Have you "liked" us on Facebook?

Our diocesan Facebook page is getting lots of traffic these days. We now have over 800 followers. Are you one of them? If not, drop by  www.facebook.com/diosova and see what you're missing. In addition to advance notice of upcoming workshops and conferences, links to resources, and news from our churches, you can follow the adventures of diocesan Comptroller Nancy James and her dog Jake as they visit every church in Southern Virginia this year. On March 27,  you'll also be able to follow the community Stations of the Cross led by St. George's, Newport News, as it happens, 6 to 7:30 p.m. 

Registration open for Safe Church classroom training

Numerous Safe Church classroom training opportunities are now open for registration, including:

• April 27 at Holy Trinity, Onancock
• April 27 at Bruton Parish, Williamsburg
• July 27 at Christ & Grace, Petersburg
• August 10 at St. George's, Newport News
• August 17 at Epiphany, Danville
• September 21 at Grace, Norfolk

For a complete list of all Safe Church classroom training, go to the Workshops, Training & Events page of our website. 

Don't miss it! Register now for our 2nd Annual Stewardship Conference on June 8

Mark your calendar for our June 8 Stewardship Conference to be held at St. Martin's, Williamsburg. You said you wanted stewardship information for smaller churches and more about planned giving and we listened! Our two keynote speakers for this conference will be the Rev. Timothy Dombeck, Canon to the Ordinary, Diocese of Arizona, speaking on Stewardship for Smaller Parishes, and Jim Murphy, Executive Program Director of Episcopal Church Foundation, who will address Planned Giving/endowments/legacies. Participants will also get to take part in hands-on breakout sessions. Click here for more information and online registration.

Financial & Administrative Best Practices Workshop

Join us on Tuesday, May 21 at Grace Church, Yorktown for a day designed especially for your church's financial and administrative personnel. This is a wonderful opportunity to learn, ask questions, share your experiences, and connect with your colleagues in other churches. Topics will include: employment issues, benefits, taxes, audits and internal controls, property insurance, and more. Registration fee $20 (includes lunch). Click here for more information and online registration.

Vice Chancellor Gordon Tayloe uses his new iPad in continued service to our Diocese

At our Annual Council in February, we recognized Gordon Tayloe for his many years of service as Diocesan Chancellor and, as a token of our appreciation, presented him with an iPad. In a note of thanks to Bishop Hollerith and our Diocese, Gordon said, "I was very much humbled by the reception of the Council and presentation of my iPad at the 121st Annual Council by you and on behalf of the Diocese. I had expected to be recognized, but I had no expectation of the warmth and extended ovation that was accorded me. Then topping it all off, the gifting to me of the iPad was overwhelming."

Gordon is continuing to serve as one of our Vice Chancellors and his new iPad is helping make that possible. After a few lessons with Communications Officer Ann Turner, Gordon is using the iPad to draft and edit legal documents and manage email correspondence, among other things.  

"I thank you and the many wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ with which I have had the opportunity to be associated and to have served the last ten years. Despite some "maturity" issues, I very much look forward to continuing to serve in the future. Thank you again my Bishop and friend, the clergy and congregations of our Diocese for so graciously honoring me."

Save the date! Stewardship Conference on June 8

Mark your calendar for our June 8 Stewardship Conference to be held at St. Martin's, Williamsburg. You said you wanted stewardship information for smaller churches and more about planned giving and we listened! Our two keynote speakers for this conference will be the Rev. Timothy Dombeck, Canon to the Ordinary, Diocese of Arizona, speaking on Stewardship for Smaller Parishes, and Jim Murphy, Executive Program Director of Episcopal Church Foundation, who will address Planned Giving/endowments/legacies. Participants will also get to take part in hands-on breakout sessions. More information and registration coming soon!

James Solomon Russell Feast Day celebration

James Solomon Russell Feast Day Celebration will be held Sunday, March 24 at 3 p.m at St. James', Emporia (609 Halifax Street, Emporia). The Rev. Dr. Grady Powell, Rector Emeritus of Gillfield Baptist Church in Petersburg, will preach. The Very Rev. Christopher Cunningham and the Rev. Dr. Joseph Green will be co-celebrants. The offering will go to support the placement of an historical marker near the birthplace of James Solomon Russell and to support Saint Paul's College. Please make all checks payable to James Solomon Russell Fund and send to: Dr. Angela M. Parker, P. O. Box 184, Lawrenceville, VA 23868.  

Born into slavery on a Virginia plantation in 1857, James Solomon Russell rose to become one of the most prominent African American pastors in the post-Civil War South. As a minister, educator, and found of Saint Paul's College in Lawrenceville, he played a major role in the development of educational access for former slaves in the South and within the Episcopal Church.