New way to support our University of Virginia students

We now have a new way to support our student ministries through the University of Virginia Fund with one-time gifts or on-going contributions. Please promote this with your friends. This is a good way to show support for both UVA and our Canterbury student program. Click HERE to give to our Episcopal Canterbury student ministry.

Voices unheard: Black Lives Matter

I want you to see the picture at the right, and I know some of you will not like it. I know some of you believe that this has no place in Church or on a church-related blog. I expect I will hear from you. I hope I do. Let's talk.

I also think we need to be aware that the Church is not an island unto itself. We are very much a part of the world and culture around us. We need to hear voices that we seldom hear -- especially the young and people of color.

This picture is of Kelly Carson, one of our Canterbury undergraduate students who has been very involved in undergraduate-led social justice movements over the past year at the University of Virginia. This picture shows her at the rally led by the UVA Black Student Alliance Wednesday evening after the decision not to indict the police officer in the death of Eric Garner in New York.

The rally started at the Mad Bowl, went through the libraries and several other buildings before going to Carrs Hill. The rally was so loud in Alderman Library that people came in from all the other rooms and floors to see what was going on. The crowd is behind the photographer in this picture. You can learn more at #blacklivesmatter.

In the Tuesday evening discussion this week at our Canterbury student group, our students talked about how the young people leading are leading a new movement are like John the Baptist -- "a voice of one calling in the wilderness."

I also know how hard it is to be a cop. I spent years covering the criminal justice system as a reporter. I've seen the guilty get off and the innocent go to prison. I've spent hours and hours on "ride alongs." I've been shot at, and I helped rescue a wounded California Highway Patrolman in a vicious shoot-out with bank robbers. I very much get it that those who put on a badge don't know if they are coming home at night. I know that cops can do everything right, but in an instant, everything can go very wrong. I've lost three friends who were police officers who were shot to death in the line of duty. Each was a dedicated public servant who did as much off duty to help people as they did on duty. I am thankful every day for cops.

And I also know the system needs to change, that police departments need to work harder at listening to voices seldom heard and connect with their communities. Firepower will not solve our most intractable problems of poverty, race, gangs and drugs.

I don't have public policy solutions for you, and I am not sure the Church is very good at that anyway. But I do believe we have an enormous role in changing the culture, and in being voices of reconciliation, love and courage. If the Church cannot hear the angry and the lost, we have no reason to be.

In the weeks ahead, we need to create a safe forum for conversation and listening, where no one will be demonized for sharing their experiences and opinions. We know how to do that. I hope you will join me in this effort.

Finally, I ran across this quote the other day from the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who said this in 1968 shortly before he was killed. His words, I believe, still apply:

"It is not enough for me to stand before you tonight and condemn riots. It would be morally irresponsible for me to do that without, at the same time, condemning the contingent, intolerable conditions that exist in our society. These conditions are the things that cause individuals to feel that they have no other alternative than to engage in violent rebellions to get attention. And I must say tonight that a riot is the language of the unheard."

By James Richardson, Fiat Lux

Statement by religious leaders at the University of Virginia

Photo by the Washington Post

To the University Community,

As religious leaders at the University, we offer our voices to the many who are speaking out regarding the events of the past week.  We are deeply saddened by the forced resignation of President Teresa Sullivan, a leader we warmly welcomed only two years ago and one who has placed a high value on our role within the University community.  We were encouraged by her inclusion of An Interfaith Vigil of Blessing during her inaugural week in the spring of 2011 and her recognition of religious life as an important aspect of a well-balanced student life for those who wish to take part.  We have been inspired by her vision, her character, and her genuine engagement with the many diverse sectors of the University community, including our own.

Though we understand that there are times that the Board of Visitors must make difficult decisions including the hiring and firing of presidents, we are concerned about the way in which this action was carried out.  Regardless of “philosophical differences” the duties of the Board must be carried out in a manner worthy of the public trust.  As religious leaders we push our students to act ethically and with integrity, and we hope that the Board will do the same moving forward. 

Lastly, we offer our assistance to the University and to any who are struggling with the ongoing fallout from these events with which we are all now coming to terms.  We are available for conversation, listening, and in any other ways we can offer help or perspective from our religious traditions.  We are praying for President Sullivan, the Board of Visitors, the faculty, staff, students, and all those in the University community, near and far. 

In peace,

Agape Christian Fellowship

Fr. Stephen Alcott, O.P., 

Catholic Campus Ministry at St. Thomas Aquinas University Parish

Saad Arrabi, Islamic Society of Central Virginia

The Rev. Nick Forti, Canterbury Student Ministry

Evan Hansen, Eunoia

Rabbi Shlomo and Channa Mayer, Chabad

Derek Mondeau, Intervarsity Christian Fellowship

The Rev. Deborah Lewis, The Wesley Foundation at UVa

The Very Rev. James Richardson, St. Paul's Memorial Church

Rabbi Jake Rubin, Brody Jewish Center at UVa


The Rev. Dr. Laura S. Sugg, Westminster Presbyterian Church

The Rev. Sandra J. Wisco, St. Mark Lutheran Church

For questions or further comment, please contact United Ministries President Rabbi Jake Rubin at 434-249-5724.

Canterbury meets Katie Couric at UVA graduation

This just in -- our own Sarah Hunter Simanson standing with Katie Couric this morning at the University of Virginia commencement. Sarah is to Katie's right. Our Canterbury students do have connections!

Congratulations to all the graduates!

Please support diocesan funding for campus ministry

A core mission of St. Paul's Memorial Church is our ministry to the students of the University of Virginia. We have a vibrant Canterbury Fellowship and we've devoted a building entirely to that purpose along with the staff to support our students.

We receive a yearly subsidy from the Diocese of Virginia of $18,750 but spend considerably more than that on the upkeep of the Canterbury building and for staffing and programs. We also pay an assessment of $67,000 back to the diocese.

We will be doing student ministry no matter what. That is what we do and who we are.

I get frustrated, though, when I hear otherwise well-meaning people of my baby boomer generation say that we shouldn't spend much energy or money on ministry to young adults. The conversation usually goes something like this: "I left the Episcopal Church after high school and I came back in my 30s when I started having kids. It's natural. The teens now will do the same thing that we did."

Maybe. Maybe not. There's a couple problems with that.

First, the larger demographics: Fewer people in our country are going to church -- any church -- and only a tiny percentage are going to an Episcopal Church (maybe 1.5 percent if we squint). They aren't coming "back" to our church because they were never in our church in the first place. When they are in their 30s, they are likely gone for good or in someone else's church. If you are boomer, your experience is not likely to be repeated by a younger generation.

Second, and more disturbingly, by saying we shouldn't bother with young adults, we are saying they aren't important, that they have nothing to offer, that we don't need them, that the church is better off without them. Why would anyone come "back" to an institution with that attitude? We may not say that directly, but we say it in our attitudes, in our body language, and in our priorities reflected in parish and diocesan budgets.

Truthfully, we have a great deal to offer young adults and they have a great deal to offer us. We offer an experience of the Risen Christ without making people park their brain at the door. We are inclusive and open, and we don't insist that you must adhere to a strict doctrine to be with us. Bring your questions, bring your doubts, let's explore them together. We offer the depth of a long and rich liturgical tradition while inviting critical thinking and mature faith formation. We read books, we celebrate being with each other, and we practice contemplation and prayer.

In short, the Episcopal Church belongs on college campuses. We are a natural fit. For whatever reason, we may not have attracted this age group (or their parents) when they were young, but we get a chance with them when they go to college.

One chance, and that is probably it.

If we have any future as an Episcopal Church it will come from those young adults we cultivate as leaders from our college campuses. Put simply, we need them or we will die as a denomination -- and we will deserve to die as a denomination. If you care about nothing else, care about that.

A year ago, Bishop Shannon Johnston identified youth and young adult ministry as our top ministry priority in the Diocese of Virginia. He said we are doing "poorly" with young adults and we must do better. He is absolutely right.

Meanwhile, a series of "listening" meetings around the Diocese of Virginia a year ago also identified youth and young adult ministry as our top priority. Our people are absolutely right, they "get it."

Yet, the diocesan budget does not reflect that priority -- not by a mile.

Campus ministry only gets $135,000 out of an operating budget of $4.9 million, or a paltry 2.7 percent for what is supposed to be the "top" priority. The proposed budget for 2011 would cut the allocation for campus ministry by more than $4,000. The diocesan budget reflects a strategy for decline, not growth. It is going backwards, not forward.

It's time to reverse that and we need your support. We need it now, this week.

I have co-authored a resolution, BR-1, with The Rev. Laura Minnich Lockey, the campus missioner in Harrisionburg, that calls for doubling the amount we spend on campus ministry. Even if that funding were doubled, it would still reflect barely 6 percent of the diocesan budget for our supposedly "top" priority, and that is only a start for what we ought to be spending as a diocese for our future.

We need to do this while we still have the resources to do so. If we don't, we will wake up in ten years and wonder why we didn't, and we will have lost a generation.

The beauty of campus ministry is we get a big bang for the buck. We don't have to plant new churches, we don't have to build new buildings. The students are already on the campuses, and we have churches nearby. What we lack is the funding to pay for campus missioners, and guess what? Most of them are young and they are at the starting end of the salary scale. The students they reach will end up in your parish one day, and all you need to do is welcome them and get out of their way as they bring new energy and new ideas to ministry.

If you are a voting member of the Diocese of Virginia Council, I invite your support. And if you are a member of a parish in the Diocese of Virginia, please urge your delegates to support this measure.

Below is the resolution with background:

BR-1: Diocesan Financial Support for Campus Ministry

Resolved, that the 216th Council of the Diocese of Virginia fully supports Bishop Shannon Johnston’s top priority of supporting young adult formation especially on college and university campuses, as outlined in his pastoral address at the 215th Council of the Diocese of Virginia; and be it further

Resolved, that this Council requests that the diocesan budget for campus ministry be doubled from $135,000 to $270,000 in the 2011 budget year; and be it further

Resolved, that the additional funds for campus ministry would come from “Support of Our Greater Church Community” (Category A in the proposed 2011 budget); and be it further

Resolved, that the appropriate diocesan authorities determine how to allocate this additional campus ministry funding to take advantage of our many and abundant opportunities for young adult formation on our college and university campuses in our diocese.

Submitted by the Rev. James Richardson, Rector, St. Paul’s Memorial Church and Chaplain at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville; The Rev. Laura Minnich Lockey, Campus Missioner, Harrisonburg

Endorsed by the Vestry of St. Paul’s Memorial Church, Charlottesville

Background: In his pastoral address last year, Bishop Shannon Johnston declared that his top priority for ministry is youth and young adult formation in our diocese. He mentioned that we have generously supported Shrine Mont and other youth programs, but then noted:

“As well as we do for our youth, we do so relatively little (and dare I say “poorly?”) for young adults. With some notable exceptions, a great many of our churches are almost entirely lacking in ‘twenty- somethings.’ I believe that this is a critical shortcoming, not just for ministry opportunities today but also in leadership development for tomorrow in each and every one of our congregations.”

Bishop Johnston also noted in his address that youth and young adult formation was the top priority listed during a series of listening meetings in the diocese a year ago.

Yet our diocesan budget does not come close to reflecting this as our top priority for ministry. In the diocesan budget of 2010, totaling $4.885 million, barely 2.7 percent was devoted to developing young adult membership and leadership through campus ministry.

And, in fact, the proposed diocesan budget for 2011 would reduce those funds for campus ministry by $4,272.

Our greatest opportunity for young adult formation and developing young adult leadership is on our college and university campuses. We have many such opportunities in our diocese by being richly blessed with numerous leading institutions of higher education.

The 2010 budget for campus ministry in our diocese was $135,000, and was allocated thusly:

James Madison University $90,100
University of Virginia $18,750
Virginia Commonwealth University $12,650
Mary Washington, Canterbury $10,000
NOVA College Ministries (George Mason University) $3,000
Mary Washington, CCC $500

The diocesan budget supports only one full-time campus chaplain, in Harrisonburg serving students at James Madison University, Bridgewater College and Eastern Mennonite University. Our other existing campus ministries are badly under-funded by the Diocese, and are often subsidized by local congregations (which are not credited for such subsidies on their diocesan assessment). No diocesan financial support is given for ministry at the University of Richmond, Randolph Macon University and several other colleges and universities in our diocese. Ministry at the University of Richmond has been supported off-and-on entirely by a single parish, St. Stephen’s, Richmond.

The Episcopal Church benefits enormously from campus ministries because the students we reach go forth from their campuses to join and become leaders in congregations and missions all over the country and the world. The support of campus ministries is crucial for creating a growing and vibrant Church everywhere. Yet our proposed diocesan budget represents going backwards, not forward.

If our diocese seriously believes that we need young adults in our congregations then we need to significantly increase our funding for campus ministry. This resolution calls for a doubling of the total budget for campus ministry, with the appropriate diocesan authorities determining how it should be allocated.

We have also indicated where we believe these funds can be found in the diocesan budget by designating Category A, which has $847,874 designated for “Support of Our Greater Church Community” in the proposed 2011 budget. We have indicated transferring funds from Category A to campus ministry, complying with Rule 5D of the Council for submission of resolutions. But the authors of this resolution are open to better suggestions.

Welcome University of Virginia students! Please join us for dinner Sunday evening

This Sunday evening we renew a great tradition at St. Paul's: Complimentary dinner for university students.

If you are a University of Virginia student, please come to our 5:30 p.m. worship service (it is brief), and then come to dinner in the lounge. Dinner is free, and the company and conversation terrific. No commitment is necessary, but this is a great way to meet other students. We would love to see you! For more information, please contact The Rev. Neal Halvorson-Taylor at: neal.halvorson.taylor@stpaulsmemorialchurch.org

During the week, we offer much else for students worth checking out. On Tuesday evenings at 7 p.m. is our Taize service, a simple prayer service with chanted singing led by students. Our Canterbury Fellowship group meets on Wednesdays at 5:30 p.m.

St. Paul's is located on "The Corner" just across the street from the Rotunda. And you are always welcome to join us Sunday mornings at 8 a.m. and 10 a.m.

Please come as you are, with your questions, your faith and your doubts. We would love to see you!

Welcome University of Virginia students! Please join us Sunday and bring your families too!

If you are returning to school, or you are a new First Year, we would love to get to know you. St. Paul's Memorial Episcopal Church has a vibrant program for University of Virginia students and we are conveniently located on "The Corner" across from the Rotunda.

Indeed, a major mission of this parish is to serve the University of Virginia community. We believe in the full inclusion of all God's people at the Holy Table; come as you are, with your faith, your doubts, your questions.

Please join us Sunday for one of our worship services. We have a traditional service at 8 am in the chapel; at 10 a.m. we have a choir and a family-friendly worship with child care available. Our 5:30 pm service (in the chapel) is particularly designed for University students, and beginning next Sunday (Aug. 30) we will be serving a free dinner for students following that service.

Do please come Sunday, check us out, and introduce yourself. And if members of your family are helping to get you settled, do please bring them, too! We'd love to get to know you and your family.