Please submit articles at the earliest possible date to insure inclusion in the newsletter. Electronic submissions are preferred with text in the body of an email. Email submisions to: submitgryphon@earthlink.net 

There is now a bin for submissions in the office. If you submit something, please put your name and contact information on it. I will make every effort to get it into the newsletter. - Shelley Davis, Ed.

Lord God Almighty, you have made all the peoples of the earth for your glory, to serve you in freedom and in peace: Give to the people of your country a zeal for justice and the strength of forbearance that we may use our liberty in accordance with your gracious will; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and The Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen BCP—258.

The Reverend Battle Beasley

Dear people of God, we have been reflecting on Celtic spirituality for the last month. I must say the conversation has been quite thought provoking. I wish briefly to name some of what we have been looking at and saying in our various dialogues.

First Celtic spirituality is marked by the circle. Symbolically the circle has no end and no beginning; paradoxically when one steps into the circle one might be at any point from end to beginning. The circle also symbolizes the equality of all, of each member of the circle. Each member is of equal value and each one’s opinions and viewpoint is listened too, recognized and honored. The circle represents the community, present and absent, now and forever. The marks of Christian Community are Inclusiveness; Realism; Contemplation; Healing and Converting; Spirit.

The church as institution seems always pulled “to Do”, what has been rising up in our collective conversation is a sense that we at St. Mark’s are being called to resist the “doing “ and focus more on simply Being. Being with each other in the presence of God. Being more a listening and discerning community than an action oriented community. This has raised other questions, what are we listening for? What are we discerning? For whom are we listening, ourselves, others, the nation, world, are we listeners for God, that is are we God’s ears? How do we figure all this stuff out?

It seems to me that we are all tempted to find answers, to fix things in our lives as individuals and as community. It seems just as clear to me that God is quite often experienced in the ambiguity of the questions as She is in the clarity of the answers. So I invite you to a time of asking questions, a time of deep listening for the voice of God’s call to us. We will be inviting everyone to participate one Saturday a month in Centering Prayer as a way for us to gather and listen together in the presence of God. I hope you will consider this invitation as vitally important for your own spiritual life, for the life of the community and for the life of the world in which God calls us to be a sign of Grace.

God’s Peace’ Battle+

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Disinvestment from companies that operate in

the Sudan

A resolution adopted by the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church October 17, 2001

Resolved, That the Executive Council meeting in Jacksonville, Florida, October 15-18, 2001, hereby adopts a policy of disinvestment from any company with direct operations in Sudan until such time that there is peace and justice in that country and directs the Treasurer to divest from any such company currently held in DFMS portfolios; and be it further Resolved, That a copy of this resolution be sent to any company from which this Church disinvests in accordance with this policy; and be it further Resolved, That other church investors, including the Church Pension Fund, parishes, and dioceses, are urged to adopt a similar policy to the extent permissible under laws governing fiduciaries.

Explanation

The civil war in Sudan has laid waste to the country's economy, with little economic production or western corporate involvement in any sector except for oil. Oil revenues, which earn Sudan between $450-500 million per year, allow the Sudanese army to purchase weapons and prosecute the war (Multinational Monitor, October 2000). In February 2001, the Executive Council noted that investments in the Sudanese oil industry "fuels the government's military efforts and systematic violence against the Sudanese people." The involvement of western oil companies--including Talisman Energy (a Canadian company)--pose serious ethical issues for shareholders in such companies. A May 2000 report by Amnesty International entitled "Sudan: The Human Price of Oil" concluded that "massive human rights violations by Sudanese security forces, various government-allied militias, and armed opposition groups are clearly linked to foreign companies' oil operations."

Further, it is clear that not only do oil revenues allow the Sudanese army to purchase armaments and continue to pay its armed forces, but that the generation of such revenues directly leads to human rights violations. In 1999, the United Nations' Special Rapporteur to Sudan, Leonardo Franco, stated that "long-term efforts by the various governments of the Sudan to protect oil production have included a policy of forcible population displacement in order to clear oil-producing areas and transportation of southern civilians" (cited in the Multinational Monitor, October 2000). This Church has witnessed to its belief that economic development and activity must first and foremost serve human needs, and it is clear that that current oil exploration and extraction activities do not serve human needs in Sudan, but rather enable continued war and genocide.

The entire population of Sudan has suffered during a civil war that has ranged for 34 of the last 45 years. We affirm our opposition to the religious persecution of Sudanese Christians, the abduction and enslavement of human beings, and attacks on civilian targets--all of which are ongoing in the Sudan.

Peace and security for all of Sudan's citizens is not possible while the civil war continues. The amount of money that Sudan earns every year from oil revenue is almost identical to the amount it spends on the war. Just as this Church disinvested from South Africa and Namibia in 1985--not just to protest against apartheid but also to make a statement that it would not profit from apartheid, this Church undertakes a similar policy with regard to Sudan.

This policy is consistent with this Church' witness on issues related to the Sudan. The General Conventions of 1994 and 2000 affirmed the Episcopal Church of the United States of America's continuing solidarity, through prayer and witness, with the Episcopal Church of Sudan. Further, the Executive Council, at its February 2001 meeting, called upon church investors to review their financial holdings and to consider divestment, shareholder resolutions and other appropriate strategies to deter investment by companies materially engaged in the Sudanese oil industry.

This Church adopts this policy with sorrow and is hopeful that it can be reversed when there is lasting peace and justice for all of the people of Sudan. At present the only companies currently held in Episcopal

Church portfolios with direct involvement and investment in Sudan are BP Amoco and Talisman Energy. BP Amoco invested $578 million in PetroChina's initial public offering; PetroChina owns 40 percent of the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company, which is the main entity extracting oil in Sudan. Talisman Energy owns 25 percent of the Greater Nile Petroleum Operating Company.

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     Visit to Santiago Apostle in La Pila, Ecuador

On 19 July, an “advance party” for the 2001 missions from the Diocese of Tennessee departed for Guayaquil, Ecuador. Frank, Brannon, Pam Carr-Brannon, and George Kurz represented St. Marks, along with Sarena Pettit (translator) from St. Joseph’s in Hendersonville. Total flying time is about 6 hours with a 7-hour layover in Miami. The leg to Guayaquil is almost due south, across Cuba, the Panama Canal, and part of Columbia. We each carried the maximum allowed two bags (mostly, stuffed with medicine). Frank also carried a beautiful set of bi-lingual Sunday school materials donated by Fr. Battle from the SPCK (Society for Proliferation of Christian Knowledge). Most of the 20th was spent with Bishop Morante, and his staff in setting the schedule for the next two weeks, transferring money to buy medicines, and for arranging our first clinic at Santiago Apostle the next day.

We hired a van and driver to take Dr. Alfonso Morante (Bishop Morante’s brother) ourselves, and our luggage with medicines to La Pila (about three hours NE of Guayaquil). The day was overcast, but the reception at the church was bright and sunny. This half-day clinic was somewhat of a pilot project. Previous clinics were conducted either at the Diocesan Center or another church in Guayaquil. This was an attempt to reach more people in the Diocese that otherwise could not come to Guayaquil. That afternoon, Dr. Morante and Nurse Pam cared for 32 individuals and families. (Frank and George counted pills.) As support from St. Marks, all members of the church received individual dental care kits. Typically, all patients received anti-parisitic medicine and were examined for other problems.

Due to the distance we had to travel to return home, we left at about 4:30 pm. It was an exhausting day but worthwhile. During the clinic, Sarena helped us collect information about the church and its vestry (the “junta”). The people were very appreciative of the gifts from St. Mark’s. Also, we (as your representatives) felt very blessed and supported by the efforts of the church over the past year to collect money and medicines. It demonstrated the worth of making this kind of expedition. Possibly next year, we can plan for an overnight stay in Manta to allow for a full day clinic.

Editor’s note: The article submitted last month containing the message from Bishop Alfredo Morante was also submitted by George Kurz. I neglected to give credit to George in the newsletter..

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from The Gift, Poems of Hafiz, Penguin USA, copyright 1999.

It never fails. Just when I start feeling a little comfortable, just when I think it’s OK to detach myself from all the things happening in my life and kick back a little, I get a little nudge, usually in the form of spiritual discomfort, to get back in the game. God knows I’m the type flock to the extreme of spiritual complacency so I am kept ever vigilant, often to my consternation.

I’m planning on making the commitment to involve myself in the Group Spiritual Direction available here at St. Mark’s. I have no idea what’s going to happen. I’m intimidated by the whole process. The intimidating part is in the operative phrase “commitment to involve myself.” Boiled down that means that I’m going to promise to become spiritually open and accountable to a group of people, to expose my SELF. That’s a scary proposition that involves risk and—gulp!—change.

And I’ll get the chance to listen to others in the group, too. I fancy myself a good listener. I’m relatively sympathetic, I don’t interrupt, and I’m understanding. I’m pretty smart and I have a good vocabulary.

But I don’t think that the type of listening I will be challenged to practice hinges on my social graces. I foresee that the type of listening I will be challenged to practice involve facing and overcoming those less spiritual attributes currently alive in me; snobbery, indifference, pride, contempt and rebellion. These are some of the demons which I know from experience will try to distract me from truly hearing what God has to say to me.

God uses everything and everyone to speak to me. I know this is true. Because of those spiritual blocks I named above, I sometimes don’t believe it. That’s when my skewed sense of value shows up. I don’t know about you, but that’s when I need God the most, when I am trying to discern value. That’s the part in me that is most broken. That is the part in me I have the most hope of healing for.

The thought of “listening to God because it’s the polite thing to do strikes me as insincere. But the social graces I learned—simply being polite—are in truth profound spiritual tools which I can employ to help me be open to God. To learn anything, even to have a relationship with God, I go through the motions. I take the action and believe comes as a by product. It’s not much, but it’s enough to get me started. To be polite because “my mother said so” is sufficient right now.

-srd

Mark your calendars! Our 2nd Annual Parish Meeting will be held Sunday, December 2nd. We will have one service only at 10:30 am. More information to follow.

Help! We have a problem maintaining an adequate amount of kitchen supplies at St. Mark’s. To date no one has stepped forward to accept responsibility for the upkeep of the kitchen. We frequently do not have the supplies we need for coffee hour or special events. In an effort to remedy the problem, a “supply needs” list has been posted on the refrigerator. If you find we are out of something or will soon run out of something, write it on the list. The next person to pick up supplies will make sure to include it on their shopping list. If you have any questions or concerns, please let Candy Burger or I know. 

Thank you for your help and cooperation. 

Debbie Colvin, Senior Warden.

Members of the Armed Forces Please furnish SAP Address and Photo of anyone of the St. Mark’s family serving in the U.S Armed forces. We plan to write letters to them. Gretchen Miller has made a display honoring them.—Norm Baker

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