UTO celebrates founder Julia Chester Emery's birthday in September

The United Thank Offering is extending an invitation for the Episcopal Church to join in a special celebration honoring the life and work of Julia Chester Emery for her 40 years promoting and establishing the United Thank Offering.

September 25 marks the 165th birthday of Julia Chester Emery. Starting as a young adult leader in the Episcopal Church, she is best known for dedicating 40 years to leadership and promotion of the spiritual discipline of gratitude and for tirelessly supporting mission and ministry all while championing the role of women's work in the church.

Congregations, groups and organizations can sponsor a birthday party for Julia on Sunday, September 24 complete with downloadable photo booth props, with a special thank offering to support the annual Ingathering for United Thank Offering. There are resources available here for your celebration 

Plan now to participate in the Good Book Club during Lent 2018

Forward Movement is excited to announce the Good Book Club - a church-wide invitation to all Episcopalians to read Luke and Acts during Lent-Easter 2018. Participants in the Good Book Club will begin reading Luke the Sunday before Lent, February 11, 2018, and finish up the Book of Acts on the Day of Pentecost, May 20, 2018. We hope you'll join us, and the many churches, individuals and organizations who will be a part of this special project.

Several organizations have already announced partnerships with Forward Movement on the Good Book Club, including Episcopal Church Foundation, ChurchNext, Episcopal Migration Ministries, and The Episcopal Church and Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry. Partner organizations are creating resources or encouraging their constituents to take part in the effort. A list of current partners can be found  here.

The Good Book Club website (goodbookclub.org) lists the daily readings, as well as available resources to support people as they read the scriptures. Resources also will be available in Spanish at clubbiblico.org.

And a note to Forward Day by Day readers: Forward Day by Day will use Good Book Club readings during Lent-Easter 2018, instead of the usual daily lectionary.

For now, you can sign up for updates or learn more about partnering with us at goodbookclub.org. We hope you'll read along with us, and Episcopalians around the globe!

Update from Diocesan Stewardship Commission

Stewardship is a ministry in the Episcopal Church that supports the mission and ministry of the entire church. Though often thought of as the annual fund raising typically done in the fall each year, good stewardship actually reaches into every aspect of everything done every day in every parish. The question is, how can the diocese help its parishes to actually become good stewards in all the different ways out there?

This exciting and somewhat daunting task is the focus of the Diocesan Stewardship Department. Reinvigorated by the leadership of Bishop Hollerith and the Executive Committee, this group re-formed itself in 2016, with Bob Motley and Mike McGraw serving as co-chairs. To learn what was needed, parishes were surveyed on stewardship issues, and a series of informal gatherings took place around the diocese. These results now guide us in our work for 2017-18. To these two dedicated individuals - thank you for all you have done and accomplished!

The Stewardship Department is pleased to announce new co-chairs:

Mr. Al Louer (Bruton Parish, Williamsburg) 
757-253-1209, cnwry@verizon.net 

Mrs. Elise Balcom (Eastern Shore Chapel, Virginia Beach)
757-404-2451, emblaw@aol.com

We are looking for new members to join us beginning in September, 2017. If you or anyone you know is interested in joining this dynamic group, please have that person contact one the co-chairs!

Applications accepted for Episcopal delegates to March 2018 UN Commission on the Status of Women

Applications are being accepted for a provincial delegate and up to 20 churchwide delegates to represent the Episcopal Church at the 62nd Session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) in New York City, NY, March 12-23, 2018. The delegates will be able to attend the official UNCSW proceedings at the United Nations and will represent the Episcopal Church/Anglican Communion in their advocacy at the UN, including join advocacy with the group Ecumenical Women. Click here for more information and application. Deadline to apply is September 15.

Jackson-Feild elects new officers

Jackson-Feild Behavioral Health Services is proud to announce the election of new officers.

Elizabeth Feild was elected Vice-Chair. Head of global Management and Professional Development for PAREXEL, Feild has more than 18 years of experience with large scale leadership development. She holds an undergraduate degree from North Carolina State University, a masters from American University, and certificates in leadership development and business coaching from Harvard and Duke. As the great-granddaughter of Mr. & Mrs. George W. Feild - donors of "Walnut Grove" - JFBHS holds a very special place in Feild's heart. Prior to job relocations to England and then Massachusetts, Feild served on the Jackson-Feild board of trustees. Now that she and her family are back in North Carolina, Feild is thrilled to once again be actively involved in continuing the mission of JFBHS.

Anne Gordon Greever was elected Chair. Greever retired as a senior counsel from the law firm of Hunton & Williams where she specialized in labor, employment and civil rights laws and had been the chair of its investment committee for ten years. Greever received under undergraduate degree from Mary Washington University and her law degree from the College of William and Mary. In 2006, she was named to the Legal Elite by Virginia Business Magazine. Greever has served on the board and Vice Chair of the Richmond Economic Development Authority. She is also a past Chair of the Virginia Bar Association's Labor and Employment Law Section. Greever first joined the Board of Trustees of Jackson-Feild Homes in 2002.

T. Darnley Adamson, III was re-elected as Secretary of the Board. Adamson has many years of experience in both the insurance and real estate fields and currently owns and operates Green Solutions, LLC, with his son. Adamson attended Hampden-Sydney College, and is active in charitable and conservation causes.

Craig A. Tilley was re-elected as Treasurer of the Board. Tilley has had an extensive career in the finance field working for major banks and corporations in Richmond and is currently a Director of Credit at Owens & Minor. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina where he received his degree in economics.

Applications now accepted for Official Youth Presence at General Convention 2018

Applications are now accepted for high school students who want to participate in the General Convention Official Youth Presence (GCOYP) at the Episcopal Church 79th General Convention to be held Thursday, July 5 to Friday, July 13, 2018 at the Austin Convention Center in Austin, TX. Click here for more info and application.

Canterbury students take part in Campus Ministry Leadership Conference

Two Old Dominion University Canterbury students took part in the Campus Ministry Leadership Conference in Austin, Texas, July 25-28. Chris Ochillo was part of the worship team and Savannah Dunlap represented the Canterbury Center at ODU. The Canterbury Center at ODU is on 49th Street, across from the campus, and offers a welcoming place for students to study, engage with scripture, worship and have meals together. 

Photo: Chris Ochillo with Presiding Bishop Michael Curry.