Administrators & Treasurers Lunch Group to meet Sept. 20 at Diocesan Office

The Administrators & Treasurers Lunch Group will meet on Thursday, September 20, from 12 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. There's no agenda for this gathering - just an opportunity to get together, share, encourage, support, and ask questions. Bring your own lunch; beverages will be provided. RSVP to Diocesan Comptroller Judy Dobson, jdobson@diosova.org or 757-213-3386. 

Historic St. Luke's to hold Cemetery Preservation Workshop Sept. 29

Historic St. Luke's in Smithfield will offer a Cemetery Preservation Workshop Saturday, September 29, 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. Space is limited to the first 25 registrants. St. Lukes' Education Coordinator Rachel Popp will lead participants through a three-hour journey of learning about and applying authorized headstone and monument cleaning techniques in Virginia's oldest open cemetery. For more information and to RSVP, email Rachel Popp at  rpopp@historicstlukes.org.  

ODU students - connect with the Canterbury Center

The Canterbury Center at Old Dominion University in Norfolk is a place for ODU students to come for Noonday Prayer and lunch at 12:30 p.m. on Thursdays, and Eucharist at 6:30 p.m. followed by dinner on Sunday evenings. Students can always find a food and a place to study, relax, engage in Bible study (usually on Tuesday afternoons) with other students. Therapy dogs Kuma & Kimba are there to relieve stress. The chaplain, the Rev Wendy Wilkinson, is there Tuesday, Thursdays and Sunday evening and is always ready to listen and engage students as they seek a deeper relationship with Jesus or just need a compassionate listener. If you are at ODU this semester, stop by for lunch and meet us! We will be joining with William & Mary, Longwood University, and Hampden-Sydney for a retreat at Chanco the first weekend of November. The Canterbury Center is at 1526 W. 49th St across from ODU. For more information contact the Rev Wendy Wilkinson at chaplain@oducanterbury.org.

September 9 is UBE Sunday: Honoring the Rev. Alexander Crummell

On Sunday September 9, we celebrate the life and legacy of our notable saint, the Rev. Alexander Crummell. It is also designated as Union of Black Episcopalians (UBE) Sunday to commemorate the racial justice ministry of this organization which was an outgrowth of the Rev. Crummell's advocacy. The UBE invites you to use this in your bulletin on Sunday, September 9 or on any other Sunday that you are reflecting on racial reconciliation.

 

Collect 

Almighty and everlasting God, we thank you for your servant Alexander Crummell, whom you called to preach the Gospel to those who were far off and to those who were near. We thank you for his faithfulness though gravely oppressed by racism. We also thank you for empowering his courageous and prophetic witness for racial justice; and against spiritual wickedness in high places within the Church and the world. Raise up, O Lord, in this and every land, evangelists and heralds of your kingdom. May the Union of Black Episcopalians and the larger Church proclaim justice and all the unsearchable riches of our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

 

About The Rev. Alexander Crummell 

Born March 3, 1819 in New York City, Alexander Crummell struggled against racism all his life. As a young man he was driven out of an academy in New Hampshire, dismissed as a candidate for Holy Orders in New York and rejected for admittance to General Seminary. Ordained in 1844 as a priest in the Diocese of Massachusetts, he left for England after being excluded from participating in diocesan convention. After receiving a degree from Cambridge he went to Liberia as a missionary. A model Christian republic seemed possible in Liberia. He traveled extensively in the United States urging blacks to immigrate to Liberia and support the work of the Church there. On returning to Liberia he worked to establish a national Episcopal Church. Political opposition and a lack of funding finally forced him to return to the United States. He concentrated his efforts on establishing a strong urban presence of independent black congregations that would be centers of worship, education and social service. When southern bishops proposed that a separate missionary district be created for black congregations, Crummell created a national convocation to fight the proposal. The Union of Black Episcopalians is an outgrowth of that organization. His faith in God, his perseverance in spite of repeated discouragement, his perception that the Church transcended the racism and limited vision of its rulers, and his unfailing belief in the goodness and greatness of black people are the legacy of the Afro-American pioneer.

Historic St. Luke's hosts Living History event

On Saturday, Sept. 8, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Virginia's oldest church building, Historic St. Luke's in Smithfield, will host a living history event, 17th Century Isle of Wight County. Event activities include a presentation on early 17th-century clothing and adornment, period vendors selling their wares, reenactors/living historians demonstrating sword play and more, a concert by the Locrian Consort introducing instruments such as the sackbut, and much more. Click here for complete details and to purchase tickets.  

 

VTS offers online course: Digital Literacies for Ministry

The Center for the Ministry of Teaching at Virginia Theological Seminary is offering an eight-week online course, Digital Literacies for Ministry. This course is for all faith leaders - Christian formation leaders, church communicators, and others. The Digital Literacies class will begin on September 25 and go for eight weeks. There will only be two times when the class will meet synchronously for bible study. That time and day will be determined after the class begins. All the work will be done online in the VTS learning management system, Brightspace, and Zoom. Cost is $150. Click here to register.  

Data from 2017 Parochial Reports available

The Rev. Canon Dr. Michael Barlowe, Executive Officer of the General Convention, has announced that data from the 2017 Parochial Reports of the Episcopal Church is now available in English and Spanish here. Canon Barlowe observed that the 2017 data "continues recent trends, with decline in key membership and attendance figures," although "congregational income through pledges and other offerings has increased," even as overall numbers of congregants have decreased.

 

The Parochial Report is the oldest, continuous gathering of data by the Episcopal Church. By tradition and canon, the reporting requirements are developed by the House of Deputies' Committee on the State of the Church, using a form approved by the church's Executive Council. Overseen by the Executive Officer of General Convention, the Parochial Report touches every congregation of the church. Together with other data, including that of the Recorder of Ordinations and the Registrar of General Convention, the Parochial Report provides an insight to the state of the church.