Keeping up with the work of TREC - Task Force for Reimagining the Episcopal Church

The Task Force for Reimagining the Episcopal Church has been charged by the 77th General Convention of the Episcopal Church to create a plan for reforming the Church's structures, governance, and administration. The TREC website offers an opportunity for everyone to participate in the conversation. You can also connect with TREC on Facebook and Twitter.

In an address given at the 2014 Commencement Exercises of Episcopal Divinity School on May 22, the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings, President of the House of Deputies of the Episcopal Church, said, "There's no doubt that, to be a new church in a new economy, we have to change and we're going to have to let go of some things. Our passions about restructuring the church are evidence that we know the church many of us once knew is coming to its end. Some of us are grieving that loss, while others of us are being liberated by it.   

• Around the church, I hear people talking about how to support relationships and networks around the church without a large, unsustainable corporate hierarchy. 
• We're talking about how to conserve our treasures-buildings, fabric and fine arts, and the remarkable work of the Archives of the Episcopal Church-without becoming overseers of museums.
• We're talking about how to restructure, reorganize and consolidate dioceses for local mission.
• We're talking about the future of lay and ordained ministry and how to educate people to answer God's call to transform the church and the world. 
• We're talking about the justice issues of living wages and health care and how to compensate people for ministry in the new economy.
• We're talking about how to broaden our long, hard struggle to eliminate canonical discrimination against women, people of color, and LGBT people so that our energy and vigilance for securing and maintaining rights within the church is matched by our passion for justice in the world.

To watch or read the complete address, click here.

Seeking an affordable family vacation? Family Camp is for you!

NEW this year, Family Camp is being offered from August 21-24 for campers ages 0 to 100! Families can now enjoy traditional camp activities together. A sampling of favorite camp activities such as archery, boating, crafts and zip lines will be offered along with daily worship and singing. Choose to be active all day or simply enjoy the rest, relaxation and quiet time in God's beautiful creation in the woods along the James River. This program is the perfect way to reunite with old camp friends or to introduce the next generation of campers to Chanco! Click here for a flier with more information on Family Camp. Easy on line registration can be found at www.chanco.org. Questions? Contact Executive Director Gareth Kalfas at director@chanco.org or at 888-7CHANCO (888-724-2626). Share Chanco summer fun with your family today!

Heritage Day at Historic St. Luke's in Smithfield

St. Luke's, c.1632, will have its third Heritage Day Event on Saturday, June 7 from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Heritage Day is all about history, and the day's events will transport you back in time. It is a free event for the whole family.  

St. Luke's is the oldest standing Gothic building in America and the oldest standing church from the Anglican tradition. Come learn and share your history with more than 30 event stations. Learn to trace your own genealogy, sit on a horse that is a descendant of the original Spanish horses brought to America in the 16th century. See and purchase plants native to the area and raised by Master Gardeners, explore the history and see artifacts belonging to Gen. Pickett and Sallee Corbell. Tour the church and enjoy the re-enactments of a 18th century court system. There will be farm displays from Chippokes Plantation. The Nottoway Tribe of Virginia will be on site, along with the Historical Society, the School House Museum. Alain Outlaw, archeologist, who made digs on the site, will be available with displays and talks. Various churches, including Christ Church, Smithfield, will have historical displays. Period music will be played and instruments demonstrated by the Itinerant Band. Food will be available for purchase on site with lunch by Budda and Franks BBQ and Darden's Store from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.  

This is a great family outing.  For more information call St. Luke's at 757-357-3367. St. Luke's Restoration, Benn's Church Blvd. is located near the corner of Rt 258/32 and Rt.10, Smithfield, VA 23430.

Former EYC President to serve as YASC missionary in Hong Kong

Hello all! My name is Justin Davis and I will be serving as a missionary with the Young Adult Service Corp of the Episcopal Church (YASC for short). I want to start out by thanking all of you for your support. The Diocese of Southern Virginia has played an incredibly large role in shaping who I am as a person, especially through the Episcopal Youth Community (EYC) in which I served as president from 2009-2010, and as a member of St. David's, Chesterfield. I will be forever grateful.  

I have spent the last four years at Virginia Commonwealth University, a religious studies major with a minor in business, and I hope to one day become an ordained minister. I have attended Grace and Holy Trinity Episcopal Church in Richmond for four years, where I have been active in the Episcopal Campus Ministry. I have also interned for Grace and Holy Trinity for three years. Two of these years I spent as a youth intern and one year as a Campus Ministry Intern. This summer I am working in Fauquier County, Virginia at Leeds Episcopal Church as an intern with the Young Priest Initiative.  

During my upcoming year with in YASC, I will be serving with the Mission to Seafarers in Hong Kong. You will be able to learn more about the programs I am working with, and follow my personal experiences while in Hong Kong at my blog. I am asking you all especially for your thoughts and prayers in the upcoming year.  

I will be fundraising throughout the summer for this trip. My goal is to raise $10,000 before the last week of August, which is when I leave. Donations can be sent to Grace and Holy Trinity Episcopal church at 8 N. Laurel Street, Richmond VA 23220 with "Justin Davis YASC" in the memo. All donations are tax deductible, and I can provide you with a tax ID. 

Feel free to send me an email at davisjb4@vcu.edu if you have any questions or concerns. Once again thank you for your thoughts and prayers as this new adventure begins.

St. John's, Portsmouth, to host 2014 Training Institute for the Catechumenate & RCIA

Go. Baptize. Make Disciples: An invitation to Baptismal living

A Catechumenal Process Training Institute for Newcomers & Experienced Practitioners

September 25-27 at St. John's, Portsmouth

Offered by the North American Association for the Catechumenate (NAAC)

The NAAC is an ecumenical organization that seeks to promote and nurture the catechumenal process in order that the whole faith community might fulfill Christ's commission to make disciples, baptizing and teaching all people. Member denominations include the Episcopal Church, Anglican Church of Canada, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada, Presbyterian Church USA, and the United Methodist Church. Go to www.catechumenate.org for more information.

Click here for an institute brochure. Click here for online registration. 

LARCUM meeting June 30

The ecumenical communities of the Lutheran, Anglican, Roman Catholic and United Methodist churches will gather at Holy Apostles, Virginia Beach, (1593 Lynnhaven Parkway) on Monday, June 30, at 7 p.m. to celebrate ecumenical progress in the area. Speaker will be Dr. Mitzi Budde, Professor, Virginia Theological Seminary. Dr. Budde completed her Doctor of Ministry in Ecumenism and Reconciliation at Wesley Theological Seminary where she focused on ecumenical formation in denominational theological seminaries. Dr. Budde also earned a M.A. in Religion from Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in Columbia, South Carolina. She has written journal articles on ecumenical topics for "Ecumenical Trends" and "Congregations". Professor Budde currently serves as Lutheran co-chair for the Lutheran-Episcopal Coordinating Committee and as co-chair and ELCA representative to the National Council of Church's Faith Order "Unity in Mission" study group.

All are welcome and refreshments will be provided. Call 757-427-9434 for more information. 

Special offering for Navajoland ministry

Episcopalians have a great opportunity to aid and participate in the ministry for Native Americans through a special offering that will assist the ongoing mission work in Navajoland. The Navajoland Area Mission is 26,000 square miles that spreads over Arizona, New Mexico and Utah.  

"For over 100 years The Episcopal Church has had a presence in Navajoland," Bishop David E. Bailey stated in an April letter sent to all congregations. "As we work to reclaim our traditional spirituality and culture, we must simultaneously address the damage incurred by our history. Some of that damage is emotional and some of it is physical."

Among the requests cited by Bishop Bailey is the construction of new hooghans, a traditional Navajoland dwelling. He is asking for funds to build the ceremonial and educational hooghan at St. Christopher Mission in Bluff, UT, one of the churches of Navajoland. Hooghans cost $25,000 to build and are used for traditional ceremonies as well as educational purposes.

"I hope that you will consider joining us in prayer and giving to this Special Offering which promises new life for our people," Bishop Bailey said.

Donations can be made online here or send checks to The Development Office, The Episcopal Church Center, 815 Second Ave., NY NY 10017. For more information contact Cornelia Eaton at ceaton@ec-n.org.