Valentine's Day Dinner - 18th Century style - at this year's Annual Council

February 14, 7 p.m. at King's Arms Tavern in Historic Colonial Williamsburg
We welcome you to arrive in Williamsburg a day prior to Annual Council to enjoy a romantic, candlelit dinner at King's Arms Tavern in historic Colonial Williamsburg where the ambiance, welcoming service and colonial entertainment will make this a Valentine's Day to remember for many years to come. A torchbearer will meet us at the Williamsburg Lodge and lead the way to the tavern. (Hotel van will transport those unable to make the walk.) Click here for menu and prices.  

Optional Evening Lantern Tour 

You may also take part in an Evening Lantern Tour. You will be greeted by a professional tour guide on the steps of King's Arms Tavern. Your guide will take you into the historical area, telling the eerie stories along the way. As you journey by candlelight through the streets of Colonial Williamsburg, you will hear some folklore, stories of the past, a little history too. The tour will last one hour and the guide will escort you back to the Williamsburg Lodge where the evening will conclude. Cost of tour is $12 per person. 

Space is limited, so make your reservations now! Make your reservations by contacting Toni Hogg, 757-635-7402 or tonih68@gmail.com

Ridley Foundation accepting grant applications

The Ridley Foundation will be accepting applications for grants for the spring semester until January 20. Click here for an application form and list of requirements.

Reminder to Fall 2012 grant recipients - To receive the second half of your grant, have your school send your fall semester grades to the Ridley Foundation, 600 Talbot Hall Road, Norfolk, VA 23505.  

Annual Acolyte Festival in Nags Head

St. Andrew's-by-the-Sea, Nags Head, invites Southern Virginia acolytes to join them for their Annual Acolyte Festival, April 26-27. Click here for more information and registration form. This year's festival includes a performance by Sloan River Project. For more information contact Debbie Luke, Acolyte Festival coordinator, lukecrew@hotmail.com. 

2013 Epiphany devotions available

Epiphany devotions for 2013 developed by the Episcopal Church, the Anglican Church of Canada, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada are available here. “These devotions for Epiphany are a mark of our deepening partnership and the common work of our four churches,” noted Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori.  “Our working together is another sign of our full communion relationship.”

The six devotions for the season of Epiphany are based on the shared gospels for the Sundays and are appropriate for both groups or individuals.

Sunday, January 6: Epiphany 1, Feast of Epiphany
Sunday, January 13: The Baptism of Our Lord
Sunday, January 20:  Epiphany 2
Sunday, January 27: Epiphany 3
Sunday, February 3: Epiphany 4
Sunday, February 10: Feast of the Transfiguration

The contributors to the Devotions are members of the Lutheran-Episcopal Coordinating Committee, USA, and the Joint Anglican-Lutheran Commission (JALC), Canada.

Upcoming free ECF web conferences

As part of Episcopal Church Foundation's on-going efforts to assist congregations in developing their leadership and financial resources, they are offering a wide range of web conferences for clergy and lay parish leaders this winter. There is no cost to participate in most of the web conferences (there is a nominal fee of $10 for Fresh Start web conferences) and all lay and clergy leaders are welcome to participate. Topics include vestry leadership (in English and in Spanish), engaging congregations with local communities, capital campaigns, clergy transition, annual giving, endowments, and planned giving. Click here for details and registration.

A Christmas message from Bishop Hollerith

"At Christmas, God says to his creation, I'm willing to experience what you experience, to feel what you feel, to think what you think, to laugh as you laugh, and to suffer as you suffer. I am willing to draw you and the whole world to myself. It's so simple and so elegant. A birth, a gesture of insignificant proportion and yet one of infinite consequence." Click here to watch Bishop Hollerith's message. A transcript of his message is available here. 

Diocesan office closes for holidays

Bishop Hollerith and his staff wish everyone in Southern Virginia a very Merry  Christmas and happy New Year! The diocesan office will be closed December 24 through January 1 for the Christmas and New Year holidays.