News
Retreat-Chapter 2011 Our 28th Year
You can see from the pictures that this retreat/chapter had something of a vacation feeling to it. We walked the beach, hung out, caught up, made meals together and drank a lot of wine. We said the Daily Office and had a Eucharist each day, mornings were mostly in silence, and afternoon were given to groups on Mutual Spiritual Guidance.
Erika Meyer, Susan Latimer and David Andrews took the Promise for the first time. Jeremy Bond (93) renewed the Promise -- My promise is to seek the presence of Jesus Christ in the people, things and circumstances of my life through stability, obedience and conversion of life. The promise is taken every three years. The tradition of the Order is that along with the second time of making the Promise there is a life long intention.
You can see from the pictures that this retreat/chapter had something of a vacation feeling to it. We walked the beach, hung out, caught up, made meals together and drank a lot of wine. We said the Daily Office and had a Eucharist each day, mornings were mostly in silence, and afternoon were given to groups on Mutual Spiritual Guidance.
Erika Meyer, Susan Latimer and David Andrews took the Promise for the first time. Jeremy Bond (93) renewed the Promise -- My promise is to seek the presence of Jesus Christ in the people, things and circumstances of my life through stability, obedience and conversion of life. The promise is taken every three years. The tradition of the Order is that along with the second time of making the Promise there is a life long intention.
What Members have been up to....
From Erika Meyer - I will begin my second year as rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd in New York City 
this fall. Good Shepherd is not far from the United Nations and is itself a mini-U.N. On a typical Sunday morning, nine nationalities will be represented in the worshiping congregation of sixty-five. I am engaged in the tasks of rooting the parish in spiritual practices, increasing social intelligence, and reflecting and learning on what we are doing. It is a stretching and growing time for me and often very energizing.
From Susan Latimer - In February at St. John’s we started a new 5 p.m. evening Eucharist called “Come As You Are”. It is completely different from our high church Sunday morning services with traditional Anglican choral
music. We hope to attract new people through this service, and have done so. It is an intimate service in the round, with inclusive language, contemporary music led by some of our talented laity, and a shared sermon, reflecting on the Gospel.
Beginning in March, I led a wonderful, diverse group in a Lenten Study using Michelle Heyne’s book, “In Your Holy Spirit - Traditional Spiritual Practices in Today’s Christian Life”. Folks were from 20’s to 80’s in age – some brand new to the parish, some had been here for 50 years plus. Wonderful discussions and sharing.
Our parish hosted a Lenten Retreat for the Diocese – “Anglican Spiritual Practices” - led by Bob Gallagher and Michelle Heyne. It was well attended by clergy and laity, and received rave reviews.
Last November I was a trainer for a Group Development LTI lab – and enjoyed the work and the fellowship with Bob and other good friends. I am a trainer for the Shaping the Parish program, and was on-site in DC in February for the first weekend of their program – a Human Interaction Lab.
Susan is rector of St. Catherine of Alexandria Church in Temple Terrace, Florida
From David Andrews - This was my first annual retreat with the Order of the Ascension. I am the rector of the Episcopal Church of Saints Andrew and Matthew in Wilmington, Delaware. Prior to arriving at Ssam I was the Rector at Trinity Episcopal Church in Castine, Maine where I was introduced to theChurch Development Institute which I completed in 2009. I have been in Wilmington since January of 2010 and still feel like I am learning the culture and ways of this great city parish.
Saints Andrew and Matthew is a consolidated parish coming together in 1996. St. Matthews was the black Church in Wilmington and St. Andrews was one of the established white churches in the city. I am the second Rector. The Rev. Canon Lloyd Casson was the first Rector of the new parish retiring in 2007.
This has been a busy year. This Lent I led a group using Michelle Heyne's book on Spiritual Practices and the new vestry will each receive a copy of Bob Gallagher's new book next month for their reading pleasure over the summer. Along with reading Michelle's book the parish also welcomed Brian McLaren who preached and led our Sunday adult class on the topic A New Kind Of Christianity.
I am married to the Rev. Emily Gibson who has found a calling as an interim rector after fifteen years of settled ministry in Syracuse, New York. She is currently serving her third parish as an interim in North Wilmington (Grace Episcopal Church). In the last year and a half I am also completed workshops on conflict management and group development.
Life is good and continue to grow and learn the nudging of God in life and ministry.
From Michelle Heyne - The past year has been busy but it also seems like a bit of a blur. Much of my emotional energy has been directed toward cautious relief that Bob’s cancer ordeal seems to be behind him. It was great to get the two In Your Holy Spirit books done and published in January, 2011. I’ve done some work based on my book that’s been interesting, specifically a Lenten course in my parish and a retreat in West Virginia. Getting the new Shaping the Parish program going this year has been both exciting and rewarding. It’s fascinating to watch the different elements unfold and see what works and what needs to be tweaked.
My partner, Sean, and I got engaged and are planning our wedding next spring in a remote but spectacular
pocket of Southern Utah. My son, Chace, has been busily engaged in various sports, most recently rowing, which I prefer to BMX bike racing since it seems to involve fewer broken bones. He is looking forward to starting high school at my own alma mater, Roosevelt. Go Rough Riders!
My day job as a financial services compliance officer is getting busier and more complex in the post-Bernie Madoff world. I’ve been continuing to try to integrate OD theory and method and am looking forward to some MBTI-based work Bob and I will be doing with my staff in the next few months.
Michelle is a member of Trinity Parish, Seattle. Her new book is available In Your Holy Spirit: Traditional Spiritual Practices in Today's Christian Life
From Scott Benhase - I've spent the first eighteenth months of my episcopate recognizing and supporting the vitality and commitment of many diocesan leaders and the parishioners of the 72 congregations in the diocese of Georgia.
I know the diocese has numerous financial and other challenges to face in the short term, but am confident and hopeful in the long term because the diocese is blessed with two indispensable resources: a deep and abiding faith in Jesus and a strong core of disciples. Also these eighteen months have been spent separated from my wife of 27 years, Kelly Jones, as she stayed behind in Washington, DC so our daughter could graduate from her high school there. The family is now reunited in Savannah where our oldest, John (24) is a chef at an historic inn in downtown, and where Charley (21) is preparing for his junior year at Hampden-Sydney College and Mary Grace (18) is readying to leave for her freshman year at Syracuse University. Kelly will begin work at the Bethesda School for Boys in Savannah, begun in 1740, where she will teach English and work in reading and writing enrichment.
Scott Benhase is the Tenth Bishop of the Diocese of Georgia and was the 2nd and 6th Presiding Officer of the Order.
From Lowell Grisham - I recently enjoyed a very satisfying series of 13 Sunday morning classes introducing different forms of prayer practice. Each week I would teach a particular practice, then we would spend some time in that form of prayer. Afterward we had informal conversation about what happened in the prayer and some Q & A. The class was well received and attendance remained steady, even growing through the series. It tells me that people are hungry to experience authentic prayer.
I’ll be a deputy to General Convention from Arkansas again. I think this is the time when I get my “Senior Deputy” ribbon.
Our congregation continues a conversation about our long term needs. We’ve run out of room in all of our program areas and on many Sundays we are full for our two main services. It’s a complicated conversation.
Maybe it’s because I’m getting older, but some of our newest parish ministries are two groups for “Seniors” – one for fellowship, one for study and conversation – and a respite program to welcome a dozen people living with Alzheimer’s or dementia for four hours one day a week so their caregivers can have a break. And I still don’t have a Facebook page.
Lagniappe – I was asked to write the “Ethics” chapter for a book engaging 15 scholars and experts in a report on the current concerns of biotechnology research and practice. The book is to be published by Cambridge Press this spring. I also wrote the questions for the Chicago Consultation’s fine new collection of essays discussing the Anglican Covenant, The Genius of Anglicanism. Good congregational study resource, available online at: http://www.chicagoconsultation.org/site/1/docs/Genius_of_Anglicanism_final.pdf
Lowelll Grisham is rector of Saint Paul's Church, Fayetteville, AR.
From Roster Hedgepeth-
From Jeremy Bond - Retired now for almost eight years, I get to choose most of my schedule and daily chores.
Here in Grover Beach on the central coast of California I, and my wife Kathy, participate in our parish of St. Barnabas, Arroyo Grande in a number of ways. Most Sundays I teach and adult class called the Adult Forum and sing in the choir at the 10:00 H.E. When our rector takes a Sunday off, I fill in as celebrant and preacher. 
On Friday afternoons I volunteer at the St. Barnabas Thrift Shop where I organize books for sale, haul boxes in and out of storage, clean up outside areas and whatever else the Friday afternoon manager requests. When our parish holds its monthly free luncheon for seniors I serve as the table waiter. I also toot my trombone in the San Luis Obispo County band; serve on the board of directors of our Five Seasons condominium complex; and represent our parish on the SLO Canterbury Ministry board. Beyond that I run for fun, ride my bike as I like and take a daily walk when God and I talk.
Beyond that Kathy and I journey to the north-east of this land spring and fall to visit children and grandchildren. The spring journey often gets timed around our OA retreat.
Yes, I live a stable life in obedience to the Holy Spirit – as far as I can tell – and watch God constantly change my ways of looking at the world around me and my place in it.
From Bob Gallagher - I finally got an iPhone. I've downloaded music - "Catch the Wind," Praise to the Holiest in the Heights," and "Thirsty Boots" seem to be my favorites. Though at the moment I'm listening to Aaron Neville and Linda Ronstadt.
The first part of the year has included the start up of Shaping the Parish in the Diocese of Washington, publishing In Your Holy Spirit: Shaping the Parish Through Spiritual Practice, and a retreat for laity and clergy in the Diocese of West Virginia.
I continue to celebrate the Wednesday mass at Trinity Parish, Seattle and serve as the Associate Priest for Pastoral and Ascetical Theology. I'm even beginning to figure out how to live into that long title.
Sales continue to go well for Fill All Things: The Dynamics of Spirituality in the Parish Church and In Your Holy Spirit
I've now had three CT scans that have been clear of cancer. I still whine a bit about continuing side effects from chemo and surgery but am also very grateful to be alive and doing what I'm doing.
Companion: Bryan Carr continues as a companion of the Order. 
From Bryan -- Continuing to volunteer at my stepson's school Continuing to blog, albeit a little less tenaciously. Other than this, merely occupied with things domestic, and with singing in the parish choir. This has been becoming more and more central to my spiritual life over the last 3 years. There are any number of doctrines that may puzzle the mind (or raise one's eyebrows), but I don't find myself trying to figure out what, say, the Communion of Saints "means" when I am singing about it. Of course, it needs to be a good bit of music.