Register now for these upcoming youth events!

Stop Hunger Now meal packing event   

Oct. 7, 1:00 p.m.to 4:00 p.m. at Eastern Shore Chapel, Virginia Beach

 Join us for a special Stop Hunger Now meal-packing event.  All youth and their advisors are invited to participate. Stop Hunger Now is an international hunger relief organization that coordinates the distribution of food and other life-saving aid around the world.  At our event, we will assemble more than 10,000 highly nutritious meals to be used in crisis situations and in school feeding programs in developing countries. The event will conclude with a celebratory Eucharist. Click here for more information and registration.

October Weekend 2012: Universal Connexion

Oct. 12-14 at Chanco on the James

Visit Chanco on the James for a weekend in the woods with teens from all over our diocese!  October Weekend  features great music, small groups, socials and games, meaningful discussions, a dance, and really incredible worship experiences. Come experience the presence of God in community! Open to all youth grades 8-12 and their adult advisors. Hurry - registration closes Oct. 1. Click here for more information and registration.  

Happening Alumni Reunion

Nov. 10-11 at Chanco on the James

Join Happening alumni from all over our diocese for a weekend of reconnection, relaxation and refreshment! Learn more about exciting developments in the Happening program, share memories and experience great worship and activities. Click here for more information and registration. 

Deadline for Mission Initiative Grant applications is Oct. 1

The Mission Network is again making available grants of up to $1000 per Convocation to be used in an Evangelistic Mission Initiative. You know your context and culture best, so we are allowing you to use the money in a way that makes the most sense for your situation. Be creative! How can you raise the visibility of the Episcopal Church in your area? How could you better equip the congregations in your Convocation to be more inviting and welcoming? Get more information on our website. Deadline to apply is Oct. 1, 2012.

Educational opportunities around the country

The Value of the Small Church

October 1-3, Union Seminary, Richmond

Many small congregations suffer from low esteem, and yet there is wonderful ministry going on in small churches.  This practical and participatory workshop will look at small church basics, with an emphasis on the positive attributes of the congregation of fewer than 100 worshippers on an average Sunday. Leader is Marilyn Johns is director of program development for the Leadership Institute at Union Presbyterian Seminary, and former leader of two significant grant projects related to the small church. Got to  www.upsem.edu/leadership_institute/ for more information. Scholarship funds may be requested by contacting Caroline Black at cblack@diosova.org. 

Claiming the Episcopal Future: Practical leadership skills for ministry  

September 27-29, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL  

The Anglican tradition and the Episcopal Church have much to offer the 21st century, but to realize the future that is within our grasp, laypeople and clergy must be effective leaders, sound administrators, and inspiring teachers. This innovative conference, featuring Diana Butler Bass,  will sharpen the skills we need to lead the Episcopal Church in today's world. Click here for more information.   

Praying Shapes Believing

Online work from September 4 through December 11 and three intensive weekends:  October 12-13, November 9-10, December 7-8 at Seabury Western Theological Seminary, Chicago 

Lay people and clergy are invited to join Bishop Frank Griswold at Seabury to explore Anglican spirituality and the rhythm of our worship. Praying Shapes Believing will include reading and reflection with a community of students led by Bishop Griswold, former Bishop of Chicago and former Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. Click here for more information.

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.

Two videos address domestic poverty; appropriate for congregation discussion groups

from Episcopal Church Office of Public Affairs 

Circle of Protection, an ecumenical alliance of Christian leaders of which Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori is an original member, has released videos from the presidential candidates that can be utilized by groups, congregations and dioceses to discuss the pervasive issue of poverty in the United States.

The Episcopal Church, as a member of National Council of Churches (NCC) and the Circle of Protection, encourages the use of the two videos - one from each of the presidential candidates - in congregational discussion groups and adult forums as an opportunity for congregations to talk about poverty and how it is woven into the discussions of the upcoming national election.

Both videos are available at  http://www.circleofprotection.us/.

Pilgrimage Studies Symposium and the Dalai Lama coming to William & Mary

The Annual Symposium for Pilgrimage Studies sponsored by the Institute for Pilgrimage Studies at the College of William & Mary and the International Consortium on Pilgrimage Studies will be held October 12-14. Highlights include a special guest speaker and a concluding dance performance "Outer Pathway/Inner Journey" to enhance our understanding and interpretation of pilgrimage studies.  Speakers from a broad range of disciplines such as religious studies, anthropology, Hispanic studies, art history, kinesiology, classical studies, medieval history, and sociology are expected. Click here for more information and registration.
 

His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, considered one of the world's most influential spiritual leaders and winner of the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize, will speak at William & Mary on October 10 at 2 p.m. The Dalai Lama is expected to deliver a lecture focused on the virtues of human compassion. Ticket information is available here.

October is UTO Ingathering month

By Rosalyn Neal, Diocesan UTO Coordinator 

Thanks to all who were able to send in the Spring Ingathering Collections in a timely fashion. Parishes responded generously despite the fact that confusion may have occurred during the change of coordinators this year. Regretfully, I must resign this post after such a brief period because of personal, family and health concerns. I will continue to work with the Diocese in this position until mid-November.

October has been designated as UTO Ingathering Month for the Fall. To this end, I am asking that you work as hard as always, and send your Fall collections to me through the month of November. Checks should be made out to United Thank Offering. Mail collections to: Rosalyn Neal, 4661 Truman Lane, Virginia Beach, VA 23455. For more information please contact me at 757-363-0516 or rmneal@verizon.net.