April 2019

On Tuesday March 19th I met with members from the congregational cluster of St Paul’s, Council Bluffs and St John’s Glenwood. The people from St. John’s had had to come a circuitous route because of the closed roads in the region due to flooding. They were also tired from becoming a distribution center for blankets, clothes, tarps, water and food. They were themselves cut off from fresh water supplies. The other cluster congregation is St. John’s, Shenandoah, and they were unable to make the journey at all. The senior warden was busy mopping out flood water from her business office, and the priest, Holly Scherff, was occupied with being our diocesan point person for the SW region flood disaster relief. Holly had been mulling over God’s impeccable timing, as she returned to a flooded area from a Disaster Relief Training Conference in Chicago. In fact, her hour long drive home took twice as long as she navigated flood detours to get home in the dark.

These are still early days for our response. As Holly wrote for the clergy listserve:

“As many of you know, SW Iowa has several communities under water. The water has started to recede and clean up has begun and yet there is still much Spring to endure. Iowa has shown its true colors by providing these communities with all they need and more. Much more, in fact, to the point that we no longer know what to do with it all.  Currently if you feel compelled to help in some way, please consider a donation to the Bishop’s Crisis Fund [payable to Episcopal Diocese of Iowa, 225 37th St., Des Moines, 50312], which is an internal diocesan fund for emergencies like this, or to Episcopal Relief and Development. As the mucking out progresses, needs will arise, and I will do my best to keep you informed. Prayers for endurance and wisdom are appreciated.”

Holly has been attempting to contact the twenty Episcopal congregations which she has identified within the fifty-two counties that the Governor has proclaimed as disaster areas. Many of our congregations are small and do not have office staff during the day, and so communication has been difficult. I encourage you, if you are a congregation in one of those counties to reach out to her at 515-227-6940, or at scherffh@gmail.com. Also, The Episcopal Church has been building an asset map of all its congregations (that the “find a church” button on the website links to) which could be utilized more easily for such a challenging occasion like this, and it is sadly underutilized and under-informed when it comes to our Iowa congregations. It is a site which invites each congregation to fill out information about locations, and so this would be a good time to be reminded of its potential importance to us all and to invite you to find someone who might be willing to put you on the map.

Unfortunately, the worst is not behind us, and the flooding is spread up the western part of the state, and into South Dakota and Nebraska Native lands. As we are planning a visit by partners from the Episcopal Relief and Development US Disaster Program in the second week of April, we hope to bear those areas in mind as well. So, please be in touch; do not be hesitant in reaching out for assistance for yourselves and for your neighbors or community. In the meantime, Holly reminds us that

“it is helpful to remember that one of the guiding principles of the Episcopal Church in responding to such disasters is to ask the question ‘who is it in the community that are the most vulnerable, most hidden from the public eye, and under-served?’”

To this end Jesus calls us “o’er the tumult.”

In the peace and love of Christ,

+Alan

The Rt. Rev. Alan Scarfe, Bishop of Iowa

Click to learn how to update the Asset Map for your congregation!

March 2019

The apostle Paul in writing to the Corinthians would speak of the contrasting experiences that were part of his ministry, all seemingly happening at the same time. He never let the difficult times get the upper hand, and could always seem to rally around the reality of God's grace and overcoming through the Risen Christ. His message is that we always have the care of the Churches and the evangelistic mission of the Gospel before us, no matter what our circumstances. That is important to remember for those of us hurting badly with the United Methodist Church members on their Special General Conference's decision to prohibit same gender marriages, and to penalize clergy who permit them. At the Cathedral on Sunday, I invited us to carry them in our prayers. I also voiced my deep disappointment at the Archbishop of Canterbury's decision not to invite the spouses of gay and lesbian bishops to Lambeth, though the bishops are invited. On this I refer you to the letter to the Diocese of New York by their bishops, which includes one of the affected parties, Mary Glaspool and her spouse Becky. These were a couple of the topics being gently and lovingly discussed as bishops met with the Presiding Bishop before the joyous and wonderful consecration of our own Cathleen Bascom as Bishop of Kansas.

These are the ongoing conditions in which we are always invited to minister, and to keep our eyes on the prize that is knowing, loving, suffering and rejoicing with the Lord Jesus. With that in mind, I want our attention to turn to the engagement of all followers of Jesus—all disciples—in the work of extending love. Love for the Gospel, love for neighbor, love for this planet of the Lord’s, love for growing in the Way of Love, love for worship in a lively manner and space, love for justice, and love for bridging the gap with the new upcoming generation.


These are the topics most requested during last year’s Growing Iowa Leaders days. And in 2019 through to 2020, starting at the Summer Ministry School and Retreat in Grinnell, I am inviting you to find your ministry and passion and commit twelve months to intentional growth and training in it.

We have asked presenters from last year to return and be coaches for a year in seven areas of ministry. The coaching program will begin with a face to face gathering (in most cases in Grinnell in June) and then continue with monthly zoom sessions as you put your learnings into action at the local level. The seven cohorts, or learning groups, being offered are:

• ENGAGING Our Stories as Disciples: Evangelism & Discipleship
• ENGAGING New Generations of Faith
• ENGAGING Creative Expressions of Worship
• ENGAGING the Way of Love and Discipleship
• ENGAGING Our Neighbors and Neighborhoods: Mission
• ENGAGING Justice through Public Policy
• ENGAGING Our Resources

I am inviting you to sign up for the cohort of your passion in ministry. If possible, it would be great to have pairs of people from any given congregation for an Engagement topic, but if God is beginning with you alone then that is exciting. We have never done anything like this before; and yet it is what we can offer thanks to the ongoing blessing of the gift we received last year that keeps on giving.

You have heard me talk of my pastor from my youth days and his fundamental and prayerful question—what is God going to do with this one? I look towards these growing cohorts and ask about you the very same thing. This is a Lenten call, and an Eastertide call; an Advent call and a back to Epiphany call.

If you are called towards one of those learning cohorts, you can register for Summer Ministry School and Retreat here. Or, if you would like to discern with me about any of the offerings, I welcome you to contact me. God continues to equip the hands of Christ’s Church.

In the peace and love of Christ,

+Alan

The Rt. Rev. Alan Scarfe, Bishop of Iowa