Presiding Bishop Curry urges participation in the Good Friday Offering for Jerusalem, the Middle East

"Our journey as Episcopalians also includes remembering our sister and brother Christians in the Holy Land who maintain the faith which we hold so dear," Presiding Bishop Michael Curry wrote to the clergy of The Episcopal Church. "Their witness is an inspiration."

Presiding Bishop Curry wrote in the annual Good Friday letter to all congregations asking them to consider assistance for Jerusalem and the Middle East.

"This tradition is decades old and is an important statement of our solidarity with the members of the four dioceses of the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East. We have a Gospel imperative to be sure they know they are not forgotten behind the headlines or because of the distractions in our own lives."

Funds collected from the Good Friday Offering are gathered and distributed to the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East which includes the Dioceses of Jerusalem and Cyprus and the Gulf, all members of the Anglican Communion.

Information and resources for the Good Friday Offering are available here and include bulletin inserts, posters, Holy  Week meditations from St. George's College in Jerusalem, and a Lenten Education series from Diocese of Jerusalem. 

Convocation 5 gets new Dean

The Very Rev. Ronald Ramsey has bee appointed by Bishop Hollerith as the Dean of Convocation 5 (Jamestown). Ramsey is the rector of St. Cyprian's, Hampton.

You can find a list of all Convocation Deans and a map of Southern Virginia's nine convocations here.

Helping Christians understand Islam

John Herbst, who is married to the Rev. Anne Kirchmier, rector of St. Georges, Newport News, has started a website devoted to help Christians understand Islam. The site has entries about Islam in general, along with commentary on current events. Dr. Herbst earned his PhD in Bible from Union Presbyterian Seminary in Richmond, and has taught Islam at the collegiate level. He has also lectured on Islam in several churches in Richmond and in Hampton Roads, and he dialogs regularly with Muslims in Newport News. Visit his website at christianguidetoislam.com.

Home Health Care Aide training at Jackson-Feild

Jackson-Feild Behavioral Health Services is now providing home health care aide vocational training for students at its Gwaltney School. Home health care aides provide basic medical services that include administering medications, changing bandages, and checking vital signs.

 

Nationally, more than one million people are employed as home health care aides, and the profession is growing far more rapidly than other occupations.

 

Jackson-Feild's program follows a standard curriculum in which students take 60 hours of classroom instruction and participate in 10 hours of off-site training at a facility that provides medical care.

 

Abbey Webb, a community relations specialist with Southern Care Hospice Services, recently spoke to Gwaltney School students about hospice care; what it is and, how they can become a part this service.

 

In late February, four students will complete their training and a new group of ten will begin the program.

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry's message for Lent

"The season of Lent is upon us," Presiding Bishop Michael Curry said in his Message for Lent 2016. "It is a season of making a renewed commitment to participate and be a part of the movement of Jesus in this world." Click the image below to watch the video. Click here to read text of the message. 

  

124th Annual Council: Racial Justice and the Role of the Church

The 124th Annual Council of the Diocese of Southern Virginia convened February 5-6 at the Williamsburg Lodge Convention Center.

Bishop Hollerith addressed Council on Friday morning. "Without a doubt, the greatest challenge of my episcopate has been one of discerning and helping others to discern what it means to be the Episcopal Church in the 21st century." The bishop shared his thoughts on "what's working" in Southern Virginia. He also spoke about changes experienced in The Episcopal Church and our own diocese in 2015 and a look toward 2016. Click here to read his address.

The preacher for the Council Eucharist on Friday morning was the Rev. Canon Dr. Sandye A. Wilson, rector of St. Andrew and Holy Communion Episcopal Church in South Orange, New Jersey, who was national president of the Union of Black Episcopalians from 1997-2004.
Our keynote speaker this year was the Very Rev. Mike Kinman, Dean of Christ Church Cathedral in St. Louis, MO. Kinman gave two presentations to Council, "#Ferguson Theology" and "Sacred Conversations About Race and Class, Power and Protest". Following the Ferguson police killing of Michael Brown, Jr., Kinman was an advocate for the Black Lives Matter movement and provided sanctuary for the movement at Christ Church Cathedral.  Materials from Kinman's presentations (slides, with links to videos, and notes) are available on the Annual Council page of our website.

Saturday afternoon, Kinman posted on Facebook, "Today's highlights at Annual Council of Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia:

• Watching people listen deeply to and wrestle with the wisdom, passion and brilliance of Brittany Ferrell, Alexis Templeton, Traci Blackmon and Ruby Sales.
• Talking about Jesus and being the church in this Kairos moment that is emerging around human rights in America.
• Talking about being trauma-informed church and naming our addictive family systems -- and hearing incredible resonance.
• Leading 400-500 Episcopalians (the majority of whom were white and over 55) in the Assata Shakur chant (3 times, shouting it at the end) because until everyone is free none of us are free. Really wish I had film of that one! 'It is our duty to fight for our freedom. It is our duty to win. We must love and support each other.We have nothing to lose but our chains.'"

Elections at Council

The following elections took place at this year's Council:
Standing Committee: The Rev. Conor Alexander, Mr. Scott Norris

Disciplinary Board: The Rev. Dale Custer, The Rev. Susan Grimm, Mr. Matthew White

Provincial Synod: The Rev. Frederick Walker, Ms. Andrea Morgan

Resolutions
The two canonical resolutions before Council this year, C-1 and C-2, both passed unanimously.

Visit our Facebook page for lots of photos from Annual Council. Thanks to Jackie Rochelle of Epiphany, Norfolk, and Carlyle Gravely of St. George's, Newport News, for their assistance with photography. 

Church Periodical Club's Miles of Pennies benefits Jackson-Feild

Founded in 1888, the Church Periodical Club (CPC) is an independent organization affiliated with the Episcopal Church, and it relies on volunteers, clergy, and friends to promote its Ministry of the Printed Word. In 1988 - on its 100th anniversary - the CPC established the Miles of Pennies Fund focuses exclusively on the educational needs of children from kindergarten through high school.

Grants in the amount of $844.80 are awarded to provide books, magazines, audiotape, videos and CDs. Why $844.80? Because it takes 84,840 pennies laid edge-to-edge to cover the distance of one mile. Hence, the name of the fund and the amount of the grants provided.

The Hayden Gwaltney School at Jackson-Feild Behavioral Health Services recently received a full grant of $844.80 from this fund. Over the years, The Gwaltney School has received more than $7,745 from the program. This year's grant was used to purchase 69 hardcover and 77 paperback books written by a wide variety of authors.

 

Teachers and students alike are thrilled to be recipients of this grant, and the books are being checked out and read with enthusiasm.  

Deacons in Southern Virginia unite to support refugees in crisis - how you can help

Deacons in Southern Virginia are raising funds for refugee. Your donation will help refugees forced to flee from conflict or natural disaster. At work in over 40 countries and 22 U.S. cities, the International Rescue Committee leads refugees in their journey from harm to home and supports their efforts to rebuild their lives.

Funds raised in this campaign will go to the IRC in Charlottesville and the newest office in Richmond. They will be used for resettlement, education, language skills and health.

Each year, thousands of refugees are invited by the U.S. government to seek safety and freedom. Forced to flee conflict or persecution, many have survived for years against incredible odds. They step off the plane with next to nothing but their dignity, hope and determination. In Charlottesville, Richmond and many other regional offices across the country, the IRC helps them rebuild their lives.

To learn more and how you can help, go to http://diy.rescue.org/sovadeacons.

Resources to help you keep a holy Lent

Growing a Rule of Life is this year's Lenten offering from the Society of Saint John the Evangelist. This series uses a tool from monastic spirituality called a 'Rule of Life' to explore and cultivate our relationships with God, Self, Others, and Creation.  

 

Episcopal Relief & Development offers a 2016 Lenten Meditations guide. Available in English and Spanish, this year's devotional focuses on creating economic opportunities and strengthening communities, with a particular focus on empowering women.

 

d365 Daily Devotionalis written especially for students and seeks to provide reflections on themes that impact our faith journey. Although devotions are available every day of the year, they offer a special series for Lent. For iPhone and iPad users, there's a handy d365 app.

 

Lent Madness is back again!

The format is straightforward: 32 saints are placed into a tournament-like single elimination bracket. The first round consists of basic biographical information about each of the 32 saints. Things get a bit more interesting in the subsequent rounds as they offer quotes and quirks, explore legends, and even move into the area of saintly kitsch.

Praying in Color - For fans of Sybil MacBeth's Praying in Color, she offers several free Lenten Calendar templates. She say, "On the calendar template I choose a word or name for each day, write the word in a space, and draw or doodle around it. I think of each mark or stroke of color as a wordless prayer. This process can take three minutes or thirty. Each day is different. I love the accumulation of words or peoples' names in a visual tapestry." 

 

Christ Walk is a 40 day program that combines spiritual and physical fitness by Anna Fitch Courie, an Episcopalian formerly residing here in Southern Virginia.

 

ChurchNext is offering a complete free Lenten curriculum. The first of the five courses is "Spirituality and Racial Justice" led by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry. Learn about the spiritual dimensions and responsibilities inherent in building racial justice.

 

Forward Movement offers very inexpensive devotionals for Lent, including "Meeting Jesus on the Margins" and "Lent is Not Rocket Science".

 

Church Publishing has a nice selection of Lenten reading materials for adults, children and families, including "Love Life Live Lent: Be the Change!", "Under the Fig Tree: Visual Prayers and Poems for Lent", and "What We Do in Lent: A Child's Activity Book".

The power of Mission Insite demographic research tool

By The Rev. Fletcher Wells, St. Thomas', Chesapeake

 

Did you know that our diocese provides a demographic research tool that allows each parish to know the demographic information of the population in their area?  Said more plainly, we have the ability to know what the spending habits, hopes and dreams, psychology, and even struggles are of the people in and around our churches.

Demographic reports that would cost $250 to $1000 are provided free through Mission Insite to each congregation through our subscription.

Although churches may have an unlimited number of people sign up to use the service, this tool is underutilized. Although over 50 churches have signed up, only 28 people utilized the tool over the last year. The diocese is considering  whether to renew the contract. I think it's a valuable tool.  

 

As part of a course with Dwight Zscheile, a past speaker at Diocesan Annual Council, I was able to do all of my demographic research for a paper describing Chesapeake and the people who live in the area. This program allowed me to see what the people in may immediate area did for a living, how they spent their money, and even infer what needs and concerns they faced. The data collected changed my preaching, changed ministry focuses for the church and helped us to help our community.  

 

As the landscape of the church continues to change, how we do ministry and attract others to our ministry will necessarily change as well. For instance, the time when creating programs for people to take part in simply does not work any longer because folks do not attend church in the ways or in the masses that they used to.  

 

But there is a way for us to continue to grow as individual churches, as dioceses, and as a national church and that is to, in the words of our presiding bishop and primate, be the Episcopal manifestation of Jesus in our neighborhood.  In order to be that, we have gotta get out into our neighborhoods!  

 

Mission Insite helps us to do just that: get out into our neighborhood.  Have you wondered how you might find a niche in outreach?  The mosaic indicator (a program in Mission Insite that tells about who people are) will disclose those types of challenges.  Perhaps you wonder what people struggle with; for instance, in my own ministry neighborhood we found out that people struggle with debt.  We created a forum around finances and it is still one of the best attended events put on by our church.  Now imagine if we had created this for our community, meeting them where they are.  

 

I would like to invite and encourage all parishes to checkout this helpful tool here.  Look at how it can help you find how your great work can meet your communities deep need. Use Mission Insite to create new and wonderful ways to seek Jesus in the neighborhood.  Who knows, you might even find ways to grow with the people around you and grow your church in the process.

Jackson-Feild Behavioral Health Services welcomes Dr. J. Michael Griffin

Jackson-Feild is pleased to announce that Dr. J. Michael Griffin, PhD. has joined its clinical staff. Dr Griffin is a licensed psychologist and is Board Certified in EEG Biofeedback (Neurofeedback).

Dr. Griffin has special interest in attention and memory issues of children, adolescents and adults. As a survivor of severe traumatic brain injury (TBI), he is accomplished in the assessment and treatment of patients who have experienced TBI and/or attention deficit disorder and learning disabilities.

In his treatment of boys and girls who are severely emotionally impaired, Dr. Griffin utilizes biofeedback to help his patients understand the complexity of their disorders and how to function successfully while managing them.

 

Dr. Griffin received a B.S. in Biology from Guilford College, an M.A. in Biology from Western Carolina University, an M.A. in Psychology from North Carolina Central University, a doctorate in education (Ed.D) from the University of Sarasota, and a Ph.D. in Psychology from Walden University.  

Bishop Hollerith on the outcome of the Anglican Primates' meeting

As you may already know, the Anglican Primates, meeting in Canterbury, England, voted to suspend The Episcopal Church from decision-making and interfaith bodies of the Anglican Communion for three years. The suspension is a direct response to The Episcopal Church's decision at General Convention last year to authorize marriage of same-sex couples.

My initial reaction to the agreement was one of surprise, followed by disappointment. I'm particularly disappointed that our new Presiding Bishop, who was present at the meeting,  was forced to endure what was most certainly a difficult and painful experience. I ask that you keep Michael in your prayers.

Despite what you are hearing from the media, The Episcopal Church has not been removed from the Anglican Communion. While we have been censured, the primate's  recent decision also confirms the Communion's "unanimous commitment to walk together".

From my perspective, this recent decision should not in any way seriously impact the mission and ministry of the greater Episcopal Church. It certainly should not affect our ministry here in Southern Virginia.

In closing, let me say that I find myself agreeing with Bishop Curry's hopeful statement that this recent turn of events is perhaps part of our calling to lead the Communion in its becoming a church where all God's children are fully welcomed. Please pray for The Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion as we continue to walk together in spite of our differences.

Faithfully,
+H. Hollerith 

Read the statement from the Primates here.

Read Episcopal News Service story here.

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry on the actions at the Anglican Primates Meeting

"We are part of the Jesus Movement, and the cause of God's love in this world can never stop and will never be defeated."  

Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop and Primate Michael Curry has issued a video statement concerning the actions of the Anglican Primates at the meeting in Canterbury, England. Click here to watch (and read) Bishop Curry's statement.

Trinity Institute webcast cancelled, to be re-scheduled

After much thought and consideration, we have decided to cancel the Trinity Institute live webcast Jan. 21-23.  Weather reports are calling for "significant" snow north and west of Williamsburg and a possible "wintry mix" on the lower Peninsula.  Our desire is to have a full, meaningful engagement around the topic of racism, and uncertain weather provides a distraction.

We will show the entire Trinity Institute broadcast at a later date in parishes in Newport News, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, and possibly the Richmond area within the next few months.  While this will not be a live telecast, it will give us an opportunity to hear all speakers and presentations in their entirety and to engage in dialogue with other participants at these locations.  The dates for these events will be publicized very soon and we hope that you will be able to join us at one of these events.