e-Formation conference at VTS has lots to offer Christian educators and church communicators

Join other faith formation ministers, communication ministers, and clergy at this conference offered by Virginia Theological Seminary on faith formation for a connected digital world. Program includes workshops, intensive courses, break-out groups, and public presentations on everything from Google tools to digital curriculum resources. Speakers include G-dcast's Sarah Lefton, author Bruce Reyes-Chow, church social media expert Meredith Gould, and many, many more. Cost is $348 including meals. On and off-campus housing available. Single-day passes and student discounts also available. On-campus housing deadline: May 15. Hotel discount expires: May 5. Go to www.eformationvts.org for complete information and registration. 

Province III Synod to be held May 19

Province III Synod will be held at the Holiday Inn in Martinsburg, West Virginia on May 19.  Hospitality is scheduled for participants staying overnight on May 18.  Hotels accommodations are the responsibility of each individual. The morning program will focus on the work of Task Force for Re-imagining the Episcopal Church (TREC). The Reverend Bradley Hauff (TREC member from Province III) and Mr. T. Dennis Sullivan (TREC member) will update us on the Task Force's progress and are most interested in receiving input from our Province. At the afternoon business meeting, the Ad Hoc Committee will report on the diocesan allocations (assessments) with proposals to consider a change of the way the allocation is calculated as well as proposals for changes to budget preparations and reporting. For more information contact the Rev. Barbara J. Seras, Province III Coordinator, p3coordinator@earthlink.net or 717-385-2667. Go to www.province3.wordpress.com for more information and registration.

ECW News: Deadline for scholarship application is near!

Communicants of Southern Virginia with a 3.0 GPA who will be enrolled full-time in the coming year are eligible for ECW scholarships! Download a simple, one-page application form with all the needed steps to take at the diocesan website. Although the original deadline date given was April 30, special circumstances have allowed a modest extension: the application package can be sent so it is received by Monday, May 5. Contact Susan Broaddus, 757-623-0205 or broaddussusan@aol.com, if you have any questions.

ECW Annual Spring Meeting: How to transform your ECW - the Redeemer success story

Two years ago, the ECW at Redeemer, Midlothian, like many ECWs in the Diocese of Southern Virginia, struggled to survive. Then, they decided to transform their ECW program. Today, meetings are well-attended. Volunteers gladly help with outreach and service projects and enjoy enriching fellowship. What inspired the women of Redeemer, and how did they accomplish this transformation? Come to the ECW Spring Annual Meeting at Good Shepherd, McKenney, VA, May 17 to hear first-hand how they did it. Redeemer ECW board members who drove the ECW transformation will share their success story. To RSVP, contact Louise Boss, 757-678-5331 or louiseboss@exede.net,

by May 5.     

Witness the roots of the conflict in the DR Congo at St. Paul's, Norfolk, on May 31

Women-to-Women will present a full-length docudrama facilitated by long-term medical missionaries to Congo, Doctors Richard and Judith Brown. The film, White King, Red Rubber, Black Death, shows the roots of the modern-day brutality in Congo as it examines the controversial history of King Leopold II's treatment of the Congolese. Thanks to missionaries of the era, the world learned of the goings-on and stood up to Leopold.Save Saturday, May 31 from 3 to 5:30 p.m. for this free event with refreshments and discussion. Donations to Women-to-Women for the women's work of the Anglican Church in Bukavu Diocese will be most gratefully received.For more information contact Susan Broaddus at  broaddussusan@aol.com or Mac McKinney at Mac166688@aol.com.    

Cursillo #153 and #154

The Men's Cursillo Weekend #153 held April 24-27 was a gorgeous weekend filled with sunshine, faith and friendship as 13 candidates and their team worshiped and shared fellowship together.  In the words of one #153 candidate, Kevin Bates of Emmanuel, Virginia Beach, "Glory to God! I have just come home from the MOST AMAZING three and a half days of being with a phenomenal group of men, gathered for a Cursillo retreat! I learned a lot about myself, the Church, and Christ. For those who know Cursillo, and especially those of you who were praying for us, thank you, and bless you! There are not enough words in my vast vocabulary to express the impact of this past weekend upon my life! I am truly blessed!" The Women's Cursillo retreat #154 is this coming weekend May 1-4. Please keep the 17 candidates and team of this weekend in your prayers. For more information on Cursillo, please visit the website at www.cursillodsv.org.

VIPCare forum: Compassionate Care for First Responders Impacted by Tragedy and Trauma

Thursday, May 1, 9 a.m. to noon

Location: Trinity United Methodist Church, 903 Forest Avenue, Richmond

Admission is free (for continuing education credits a $35 processing fee is charged)

The Virginia Institute of Pastoral Care (VIPCare) invites members of the clergy, religious leaders of all faith traditions, and the general public to a forum on "Ministry in the Midst of a Crisis."

While members of faith traditions are not first responders in the traditional sense of police, emergency medical technicians and firefighters, they are called once the immediate physical danger has passed to assist both the responders and the victims process the trauma. This forum offers a panel discussion with VIPCare clinical staff and police department chaplains, who have significant professional experience responding to major traumatic events. The panelists are also published authors in the field of post-traumatic stress and recovery.

  

Panelists will be: Dr. Donald  D. Denton, VIPCare staff, "Welcoming the Warrior Home"; Sergeant Steven Chumley, Chaplain, Virginia State Police; The Rev. Lloyd Jackson, Chaplain, Henrico Police Department. Participants are invited to bring examples of their own experiences with crisis and trauma intervention to the meeting to discuss with members of the panel.

To register please call VIPCare at 804-282-8332 or email vipcare@vipcare.org, with "Forum on Trauma and Support" in the subject line. 

Presiding Bishop's Easter message 2014

The tomb is empty, and nobody knows where the body is.  Mary Magdalene tells the others about the mysterious disappearance, but they give up and go home.  Mary stays behind, weeping, and then fails to recognize the risen one before her.  As the days pass, each resurrected encounter begins in surprise or anonymity - the disciples fishing all night without catching, Jesus cooking breakfast on the beach, the two on their way to Emmaus.  Nobody recognizes him at first sight.

Clearly the risen body is not identical to the Jesus who was crucified.  People mistake him for a stranger.  He enters locked rooms.  He walks along the path to Emmaus for a long time without being recognized.  Crucifixion, death, and resurrection result in a transformed body - with evident scars, but changed nonetheless.  When he reminds others of God's banquet, meant for the whole world - when human beings are fed and watered, delivered from prison, gathered from exile across the earth, and healed and reconciled into a community of peace - his companions discover that he has once again been in their midst.

What does that resurrection reality mean for the Body of Christ of which we are part?  How does the risen Body of Christ - what we often call the church - differ from the crucified one?  That Body seems to be most lively when it lives closer to the reality of Good Friday and the Easter mystery.  In the West, that Body has suffered a lot of dying in recent decades.  It is diminished, some would say battered, increasingly punctured by apathy and taunted by cultured despisers.  That body bears little resemblance to royal images of recent memory - though, like Jesus, it is being mocked.  The body remembers and grieves, like the body of Israel crying in the desert, "why did you bring us out here to die?" or the crucified body who cries, "My God, why have you forsaken me," or "why have you abandoned us?"  In other contexts the Body of Christ is quite literally dying and spilling its lifeblood - in Pakistan and Sudan, in Iraq and Egypt - and in those ancient words of Tertullian, the blood of martyrs is becoming the seed of the church.   

The Body of Christ is rising today where it is growing less self-centered and inwardly focused, and living with its heart turned toward the cosmic and eternal, its attention focused intently on loving God and neighbor.  This Body is rising to stand in solidarity with criminals sentenced to death, with widows and orphans, with the people of the land who slave over furrows and lettuce fields to feed the world.  This Body can be found passing through walls and boundaries that have long been misused to keep the righteous "safe" and "pure."  The Body is recognized when the hungry are fed - on the lakeshore with broiled fish, on the road to Emmaus, on street corners and city parks, in food pantries and open kitchens, in feeding neighbor nations and former enemies, and as the Body gathers once again to remember its identity and origin - Christ is risen for the sake of all creation.

Where and how will we look for the Body of Christ, risen and rising?  Will we share the life of that body as an Easter people, transformed by resurrection and sent to transform the world in turn? 

Christ is risen, Alleluia!  Alleluia, Christ is risen indeed!

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
Presiding Bishop and Primate, The Episcopal Church

Jackson-Feild Homes re-dedicates its chapel

JFH resident presented Bishop Hollerith with a Book of Inspiration which contained faith-based poems and short stories written by residents.

On April 2, Bishop Hollerith assisted JFH's chaplain, The Rev. Dr. Robin Jones, in a service of re-dedication of the All Saints Chapel. The ceremony included the consecration of the Baptismal Font, Pulpit, and Altar. Music was provided by the recently reestablished JFH choir under the leadership of The Rev. David Ausby.

The service was attended by residents, staff, board members, and donors. Also attending were the three siblings of Helen Marie Boudiette. They traveled from Oklahoma, Ohio, and Florida. As a teen, Helen Boudiette enjoyed volunteering at Jackson-Feild. In 1978, Helen was tragically killed in an automobile accident. The Boudiette family donated funds to Jackson-Feild and asked that the chapel be built in memory of Helen.

Also present was Peggy Riethmiller, the daughter of Dr. William G. Christian. Dr. Christian was a member of Jackson-Feild's Board of Trustees and headed the capital campaign to raise funds to build the chapel. Mrs. Riethmiller's husband, Steve, presently serves on the Home's Board of Trustees.

After the service everyone gathered in Gage Dining Hall for a special luncheon prepared by the JFH food service staff. A resident presented Bishop Hollerith with a Book of Inspiration which contained faith-based poems and short stories written by residents that focused on love and forgiveness. The dedication ceremony will be long remembered and cherished by those who attended.