ADD TO THE OLYMPICS LINE-UP:
Among Episcopalians participating in the Olympic Games in Athens is swim team member MARGARET HOELZER, a lifelong parishioner of Church of the Nativity in Huntsville, Alabama, a parish colleague reports.
As previously reported by ENS, other athletes with ties to Episcopal congregations and affiliated schools also include: swimmers DIANA MUNZ, who grew up at St. Martin's Episcopal Church in Chagrin Falls, Ohio; Kenyon College swimmers ANDREJS DUDA (Class of 2006), AGNESE OZOLINA (Class of 2004) and MICHELLE ENGELSMAN (Class of 2001); and Jacksonville, Florida, Episcopal High School graduate JORGE OLIVER, who is swimming on the Puerto Rican team.
ATHENS CHAPLAINCY AIDED BY UNITED THANK OFFERING
A $35,000 grant from the United Thank Offering -- an ongoing ministry coordinated by the national Episcopal Church Women -- has helped the Greater Athens Anglican Chaplaincy in serving the needs of the athletes and others attending the Olympic Games now under way in Athens.
St Paul's Anglican Church in Athens received a grant to make upgrades to the church for the chaplaincy ministry during the 2004 Summer Olympics, UTO's Patty Tourangeau reports. The grant paid for air conditioners, an emergency exit door, and renovations to make a restroom accessible to persons with disabilities.
Appreciation for the grant has been conveyed to UTO officers by the Rev. Canon Malcolm Bradshaw on behalf of St. Paul's, Athens.
Funding for UTO grants is raised largely from coins and bills placed in small blue boxes familiar to many across the Episcopal Church. More on the work of UTO is available from coordinator JoAnne Chapman at the Episcopal Church Center in New York, 212.922.5130, jchapman@episcopalchurch.org.
AND DID YOU KNOW?
Each time "The Star-Spangled Banner" is played when U.S. athletes win gold medals at the Olympic Games, the music brings to mind the national anthem's words written by an Episcopalian -- Francis Scott Key -- who was active in the support of Virginia Theological Seminary. Further information is posted on-line at http://www.vts.edu/ and at www.gospelcom.net/chi/GLIMPSEF/Glimpses/glmps106.shtml.