CAPITAL
AREA COUNCIL OF CHURCHES
CONNECTION
June 2010
CACC Spring Assembly
Monday, June 14
Macedonia Baptist Church, 172 No. Allen St., Albany, 12206
5:30pm registration, dinner served at 6:15pm, followed by
Assembly. Reservations for the dinner are required and may be made by calling
the CACC office (462-5450) by June 10
or by sending a check ($10/person) made out to “CACC” along with the name(s)
of those attending. Anyone can attend just the Assembly (which begins around
7:30) without cost or reservations. Highlights of the evening will include the
presentation of this year’s Martin Luther King, Jr., Scholarships; Hogancamp
Seminary Scholarships; and the James and Pearl Campbell Peace and Justice Award.
The evening also will include a farewell to our retiring Executive
Director and will end with a brief Interfaith Prayer Service. Clergy and
delegates from member congregations as well as any other interested persons are
welcome to attend.
A Farewell
Message from the Executive Director@
“An
Ecumenical Journey”
In the early 1960’s,
Christian unity was made a hot issue with the publication of the Blake-Pike
proposal, a creation of a leading Episcopalian clergy and a leading Presbyterian
clergy. It was a proposal that would lead to the birth of the Consultation on
Church Union, a multilateral ecumenical dialogue of great note.
I was a student at Colgate Rochester Divinity School at the time, and I
was blessed with a teacher of Homiletics, Liturgics, and Ecumenics by the name
of John Skoglund. Dr. Skoglund was
one of the Presidents of the World Council of Churches, and already he was a
well- established ecumenist of international significance.
Between the Proposal and Dr. Skoglund’s influence, my ecumenical journey
was born and never waned. I have
since been blessed with almost ten years as Executive Director of the Capital
Area Council of Churches, thrusting me to the forefront of one of the most
vibrant of ecumenical scenes in any of our cities! What a delightful time it has
been, a time wonderfully prepared by a superb mentor, the Rev. Dr. Robert C.
Lamar, my predecessor. Disease and treatment issues bring an end to that portion
of my ministry, and surely it is painful to close the curtains on that
ecumenical journey with my retirement at the end of July.
Passion for Christian unity has marked the last fifty years of my life,
and “ut unum sint” as prayed by Jesus
on the night before his death remains the greatest of his desires for his
people. I am honored to have been a
small part of the effort for Christian unity and especially honored to have
served the cause of Church unity in Albany and for the Council!
Thank you, dear friends, for the wonder of such an opportunity and
adventure, and thank you also for such incredible collegiality!
--John U. Miller
Festival Celebration Choir Spring Concert- June 6
3pm, St. Pius X Church, 23 Crumitie Rd., Loudonville. Theme: “Living Waters” Cost: $15 adults, $10 seniors/students. Reception follows. Call Kemp @439-2363. Persons interested in joining this 60 voice ecumenical choir for the fall season are welcome to call Kemp for information. They rehearse on Monday nights at St. Pius X, give a Christmas concert, and entertain at two nursing homes in December. Charles Jones, organist and music director at St. Pius X Church, is the director, with Maury Castro, organist at the First United Presbyterian Church in Troy, as accompanist.
Congratulations to…
--Al and Sue Fedak, celebrating 20 years of music ministry at Westminster Presbyterian Church!
--David Hammond, Daniel Ryan, Rendell Torres, Quy Vo, and Matthew Wetsel, being ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood on June 12th!
Senior Issues Forum Lifetime
Achievement Awards
Nominations are being
accepted this month for the 13th Annual Capital District Senior
Issues Forum Lifetime Achievement Awards. The awards will be presented at a
ceremony the morning of October 19th at Congregation Beth Emeth in
Albany. To be nominated, individuals must be aged 85+ and should be able to
attend the ceremony. Nomination forms are available from the CACC office and
must be postmarked by June 30.
Transitions
Journey United Church of Christ, CACC’s newest member congregation, has moved into their own space on Kenwood Ave. in Delmar, and the congregation of the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception has returned to worship in their own space following a significant time of repair and refurbishing. Welcome to the Very Rev. David Collum, new Dean of the Cathedral of All Saints. The Rev. Beth Parker, who has been the Dean of the Hudson-Mohawk Conference of the ELCA, has taken a position with Community Hospice, so the Rev. Vern Victorson will serve as the Interim Dean. This month, the Troy Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church will cease to exist and most area Methodist churches will become part of a new Upper New York Conference. Among the Methodist clergy and staff who retiring this year are Bishop Susan Hassinger, her administrative assistant Jane E. Schweikert, the Rev. William Pattison, the Rev. Denise Stringer, and the Rev. Robert Zittel. Finally, we mourn the deaths of Dr. Elmer Green, a member of Israel AME Church who served on the CACC Finance Committee, and Sr. Maureen Joyce, rsm, who for the past 20 years has been a strong voice for social justice in her role as CEO of Catholic Charities.
Remember, you have a choice!
The Overflow Shelter Needs Your Help
The Emergency Overflow Shelter at First Lutheran Church closed for the season on April 30 after another year of providing a safe and secure place for some of our area’s most vulnerable people. Although we had been awarded a 2009-2010 member item grant from the office of State Senator Neil Breslin, we have been told that we will not see that money until the 2010-2011 budget is passed. To meet our obligations, we have borrowed money from Westminster Presbyterian Church and First Lutheran Church. We still have bills to pay and would appreciate any help that anyone might give us at this time. Checks should be made out to “CACC Shelter Account” and sent to the CACC office, 646 State St., Albany, NY 12203. We hope that the 2010-2011 NY State budget will be passed soon, our item will come through, and we can repay our loans and have something left to begin next season. Thanks in advance for any help you can give!
This and That
Advocates for Welcoming Congregations will hold a Capital Pride Week Interfaith Service at 7pm on 6/2 @ the First Unitarian Universalist Society, 405 Washington Ave., Albany. Refreshments will follow….The Home Ownership Center of the Affordable Housing Partnership offers financial management classes on 6/8 & 22, 5:30-7pm, and free landlord training on 6/15 starting at 5:30pm. Call 434-1730 or visit www.ahphome.org….The United Methodist Women of Shenendehowa UMC will hold an interfaith program for adult and teen women on 6/14 in the Fellowship Hall of the church, 971 Route 146, Clifton Park. Gather at 5:30, vegetarian potluck supper at 6pm, program @7pm. Call Linda @383-3115…The Community Hospice “Walk for Hospice” will be @ UAlbany on 6/19. Registration begins @ 9am, walk begins @10:30am. Lunch & music follow. Call 285-8169 or visit www.communityhospice.org....The Black Women’s Association of Albany will hold their Marian I. Hughes Scholarship Luncheon from noon-3pm on 6/19 @ the Desmond, 660 Albany-Shaker Rd.. Advance sales only, reservations due by 6/12. Cost: Adults-$35, Seniors(60+)-$30, Students-$25. Call Judy @334-3821.
An ecumenical project
offering training for laity and clergy. Upcoming courses: “Faith Seeking
Understanding: Introduction to Theology”, July 12-15, 6-9:30pm, Sat. July 17,
9am-3pm, Bethany Reformed Church, 760 New Scotland Ave., Albany. Instructor: the
Rev. Dr. Gregg Mast. Cost: $225 ($175 audit). Register by 6/28.
“Canoeing Through Creation” retreat,
Sept. 13-16. Leader, the Rev. Kent Busman. Cost: $300, includes gear and food.
Limited space. Register by 8/25. Group discounts available.
Call 462-2470 or visit
www.capitalrtc.org
to
register or for more information.
CWS (with its partners) is
assisting refugees and responding to natural disasters around the world. Many
thanks to all who participated in the 10 Capital Region CROP Walks on May 2.
Preliminary figures from the Albany Walk show 430 walkers/volunteers from
55 groups. Over $44,000 was turned in on Walk Day, with another $12,000+ posted
in on-line pledges. Additional income has pushed the current total over $68,000.
By the time all outstanding pledges and matching funds have come in, we hope to
top out between $90,000 and $100,000. If you have CROP Walk money to turn in,
please get it to our office ASAP. Can we reach the goal of $105,000 set by Rev.
Miller? Lost and found: a green baseball
cap and a camera phone scan disk chip. Call Kitt @ 462-5450.
Homeless Families Need Your Friendship &
Support
Did you know there are
several homeless families being sheltered in area motels? CACC is working in
partnership with several area congregations and organizations to provide
activities for children and their parents (including summer Bingo parties on
6/15, 7/20, and 8/17 from 5-7pm), clothing and toiletries for families who
arrive with practically nothing, financial support to send kids to summer camp,
donations of summer clothing, and household items for families moving into more
permanent housing. Volunteers and contributions are needed.
Call Lois @439-4791 or e-mail
lwilson502@aol.com.