Presiding Bishop's Huffington Post Article: A Lesson from the Gulf Oil Spill

A Lesson from the Gulf Oil Spill: We Are All Connected

Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori
Huffington Post May 26, 2010

The original peoples of the North American continent understand that we are all connected, and that harm to one part of the sacred circle of life harms the whole. Scientists, both the ecological and physical sorts, know the same reality, expressed in different terms. The Abrahamic traditions (Judaism, Christianity, and Islam) also charge human beings with care for the whole of creation, because it is God's good gift to humanity. Another way of saying this is that we are all connected and there is no escape; our common future depends on how we care for the rest of the natural world, not just the square feet of soil we may call "our own."... Read the full article at the Huffington Post

Join the Hispanic Ministry in Opposition to Arizona-like Immigration Law Under Consideration in RI

24 May 2010

Brothers and Sisters in Christ:

On this Thursday afternoon the Rhode Island House will be considering the proposed new law H 8412. This proposed statute is similar to the new anti immigrant law recently passed in Arizona. If passed, it would put our state alongside Arizona as being aggressively anti-immigrant and, one could say, anti-Hispanic. We are strongly opposed to this law as a Committee working within the Hispanic community here. Our two congregations are also strongly opposed.

There will be a rally outside the State Capitol on Thursday afternoon at 4PM. We have been asked to bring as many people as we can find to this rally – especially clergy. Please consider being there and bringing others. Numbers are important. We want to turn out a large and diverse crowd of people who support the cause of comprehensive immigration reform and a path to citizenship for the millions of undocumented immigrants who have committed no crime other than striving to better their situation and that of their family.

Please consider giving an hour or two of your time to stand with our brothers and sisters who must live in constant fear of arrest and deportation.

For the Hispanic Ministry Committee, St. George’s Church, and Mission El Mesias, and the Social Justice Committee:

Father Jose Roberts
Deacon Buck Close
Deacon Ricky Brightman

Let There Be Light; Solar Sister in the Diocese of Ezo

By Katherine Lucey

There are 1.6 billion people on the planet who don’t have access to reliable electricity. That’s one quarter of the world’s population. 70% are women and girls living in developing countries.

They rely on kerosene lanterns and candles for light. They spend hours each day collecting wood to burn for cooking and heat. They spend up to 30% of their family income on energy that is insufficient, hazardous and unhealthy. Unhealthy for people and unhealthy for the planet.

Lack of access to electricity is both a cause and an effect of unremitting poverty. Our companion Diocese of Ezo in the Sudan suffers from acute energy poverty and its devastating consequences, but the Diocese of Rhode Island is working with a social enterprise called Solar Sister to bring light, hope and opportunity to the people of Ezo.

Solar Sister provides women with training and support to create solar micro-businesses, providing much needed household income for the women, and much needed light for their communities.

The most important step to ending poverty is to create employment and income opportunities. Solar Sister does just that by empowering women. The women sell solar lanterns which replace the kerosene lanterns and candles, providing clean, dependable solar light in homes, schools and clinics. Solar light enhances education, improves health and safety and provides economic opportunity, enabling the women to lift themselves, their families and their communities out of poverty.

The women form a by-women, to-women distribution network that is strengthened by women’s natural circles of family, friends and community. This direct-sales network brings the solar technology right to the women’s doorstep and provides income generation opportunities for the women.

In April, the Diocese of Rhode Island is bringing the Solar Sister program to Ezo. Women will be chosen by the Ezo Mother's Union on the basis of their entrepreneurship potential and economic need to become "Solar Sisters". These women will receive a "business in a box" of solar lanterns that bring clean, affordable light to their community. The Ezo program will be the first Solar Sister program in war-torn Sudan, where light is an important element of safety as well as opportunity.

Keep an eye out in future issues of RISEN Magazine for updates about Ezo and the Solar Sister program there. You can also visit http://www.solarsister.org/ for current updates or just to learn more about the organization.


Solar Sister was founded by Katherine Lucey, the wife of The Rev. David Lucey, who is the Rector of St. Michaels Episcopal Church in Bristol, RI.

To learn more about what you can do for our companions in Ezo, or to get involved with our Companion Diocese Committee, please email Mary Ann Kolakowski, our Director of Christian Formation, at maryann@episcopalri.org

RISEN Magazine's Spring 2010 issue "New Growth, Together"

It is spring! This season's Risen Magazine has been printed and mailed so keep an eye on your mailboxes. If you can't wait, you can view it in a fun e-book gadget at the bottom of this page or on the website

RISEN Magazine is The Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island's News and special interest magazine. We switched from a newspaper format to the current full color journal in 2007. By doing so, we have been able to focus our attention on producing an award winning print periodical with staying power. Each issue of RISEN centers on a timely theme and features articles that aim to inform, enlighten and inspire. It is published quarterly and has a circulation of around 9,000.

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eRISEN May 6th 2010 issue

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