The Rev. Canon Charles Robinson joins the diocesan staff

The Rev. Charles A. Robinson joined the diocesan staff on April 4 as Canon for Transitional Ministry & Clergy Development. He is currently working alongside the Rev. Canon Michael Spear-Jones, current Canon for Transitional Ministry & Clergy Development, who will be retiring at the end of this month.

Born in Oklahoma, Charles spent his formative years in various areas of the Southwest United States. He enlisted in the Navy as a hospital corpsman in 1970 following high school graduation. After completing his baccalaureate degree, he was commissioned in the Medical Service Corps as an environmental health officer in 1980. Charles completed 28 years of service and retired from the Navy as a Commander in 1998. After serving as a corporate health care executive for two years, he returned to work for the Navy as a civilian scientist before leaving for seminary in 2001.

Charles holds degrees from National University and Webster University, and he received the Master of Divinity degree from The Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest in Austin, Texas. Prior to joining the diocesan staff, Charles was rector of Saint John's, Suffolk, and served at Bruton Parish, Williamsburg, for nearly nine years.

About his new diocesan ministry, Robinson says, "I am honored to have been called to this ministry by Bishop Hollerith and very excited about the future."

Certification of Lay Delegates & Alternates for Annual Council due June 30

Your Certificate of Lay Delegates and Alternates for Annual Council should be sent to the Diocesan office by June 30, 2016. Click here for information about and the form for sending in the name(s) of delegate(s) and alternate(s) elected by your vestry for Council year 2016-2017.

Your elected delegates and alternates will serve for an entire conciliar year beginning July 1, 2016 and ending June 30, 2017. This term includes eligibility to vote at Pre-Council Convocation meetings in January, Annual Council in February, and any Special Council or other called meetings that may occur during this period.

If you have questions, please contact the Rev. Canon Ed Tracy, 757-213-3378 or etracy@diosova.org.  

Clergy Transitions

The Rev. Lauren McDonald, will begin as Associate Rector for Outreach & Women's Ministries, May, Bruton Parish, Williamsburg 

 

Josh Stephens, will begin as Associate Rector for Family Ministry, August, Bruton Parish, Williamsburg

Christian Formation Week: Take. Break. Bless. Give.

Take. Break. Bless. Give. These are the words of our faith, but how do we live them out in this complicated, multi-cultural, technologically advanced century? Learn with us about how to be the Church beyond our houses of worship.

Christian Formation Week at Kanuga, June 13-17, will include more than 20 workshops covering such topics as racism sensitivity training, means of reconciliation, ministry with the homeless, how to host a dinner church and a wide variety of nuts-n-bolts workshops about formation basics.

For more information and to register, please visit www.kanuga.org/christianformation.

 

Mark your calendar for Fall youth events

Mark your calendar and plan to attend these great Fall youth events. All events will be held at Chanco on the James in Surry. Watch the eNews and our website for details and registration.

• October Weekend (grades 8-12) - October 7-9, 2016
• Pre-Happening Staff Weekend - October 29-30, 2016
• Happening #65 (grades 10-12) - November 11-13, 2016
• November Weekend (grades 6-9) - November 18-20, 2016

Stewardship Commission to survey clergy and lay leaders

The new diocesan Stewardship Commission will be sending an online survey to clergy and selected lay leaders within your parish in the next few weeks. The commission is charged with the responsibility of developing stewardship programs, providing stewardship education for parishes, and enabling diocesan giving. In order to accomplish this, it is important that we understand the current state of stewardship within the diocese as well as the stewardship needs and expectations of the individual parishes. To this end we have developed the online survey you will soon be receiving. Your responses to the questions in the survey will help us develop a course of action. Please take time to complete the survey and respond with thorough answers to the questions asked. Also, feel free to add any thoughts you may have that might assist the commission in accomplishing its mission. Thank you in advance for your participation.

 

- Mike McGraw & Bob Motley, Co-chairs, Stewardship Commission

Administrators & Treasurers Lunch Group to meet April 21

The next Administrators & Treasurers Lunch Group will be on Thursday, April 21, noon to 1:30 p. m. at the Diocesan office in Newport News. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet with other parish administrators and treasurers to talk about common issues. Bring your own lunch; beverages will be provided. There's no agenda for this gathering - just an opportunity to get together, share, encourage, support, and ask questions. If you plan to attend, RSVP to Comptroller Nancy James, njames@diosova.org.

The Grapevine: News from the diocesan ECW

The Grapevine is a quarterly print-ready newsletter from the diocesan ECW that is available for individuals and churches to receive via email. the March 2016 issue is available here. We appreciate your help sharing the news. If you have news you would like to included in The Grapevine, or know of someone who would like to be added to the email list, please contact Nancy Smith, nsmithwtr@aol.com. The deadline for the next issue is May 31.

Apply now for ECW Scholarships

The Elise Holladay Scholarship, funded by Episcopal Church Women, awards small grants to students throughout the Diocese. Last year 14 young men and women received from $500 to $1000. There is also the ECW Beverley D. Tucker Scholarship which provides assistance to men and women in church-related training in an accredited Episcopal school. Use the same form, available on the diocesan website here, to apply for either scholarship. Only complete applications will be considered and must be postmarked by April 27 for the student's application to be considered for the fall semester. Start now to give FAFSA, counselors and referees time to help! A student may receive funds twice. If you have questions, do call Susan Broaddus at 757-623-0205 and leave a message.

Residential Education Day at Boys Home

Boys Home invites you to join us on Friday, May 6 for Residential Education Day 2016! We are so excited to open our campus and invite you to come and see what Boys Home is all about. Spend the day with us touring, learning about our programs, meeting the boys and staff, and discovering the opportunities Boys Home is opening for young men from across the country. Boys Home serves boys ages 6-18, who come from a troubled background and need a second chance. Boys Home has been serving young men for over 100 years and we can't wait to share our story with you!

This Open House event will take place on Friday, May 6 from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Boys Home campus. Activities will include: Boys Home School and campus tours, Center for Applied Trades Program demonstrations, chat with residents and staff, FREE luncheon featuring Chefs from Guest Services assisted by Culinary Arts students from JRTC, door prizes.

RSVP to Sarah or Sandra by phone at 540-956-7714, by email at sjones@boyshomeofva.org. Click here for more information or to RSVP online. 

Lauren Grizzard interns at Jackson-Feild Behavioral Health Services

Lauren Grizzard is a first-year graduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University's School of Social Work.  Social work emphasizes the integration of theories of human behavior and practice skills, and as part of the MSW program students are immersed in an internship that allows them to put theory into practice and gain real-life experience in the field.

Grizzard received an undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Virginia and says that interning at Jackson-Feild Behavioral Health Services (JFBHS) has taught her much about Social Work and herself in a short period of time. "Three years ago," she says, "I saw myself helping others, but did not know what that looked like for me.  JFBHS ignited a passion in me for helping adolescents with histories of abuse, neglect, and trauma." 

While at JFBHS, Grizzard spent time in clinical meetings, participated in therapy sessions and observed treatment team meetings. She shadowed different therapists and witnessed their varying styles and techniques which will greatly help her own professional development.  

Grizzard calls her internship at JFBHS "a humbling, yet incredibly rewarding experience." She grew up in the Emporia/Jarratt area and was familiar with JFBHS, but she confesses that she knew little about the extraordinary work that is done there.   At JFBHS, a multidisciplinary team of doctors, nurses, therapists, residential staff workers, and administrative personnel all join together to meet the residents' needs and build them into strong and healthy individuals.

Grizzard observed that the butterfly logo of JFBHS is a perfect representation of the lessons she learned through her internship. "The residents are the caterpillars that turn into butterflies on their own. JFBHS wraps them in a cocoon of compassion and empathy that helps foster a beautiful transformation...and that is what I will strive for in practice.

News from The Episcopal Church

Episcopal Church scholarship applications now being accepted

Applications are now being accepted for educational scholarships from The Episcopal Church for the 2016-2017 academic year.  Scholarships are available for educational training for ethnic communities, children of missionaries, bishops and clergy, and other groups covering a wide range of eligibility. The lists of trust funds and scholarships as well as key information are here.

Requirements for applying for the scholarships include: the applicant must be an Episcopalian and must have the endorsement of his/her bishop. The application form is here. Online applications are required. Deadline for applications is April 30. Only complete applications will be considered. For information, contact Ann Hercules, Associate for Grants and Scholarships, ahercules@episcopalchurch.org.  

Church Planting & Missional Initiative grant applications now available

Applications are now open for the 2016 grant cycle for new church starts and Mission Enterprise Zones in The Episcopal Church. Resolution D005 and Resolution A012 approved by General Convention in July 2015 authorized new and continued funding for church plants and Mission Enterprise Zones throughout the Episcopal Church. Additionally, newly created grants will be awarded to dioceses and already-established ministries exploring possibilities for new initiatives or expansion.

Application, guidelines and information are here. Applications will be reviewed and evaluated upon receipt. The applications will be reviewed by the General Convention Advisory Group on Church Planting.

More information about the church planting initiative is here. For information contact churchplanting@episcopalchurch.org.

May Weekend now open to grades 6 through 12!

May Weekend 2016: We Are All God's Children, is a weekend retreat for all teens in grades 6-12 sponsored by the Episcopal Youth Community Board. It will be held May 20-22 at Chanco on the James. Check-in is 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday and departure is 11 a.m. on Sunday.

Throughout the weekend, teens will participate in large group program blocks, where they will hear talks by EYC Board members, as well as small groups, where they will have opportunities for discussion and activities. The weekend also features the full cycle of daily prayer and worship with fantastic music.  Click here for more information and online registration.

EYC Board election 

Rising 10th through 12th graders are invited to run for election to the EYC Board. If you are interested, please bring the application with you to the weekend. 

Bishop Vaché Scholarship applications due June 30

The Bishop Vaché Scholarships provide funds to assist low-income and minority college students in the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia. First-year students as well as returning college students are welcome to apply. Scholarship awards range from $1000 to $5000 per academic year. Applications must be postmarked by June 30, 2016. Notifications will go out by July 15, 2016 and awards will be made by August 1, 2016. Click here for an application form. 

Easter message from Presiding Bishop Michael Curry

"This world does not need another fairy tale," Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop and Primate Michael Curry said in his Easter 2016 Message. "This week's story of crucifixion and resurrection is not a fairy tale."

I actually love fairy tales and I used to enjoy reading them to our children when they were young and little.  Now to be sure those were the more sanitized fairy tales but there was something good about them, a way of confronting what was tough in life with genuine hope.  But they were fairy tales.

This week called Holy Week, the remembrance of Jesus entering Jerusalem and offering His life in the ultimate act of sacrificial love.  Good Friday, the experience of betrayal, the experience of friends abandoning you, the experience of injustice and wrong, criminal self-centered conspiracies.  And then beyond that Holy Week, the resurrection from the dead. This is not a fairy tale.

The truth is even as we speak this Holy Week, we do so not only in the shadow of the cross but we do so in the shadow of those who have been killed in Brussels, of those who have been wounded and maimed, of those who weep and mourn.  And of a world mourning, and not too sure how to move forward.  And this world does not need another fairy tale. This week's story of crucifixion and resurrection is not a fairy tale. Click here to continue reading.

Click here to watch video of Bishop Curry's message.