The Rev. William “Chip” Stokes of St. Paul ’s Episcopal Church in Delray Beach has been elected the bishop of New Jersey.
“I am humbled beyond expression,” Stokes said after his May 3 election over eight other candidates. He leaves Florida on Aug. 1 and will be ordained as bishop on Nov. 2.
The St. Paul’s congregation ministers to the Haitian immigrant community that surrounds its church on Swinton Avenue. Paul’s Place is an afterschool refuge next to the church for neighborhood children, who are able to excel academically with church tutors.
That ministry was attractive to the Episcopalians who voted for Stokes to come to New Jersey, according to the Rev. Gregory Bezilla, the chairman of diocese’s transition committee.
“What they see in him is someone who is willing to take the lead in speaking and taking action on behalf of marginalized people, the poor and immigrants especially,” Bezilla said. “I also think he is someone who is deeply concerned about young people.”
Stokes, 56, has served St. Paul ‘s for 14 years. He will face challenges at Diocese of New Jersey with poverty, dwindling church membership and the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.
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The interfaith bond between St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church and Temple Beth El began with a 1980 bomb scare at the Jewish synagogue on the eve of Yom Kippur.
A Jewish rabbi asked a Catholic priest for help when Temple Beth El was evacuated during worship services. Torahs and other Jewish ritual objects were carried next door to St. Joan of Arc so the Jewish worship service could resume.
The Jews and Catholics have gotten to know each other since then, understanding each other’s religion. Their annual Interfaith Weekend has been celebrated for the past 27 years.
Father Robert Levitt, past president of the largest Catholic seminary in the U.S., spoke to the two congregations about ecumenical understanding and cooperation on April 27-28.
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The concept of giving to the less fortunate is taught early, starting with 3-year-olds, at Boca Raton Christian School.
More than 250 students in pre-K through eighth grade participated April 6 in a marathon day of community service that the school has sponsored annually since 1983.
Each class learned about its service project in the weeks before the event. Parents contributed all the supplies that were needed.
The youngest pre-K children filled bags of rice for needy families who receive groceries from CROS Ministries in a project called Grains of Gratitude. Other toddlers decorated the bags.
Every class had an interesting project. First-graders made teacups for widows. Fifth-graders weeded the garden of an elderly woman near the school.
Even firefighters got a little love when seventh-graders served them breakfast at their fire station.
Debbie Dingle’s succesful ascent of a peak near Mount Everest has inspired fellow parishioners of Advent Lutheran to join in her quest to help fight human trafficking. Photo provided
Debbie Dingle’s rocky climb up a 18,124-foot summit next to Mount Everest wasn’t easy.
Most of the 45 women mountain climbers raising awareness about human trafficking got terribly sick because of bad water they drank at the bottom of the mountain. Dingle lost 10 pounds. A helicopter was called to rush the woman sharing Dingle’s tent to a hospital.
Above the tree line, the climbers knew they couldn’t all reach the top. “We were all so sick and weak,” Dingle said. “Some knew their bodies would not allow them to continue.”
Dingle, representing Advent Lutheran Church of Boca Raton, was one of 25 climbers who braved 60 mph winds to reach the very top of the giant summit on April 19.
The soccer mom repeatedly sang a song that she had learned as a child in church:
“If you trust in me, and stay in song, everything is going to be fine,” Dingle sang repeatedly as she climbed up the mountain.
Dingle’s mission has caught fire at Advent Lutheran. “This is becoming a significant ministry for our church,” said her pastor, the Rev. Andrew Hagen.
The congregation first supported her last year when she raised $70,000 to rescue women from prostitution, exploitation and poverty by climbing Mount Kilimanjaro.
“The higher up you go, the more momentum you gain to serve the cause when you come down the mountain,” Hagen said.
A dozen Advent Lutheran women will climb Pike’s Peak in Colorado to get started. Another church group will go to India to see the job training that the mountain climbers provide for rescued women.
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St. Mark Catholic School has suddenly closed after a dramatic 44 percent drop in enrollment.
The pre-K through eighth grade school in Boynton Beach had 225 students this past year. But the ax fell when only 126 enrolled for the upcoming 2013-14 school year.
Originally, 166 students had pre-enrolled for next year and the Diocese of Palm Beach was assisting in hopes that St. Mark could hold on. But then an additional 40 students left and all hope was lost.
“In the past few weeks, the number dropped significantly as students transferred to other schools, including new local charter schools,” St. Mark priest Richard Florek wrote parents on May 24.
“Despite our best efforts to increase enrollment, the decrease in students has created a most challenging financial situation and would create a financial burden on parents and the parish,” Florek said. “This has been a very difficult decision to make.”
The Diocese is helping families of the remaining 126 students enroll at other nearby Catholic schools, including St. Vincent Ferrer in Delray Beach. The hope is for the eighth-graders to remain together at another school next year. “They have been at St. Mark for a long time and are a close-knit group,” Gary Gelo, schools superintendent for the Diocese, said.
St. Mark School opened in 1958 with nuns from the Four Sisters of Charity as its first teachers.
Tim Pallesen writes about people of faith, their congregations, causes and community events. Email him at tcpallesen@aol.com.
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