Seeds of Hope grants: Laundry Love

Diocesan Seeds of Hope grants support the development or expansion of social justice ministries in Southern Virginia.

In 2015, a Seeds of Hope Grant was awarded to Laundry Love, a partnership between St. Andrew's, St. Paul's, Mission of the Holy Spirit, Unitarian Universalist Church of Norfolk. Laundry Love empowers those struggling financially. It pays for laundry, so money saved can be used for groceries, gas, school supplies, etc. However, Laundry Love is only a bridge to our neighbors. Clean clothes come second to the relationships being built.

 

The first Laundry Love event was held in January 2016 and held monthly since then. In the beginning, flyers were distributed around the neighborhood and through local charities. By March, the laundromat was packed and flyers were no longer necessary. They rely on word of mouth and post events on a Laundry Love Facebook page. This program has become a wonderful example of grace - they do not try to determine if people really need free laundry. "We have no idea what people are going through. We ask everyone who enters if we can pay for their laundry," report project organizers.

 

In addition to the Seeds of Hope Grant, funding for this ministry comes from St. Andrew's, who matched the grant and then doubled their match. St. Paul's matched St. Andrew's contribution. Other funding comes from private donations. At each event, people regularly contribute to a donation jar (an empty detergent bottle) so much that it covers the dry cycles.

 

A community is emerging from meeting every third Thursday of the month to do laundry. It's more than dirty laundry that brings people to Laundry Love. They come from many situations - low income, homeless. Others are experiencing the challenge of a washer breaking down or have recently moved. Linette was yelling at God when she went to another laundromat and her laundry got stuck in a malfunctioning washer. There was no attendant, just a phone number she called multiple times trying to get help. She waited several hours for a refund, but no one came. She happened into a Laundry Love event and was floored when her laundry was paid for - she had lost so much money at the other laundromat that she worried she'd have to spend grocery money to get her clothes clean.

Mark your calendar for lunch groups

Treasurers & Administrators Lunch Group

October 20, 12 to 1:30 p.m. at Christ & St Luke's, Norfolk

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. Please RSVP to Nancy James, njames@diosova.org or 757-213-3386.

Communicators & Secretaries Lunch Group

November 2, 12 to 1:30 p.m. at St. Aidan's, Virginia Beach

Join church communications volunteers and staff and parish secretaries for this casual colleague group. Bring your own lunch; beverages will be provided. There's no agenda for this gathering - bring your questions, or ideas or resources to share, or just come to enjoy the support of your colleagues from across the diocese. RSVP to Ann Turner, aturner@diosova.org or 757-213-3388.

 

"A Lifting of Voices" to benefit Boys Home

You are cordially invited to "A Lifting of Voices", the first annual celebration of uplifting a cappella music to benefit Boys Home of Virginia. The concert will be held on Sunday, October 30 at 3 p.m. in the Robins Theater at the Steward School in Richmond.

 

The concert includes five of the Richmond area's finest a cappella groups - Soundworks, Uncommon, Beaux Ties, The Virginia Girls and Boys Choirs, and Main Street Station - performing songs from across the musical spectrum. Each group will perform individually followed by an inspiring finale in which all groups will come together into one ensemble.

 

There are a limited number of reserved seats available for a minimum donation, as well as additional open seating. For more info and to reserve your seats,  go to www.LiftingOfVoices.org.

Presiding Bishop to address value of Historically Black Colleges & Universities

The Office of Black Ministries of the Episcopal Church is sponsoring a public recognition event in Washington, DC on Thursday, November 10 for its affiliated Historically Black Colleges and Universities of St. Augustine's University, Raleigh, NC and Voorhees College, Denmark, SC. 

 

Music will kick off the day at 9 a.m. on November 10 at St. John's Church, Lafayette, Square, Washington DC with musical renditions  presented by the combined choirs of St. Augustine's and Voorhees. Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry will present the keynote address, followed by a question/answer session. In the afternoon, panel discussions will be led by the university presidents and students as they share their experiences.

For more information contact Ifill at aifill@episcopalchurch.org, (646) 323-0130 or Angeline Cabanban at acabanban@episcopalchurch.org  or (212) 716-6186.

Bishop Hollerith will install new ECW Board members at Oct. 15 meeting

All Episcopal Church Women are invited to the ECW Fall Annual Meeting Saturday, October 15, 9:30 a.m., at Grace, Norfolk.  Bishop Hollerith will install new board members elected at the meeting. Nancy Polick Sands, ECW diocesan president, featured speaker at the meeting, will talk about the current state of the ECW. Contact Louise Boss, corresponding secretary, to register for the meeting at 757-678-5331 or louiseboss@exede.net  by October 1. The registration fee of $20 includes lunch. 

Bishop Hollerith celebrates Pilgrims Mass

L to R, clockwise: The Rev. Keith Emerson (St. Paul's, Suffolk) and the Rev. Dale Custer (St. John's, Chester); the pilgrims; Bishop Hollerith at the opening of the service.

Bishop Hollerith celebrated a Pilgrims Mass last night, Sept. 27, at St. Michael's, Bon Air, for  a group of twenty pilgrims embarking next week on El Camino de Santiago de Compostela Ingles (The English Way of the Way of St. James).

Seeds of Hope grants: St. Thomas, Freeman

St. Thomas, Freeman, was the recipient of a diocesan Seeds of Hope Grant for 2015. Seeds of Hope grants support the development or expansion of social justice ministries in Southern Virginia.

Senior Pals program at St. Thomas, Freeman.

Diocesan Seeds of Hope Grants to St. Thomas, Freeman, in 2015 funded a Youth Empowerment program, Senior Pals Project and a Women's Conference.

 

The Youth Empowerment program provides mentoring, tutoring and cultural events for the young people of their community, as well as educational programs for their parents. This year included a "Saddle Up for Success" program - a Saturday event attended by 30 elementary and high school students with 20 adult volunteers.

 

"The beautiful part of Saddle Up for Success program was that St. Paul's Memorial Chapel, Lawrenceville, partnered with us," reported Iris Jones, St. Thomas' Senior Warden. "Their donations, expertise and fellowship made this the most special activity of the year."

 

The western-themed day included educational activities, career planning, preparing for college, importance of voting, as well as games, arts and crafts.

 

The Senior Pals program assists senior citizens in the community with computer training, financial literacy and social activities. This year's activities included learning to crochet blankets for those who are homeless using strips cut from grocery bags and a Paint Party. "Senior Pals workshops were a blast this year," said one participant. "I was so excited to get up on Tuesday mornings and go to St. Thomas and fellowship with different people." The Women's Conference included a Zumba class that was such a hit that regular classes are offered to the Senior Pals.

Ridley Foundation awards scholarships to 49 students

The Ridley Foundation Board awarded scholarships totaling $151,272 to 49 students from the Diocese of Southern Virginia and Southampton County for the 2016-2017 academic year. The Board also awarded grants of $10,000 each to Mission of the Holy Spirit and Boys Home of Virginia. Click here for a list of scholarship recipients.

Churches participate in MissionWorks at Boys Home

Boys Home was blessed to host four Mission Works groups this summer from all over Virginia, including Trinity, Portsmouth, and Galilee, Virginia Beach. All of the groups worked hard, but made sure to have fun activities planned with the boys as well.

 

Trinity arrived several days after a flood and worked to move all the molding hay out of the barn and began the process of recovery for equine equipment, supplies and other items stored at the barn. They helped with administrative works as well, made s'mores with the boys and led chapel.

 

Galilee held a sports camp for the boys and planned activities throughout the week. They worked hard to make sure the camp was fun for the boys and spent a lot of time getting to know the boys while they were there.

 

Boys Home is thankful to all of the mission groups who spent time on campus this summer. It means so much to the staff and boys. To learn more about Boys Home and how you can support their ministry, go to www.boyshomeofva.org.

An Extraordinary Member of the Jackson-Feild Team Retires

After nineteen years of loyal and dedicated service to Jackson-Feild, Ann Chaffins is retiring on September 30. Ann gave her heart and soul to our mission, and it's virtually impossible to accurately and effectively convey just how important she's been to our organization.

 

In her role as Assistant Vice President of Advancement at Jackson-Feild, Ann went above and beyond the call of duty every day, in everything she did. Whether reaching out to donors, attending convocations, speaking to church groups, or training interns and new employees in the Richmond office, Ann put people at ease and let them know how important they are and how much she - and Jackson-Feild - appreciated them. She worked tirelessly to ensure that the development operations met expectations and fulfilled its goals.

 

Bill Northen, former member of the Board of Trustees said, "Ann has been a great friend and mentor. She's been the voice of calm reason for as long as I can remember, and her determination and professionalism have been something I have tried to emulate. I'm proud to call her a friend, and I wish her every continued success in her next endeavors."

 

Ann tells us that while she will miss the relationships she's established with donors and co-workers, she's looking forward to traveling and spending more time with her husband Dave, her children Katherine and Winston and their spouses, and her four grandchildren.

House of Bishops issues a Word to the Church for the World

The House of Bishops, meeting in Detroit, MI has issued the following A Word to the Church for the World. Video is available in English and Spanish here. Text in Spanish is here.

"Greetings from Detroit, a city determined to be revived.  Greetings also from the city of Flint, where we are reminded that the gift of water has for many of our brothers and sisters become contaminated.

Here we have been exhorted to set our sights beyond ourselves and to minister to the several nations where we serve and the wider world.

We lament the stark joylessness that marks our present time.  We decry angry political rhetoric which rages while fissures widen within society along racial, economic, educational, religious, cultural and generational lines.  We refuse to look away as poverty, cruelty and war force families to become migrants enduring statelessness and demonization.  We renounce the gun violence and drug addiction that steal lives and crush souls while others succumb to fear and cynicism, abandoning any sense of neighborliness.

Yet, in all this, "we do not despair" (2 Cor. 4:8.). We remember that God in Christ entered our earthly neighborhood during a time of political volatility and economic inequality.  To this current crisis we bring our faith in Jesus.  By God's grace, we choose to see in this moment an urgent opportunity to follow Jesus into our fractured neighborhoods, the nation and the world.

Every member of the church has been "called for a time such as this." (Esther 4:14) Let prophets tell the truth in love.  Let reconcilers move boldly into places of division and disagreement. Let evangelists inspire us to tell the story of Jesus in new and compelling ways.  Let leaders lead with courage and joy.

In the hope of the Resurrection let us all pray for God to work through our struggle and confusion to accomplish God's purposes on earth."

New video from Presiding Bishop Michael Curry: Loving, liberating and life-giving

Presiding Bishop and Primate Michael Curry has presented a video on the Jesus Movement: Loving, liberating, and life-giving. The video, and a transcript in English and Spanish, can be found here.

Seeds of Hope grants: St. Paul's, Newport News

St. Paul's, Newport News, was the recipient of a diocesan Seeds of Hope Grant for 2015. Seeds of Hope grants support the development or expansion of social justice ministries in Southern Virginia.

St. Paul's, Newport News, is a beacon of hope to the needy and the homeless in the downtown area of Newport News. St. Paul's provides hot meals five times a week, coupled with Bible Study on Sunday morning as well as a Seeds of Hope Bible Study/breakfast on Mondays. Three days a week St. Paul's provides a "Safe Place" in the mornings with coffee, a snack, bathroom and laundry facilities to anyone in need. A critical part of that ministry has been to provide a place to do laundry. For those who either wear or carry everything they own in a backpack or plastic bags, St. Paul's provides the only opportunity to clean their clothes-and with it to restore some dignity. A Seeds of Hope Grant in 2015 enabled St. Paul's to purchase a washer, dryer and refrigerator to expand their ministry.

 

The Episcopal Church is offering grants for Mission Enterprise Zones and for New Church Starts and St. Paul's is exploring expanding these programs through the establishment of a Mission Enterprise Zone (MEZ) in Downtown Newport News. These two innovative Episcopal Church initiatives are funded through the Five Marks of Mission triennial budget, approved by General Convention July 2012/2015.

Learn more about St. Paul's ministries to the downtown community at www.stpaulsnn.org.

Episcopal Relief & Development update

By The Rev. Keith Emerson, Diocesan Coordinator for Episcopal Relief & Development

I want to extend my thanks to the following congregations that made contributions to Episcopal Relief & Development during the 2nd quarter of 2016:

Undesignated Gifts

                    $128.81      St. Stephen's, Newport News

                      $75.00      St. James, Portsmouth

                    $100.00      St. Luke's, Powhatan

                    $461.00      Church of the Holy Apostles, Virginia Beach        

                    $191.03      St. Michael's, Colonial Heights

                      $43.45      Christ and Grace, Petersburg

                    $163.50      Christ Church, Amelia Court House

                 $1,123.00      St. Michael's, Bon Air

                    $100.00      St. Luke's, Powhatan

                    $932.32      St. Andrew's, Newport News

                    $100.00      St. Luke's, Powhatan

                      $50.00      St. Christopher's Episcopal Church Women, Portsmouth

Designated Projects and Disaster Relief

                    $500.00      Bruton Parish, Williamsburg

                    $475.00      St. John's, Hopewell

                    $805.00      St. George's, Newport News

                    $200.00      Church of the Advent, Norfolk

All told, individuals and congregations in our diocese contributed $26,165.18 to Episcopal Relief & Development between April and June. Once again, thank you for your generosity. Working together we are healing a hurting world.