Summary

Tapinto.net – Meet the Leaders: Q&A with Reverend Susanna Cates, Pastor of All Saints Episcopal Church in Scotch Plains – “I never predicted ordained ministry as part of my journey”

NJ Herald – Breaking the stained-glass ceiling: How women are rising to leadership in the Black church – Rev. Ratona Stokes-Robinson’s … phone buzzed with excitement.

Salem News – Shining light on an untold story – For years, Sheila Cooke-Kayser, a former National Park Service employee, has been researching these stories as a volunteer with the Danvers Historical Society. If the walls of the Page House in Danvers Square could talk

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Meet the Leaders: Q&A with Reverend Susanna Cates, Pastor of All Saints Episcopal Church in Scotch Plains

Tapinto.net – Scotch Plains, NJ

“I grew up in Gainsville, FL, and lived there until my early 20s. Gainesville is home to the University of Florida, and so it’s a very diverse town. Lots of folks from all over the world attend school and teach there, and some of them decide to stay, bringing their traditions and worldviews with them. It makes for a community that’s very flexible, open-minded, and willing to learn from others. In that way, this part of New Jersey feels a lot like home. We are so close to NYC, and our surrounding areas have just about every kind of person from every kind of place. It’s one of the many things I love about living here.”

Breaking the stained-glass ceiling: How women are rising to leadership in the Black church

NJHerald – Thorofare, NJ

After the Rev. Ratona Stokes-Robinson was appointed to lead St. James AME Church in South Jersey last summer, her phone buzzed with excitement.  But the joy was short-lived. She wound up delivering her first Sunday sermon not from the front of the small white church in Thorofare, but outside its locked doors. Officers of the Gloucester County church refused to hand her the keys, reportedly unwilling to let a female pastor take over.

Shining light on an untold story

Salem News – Danvers, MA

If the walls of the Page House in Danvers Square could talk, the stories that they would tell are ones of bravery, strength and mystery. For years, Sheila Cooke-Kayser, a former National Park Service employee, has been researching these stories as a volunteer with the Danvers Historical Society and is now primed to share her findings of one individual with a larger audience.

Iona Celtic Retreat with Bishop Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows

Episcopal News Service

From June 18-25, 2022, join Bishop Jennifer and members of the Episcopal Diocese of Indianapolis in a Celtic retreat on the sacred Isle of Iona, off the western coast of Scotland. The retreat will be led by the Rev. John Philip Newell, an internationally known expert on Celtic spirituality.

Nonprofits Benefit From Shop Of St. Philip’s

Transylvania Times – Brevard, NC

The Episcopal Church Women of St. Philip’s Episcopal Church announced they were able to award grants totaling $81,000 to nonprofit groups serving families and children in Transylvania County for 2022. The grants are intended to help with operating expenses. The Family Place, The Haven, Pisgah Legal, Meals on Wheels, Rise & Shine, and Free Rein are among the 20 grant recipients.

Musician for Triennial

Elaine Conger is a native of Nashville and life-long musician and music educator.  After years of teaching and touring, she’s finally settled down in the mountains of East Tennessee for another chapter in her musical journey.  Her current passion is writing and performing worshipful songs that stir the soul and encourage spiritual reflection.

Chaplin for Triennial

Gayle Fisher-Stewart was ordained in 2015 and currently serves as the interim rector of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Washington, DC.  A native Washingtonian, prior to accepting the call to ordained ministry, she retired from the Metropolitan Police Department as a captain and then taught at the university level.