Bishop Doug Sparks

Praying for Pete and Chasten Buttigieg

in
Pete and Chasten’s wedding on June 16, 2018 L-R: Bishop Doug, Chasten, Pete, Fr. Brian Grantz

Pete and Chasten’s wedding on June 16, 2018
L-R: Bishop Doug, Chasten, Pete, Fr. Brian Grantz

Dear Sisters, Brothers, Siblings of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana,

Grace and peace be with you in Jesus, our Crucified and Risen Saviour!

Earlier today one of our Episcopal brothers, South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg, who is an active member of the Cathedral of St. James, announced his candidacy for president of the United States.

This is a unique moment and opportunity for us in the diocese to uphold Pete and his husband Chasten in prayer, as this very public journey unfolds.

"Holy Creator, you call us to live within a world that is constantly changing. Give us courage to face these dynamic challenges. Give us the skills to accomplish the tasks at hand. Remind us that in whatever work we do, we are called to be your servants."*

"God who calls us into life, we give thanks for Pete and Chasten. May they use the gifts with which you have empowered them in a meaningful way. May they meet challenges with grace and find joy in the road ahead." *

* both prayers from Celebrating at Home by Payden and Loving, copyright United Church Press, 1998

Every blessing,

Doug

Interfaith Moment of Action

in ,
IMG_0070.JPG

Dear Sisters, Brothers, Siblings,

Grace and peace be with you in Jesus, our Crucified and Risen Saviour!

I had the opportunity to participate in an “Interfaith Moment of Action” this morning, 21 March, at the Indiana Statehouse along with ten other faith and civic leaders encouraging our legislators to act responsibly and effectively in address the pending Hate Crime Legislation.

Regrettably, Indiana is one of five states that has failed to pass legislation that protect, by name, the most vulnerable of our citizens…who have been injured and killed in Indiana because of their race, creed, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, familial status, age, sexual orientation and gender identity. This is especially important, given the killing of 50 Muslim persons in Christchurch…in Aotearoa New Zealand last Friday.

I was humbled to be a witness with so many others, including Bishop Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows of the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis.  I encourage you to call your representatives and senators to take action on this important legislation for our state.

Blessings during the Lenten days…

Doug

Howe Military Academy Update

in

March 19, 2019

Dear Sisters, Brothers, Siblings in the Episcopal Church in Northern Indiana,

Grace and peace be with you in Jesus, the Crucified and Risen One!

Yesterday afternoon Howe Military Academy shared the sad news that they will close at the end of this academic year.  While the diocese is no longer officially associated with the school, our history with them runs deep.  This will be a difficult time for many. 

Please offer prayers for the cadets, families, faculty, staff, alumni and people of St. Mark's Episcopal Church during this difficult time.  

Here is a link to their website with the official announcement. 

Doug

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Douglas Sparks 

Serving as Bishop
The Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana

Bishop Doug signs opinion piece in Indianapolis Star pushing for a state hate crime law

in ,
3E5A9275+8x10+200.jpg

On Feb. 16, a Muslim man, by the name of Mustafo Ayoubi, was shot and killed in Indianapolis after being the victim of road rage and the recipient of anti-Muslim slurs.  The sister of Ayoubi made it known that she desired for a hate crime investigation to take place. But the state of Indiana is one of five states that does not have a hate crime law. As Indiana faith leaders we are saddened by this event and hold Ayoubi’s family in our prayers. We also add our collective voice to call for hate crime legislation to be enacted.

Our faith traditions share the belief that all persons are created in the image of God and are created with inherent dignity and worth. This understanding makes it all the more imperative that hate crimes legislation be enacted that is thorough, just, and reflective of the diverse humanity that makes up our communities. 

We strongly urge our elected officials to pass legislation that will define what constitutes a bias-motivated crime and include specific classes that are protected by the law. Crafting legislation that offers specific language to address crimes related to race, gender, and sexual orientation is crucial to all feeling safe and at peace. We especially urge our elected officials to ensure that the statute they pass protects people on the basis of gender identity, since transgender people in our communities are among the most vulnerable of God’s beloved children. All Hoosiers deserve the safety and protection of a hate crime law that is specific and clear.

We are grateful for our elected officials and hold them in prayer as they craft this needed law. May such legislation underscore the dignity of all whom God has created and reflect our proud history of Hoosier hospitality.

Rev. Chad R. Abbott, Conference Minister

Indiana-Kentucky Conference, United Church of Christ

The Rt. Rev. Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, Bishop

Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis 

Rev. Sara Dingman, Synod Executive

Synod of Lincoln Trails, President Church (USA)

Rev. Dr. William O. Gafkjen, Bishop

Indiana-Kentucky Synod, ELCA

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Douglas Sparks, Bishop

Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana

Rev. Richard L. Spleth, Regional Minister

Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Indiana

Rev. Richard L. Spleth, Regional Minister

Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Indiana

Rev. Taylor Alan Thames, Executive Presbyter

Whitewater Valley Presbytery, Presbyterian Church (USA)

Most Reverend Charles C. Thompson, Archbishop

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Indianapolis

The Rev. Dr. Julius C. Trimble, Bishop

Indiana Conference of The United Methodist Church

Originally posted in the Indianapolis Star Letters to the Editor on March 3, 2019.

A Letter from Bishop Doug Regarding Episcopal election in Northern California

in

9 February 2019

Dear Sisters, Brothers, Siblings,

Grace and peace be with you in Jesus, God's Word made flesh!

The Rev. Matthew Cowden Rector, St. Michael and All Angels Episcopal Church (South Bend)

The Rev. Matthew Cowden
Rector, St. Michael and All Angels
Episcopal Church (South Bend)

As many of you know, one of our own, the Rev. Matthew Cowden, was a nominee for Episcopal election in the Diocese of Northern California.  The election took place today and Fr. Matthew was not elected.  I have first hand experience of not being elected and received great support and encouragement from the people of the faith community I was serving in Rochester, Minnesota.

I want to thank Fr. Matthew and Melissa along with their children, Meghan, Nicholas and Joshua, for opening up their lives to the possibility of serving the wider church in Episcopal Ministry. I am also confident that they will be surrounded with prayer and affection by our sisters, brothers, siblings of St. Michael and All Angels in South Bend.

May they continue together, engaging God's mission!

Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to God from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen!

Epiphany blessings,

Doug

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Douglas E. Sparks
VIII Bishop of the Diocese of Northern Indiana

Letter from the Bishop - November 2018

in

16 November 2018

Dear Sisters, Brothers and Siblings,

Grace and peace be with you in Jesus, the Light for all people!

I hope this finds you well during this season of gratitude and thanksgiving, even in the midst of our challenges and transitions! For most of us, it is a time when we are asked to make a financial commitment in support of the mission, ministry, and management of our particular Episcopal Church and I want to encourage your generosity and steps toward sacrificial giving!

This has been a year of conventions! Over 1,000 deputies and bishops gathered in Austin, Texas in July for the 79th General Convention of The Episcopal Church. Our deputies and I had the opportunity to share the highlights and actions during our Deanery Gatherings in September and October but I thought it would be helpful to share some of them with those who receive our monthly eNews!

At the initiative of members of the House of Bishops, Episcopalians were invited to share, confidentially, their stories of sexual harassment, exploitation, and abuse. A process was designed to receive individual submissions which were responded to by a bishop. We received over 40 submissions. As part of the Episcopal Church’s commitment to respond intentionally, a Liturgy of Lament and Repentance, during which portions of the submissions were read aloud by a bishop, occurred on Wednesday evening, 4 July.

There were also opportunities to bear public witness throughout our time in Texas.  Bishops United Against Gun Violence prepared a time for public witness each day of General Convention focused on various kinds of deaths caused by guns which included days to remember those killed in mass shootings and school shootings as well as those killed by guns in domestic violence and police shootings. We gathered on Sunday, 8 July for a public witness in downtown Austin.

On Sunday afternoon, Episcopalians, on 21 coach buses, travelled to the T. Don Hutto Female Detention Center in Taylor, Texas in public witness to “the actions of the U.S. government in its enforcement of immigration policies that have separated families over the last couple of months and have led to roundups and deportations of migrants.” *

A typical Convention day begins with a legislative committee hearing at 7:30 a.m. followed by a brief break to get to your legislative session in the House of Deputies or House of Bishops which begins at 10:30 a.m. Both houses break for lunch at 1 p.m. and resume their legislative session at 2:15 p.m. The afternoon legislative session ends at 5 p.m. followed by the Eucharist.  After an hour for dinner, the evening typically resumes with legislative committee meetings or legislative hearings at 7:30 p.m. which usually conclude by 9 p.m.  I want to take this opportunity to thank our deputies: Brian Grantz, Ted Kimball, Susan Haynes, Pamela Harris, Matthew Cowden, Christopher Hillak, Terri Bays, Tim Skimina and Michelle Walker for their good and productive work on behalf of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana! 

Throughout the nine days, there were four joint sessions.  Three were called TEConversations which focused on racial reconciliation and racial justice, evangelism, and care of creation. The fourth joint session was a presentation on the triennial budget of the Episcopal Church.

Over 400 resolutions were submitted for our consideration during the General Convention.  Some of the key areas of discussion and action took place around Prayer Book revision, diversity and inclusion, marriage access for all, and readmitting the Diocese of Cuba to the Episcopal Church. You can review the actions of General Convention and find a publication on the General Convention website listing the actions of General Convention.

Our Diocesan Convention was held on Saturday, 3 November, in South Bend. We gathered for the Eucharist at the Cathedral of Saint James and then made our way to the First United Methodist Church for lunch and our business meeting. I want to take this opportunity to thank all those who helped in making convention happen for us this year, especially the members of the Cathedral and our missioners, particularly Canon Michelle Walker!

As part of our ongoing work in Becoming Beloved Community, which is our focus on racial reconciliation and racial justice, during our time in convention, we watched three videos prepared by the Presiding Bishop’s Office reflecting on a Truth and Reconciliation Pilgrimage to Ghana taken by the Presiding Bishop and others in January, 2017. After each video, we engaged in table conversation. It is my hope that we will continue this important work and conversations on Becoming Beloved Community throughout Northern Indiana.

With a financial grant of $75,000 from the Roanridge Trust of the Episcopal Church, we will focus our attention on engaging our rural faith communities in story-sharing around race, faith and difference. We had an initial Becoming Beloved Community Gathering on Saturday, 20 October at St. Anne’s, Warsaw.  Our Missioner for Community Engagement, Adrien Niyongabo, is working with a planning team to move this process forward in the coming months.

The wider church has prepared two curricula for Advent focused on Becoming Beloved Community and Journeying the Way of Love: Practices for a Jesus-Centered Life. You can find links to these resources in this eNews!

I want to end with a few sentences which concluded my Pastoral Address at Convention!  “So, let us go forth from this holy place, continuing to build houses of prayer and worship, where all are loved and treasured, taught and claimed…where all are truly welcomed! Glory to God whose power, working in us, can do infinitely more than we can ask or imagine: Glory to God from generation to generation in the Church, and in Christ Jesus for ever and ever. Amen!”

Be assured of my ongoing prayer for each of you!

Every blessing,

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Douglas Sparks
Serving as Bishop
The Episcopal Diocese of Northern Indiana

 

*from Episcopal News Service, 8 July 2018 by Lynette Wilson

#GC79 - Reflections by Bishop Doug Sparks

in ,
Bishop Doug, with his convention name tag and pins

Bishop Doug, with his convention name tag and pins

Dear Sisters and Brothers,

Grace and peace be with you in Jesus, the Light for all people!

Greetings from Austin, Texas at the 79th General Convention of The Episcopal Church!  I wanted to share my reflections on my particular work during this convention on the Ecumenical
and Interreligious Relations Legislative Committee and on the two TEConversations that we’ve had.

I have been committed to the work of Christian Unity for most of my adult life. I had the privilege of going to seminary in Chicago during the early 1980’s where I came to know sisters and brothers of other denominations and religious traditions. These fellow Christians enriched my faith and understanding as I began ordained ministry.

For more than 25 years, I have been engaged in conversations with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in American (ELCA) … in local and diocesan dialogues and initiatives. In 2016, I was appointed by our Presiding Bishop to serve as the Episcopal Bishop Co-Chair on the Lutheran Episcopal Coordinating Committee, which ultimately led to my appointment on this legislative committee.

(Below - Ecumenical Partners from ELCA and Lutheran Church in Bavaria giving testimony)

We are in full communion with the ELCA (since 2000) and the Moravian Church (since 2009). Our dialogue with the United Methodist Church began almost 50 years ago in the early 1970’s. Our committee spent significant time in conversation and testimony about the possibility of coming into full communion (after study and conversation during the next three years). We also worked on resolutions to affirm our long-standing full communion relationship with the Church of Sweden as well as an initiative of the Episcopal Convocation of Churches in Europe and the Lutheran Church in Bavaria. From my vantage point, full communion partnerships are a manifestation of Christ’s prayer that “we all may be one.” I am committed to working intentionally toward these partnerships.

One of the wonderful things about this convention is that both the House of Deputies and House of Bishops are gathering for intentional TEConversations around three key areas of our common life: Racial Reconciliation, Evangelism and Care of Creation. We gathered on Friday for a conversation on Racial Reconciliation. We heard the witness of a former racist skin head, a
“Dreamer” priest and the witness of Dr. Catherine Meeks, founder of the Absalom Jones Center for Racial Healing.

On Saturday, we gathered for a conversation on Evangelism. We heard a bishop describe the
experience of 40 Revival Events in Iowa, an Episcopal Priest who is an author bridging faith and
culture and a Latino Church Planter priest from the Diocese of Virginia.  Each conversation included a time for listening, a reflection question for pairs to discuss, a second question for our deputation to discuss, and a final question for us to consider going forward.

Let me conclude with the three questions we were invited to reflect upon:

2018-07-07 TEConversation Flyers.jpg

  1. What word, image or theme stands out for you from the talks and offerings you just heard? What is Jesus saying and calling you to do or to be, with regard to racial reconciliation…to evangelism?

  2. Given what you just shared in pairs about what Jesus is calling you toward personally, how might our churches and institutions respond to this call collectively?

  3. Given what your group said about how we could respond to God’s call as churches and institutions, what would help you/ your church/ your diocese to take the next steps around racial reconciliation or evangelism?

Well, sisters and brothers, our conversations went well and we hope to share some possible next steps with you regarding racial reconciliation and evangelism…and care of creation soon!
Be assured of my prayer.

Every blessing,
Bishop Doug

What is Project Resource 2.0: An Update from Camp Allen in Texas

in ,

Dear Sisters and Brothers in the Episcopal Church in Northern Indiana!

Grace and peace be with you in Jesus, the Risen Christ!

Last week, I had the privilege of gathering with bishops, priests, deacons and lay persons from 20 dioceses throughout the Episcopal Church to rekindle our passion for the important work of stewardship and its essential role in the life of our faith communities.  This initiative is entitled Project Resource 2.0 and is sponsored by the College for Bishops, the Episcopal Church Foundation and the Development Office of the Episcopal Church.  For several years in Northern Indiana, we have had a group of people called Faithful Stewards, who have tried to encourage the work of Stewardship among us!  I want to thank Linda Buskirk (Trinity - Fort Wayne), Meg Moss (Christ the King - Huntington), Pamela Harris (St. Andrew's - Valparaiso), Chuck Lewis and Steve Wilson (St. Andrew - Kokomo) , Fr. Paul Nesta (St. Paul - LaPorte) and Bishop Frank Gray for committing themselves to participating in this conference AND bringing it back to share throughout our diocese. 

The initiative focuses on three areas of stewardship:  1) the Annual Pledge Drive; 2) Planned or Legacy Giving and 3) Capital Campaigns.

You will be hearing more about our learning and our hopes in assisting every faith community in Northern Indiana to embrace more and more intentionally to important work of stewardship in all its aspects!   In the meantime, please enjoy the video below, recorded at the end of our time together.

Easter blessings,
Doug