missouri-

Reverend Deon Johnson was overwhelming elected by voting delegates at Christ Church Cathedral in St Louis, with 113 votes out of 164, making him the new leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri and its more than 10,000 worshippers.

Johnson was described by the diocese in its announcement as a “veteran Episcopal priest with deep experience in social justice issues and ministry to gay and lesbian communities”.

He immigrated from Barbados to the United States at the age of 14, and now lives in Brighton, Michigan, with his husband and their two children.

The newly elected bishop appeared via video with his husband at Christ Church Cathedral, and seemed overwhelmed by the applause when the results were announced on Sunday, 24 November.

More here-

https://www.pinknews.co.uk/2019/11/25/anglican-church-deon-johnson-gay-black-immigrant-same-sex-marriage-bishop-missouri-michigan/

Episcopalians pick new Missouri bishop

From Missouri-

The Episcopal Diocese of Missouri will have a new leader for its 10,000 worshippers next year, the first time since 2002 and only the 11th time in its 180-year history.

Rev. Deon Johnson had this reaction when reached by KMOX News on Saturday afternoon, just hours after the announcement, "This has been absolutely an amazing, and in some ways unexpected, but joy-filled weekend."

The current rector at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Brighton, Michigan, Bishop-Elect Johnson will replace the retiring Right Rev. George Wayne Smith next April.

He says he's looking forward to continuing work on social justice issues and ministry to gay and lesbian communities, "It's a bold statement that we are really going to love you no matter who you are, no matter who you love, and no matter where you came from or what you've done. God still loves you deeply. I think that is the heart of who we are as Episcopalians, as followers of Jesus, and as Christians moving into the 21st century."

More here-

https://kmox.radio.com/articles/news/episcopalians-pick-new-missouri-bishop

Diocese of Missouri prepares for bishop election

From ENS-

The Episcopal Diocese of Missouri is pleased to announce a slate of three nominees to become its 11^th bishop:

• The Rev. Stacey Fussell, rector at Episcopal Church of the Ascension in Bradford, Pennsylvania
• The Rev. Deon K. Johnson, rector at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Brighton, Michigan
• The Rev. George D. Smith, rector at St. Mark’s Episcopal Church in Glen Ellyn, Illinois

A committee made up of lay and clergy members from throughout the diocese conducted a search and discernment process lasting nearly a year. Their slate was presented and was approved by the Standing Committee on Sept. 26.
The nominees are scheduled to visit the diocese Nov. 4-7 for a series of four “walkabouts.” These meet-and-greet sessions will give members an opportunity to ask questions of the nominees, as well as provide time for the candidates to learn more about the diocese.

More here-

https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2019/10/24/diocese-of-missouri-prepares-for-bishop-election/

Independent St. Stanislaus Catholic parish declines to join Episcopal Church

From St. Louis-

The independent St. Stanislaus Kostka Polish Catholic Church is no longer considering joining the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri, church leaders said.

After a meeting with Episcopal Bishop Wayne Smith and lawyers, St. Stanislaus representatives declined to agree to relinquish church property to the Episcopal Church in any future dissolution of their relationship.

The Carr Square neighborhood church has been independent since its split from the Roman Catholic Church in 2005.

More here-

https://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/independent-st-stanislaus-catholic-parish-declines-to-join-episcopal-church/article_daeb5fed-831b-5217-8e96-966c55bf9a3b.html

‘I do’ – and they have: Couples renew vows, honor Harry and Bess

From Missouri-

Couples from across the United States renewed their marriage vows on the steps of the Truman Library in Independence in celebration of the wedding anniversary of Harry and Bess Truman. The weather was a sweltering compliment to the hot June day when the presidential couple was married 100 years ago at Trinity Episcopal Church, less than a mile away from where the library stands.

Marriages spanning as many as 72 years were renewed following a brief statement by Library Director Kurt Graham.

“We are here celebrating one of the great love affairs in presidential history,” he told the crowd. “They were only married for 53 years ... but it was a lifelong love affair.” That commitment was reflected in the couples gathered for the ceremony.

Pastor Nancy Kerr officiated the ceremony. While most marriage ceremonies feature a few words of advice to the couple, Kerr said no one present needed any.

“It’s pretty apparent there’s a lot of love here today on these steps,” she said.

More here-

https://www.lakenewsonline.com/news/20190629/i-do---and-they-have-couples-renew-vows-honor-harry-and-bess

Dallas bishop’s plan for allowing same-sex marriage involves Missouri bishop’s oversight

From ENS-

Three parishes in the Diocese of Dallas have asked to perform same-sex marriage ceremonies under a General Convention compromise with Bishop George Sumner and other conservative diocesan bishops, and Sumner announced this week that Missouri Bishop Wayne Smith will provide pastoral oversight of those three parishes.

The move, based on Sumner’s interpretation of Resolution B012 approved in July, will allow the parishes to begin offering the church-approved trial-use rites without raising further objection from Sumner, who will relinquish oversight but not diocesan authority.

More here-

https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2018/11/15/dallas-bishops-plan-for-allowing-same-sex-marriage-involves-missouri-bishops-oversight/?fbclid=IwAR1IeZO_nQ-9zOMI2EABN3unCYzYK9H0E7iVIVJ0SEY-YAgGexpExaCwXgk

Diocese of Missouri Bishop Wayne Smith announces plan to retire in 2020

From ENS-

Bishop Wayne Smith released the following letter to the diocese on April 27, announcing his plans to retire in 2020 and outlining the process for electing his successor, the 11th bishop of Missouri.

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

It is with a whirlwind of emotions that I write this letter, for no ministry have I loved more than serving as the Tenth Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri. Even so, the time has come for me to set in motion a process for electing and calling the Eleventh Bishop. In a lengthy meeting yesterday, I announced this decision to the Standing Committee, who from this time forward will have complete responsibility for the process. The Rt. Rev. Todd Ousley, Bishop for the Office for Pastoral Development, was present to present a framework for this season ahead. I have called for the election of my successor during the 2019 meeting of Diocesan Convention, November 15-16. The ordination of the new bishop will be sometime in the spring 2020, probably in April. My resignation will become effective on that date.

More here-

https://www.episcopalnewsservice.org/2018/04/27/diocese-of-missouri-bishop-wayne-smith-announces-plan-to-retire-in-2020/

Will churches need signs banning guns? STL clergy members speak out against concealed carry bill

From St. Louis-

Religious leaders across denominations spoke out in St. Louis on Wednesday against pending legislation that would allow concealed weapons in places of worship in Missouri without permission of the clergy.

“The bill would broaden Second Amendment rights at the expense of the First Amendment right of religious liberty,” said Most Rev. Robert Carlson, archbishop of St. Louis, who presides over some 500,000 Roman Catholics in the region.

Carlson was joined at a press conference by eight religious leaders representing the Jewish, Episcopalian, Methodist, Baptist and Evangelical Lutheran faiths, among others.

More here-

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/metro/will-churches-need-signs-banning-guns-stl-clergy-members-speak/article_42245790-1e9d-5c82-817d-aed289751420.html

A word from Bishop Wayne Smith about Charlottesville and Racism

From Missouri-

Only a few days ago I had meant merely to point the people and clergy of the Diocese of Missouri to the statement from the Bishops of the Diocese of Virginia, which can still be found here. Charlottesville, after all, lies in the geography of their pastoral concern, not mine. My desire was then, and still remains, to support ministry and faithful witness on the ground, where the wound actually occurred. The President’s news conference on August 15, however, has broadened the reach of some deeply troubling issues and made them pertinent to every citizen, everywhere in this country. I thus have no conscientious option left but to speak out. And I do so primarily from a moral and theological perspective, not a political one.

A foundation of Biblical faith requires belief in the One True God and a corresponding renunciation of all others, who are but idols. Idolatry is a cagier, more insidious matter than we often realize. It certainly includes all the false gods made of sticks, stones, or metal, yes. At base, however, an idol is just something that is no god at all—but still demands the allegiance which belongs to the true God. Ideology, for example, can therefore become such an idol. 

More here-

https://www.diocesemo.org/news/2017/08/16/word-bishop-wayne-smith-about-charlottesville-and-racism

Revive democracy by reviving relationships

From St. Louis-

“If it is not about love, it is not about God.”

These words rang out Tuesday through the standing-room-only crowd in Graham Chapel at Washington University . The speaker, the Most Rev. Michael Curry, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, had the crowd hanging on his every syllable.

He’s that kind of preacher, the kind we don’t see often in the Episcopal Church: fiery, eloquent, poetic, and deeply shaped by the African-American tradition of rousing, rhythmic, call-and-response oratory that had even me shouting out the occasional “Amen!” when he really got going.

Curry was in town as a guest of the Danforth Center on Religion and Politics and was introduced by former Sen. John Danforth, himself both an Episcopal priest and a longtime politician.

More here-

http://www.stltoday.com/lifestyles/faith-and-values/civil-religion/faith-perspectives-revive-democracy-by-reviving-relationships/article_01a29ad3-69b5-554a-8134-8971b9993884.html

Judge Trump’s presidency as it happens, not before

From Missouri-

In Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus tells his followers that they should judge a tree by its fruit.

On Tuesday, November 8, Donald J. Trump was elected to be the 45th president of the United States.

Some of my church members cheer the Trump presidency, while other members fear it.

On the Sunday after the election, I spoke to my congregation about the urgent need for healing of the nation and for unity after the most vitriolic presidential campaign in modern history. How many of us will soon forget the chants of “Lock her up” or the accusations of “sexual predator”?

I reminded my members that in our democratic system, elections are the way we choose our political leaders. There are winners and losers, but the country always wins because we transfer power peacefully, not violently.

More here-

http://www.news-leader.com/story/opinion/contributors/2016/11/26/judge-trumps-presidency-happens/94479796/

Episcopal church members in St. Louis sue to stop merger; allege mishandling of $360,000

From St. Louis-

Members of an Episcopal church in St. Louis have filed suit claiming its leaders have locked them out and absconded with more than $360,000 in church funds as part of a pending merger.

Four longtime members of the All Saints Episcopal Church filed suit late Tuesday night asking a judge to stop the merger, return $360,000 from the church’s endowment and keep the doors open “to allow parishioners the free will [to] worship God in their home church.

The church at 2831 North Kingshighway Boulevard describes itself as the first and oldest predominantly African-American Episcopal church in Missouri, founded in 1874.

“Plaintiffs are currently barred from the church, the locks have been changed and the plaintiffs lack unfettered access to information, records and documentation due to the administrative office being removed,” the suit says.

More here-

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/episcopal-church-members-in-st-louis-sue-to-stop-merger/article_0d1720a3-784b-53a9-a2a6-1d83f6907efd.html

Election Day communion service open to all denominations

From Missouri-

Most likely would agree that this year's presidential campaign process has been rather nasty, with bountiful mudslinging from both parties.

"We know this has been a particularly stressful and contentious election season," said the Rev. Dawn-Victoria Mitchell of Trinity St. Paul's Episcopal Church. "So we think it is important to come together in a show of unity."

Trinity St. Paul's is hosting a special Election Day communion service at 6 p.m. Nov. 8. Trinity St. Paul's, one of the city's oldest churches, dates to 1860 and is located at 213 N. Fourth. The church seats about 100.

"No matter where we stand on issues or candidates, we are all a member of the body of Christ," Mitchell said. "There is more that unites us than separates us."

The communion is open to all baptized members of any denomination, Mitchell said.

More here-

http://www.whig.com/20161031/election-day-communion-service-open-to-all-denominations#

Ferguson church shelters music outreach program

From St. Louis-

St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Ferguson received a $2,500 grant from the Missouri Humanities Council  to support its Strings Attached project. The project connects youth, ages 5 to 17, with music education using American roots music. They learn to play instruments such as guitar, ukulele, dobro, banjitar and mandolin

It all goes back to Ray Charles.

Project founder Steve Housewright, a St. Louis native, began working in an after-school program in Los Angeles in 1999, as Terry Perkins reported for The Beacon. This was a program sponsored by Ray Charles called the Sir Charles Blues Lab. When Housewright moved back to the St. Louis area, he founded a similar program in 2009 at St. Stephen's Episcopal Church with the support of Father Steve Lawler, who had started community outreach programs under the umbrella name “The Vine.” They started with guitars, hence the name “Strings Attached."

More here-

http://www.stlamerican.com/religion/local_religion/ferguson-church-shelters-music-outreach-program/article_68a5d7f4-8b3e-11e6-8964-b3cba883d974.html

Kansas City soup kitchen is just like a restaurant

From Kansas City (with video)-

There's a new downtown Kansas City dining experience that's getting a lot of attention.  A culinary team makes the menu and a waiter takes your order.  But it's not a restaurant.

It's the Kansas City Community Kitchen at 8th Street and Paseo, and it's providing free meals to anyone in need.  But it's nothing like a typical soup kitchen.

"We have a baked chicken an oven baked chicken," said one worker at the Kansas City Community Kitchen.  "We have a french fry but instead of being fried, its actually being baked.  We have green beans that have been flavored with a turkey bacon."

All of those items were on the menu at the Kansas City Community Kitchen on Wednesday.  It looks and smells like a restaurant, and there's a friendly staff to take your order.  But the meal is free for everyone.

"We don't want it to be a soup kitchen, for us it's about being a community kitchen so it's about breaking walls and letting people see anyone can be in need," said Beau Heyen at Episcopal Community Services.

More here-

http://www.kmbc.com/news/kansas-city-soup-kitchen-is-just-like-a-restaurant/38427134