God Loves You,
No Exceptions
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
425 Cleveland Ave. SW
Canton, OH 44702
Sunday services 10:30 a.m.
A weekend celebrating the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and our place in completing the work
Please join us this Monday, Jan. 19, for the annual service honoring the life and work of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. It’s a time for us to share and honor the joy of serving justice, God and humankind.
Our service begins at 11 a.m., followed by a luncheon. he Rev. Eric G. Howard, pastor of our partner in Courageous Conversations -- Mt. Olive Missionary Baptist Church -- will be our guest preacher. A Cleveland native, Pastor Howard began his professional career as a jobs training counselor, then graduated from Emory University’s Candler School of Theology with a master’s of divinity. He also holds a master’s of public administration from Cleveland State University and a bachelor’s in psychology from the University of Mount Union. His preaching has taken him as far away as Asuncion, Paraguay, as well as to Yale University and St. Paul’s. He has pastored Mt. Olive since November 2016. Please invite everyone to what promises to be an inspired and inspiring service. Our celebration began at Temple IsraelMembers of St. Paul's were among the roughly 70 people who participated in the 39th annual Shabbat MLK service and reception at Temple Israel on Friday night, and heard Courtney Johnson-Benson, founder of The Cognition Collective, speak to the need to honor humanity.
The Shabbat, she said, is a weekly reminder 'that we are not all the same," but that everyone in every community must refuse "to treat anone's dignity as optional." Canton's churches
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Our Annual Meeting: Where we’ve been,
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The joy of celebrating Easter and Baptism
Photos by David Rotthoff
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Presiding Bishop Rowe's Easter Message
"The long-awaited Messiah fashioned himself not as a political conqueror but as a peacemaker. Our Savior upended notions of worldly power by taking on the role of a servant and washing the feet of his followers. For Jesus, the vulnerable and the marginalized are in focus, and his ears are attuned to their voices."
Bishop Sean Rowe 
Dear Friends in Christ:
Luke’s Gospel tells us that on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Joanna went to the tomb to anoint the body of Jesus. When they got there, the stone had been rolled away, and they heard the message that transformed their world—and ours: “He is not here. He is risen.” On that Easter morning, the women who had been the last protectors and pastors at the cross on Good Friday became the first to witness and proclaim the resurrection. Scripture tells us, however, that their good news was not met with joy. The news that Jesus had risen from the dead was received as an idle tale, as nonsense—in one dynamic translation, as nothing more than women’s trinkets. In the fraught and divided world in which these first evangelists lived, they were on the margins, and their word counted for nothing. How quickly the apostles forgot what Jesus had modeled days before on Palm Sunday and at the Last Supper. The long-awaited Messiah fashioned himself not as a political conqueror but as a peacemaker. Our Savior upended notions of worldly power by taking on the role of a servant and washing the feet of his followers. For Jesus, the vulnerable and the marginalized are in focus, and his ears are attuned to their voices. As we proclaim the resurrection in our own time and place, let us always remember that the kingdom of God is revealed to us most clearly by those who are dispossessed by the powers and principalities of this world. Let us celebrate the joy of Easter by seeking and serving the resurrected Christ in the lives and the witness of those who have been silenced, persecuted, and marginalized. May God bless you and all those you love this Easter. The Most Rev. Sean W. Rowe Presiding Bishop, The Episcopal Church |
St. Paul's Episcopal Church
425 Cleveland Avenue S.W. Canton, OH 44702-1625 Our secretary, Peggy, remains in the office Monday thru Thursday 8:00-Noon. There are no office hours on Fridays. The office email is [email protected]; and you may leave a message on the phone voicemail (330)455-0286 Welcome to St. Paul's,
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A rare and joyous day
Clergy, congregants, family and other well-wishers pack St. Paul's to celebrate the ordination of the Rev. Robin Woodberry
Clergy, congregants, family and other well-wishers pack St. Paul's to celebrate the ordination of the Rev. Robin Woodberry
Bishop Mark Hollingsworth Jr. presents newly ordained priest, the Rev. Robin Woodberry to a crowd of nearly 200 at St. Paul's Saturday morning (June 3). Rev. Woodberry is the fifth generation of pastors in her family and her mother, Gena Thornton, delivered the homily. Rev. Woodberry's husband, Anthony, helped her don her priestly vestments. Photo by David Rotthoff.
Clergy from different denominations and throughout the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio gathered with Bishop Hollingsworth for the laying on of hands during the Rev. Woodberry's ordination. Photo by David Rotthoff
Nearly 200 people gathered at St. Paul's Saturday morning to celebrate the consecration of the Rev. Robin Woodberry to the priesthood.
Robin's service of ordination is the last planned by Bishop Mark Hollingworth Jr., who is retiring. Celebrating with him were clergy from differing denominations and from throughout Ohio, including Robin's mother, the Rev. Gena Thornton, who delivered the homily. Robin is the fifth generation of women clergy in her family.
They were joined by family, friends, congregants and friends of St. Paul's and of Robin's. The choirs of three churches -- St. Paul's, St. Timothy's Massillon and Christ Church Hudson -- joined together for the service with works including "The Work of Love," an original piece composed by Andrew Bolden for the day.
Robin has been deacon-in-charge at St. Paul's since last summer, following her ordination as a transitional deacon, a step toward the priesthood. A native of Youngstown, she was licensed a minister in the Baptist tradition in 1995 and ordained 10 years later at New Bethel Baptist Church. She holds a doctor of ministry degree from the Southern Bible Institute and Seminary in Augusta, Ga. She is the former nominating chairperson for the National Board of Church Women United and executive director of the Mahoning Valley Association of Churches.
She became a member of the Episcopal Church in 2017, and began her seminary studies at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, Calif. She has completed her studies at Bexley Seabury Seminary in Chicago, has been elected to the Episcopal Community Services Committee and serves on the church’s Commission for Racial Understanding.
Here is message from the Rev. Robin Woodberry, St. Paul's new priest-in-charge
There will never be enough words to say how completely grateful and thankful I am to each one who has been a part of this journey. Whether you played a role at the beginning, in the middle, or in the last few weeks, I would not be here today if it were not for you. I thank you for your prayers, your words of encouragement, your spiritual direction, and your love. To my family who has given the most so that I could do what God was asking of me, thank you for your sacrifice of love! I give honor to my ancestors and the four generations of ministers on whose shoulders I stand.
To my husband Anthony, we had no idea what we were in for when we got married 37 years ago, but God did. I could not have served in ministry had you not been there with me. I praise God for you! To the Ordination Committee who pulled together such a memorable occasion in such a short time, thank you!
And, to this great St. Paul’s family, God heard your prayers, brought us together, and set us on a path to do great and mighty things, in Jesus’ Name!
I love you all, Robin.
Robin's service of ordination is the last planned by Bishop Mark Hollingworth Jr., who is retiring. Celebrating with him were clergy from differing denominations and from throughout Ohio, including Robin's mother, the Rev. Gena Thornton, who delivered the homily. Robin is the fifth generation of women clergy in her family.
They were joined by family, friends, congregants and friends of St. Paul's and of Robin's. The choirs of three churches -- St. Paul's, St. Timothy's Massillon and Christ Church Hudson -- joined together for the service with works including "The Work of Love," an original piece composed by Andrew Bolden for the day.
Robin has been deacon-in-charge at St. Paul's since last summer, following her ordination as a transitional deacon, a step toward the priesthood. A native of Youngstown, she was licensed a minister in the Baptist tradition in 1995 and ordained 10 years later at New Bethel Baptist Church. She holds a doctor of ministry degree from the Southern Bible Institute and Seminary in Augusta, Ga. She is the former nominating chairperson for the National Board of Church Women United and executive director of the Mahoning Valley Association of Churches.
She became a member of the Episcopal Church in 2017, and began her seminary studies at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, Calif. She has completed her studies at Bexley Seabury Seminary in Chicago, has been elected to the Episcopal Community Services Committee and serves on the church’s Commission for Racial Understanding.
Here is message from the Rev. Robin Woodberry, St. Paul's new priest-in-charge
There will never be enough words to say how completely grateful and thankful I am to each one who has been a part of this journey. Whether you played a role at the beginning, in the middle, or in the last few weeks, I would not be here today if it were not for you. I thank you for your prayers, your words of encouragement, your spiritual direction, and your love. To my family who has given the most so that I could do what God was asking of me, thank you for your sacrifice of love! I give honor to my ancestors and the four generations of ministers on whose shoulders I stand.
To my husband Anthony, we had no idea what we were in for when we got married 37 years ago, but God did. I could not have served in ministry had you not been there with me. I praise God for you! To the Ordination Committee who pulled together such a memorable occasion in such a short time, thank you!
And, to this great St. Paul’s family, God heard your prayers, brought us together, and set us on a path to do great and mighty things, in Jesus’ Name!
I love you all, Robin.
Above: During the litany, then-Deacon Woodberry lies full length and face down on the floor as a gesture of humility and devotion. Right: Bishop Hollingsworth offers the prayers of consecration, which include: "May she exalt you, O Lord, in the midst of your people; offer spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to you; boldly proclaim the gospel of salvation; and rightly administer the
sacraments of the New Covenant. Make her a faithful pastor, a patient teacher, and a wise
counselor. Grant that in all things she may serve without reproach, so that your people
may be strengthened and your Name glorified in all the world. All this we ask through
Jesus Christ our Lord, who with you and the Holy Spirit lives and reigns, one God, for
ever and ever." Photo by David Rotthoff
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Among those participating in the ordination were the Rev. Gena Thornton, Robin's mother (left rear), and Maureen Woods Major and Jon Coventry (right rear), whose own journey to the priesthood began at St. Paul's. Photo by David Rotthoff
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To view the entire service, click on this Facebook link.
For more images of the day and information on ordination, go to the "more" tab or click here.
For more images of the day and information on ordination, go to the "more" tab or click here.
