Absalom Jones Service on Feb. 23

A service celebrating the life and work of Absalom Jones will be held on Sunday, February 23 at 4:00 p.m. at St. Cyprian's, Hampton. Bishop Hollerith will celebrate and the Rev. Willis Foster, rector of St. Stephen's, Petersburg, will preach. 

Absalom Jones was an African-American abolitionist and clergyman. After founding a black congregation in 1794, he was the first African American ordained as a priest in the Episcopal Church of the United States, in 1804. 

CE-Net Speaker Series: Planning domestic and foreign youth mission trips

Please join CE-Net on February 27 as we welcome The Rev. Wes Wubbenhorst, Canon for Youth for the Diocese of Maryland; Ashley Scruggs, Youth Missioner for the Diocese of Southern Virginia; and Steve Tonic, Staff Development Director for Appalachia Service Project for a panel discussion on the Lunch will be provided. nuts and bolts for planning successful and meaningful international and stateside mission trips. Thursday, February 27, 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Hickory Neck, Toano. Cost is $15 for all attendees. Click here to register. For more information, please contact Jennifer Nauroth, at jenny.nauroth@cox.net.

LPM Spring workshop: Recruiting and maintaining a children's music program

The Leadership Program for Musicians will present a workshop led by Walden Moore on Recruiting and Maintaining a Children's Music Program on March 7-8 at Holy Comforter Episcopal Church in Richmond. Moore is the organist and choirmaster at Trinity Church, New Haven, CT. Register before March 1 for a discounted rate of $50 per person. Click here for more information and registration.

Report from our Episcopal Relief & Development diocesan coordinator

By The Rev. Dr. Keith Emerson, St. Paul's, Suffolk

I want to express my thanks to the parishes in our diocese who contributed to Episcopal Relief & Development between October and December in 2013. The following parishes made undesignated gifts. These gifts are particularly helpful because they allow Episcopal Relief & Development to apply funds where they are most needed:

                  100.00      St. Luke's, Powhatan

                  100.00      St. Luke's, Blackstone

               1,000.00      Church of the Good Shepherd, McKenney

                  155.00      Emmanuel, Virginia Beach

                  500.00      Christ and Grace, Petersburg

                  500.00      Diocese of Southern Virginia

                  100.00      St. Luke's, Powhatan

                  300.00      St. George's, Newport News

                  150.00      Christ Church, Waverly

                  100.00      St. Luke's, Powhatan

                  100.00      Christ Church, Amelia Court House

               1,330.00      Emmanuel, Hampton

                  300.00      St. Luke's, Blackstone

                  200.00      Emmanuel, Virginia Beach

                  200.00      Emmanuel, Franklin

                  500.00      St. James, Warfield

               3,475.00      St. Michael's, Colonial Heights

                  125.00      St. Michael's, Chesterfield

                  800.00      Christ Church, Waverly

                  300.00      St. Paul and St. Andrew, Kenbridge

 

The following parishes made donations toward disaster and/or tornado relief efforts:

               1,375.00      St. Andrew's, Newport News

                  300.00      Christ Church, Amelia Court House

                  300.00      Christ Church, Amelia Court House

                  100.00      St. John's, Chester

                  514.00      John's Memorial, Farmville

                  813.14      St. John's, Hampton (also included funds for Malaria relief efforts)

               2,000.00      Bruton Parish, Williamsburg

                  201.00      Emmanuel, Hampton

                    35.00      St. Andrew's, Lawrenceville

A great number of parishes gave funds to aid relief work in the Philippines:

               3,000.00      Bruton Parish, Williamsburg

                  500.00      St. Michael's, Chesterfield

                  621.43      St. Stephen's, Newport News

               2,993.00      Galilee, Virginia Beach

                  569.21      St. Paul's, Norfolk

                  255.65      John's Memorial, Farmville

                    50.00      St. Cecelia Guild, Christ Church, Eastville

                  975.00      Emmanuel, Hampton

                  747.50      Holy Apostles, Virginia Beach

                    50.00      St. Paul's, Norfolk

               4,000.00      Bruton Parish, Williamsburg

                  100.00      St. Stephen's, Newport News

               1,000.00      All Saints', Virginia Beach

               6,000.00      Bruton Parish, Williamsburg

               1,850.47      Eastern Shore Chapel, Virginia Beach

               1,000.00      Christ Church, Eastville

                  100.00      Old Donation, Virginia Beach

                  275.00      St. Aidan's, Virginia Beach

               4,688.00      Diocese of Southern Virginia

                  200.00      St. Martin's, Williamsburg

               2,150.00      St. Simon by-the-Sea, Sandbridge

                  225.00      Galilee, Virginia Beach

                  300.00      Emmanuel, Franklin

                  300.00      St. Matthias', Midlothian

                  835.00      Christ the King, Yorktown

                  150.00      Galilee, Virginia Beach

               1,388.00      All Saints', Virginia Beach (a portion was designated for Tornado Response)

                  200.00      Good Shepherd, Richmond.

St. John's, Hampton also made a $55 contribution toward Malaria relief.  

Diocesan Coordinators do not receive specific information about individual contributions to Episcopal Relief & Development. I do know that during the fourth quarter of 2013 Episcopal Relief & Development received 447 contributions from people and congregations in the Diocese of Southern Virginia for a total of $112,330.00. Thank you for this fantastic response.

I also want to thank congregations who raised funds in Advent for pigs, goats, beehives, and chickens through the Gifts for Life program. St. George's, Newport News raised $1,278.93 and St. Paul's, Suffolk raised $712.00. These gifts will change lives and are greatly appreciated.

Prison and faith documentary to premiere in Richmond

A new documentary on prisons and faith--Through the Door--will premiere at Richmond's Bon Air Baptist Church on Monday, February 17. The documentary explores the initiatives of churches and faith-based organizations in Indiana, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. Interviewees speak to the issues of prescription drug abuse, addiction, mental health, the role of religious volunteers and chaplains, and the often overlooked stresses of prison officials. Stories of redemption and hope run through the documentary--from a quilting program at a correctional facility in Indiana to a bus stop ministry in Texas to a remarkable program for women re-entering society from the Tennessee Prison for Women.

Bon Air Baptist Church will host two screenings on Feb. 17. The first screening runs from 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. The evening event runs from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. Confirmed screening panelists include Travis Collins, senior pastor at Bon Air Baptist Church, and Randy Myers, president of Chaplain Service Prison Ministry of Virginia, Inc. For more information about the documentary, go to ThroughtheDoor.info.

Pre-Council Convocation Meetings

Deans of Convocations are scheduling Pre-Council meetings to take place in the next couple of weeks. A list of Pre-Council Meetings can be found on the Annual Council page of our website.

• Convocation 1 - January 19, 4 p.m. at St. George's, Pungoteague   
• Convocation 2 - January 26, 4 p.m. at Old Donation, Virginia Beach 
• Convocation 3 - February 2, 2 p.m. at St. Andrew's, Norfolk 
• Convocation 4 - January 29, 7 p.m. at St. Paul's, Suffolk
• Convocation 5 - January 29, 7 p.m. at Bruton Parish, Williamsburg 
• Convocation 6 - January 30, 7 p.m. at St. Michael's, Colonial Heights
• Convocation 7 - January 21, 7 p.m. at Manakin, Midlothian 
• Convocation 8 - January 25, 10 a.m. at St. Luke's, Blackstone
• Convocation 9 - January 30, 7 p.m. at Epiphany, Danville

Save the date: Small Church Ministry Conference

The Small Church Conference is a bi-annual conference hosted by the Province 3 Small Church committee, and will be held May 12-15, 2014, at Shrine Mont, Orkney Springs, Virginia.  The theme for 2014 is, "Envisioning A Bright Future:  Empowering the Small Church." Dent Davidson will once again be our keynote speaker, and he will be joined by Phyllis Tickle. As Phyllis is in the process of retiring from accepting speaking engagements, this will be one of the last opportunities to spend time with her at Shrine Mont! Other presenters are Dr. Barbara Anne Fisher, Sister Cassandra Grace, and the Rev. Kathy Gray. For a full description of the presentations and registration information, please refer to the conference brochure.