2013 Diocesan Pledge letters are in the mail

Letters to the parishes from Treasurer John Meek and PB&R Chairman Spencer Coleman requesting your 2013 pledge to the diocese are being mailed this week. Please look for them in your mail and direct them to the appropriate people. Two are being sent to each parish - one to the senior warden and one to the rector, vicar or priest-in-charge.  A 2013 pledge form is enclosed in the letter addressed to the senior warden. The pledge form needs to be sent to the diocesan office by December 1 in order for the PB&R Committee to complete the 2013 budget in time for the Executive Board meeting in January.  Thank you.

Open Enrollment for health plans begins today!

2013 Open Enrollment for clergy and lay employees participating in medical and dental plans is October 10-31. Click here for complete information. If you have questions about Open Enrollment, contact Canon for Administration the Rev. Canon Ed Tracy, 757-213-3378 or etracy@diosova.org.

Safe Church training now required for Lay Licensing

Please be advised that effective immediately all persons applying for lay licensing will need current Child and Adult Safe Church certification. The Adult module is available as 3 hour classroom training. Please consult the diocesan website to see currently scheduled training sessions and register online. The Child module may be completed as classroom training as noted above or online by contacting Judy Rieken via e-mail at jrieken@diosova.org. Please send your name, home address, a contact phone number, and the parish you attend.

History-making change coming to Jackson-Feild Homes

By Tod Balsbaugh, Jackson-Feild Homes

 
After 157 years of serving only girls, Jackson-Feild Homes (JFH) will soon accept boys into its Adolescent Psychiatric Program. Children who come to JFH have poor family relationships and support. They live in environments filled with substance abuse. They are all-too-familiar with the court systems and social service systems having received numerous in-home, community-based, and residential services. They have suffered serious emotional trauma as the result of abuse and/or neglect.

In 2010, JFH developed its Trauma Focused Treatment model and as a result of the tremendously successful strides made in the treatment of girls, agencies across the Commonwealth that place children into residential facilities have been asking JFH to accept boys as well as girls. Trauma, abuse and neglect knows no gender. In fact, the majority of children currently served by the Commonwealth of Virginia are boys, yet until now there has been no residential treatment facility available to meet the needs of severely traumatized boys. After much thoughtful and prayerful consideration, the Board of Trustees approved the recommendation to accept boys into its Adolescent Psychiatric Program. JFH anticipates that the first will arrive on campus within the month. Safeguards and security are already in place to ensure that this history-making change will proceed smoothly and successfully.

Jackson-Feild is nationally accredited by the Council on Accreditation to provide residential treatment services.

Two Southern Virginia Episcopalians are LPM students this year

Two Southern Virginia Episcopalians are among the twelve students in Central Virginia's Leadership Program for Musicians (LPM), which began its 2012-2013 year of classes last weekend. Enrolled are Augusta Arthur from Johns Memorial, Farmville and Bruce Dersch from Christ and Grace, Petersburg.

In all this year there are six Episcopalians, four Lutherans, and two United Methodists. LPM is a continuing education program in church music, worship, and liturgy open to people in all denominations who love church Music and want to learn more about it. In the classes you'll find professional church musicians, choir members, people on Worship and Music committee, Clergy, and, well, enthusiastic members of congregations. At the completion of the two year program, students receive a Certificate of Church Music from the National LPM organization.

Classes meet monthly for five months on a Friday night and all day Saturday for this year's four courses - Leading Congregational Song, Resources for an Effective Music Ministry, Hymnody of the Christian Church, and Philosophy of Church Music. LPM is sponsored by the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Find complete details of the program at www.lpm-va.org.

Southern Virginia contributes over $27,000 to Rebuild Our Church in Haiti

By Teresa S. Mathes, Program Director, Episcopal Church Foundation 

As Rebuild Our Church in Haiti transitions to the Church Development Office, I'm taking the opportunity to thank people for their leadership and support, but this email is high up on my list of favorites. As of September 7, Episcopal Church Foundation had received $27,716 in gifts from the Diocese of Southern Virginia.  

This project has been a gratifying experience of collaboration between clergy and laity, between the church's organizational structures and the imaginative parishioner in the pew. It represents the Episcopal Church at its best. Thousands of congregations and individuals from 92 dioceses have contributed over $2.8 million, mostly in small gifts. About 60 dioceses ran active campaigns for the project, many like Southern Virginia while doing other significant work as well. The remaining support came through the open source nature of the project, which made it available to anyone with a phone and internet access. The funds we have raised will be transferred to the Episcopal Church office, where they will be disbursed according to a written protocol developed in collaboration with Bishop Duracin.

Clearly, there will be much to do in Haiti for years to come, but you have helped to lay the foundation on which they will rebuild. You can follow the progress of our project here.

Editor's Note: A very grateful thanks is extended to Barbara Byers of Good Shepherd, Norfolk, for spearheading and coordinating the very successful fundraising effort for Haiti here in Southern Virginia.

22nd Annual LARCUM Conference in Richmond

LARCUM (Lutherans, Anglicans, Roman Catholics and United Methodists in Covenant) will hold its twenty-second annual conference in churches in the Lakeside area of Richmond November 30 and December 1. John Borelli, Special Assistant for Interreligious Activities at Georgetown University will speak about the significance and continual ecumenical influence of the Second Vatican Council. Also present will be our bishops who will lead us forward in living out the LARCUM Covenant. Further information, schedules and registration forms may be found on the diocesan website or by contacting the Rev. Paul Phillips at phpccity@verizon.net.