Upcoming:
Independence Day
The Feast of Saints
Priscilla and Aquila
The Feast of Saint
Benedict of Nursia
The Feast of Saint
Mary Magdalene
The Feast of Saint
John Cassian
The Feast of Saint
James the Apostle
The Feast of the
Parents of the
Blessed Virgin Mary
The Feast of Saints
Mary and Martha of
Bethany
The Feast of Saint
Ignatius of Loyola
7/05 -
7/08 -
7/11 -
7/22 -
7/23 -
7/25 -
7/26 -
7/29 -
7/31 -
E-NEWSLETTER
The Diocese of Springfield
July 2025 - The Week of III Pentecost
01
Separation of Saints Peter and Paul, Giovanni Lanfranco
Pre-Lenten Clergy Retreat 2026
Bishop Burgess is pleased to share the preliminary
plans for the 2026 Pre-Lenten Clergy Retreat. Due
to Kings House Conference and Retreat Center at
the National Shrine of Our Lady of Snows in
Belleville already being booked when the retreat is
typically hosted, the 2026 retreat will be held
Wednesday, Feb. 11 through Friday, Feb. 13, 2026
for all priests and deacons of our Diocese and
invited clergy guests. This year’s reflections will be
entitled Searching for Sacred Space offered by
Episcopal priest and architect Fr. John Ander
Runkle. The one-time Conservator of the Cathedral
of St. Peter and St. Paul (The Washington National
Cathedral) in Washington, D.C., Fr. Runkle now
lives in Sewanee, Tennessee with his wife where he
offers his expertise to churches and Diocese near
and
far
in
the
face
of
design
challenges,
preservation priorities, and the proper maintenance
or expansion of sacred space.
John Ander Runkle BA, BArch, MDiv
http://johnrunkle.org
02
JULY 2025
Three reflections will invite deeper explorations
into the physical and structural in order to
confront the Presence of the incarnational and the
transcendent.
Meditation 1: Building Blocks
Meditation 2: From Blocks to Spaces
Meditation 3: Spaces Shaping Liturgies and
Beyond
The retreat meditations are intended to provoke
continued reflections that lead us as a Diocesan
Clericus to the book, Pray, Love, Remember by
Michael Mayne, who upon invitation of Queen
Elizabeth II served as Dean of Westminster Abbey
from 1986 until 1996.
From serving as an architect on staff with the
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation to surveying
archaeological sites of medieval Islamic settlements
in the Sahara Desert of North Africa, to preserving, restoring, and revitalizing
historic worship space in the Anglican tradition, his architectural experience spans
over twenty-five years. He consults with a number of churches, chapels, and
dioceses in the care of their buildings, including the Episcopal Church Center, who
retains him as the Consulting
John Ander Runkle BA, BArch, MDiv
Project Manager guiding the efforts to reconstruct Holy
Trinity Cathedral in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. From 2005 to
2010, Fr. Runkle served as the Cathedral Conservator at
Washington
National
Cathedral,
where
he
was
responsible for the care of the Cathedral’s building
fabric, along with managing its fine arts collections.
From 2010 to 2013, he also served as the Canon for
Architecture and the Arts in the Diocese of Washington.
Fr. Runkle’s book Searching for Sacred Space: Essays on
Architecture and Liturgical Design in the Episcopal
Church is a collection of thought-provoking essays that
focus on liturgical space and its proper support of
common worship. A popular speaker at lectures,
conferences, and retreats, he also teaches at Virginia
Theological Seminary and Wesley Theological Seminary
on the theology of sacred space and the history of
religious architecture.
JULY 2025
03
Genese’s Thank You
Whether it is picking up food for meetings, organizing decades’ worth of files,
helping me navigate as an assistant or just a warm hug letting me know that
everything will be okay—these
volunteers have brought joy
and excellence to this office
that can be felt the moment
you walk through the door.
More
than
anything,
they
have
reminded
me
that
ministry is not a solo act. It is
the
collective,
Spirit-filled
work of many heads, hearts
and hands (and sometimes a
little humor).
To each volunteer who has
shown up—thank you. You
have brought glory to this
office, and your impact will
remain long after my interim
season comes to an end.
Thank you to the volunteers of the Diocesan office—Mary Ellen Wells, Susan
Beard, Denise Burgess, Nina Bartold and Ellen Burbage. While this role has
been an adventure, these volunteers have smoothed the rough edges, allowing
me to be more impactful during my time as an assistant to Bishop Burgess. I
keep a quote in the office from the late Quincy Jones that says “I don’t look at
problems as challenges, I look at them as puzzles, and puzzles can be solved”.
Through their faithful work, we have been solving many “puzzles” over the last
4 months.
In 1999, Fr. Runkle received his Master of Divinity from The University of the
South in Sewanee, Tennessee; preceded in 1984 by a Bachelor of Architecture, with
honors, from the University of Tennessee and a Bachelor of Art, magna cum laude,
from Mary Baldwin College.
Clergy, please mark your calendars now in preparation to join us. Your presence
completes us. Laity, please plan on supporting our clergy in this time of worship,
prayer, collegial fellowship, reflection, rest, spiritual renewal, education, and
discovery.
04
JULY 2025
The wardens and vestry of Emmanuel Memorial
Episcopal Church invite you to the Reception and
Institution of the Rev. Dr. Zachary Guiliano as the
twelfth rector of their parish. The service will begin
at 6:00 p.m. on the Feast of St. James, Friday, July
25
at
Emmanuel
(208
W.
University
Ave.,
Champaign, IL 61820).
All are invited to a reception afterwards with light
hors d’oeuvres and beverages. Please RSVP by
Tuesday, July 15 by clicking here. You may also call
the office at 217-352-9827. RSVPs are required for
the caterer.
Clergy are invited to vest in cassock and surplice
with
red
stoles.
Please
contact
the
office
(office@emmanuelmemorialepiscopal.org) by July 15
if you plan to vest so plans can be made for seating
and the procession. Clergy who plan to vest will
receive a follow-up email with further information.
The main parking lot is located off of Park Street
between Randolph and State Street; street parking
around the church is also available.
Seating of Twelfth Rector at
Emmanuel Memorial
The Rev. Dr. Zachary Guiliano
JULY 2025
05
Spring Hats Donation
When the Bishop sends out a call of
participation into the Diocese, the
people
of
Central
and
Southern
Illinois never fail to respond. The
Fourth
Sunday
of
Easter,
also
celebrated as Mother's Day, saw a
great multitude of hats adorning the
heads of the wonderful women of our
Diocese (and a handful of our male
clergy as well).
Young and old joined together in
support of Contact Ministries, a local
non-profit, in hopes of exceeding last
year's donation of $250 ($5 per
photo-captured participant) from the
Bishop's Discretionary Fund. Founded
in 1978 by five Springfield churches,
Contact Ministries is a faith-based
social services organization that seeks
to offer free, on-site programs and
community resources to meet the
needs of the poverty-level individuals
and families in the area, with the
ultimate
hope
of
increasing
their
economic self-sufficiency and reducing
their dependency on public assistance.
Thanks
to
the
overwhelming
participation across our parishes, the
Bishop's donation reached a record
$300 this year and his generosity was
returned by a thank you note from the
mission. "Dear Episcopal Diocese,
Thank you for your generous donation
to the women and children in our
shelter.
We
express
our
deepest
gratitude.
'I
tell
you
the
truth,
whatever you did for one of the least
of these, you did for me.' (Matt
25:40). Cindy Drum & Staff".
St Michael's Episcopal Church, O'Fallon, IL
All Saints' Episcopal Church, Morton, IL
St. Luke's Episcopal Church, Springfield, IL
JULY 2025
06
Please include those in our Diocese who are
pursuing Holy Orders in your prayers:
Danny Shuler, Postulant, St. Thomas, Salem
Andrew Mead, Postulant, Trinity, Lincoln
Zach Buscher, Postulant, Trinity, Lincoln
Jeff Wenzel, Postulant, The Cathedral Church
of St. Paul the Apostle, Springfield
Len
Harris,
Postulant,
Church
of
the
Redeemer, Cairo
You can visit our website to check out the
most up-to-date prayer calendar (click here)
or our diocesan calendar (click here) with
feasts and other events listed for around the
Diocese.
Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Jusepe de Ribera c. 1616