Central Oregonian

Dignified visitation

With the visit of Right Reverend Bishop Nedi Rivera on Sunday, the parish at St. Andrews Episcopal Church will be treated with old traditions and possibly some new ones

RAMONA MCCALLISTER/CENTRAL OREGONIAN

St. Andrews Episcopal Church Secretary Deb Allen stands just inside the Chapel at the church, which is where Right Reverend Nedi Rivera will hold the Eucharist Service on Sunday, Feb. 17.

Ramona McCallister

February 14, 2013

St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Prineville will welcome a dignified guest at their Sunday service on Feb. 17.

The Right Reverend Nedi Rivera will make an annual visitation to the parish to preach and lead the congregation in open discussion.

“We get a yearly visit from Bishop Nedi, and this just happens to be our time this year,” explained parish secretary Deb Allen. “She tries to visit each of the congregations in Eastern Oregon once per year.

“We ask her to lead our congregation in open discussion, depending on the season of the year,” she said. “This one, we are asking her to begin our Lent discussion, because Lent begins on Feb. 22.”

As part of Bishop Nedi’s visit, she will talk to the congregation about a possible partnership of a sister diocese in Wau (South Sudan).

“She has been making trips over there to find out what the advantages and benefits for both dioceses would be,” commented Jan Uffelman, Junior Warden of the local seven-member vestry.

She added that Wau is a very rural area, and the members of their church have many needs. These include stoles and small bibles. Uffleman explained that a stole is worn over the robe of a priest.

Rivera will also meet with the vestry, or the board of directors for St. Andrews Episcopal Church. The Episcopal Church is similar to the Anglican Church in England (The Church of England), and the church was organized shortly after the American Revolution, when it chose to separate from the Church of England. There are two Dioceses in Oregon, and Rivera is the Bishop for Eastern Oregon.

Carol Parker is one of two priests in the local Parrish. She and Steve Uffleman were locally identified and trained, with their education taking place under the supervision of the Bishop. They conduct one service per month, with different lay people in the congregation who lead one prayer service per month and a visiting priest one Sunday per month.

Parker indicated that she has been a priest for 20 years. Currently, she is in Arizona, and she emphasized that Rivera’s visit is an important annual event.

“It’s a way to help people reconnect with the wider church, to help us remember we are more than just St. Andrews Prineville. We are connected to not only the Diocese, but the worldwide church, and Nedi helps us remember that.”

Right Reverend Nedi Rivera

Right Reverend Nedi Rivera will be at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church In Prineville Sunday, Feb. 17 at 10 a.m. for the Eucharist Service. She will be collecting stoles and small bibles for Wau (South Sudan). A luncheon and gathering will follow the service. The community is invited to attend.