Bishop Smith's weekly E-pistle
| Bishop Kirk. S. Smith
Bishop of Arizona It was my hope that this week I could switch the publication day of E-pistles from Friday to Tuesday. Many of you have commented that receiving this missive on Friday is too late to have an impact on Sunday events, and many of the clergy take Fridays off. I am happy to oblige, but the pace of life at Diocesan House meant that, for this week anyway, I was only able to push back the transmission time by one day. I hope to do better next week! This past Saturday I joined with about 100 other Arizona Episcopalians at Naco, on the Mexican border for a "border procession." It was not a political event. The marchers carried no signs. We simply wore yellow t-shirts with the words in Spanish and English, "God has no borders." We had gathered for two reasons. The first was to dedicate a new aid facility for those whom the INS had caught and returned to Mexico. Many of these folks are penniless, sick, or at least in need of food and water. A group of church people from this side of the border has converted an old taco restaurant into a clean, welcoming space, where the weary can find rest and help to return to their homes in Mexico or parts south. Continued at: http://www.azdiocese.org/dfc/newsdetail_2/314
+Kirk | | Procession is a sign of unity |
Craig Bustrin, a priest at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral in Phoenix, carries a thurible filled with burning incense as he leads a border procession in Naco, Sonora, on Saturday. Jonathon Shacat-Herald/Review |
Religious leaders talk on freedom, border fenceJonathon Shacat
Herald/Review NACO, Sonora - The third annual border procession featured food, music and prayer on Saturday, but it was the recently-constructed fence on the U.S.-Mexico border that was the topic of the day. The event was a binational effort of church groups from Mexico and the United States. Last year, participants walked down the border to where the fence ended and they shared grape juice and bread and sang. But construction of the border fence at that location prevented them from doing the same this year. On the Net: http://www.azdiocese.org/dfc/newsdetail_2/312 | | Old domain name no longer works |  Please not that the old diocesan domain name of episcopal-az.org no longer works after four years of using both. The official Episcopal Diocese of Arizona website can be found at azdiocese.org. Please make sure you go to our current site azdiocese.org and change any links or bookmarks you may have. | Day of Discernment to be held May 3
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PHOENIX - The Commission on Ministry's annual Day of Discernment is scheduled for Saturday, May 3. The Day will offer lots of information about the ordination process: steps to take, roles of parish clergy, discernment committees, and vestries. And most particularly about how a person and a congregation go about discerning a call and nominating a person to study for Holy Orders.
- Who: Men and women who may be called to Holy Orders in the Episcopal Church, spouses and partners, supporting clergy, discernment committees, vestry members and wardens.
- What: Entry to the ordination process in the Diocese of Arizona
- When: May 3 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (lunch provided)
- Where: Trinity Cathedral, Phoenix
Reservations are naturally required for lunch. Please make your reservation with Gary Gorman at Trinity Cathedral (602) 254-7126 x310 or gary@trinitycathedral On the Net : http://www.azdiocese.org/events/64 | Shameless commerce department . . .
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 Laura Smith, Bishop Smith's wife, has a website about icons for contemplative prayer at ikonarts.net. Net proceeds from sales of all icons, prints, cards, and commissions go to relieve extreme global poverty through participation in the Millennium Development Goals. | | Alleluia Fund benefits missions | 
Remember Arizona's Alleluia Fund. It builds new churches and supports new growth initiatives in existing churches! Your contribution of money, stocks, or land will make a vital difference. For more information, contact Carol D. Maher at either (623) 455-9515 or alleluiafund@azdiocese.org.
You can also support the Alleluia Fund
by purchasing items from our CafePress store. | A Final Thought
| The World Council of Churches and the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) organized a public hearing last week on migration which was hosted by the Armenian Catholicosate of Cilicia in Beirut, Lebanon. The hearing is a precursor to a Global Ecumenical Network on Migration meeting held later in the week. Migration "is a fact of life. It is as much an instinct to survive as it is an inevitable consequence of globalization. We can neither turn our backs on it, nor control it," declared a statement of participants at a 15-16 April Public Hearing on Migration held in Beirut, Lebanon. "Migrants are not commodities, illegal aliens or mere victims, they are human beings." Around the world, people are leaving their home countries in search of safety, freedom or a better life, the consultation heard. These migration flows are a challenge to churches as migrants bring their own traditions and values into local parishes or create their own religious communities. Continued at: http://www.azdiocese.org/dfc/newsdetail_2/314
+Kirk | | To the best of my knowledge, every single church, mission, and preaching station within the Episcopal Diocese of Arizona now has (at least) a very basic website. Please go to www.azdiocese.org/map/list.html and check your church's website and its posted information and let me know of any changes that need to be made. Peace, Greta Huls
Communications Officer
Episcopal Diocese of Arizona | | | E-pistle to arrive on Tuesdays
| | We shall start sending the E-pistle on Tuesdays to better accomodate church bulletin printing schedules as well as clergy and their days off. |
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