How many Episcopalians does it take to change a light bulb?
 
In this case, about 25.  Led by Bishop Bud Cederholm, they gathered at St. John St. James Church in Roxbury on Sept. 11 to help "green" the church and residences in the nearby Madison Park Village housing complex by installing energy-efficient light bulbs.

 

By noon, the team had installed 145 compact fluorescent light bulbs in about 25 residences, which will collectively save $10,000 in electricity costs and keep 33 tons of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere over the lifespan of the bulbs, according to Jay Barnes of LiveCooler, the nonprofit that provided the bulbs for the project.  Massachusetts Interfaith Power and Light also partnered with the diocese to make the project possible.
 
"We're called to serve our neighbors and be good stewards of our planet, and to be able to do both today was an honor and a blessing to all of us.  The joy of service was evident," Bishop Cederholm said during his team's lunch break.
 
The Roxbury effort was one of several community service projects that, in all, drew about 300 volunteers over two days to 10 sites around the Diocese of Massachusetts, all organized by members of the diocese's young adult intern programs.  The initiative was in response to the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act's call for a National Day of Service on Sept. 11.

 

A large crew, undaunted by the following day's rainstorm, showed up at the Society of St. John the Evangelist's Emery House in West Newbury.  "We had 62 volunteers who did a fantastic job clearing debris off of a quarter mile of the Merrimac River," site coordinator Brent Was reported.

 

Other projects included painting and cleanup at St. Mark's Church and St. Mary's Church in Dorchester, St. Stephen's Church in Boston's South End and the Church of the Holy Spirit

in Mattapan; collecting and organizing food donations to the Helping Hands Food Pantry at St. James's Church in Cambridge; and community outreach on behalf of St. Anne's Church in Lowell and the St. Paul's Community Center in Brockton.
 
Meet the diocese's young adult interns and learn about their ministry here. 

 

Students gathered with their gear in the MIT chapel on Sept. 9 and they prayed:
 
"We ask your blessing on these backpacks, laptops and other symbols of our academic work this year at MIT.  May all the tests, problems sets, qualifying exams, research projects and experiments help us develop the capacity to join you in your work of making peace, doing justice and healing your people and the earth."
 
This "Blessing of the Backpacks" was part of the academic year's first weekly service offered by the Lutheran Episcopal Ministry at MIT.
 
As some 300,000 students return to Boston-area colleges and universities this month, four Episcopal chaplains are in place to provide a welcome at five campus ministries in the diocese. 
 
Along with traditional offerings of worship, meals, social activities and service projects, they increasingly also offer oasis, these campus ministers say:  space and time apart from classroom and extracurricular demands and a smaller community circle where spiritual inquiry and vocational discernment are valued alongside academic achievement.
 
Read more. 

 

The diocesan community will remember and celebrate the lives of two Episcopal Church leaders at upcoming services, both to take place at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul (138 Tremont Street) in Boston.
 
The funeral service for George H. Kidder, Esq., longtime chancellor and faithful friend of the Diocese of Massachusetts, will be held on Saturday, Sept. 26 at 3:30 p.m.  The Rt. Rev. M. Thomas Shaw, SSJE will preach and celebrate.  Kidder died on Aug. 20 at age 84.  Read the Boston Globe's Sept. 11 obituary here. 
 
A service of thanksgiving for the life and ministry of the Rt. Rev. John Bowen Coburn, retired 13th bishop of the Diocese of Massachusetts, takes place on Saturday, Oct. 3 at 3 p.m.  (Clergy are invited to vest.)  Bishop Coburn died on Aug. 8 at age 94; the funeral service was held on Aug. 14 at St. Anne's-in-the-Fields Church in Lincoln.  Read more about Bishop Coburn's life and lasting contributions to the wider church, and post your own remembrance on our tribute page.

 

Bishop Bud Cederholm asks the diocesan community to join him in observing an "International Day of Climate Action" on Saturday, Oct. 24, when events on town and city commons will be held to raise awareness and public advocacy toward reducing carbon emissions to slow global warming.  "Go to www.350.org for more information about how Episcopal congregations can join ecumenical and interfaith groups in their communities in holding a powerful and prophetic event.  What's needed is your leadership," he says.
 
Send an e-mail to Diane Pound (dianep@diomass.org) in Bishop Cederholm's office if you'd like to be added to an e-mail list for notification about local Oct. 24 plans and events.

 

The Diocese of Massachusetts will mark its 225th year during the annual Diocesan Convention, Nov. 6-7 at Trinity Church in Boston.  Congregations are invited to contribute historical photos--favorites and ones depicting significant events in parish life--for big-screen display during the convention. 
 
Electronic submissions (by e-mail or on disc, so as not to jeopardize originals), with identifying caption information, will be received gladly through Oct. 5.  E-mail photos to tjs@diomass.org, or mail discs to:  Office of Communications, Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, 138 Tremont Street, Boston, MA 02111.

Good earth stewards:  Ecologist and author Daniel Goleman commended Cape and islands Episcopalians for their eco-stewardship during an Aug. 27 lecture and book-signing event hosted at Grace Church in Vineyard Haven and sponsored by the diocese's Cape and Islands Deanery.  Read Phina Borgeson's Aug. 28 report for Episcopal Life Online here.

Finding fellowship in the Holy Land:  Angela McConney, a member of St. Cyprian's Church in Roxbury and co-chair of the diocese's Commission on Ministry, joined a diocesan pilgrimage to the Holy Land in June and shares her observations in this Aug. 27 Bay State Banner interview with photos.

Registration is open through Sept. 22 for the annual Resource Day on Saturday, Sept. 26, 9 a.m.-2:30 p.m., at Bentley University in Waltham.  There will be workshops to help develop skills and give spiritual and practical help for joining God's mission in the world, with something promised for everyone.  Bring a team from your parish!  Register online here.