About Us

HISTORY

Gethsemane Episcopal Church's involvement in reconciliation began in 2006 when our previous priest, Rev. Warnock, was invited to be part of a team traveling to Syria. The team worked under the auspices of the International Center for Religion and Diplomacy and the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. Its program used principles common to faith-based reconciliation. This included extensive discussion of historical wounds between the United States and Syria. Meetings went on for three days and involved ten Americans and about twenty Syrians, both Muslim and Christian. A second round of meetings took place in 2007 in Cyprus. 

​

The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles sponsored several reconciliation events in the following years. Rev. Warnock worked with the team at an event in the Diocese of Western Louisiana in 2007. Several parishioners from Gethsemane became interested and were able to attend and work at events in Los Angeles in 2008 and 2009. Those dealt with issues of cultural and racial diversity within the diocese and with the diocese's relationship with the Jewish and Palestinian communities. 

​

As members of Gethsemane gained experience, the church began offering seminars in Marion, Indiana. The first was held in the fall of 2008 just prior to that year's presidential election. The seminar was offered to students of two nearby evangelical colleges, Taylor University and Indiana Wesleyan University, and asked whether it was possible to be a Democrat/Republican and a Christian. In 2009, we offered a second seminar to students discussing issues they faced in evangelical Christianity. 

​

In 2009 the Bishop of Northern Indiana asked our reconciliation team to work with diocesan clergy in a debate of same sex blessings and the proposed Anglican Covenant. Diocesan clergy were divided on the issue, and we spent three days with them, working through the issue. About a dozen of our parishioners were involved in planning, leading and praying for this seminar. 

​

Since then, we have tried to have one event each year. We have dealt with issues such as women's roles in the church, and we have had an event that looked at our parish and how older and younger members, those from traditional Episcopal backgrounds and those from evangelical churches could work together in parish life. We've also focused considerable attention on human sexuality, as that issue is hotly debated on our neighboring campuses. 

​

We have also been involved with the black community in Marion. Members of Gethsemane have participated in several "Black Lives Matter" marches, including this year's marches following George Floyd's death.

​

We are a part of the Community of the Cross of Nails, which is a worldwide network of over 200 churches, charities, peace-building centers, and educational and training organizations, inspired by the Coventry story of destruction, rebuilding and renewal, and active in reconciliation in our own ways. 

​

This year was our first year having a community garden, where we welcome our neighbors to take what they need for themselves and their families. We are also preparing to launch Sacred Ground, an educational series about race and faith. 

​

We recognize that our work will never be finished. Our commitment is to continually work to educate, advocate for, and care for both our community and the world at large.