The Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge/USA

Another container leaves for Liberia for the port in Charleston on October 20th. Through The Rev James Yarsiah, St Andrew’s Episcopal Church, Charleston, SPCK/USA was asked to donate theological books from the Adopt-A-Seminary Program. SPCK/USA’s Executive Director and her husband worked for three days in the warehouse sorting and packing books for the Seth C Edwards Theological Institute covering: theololgy, Old & New Testament studies, pastoral theology, systematic theology, church history, spirituality, Anglican history, and books on philosophy, psychology, anthropology. Over 1248 books were packed in 37 boxes and shipped to the port in Charleston. Just today we received an email from Fr James, “On behalf of the Liberian Episcopal Clergy in the USA (LECUSA), I wish to thank you, your husband and others … for the theolgoical books for Liberia … the books have arrived.”

Weston Vogel is a trustee of SPCK/USA and lives in the Diocese of Bethlehem.

At the Annual Meeting of SPCK/USA in April 2008, Wes asked if the Board would consider getting involved in providing Christian resources to the Diocese of Kajo-Keji in the Sudan. A motion was passed which reads, “To support as a new project, at no cost to SPCK/USA, the Diocese of Bethlehem (PA) in their on-going project in Kajo-Keji.” Just this past week SPCK/USA packed and is ready to ship to the Diocese of Bethlehem 100 Bibles, vestments, and children’s books to their distribution warehouse to be shipped to Kajo-Keji.

Bill Lewellis, Communication Minister, in the Diocese of Bethlehem writes, “Five years ago, Bishop Paul Marshall asked Charlie Barebo to help spearhead a capital campaign to develop a camp and conference center for the Diocese of Bethlehem. “A funny thing happened on the way,” said Barebo. “I woke up one morning in the Sudan.”

A global traveler as CEO of Otterbine Barebo, Inc., Barebo said it was no less than a “life-changing event that has deepened my faith and forever altered my outlook on this world.”

Parishes throughout the 14-county northeastern Pennsylvania diocese launched New Hope during the last two Sundays of September. By that time, more than half of the $3.6 million goal had already been raised through advance gifts, said Barebo who chairs the New Hope capital campaign, but not for a camp and conference center.

“We have begun something unique,” said Bishop Marshall, “a capital campaign for others and an extra mile toward the Millennium Development Goals. Some 75% of the money raised will help the destitute in Sudan; 25% will provide grants to enable parishes in our diocese to expand projects and develop new initiatives to serve the needy in northeastern Pennsylvania. Our diocese, institutionally, will not benefit from this effort.”

“We are responding to the request of the Diocese of Kajo Keji for assistance in building the educational and organizational centers that will allow them to provide for their own future,” said the bishop. “Through revolving micro-finance funds, enterprising individuals, largely women, will be able to make a new start in a war-torn country.”

Bethlehem has had a partnership relationship with the Diocese of Kajo Keji for the past seven years. Ten missioners have been deeply affected by their visits with sisters ann brothers in southern Sudan.

Just in the past month the volunteers and seminarians that help with the Adopt-A-Seminary program of SPCK/USA have processed donations of over 1,800 theological books with a value of over $20,000. To each and every donor, it is so gratifying to us who work with this program to see theological books coming to us from around the country! We know you treasure your books and, we appreciate you entrusting them to SPCK/USA. Your books will enrich the lives of many in Bible Colleges, schools, and seminaries around the world. These books have come to our warehouse from around the country:

St James Episcopal Church, Salem, NY
Laurel Stewart, Springfield, MA
Education Liturgy Resources, Oxford, NC
Decherd Presbyterian Church, Decherd, TN
Christ Episcopal Church, Mena, AR
The Rev Dominic Ciannella, Great River, NY
Virginia Flinn, St Simons Island, GA
The Rev Susan Grimm, Clarksville, VA
The Rev Loreen Reed, Madison, GA
The Rev Dr Joe Monti, Sewanee, TN
The Rev Frederick A Buechner, Thomasville, GA
The Rev Robert Spangler, Arden, NC
Cokesbury - United Methodist Publishing, Charleston, WV
St Andrew’s Church, New London, NH
Church of the Holy Family, Park Forest, IL
Grace Episcopal Church, Mt Meigs, AL
Ms Sandra Allen, Montgomery, AL
The Rev Dwight Ogier, Roswell, GA
The Rt Rev William Folwell, Hendersonville, NC
Ellen Riley, Tuskagee, NC

God’s peace to each of you!

SPCK/USA received the following letter from The Rev James Yarsiah, rector of St Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Charleston, SC. SPCK has worked with Fr James since early 2004 in providing theological books, children’s Christian education materials, and vestments to the Episcopal Church in Liberia. Now another container is being prepared for shipment. The new bishop of Liberia has asked athan B. B. Hart. He was consecrated on February 2, 2008. He has made this request for 1940 Hymnals. Check your parish, your diocese, your own library - if you have any to donate to this shipment, please call SPCK/USA or email us at spck@sewanee.edu.

“I’m writing to inform you that the Church Pension Fund of TEC has planned to pay for the shipping of a 20 foot freight container to Liberia. They are sending some 1982 Hymnals, Prayer Books, Lift Every Voice and Sing II (African American Hymnals), and theological books to Cuttington University College. They have asked our organization, the Liberian Episcopal Clergy in the USA (LECUSA) to collaborate with them and solicit used 1979 BCPs, 1940 & 1982 Hymnals, Bibles, commentaries, Interpreters Bibles, theological books, used vestments, altar linens, etc., for the Episcopal Church of Liberia.

In view of the above, I am kindly asking SPCK/USA, through your office to donate some of these items to be shipped to Liberia in late October 2008. Liberia currently has a new Bishop, Jonathan B.B. Hart. He was consecrated on February 2, 2008. He has made this request to us to assist him and the church in Liberia during this period of rebuilding and empowerment, after 14 years of civil war.

I am prepared to work out the means of transporting the donated items from Cowan, Tennessee to Charleston, South Carolina. If the items are packed ahead of time, then we can arrange transportation. I hope that we can work on this project in September or early October.

Blessings,
Fr. James

Twenty-eight youth and four adults from St Andrew’s (Jackson, MS), the Cathedral in the City, descended on the Sewanee mountain this week. Led by the Dean of the Cathedral, The Very Rev Edward O’Connor, these virbrant and exciting youth spent 2 1/2 hours working in the SPCK/USA warehouse. What can 28 youth and 4 adults do in that amount of time?
* Five shipments totaling over 300 books were prepared to go to the Caribbean, Ghana, and Uganda
* 30 boxes of books received from parishes and individuals were upacked (over 500 books) and shelved
* each young person wrote a personal letter to go with the shipments telling a little about themselves and their walk with Christ
The Very Rev Edward O’Connor graduated from The School of Theology-Sewanee. While he was in seminary he did work-study with the SPCK/USA Adopt-A-Seminary program. Almost every year, since he has graduated, he has brought the youth group from his parish to volunteer with the program.

To all the young people from St Andrew’s Cathedral and adult sponsors - thank you for blessing SPCK/USA with your presence.

SPCK/USA received the following letter from IWS:

Dear Patti Joy,

I hope you are doing well and your ministry is continuing to thrive. Thank you once again for the additional books you have given to IWS … You and SPCK have been such an incredible blessing to us in helping us establish our library. We are somewhere around 8,500 volumes now, and SPCK/USA played a significant role in making it all happen. Thank you!!

When we get the additional volumes we will send a more official letter with the number of volumes indicated … With your assistance, IWS has done well in resource development, and the accrediting association was impressed with our current collection. We have retained a (very) part-time MLS librarian and a seminary student as library assistant.

Again, thank you for your encouragement and support of IWS.

Grace and peace,
Dr James P. Hart
President, The Robert E. Webber Institute for Worship Studies
Orange Park, FL

“Dear SPCK,

Patti Joy Posan we are very grateful for the 200 Bibles SPCK sent to us. I wrote already, but as we begin a New Year living the Word, I wanted once more to THANK YOU!

Bro Peter Daino”

Bro Daino founded M.I.R.A.C.L.E. (Marianist Institute of Rural Artisans for Christian Life Education) in 1999 in Karonga, Malawi. Orphans dominate the villages there. In Africa, AIDS has taken the parents from nine million children. MIRACLE is a two-year technical school for dropouts who have lost their parents due to the AIDS epedemic. The Mission of M.I.R.A.C.L.E. is to give poor youth in Karonga trade skills appropriate for the rural market as well as life skills for a virtuous life. Both - trade skills and life skills - will enable young people to earn an income and to raise Christ-centered families.

The parish bears the names of the congregations that merged to form it in 1976. In December of 1954, eight faculty members of Alabama A&M College (now University), a historically black institution, petitioned The Rt Rev George Murray for worship space near the campus. A trailer was soon provided that served as the chapel until the construction of their building in 1963.

While the people of Holy Cross persevered, a few miles to the west another group with an exciting future as a church mission, came together as St Christopher’s in 1961. At that time Huntsville was a booming city with growth fueled by high-technology, military, and space interests which brought people from throughout the world.

During the decline of the space program in the 1970’s, many members of the parish left Huntsville to pursue other endeavors. Declining membership resulted in the inability of St Christopher’s to complete their church building program. This promoted consideration of a merger of the two congregations.

One can easily conclude that God’s hand was evident in the decision and the proceedings that followed. The Rt Rev Furman C Stough, Bishop of Alabama at the time, observed that racial matters were insignificant from the start, the members were “too busy being the Church” (SPCK thanks Audrey Vinson of Huntsville for compiling the information on these two parishes)

The priest at Holy Cross-St Christopher’s, The Rev Joan Miller-Henrick, contacted SPCK/USA about the need at the parish for vestments. The donors of SPCK/USA through their gifts of vestments provided this parish with 2 bursees, 1 cassock, 6 stoles, and 3 chasubles.

Trinity Episcopal Church
P.O. Box 2121
503 Second Avenue South
Clanton, Alabama 35045

The Rev. William King,
Priest in Charge

Deacon Steve Shanks,
Deacon

Mr. Archie Cleckler,
Senior Warden

Mr. Ralph Mason,
Junior Warden

Church Phone: 205-755-3339
Church Web Site: www.trinitychurch.org

Monday, February 4th, 2008

Patti Joy Posan,
Executive Director
Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge (SPCK)
P.O. box 879
Sewanee, Tn. 37375-0879

Dear Patti,
On behalf of the vestry and people of Trinity Episcopal Church, Clanton, AL, I wish to thank you for the most generous gift by the SPCK of 155 theology, spirituality and biblical study books for our library. Trinity Church is a mission church within the diocese of Alabama, having now grown to over 45 members. Your kindness in such a gift is very much appreciated, especially as one of my goals for this year is to develop a good parish library focused on basic resources for both spiritual reading and research into issues and questions of our faith and Anglican tradition.

Trinity Church is the only Episcopal Church in Chilton County as well as Coosa and the northern part of Elmore and Autauga counties in central Alabama. The resources the SPCK have provided will assist in a significant way for the congregation to serve as a place of study and inquiry into questions of faith and tradition.

I am so appreciative of the support to us by SPCK. And in return for your support, I am asking our vestry to approve a small financial gift to the SPCK from our outreach budget.

I do hope you will have an opportunity to visit Trinity Church sometime so that you can see the results of your generosity to the teaching role of our small but growing community.

Again, thank you for your kindness in sharing some of your books with us.

Peace to you and blessings in all that you do.

William King,
Priest in Charge

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