The
charge of the House of Deputies Committee on the State of the Church,
the oldest committee of the Church, is to prepare a report for the House
of Deputies that shows an accurate picture of The Episcopal Church and
to approve the form of the Annual Parochial Report.
Monday, May 18, 2015
House of Deputies State of the Church Committee issues report, bulletin inserts
The House of Deputies State of the Church Committee (SOTC) has concluded its work for the triennium. The report, submitted as part of the Blue Book, is available here.
The Committee on the State of the Church has partnered with Forward Movement ,
working together to offer an overview, or "snapshot," of the 38- page
report. This summary report is available as a PDF document in two
formats - as an 8 1/2 x 11 full sheet here or as a half-sheet suitable for use as a bulletin insert, available at no fee here.
Congregations are encouraged to print and distribute this information
so that Episcopalians across the church will gain an awareness of the
state of our Church.
Golfers swing their way to help Jackson-Feild's children
The children at Jackson-Feild Homes were the ultimate winners on May
11th at the 20th annual Go Golfing for Kids golf tournament.
The tournament was
held at The County Club at the Highlands in Chesterfield. Boddie-Noell
Enterprises was the tournament sponsor and has been since the
tournament's inception. Modern Woodmen Fraternal Financial was the
presenting sponsor.
A delicious lunch
was provided by Hardee's after which tournament play began using the
Captain's Choice tournament format. An awards dinner immediately
followed the tournament.
It could not have
been a better day for golf. The course was in excellent shape. The
golfers enjoyed their time on the links and had a good time for a good
cause.
Wednesday, May 13, 2015
Advancing to General Convention 2015
Bishop Hollerith
and a deputation from Diocese of Southern Virginia will head to Salt
Lake City, UT, June 25 - July 3 to take part in the 78th General
Convention of the Episcopal Church. Over the next few weeks, we'll be
giving you some background on General Convention, explain how it works,
and introduce our deputation. While we are in Salt Lake City, you can
follow the action on our General Convention blog and the diocesan Facebook page.
General Convention: Equality of representation
Equality of representation between lay persons and priests was
enshrined from the beginning of General Convention, as was the equal
representation of states - the words "state" and "diocese" were
synonymous in the church's early years.
To
protect the rights of states with fewer church members the constitution
made provision for votes by states for major issues. This provision was
the ancestor of our votes by orders in which each diocese casts one
clerical and one lay vote on amendments to the constitution, revisions
of the Book of Common Prayer and other weighty matters.
Because
the organizing conventions and the first General Convention under its
constitution did not include bishops, the House of Deputies is sometimes
referred to as the senior house (by date of establishment).
To encourage the church in New England to join the General Convention,
provision was made in the church's first constitution for a House of
Bishops at such time in the future as there would be at least three
bishops. After the passage of the constitution, the election of bishops
required the consent of both houses of the General Convention, and
consecrations could take place only during a meeting of the convention.
When this proved unworkable, the convention voted in 1799 to allow
diocesan standing committees to vote consent in place of the House of
Deputies, except when the election fell within a reasonable time before a
meeting of the General Convention.
Even
after the formation of the House of Bishops, the House of Clerical and
Lay Deputies could override a "no" vote in the House of Bishops by a
4/5's vote. This provision was amended in 1808, allowing the bishops to
veto legislation passed by deputies, but only if they did so within
three days of passage. (The House of Bishops did not get parity with the
House of Deputies until 1901, when the "three days clause" was deleted
from a revision of the constitution.) Since then, for legislation to be
enacted, it must be passed in identical language by both houses. If
either house fails to concur, the resolution does not pass.
Praying for the churches of Southern Virginia
As part of our
liturgy at Annual Council 2015, each delegation wrote a prayer for their
parish. We are sharing these prayers each week in the eNews so that we
all can support one another in the upcoming year.
St. Luke's, Blackstone
Loving God, whose
promise is to be with us always: Be with us in the year ahead as we
continue the work you have given us to do. Strengthen us to move through
this time of transition, trusting in your faithfulness. May our efforts
to reach out to our community continue and increase, empowered by the
Spirit and revealing Christ in our midst; through Jesus Christ our Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for
ever. Amen.
Johns Memorial, Farmville
Almighty and
everliving God, ruler of all things in heaven and on earth, grant the
people of Johns Memorial the means of peace and harmony so that we may
find our way toward the unity that will allow us to accomplish all that
you desire for us. Help us to be conscious of all that are in any way in
need of prayer, comfort, or solace. Keep us mindful of the Holy Spirit
working in our midst as we discern how best to minister to the students
among us wherever they are on their journey. Guide our Vestry, our
rector and our congregation in the way of being a church where people
come not only for worship, but for community service, for learning and
for comfort and joy, Grant us strength in numbers so that we may do even
more to glorify you. Through Jesus Christ our Lord who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit.
ACS Users Training Day on June 24
Join us for a
one-day classroom training for ACS software users led by ACS Certified
Trainer Fred Forrey on Wednesday, June 24 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. in
Newport News.
This ACS classroom
training will provide learning in a traditional classroom environment.
ACS Certified Trainer Fred Forrey will demonstrate the use of software
projected onto a large screen. This one-day training will focus on
People during the morning session and on Financials during the afternoon
session.
This event is an
excellent opportunity to learn and enhance valuable skills amongst your
peers. Come with your questions and get answers!
Church Business Administrator training and certification
Church Business
Administrator certification through The Church Network (formerly NACBA)
is a two-week core course requirement that can be fulfilled on the
Richmond campus of Union Presbyterian Seminary from July 21-30. Or, if
you need just a few of the seminars, register for one week, or
individual classes. These seminars are open to anyone with interest in
this area, and will give you some valuable information on the
administration of your church. The cost for the full two weeks of
classes (8 days) is $550; for one week (4 days), $275; and for
individual classes $85 ($170 for a two-day class). Click here for more information and to register.
CE-Net monthly meeting on May 28
CE-Net (Christian Education Network) invites you to join them
on Thursday, May 28 at 9 a.m. at Emmanuel, Hampton as they catch up and
discuss future CE-Net meetings. Breakfast will be provided. Feel free to
invite anyone you think would be interested. RSVP to Jennifer Nauroth, jenny.nauroth@cox.net.
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