Fish tales from Jackson-Feild Homes

Don Lancaster, host of Fishing Tidewater, and a Jackson-Feild resident fishing.

For the boys and girls at Jackson-Feild, an annual rite of fall is a saltwater fishing trip at the Buckroe Beach Fishing Pier in Hampton. Old Point Bank sponsors the event in conjunction with the City of Hampton Roads Parks and Recreation.

 

The young anglers - none of whom had ever been saltwater fishing - arrived bright and early and ready to fish using rods, tackle and bait provided by Old Point Bank. Don Lancaster and Matt Smith (hosts of the Fishing Tidewater radio show), Al Nazaruk, and Dan Minnick volunteered their expertise and served as mentors.   Don provided a brief "Fishing 101" lesson in which he showed the boys and girls how to bait hooks, protect their hands from the fins, and then release the hooked fish.

 

According to one enthusiastic participant, the kids caught "a bazillion fish," releasing most but keeping enough to fill a cooler to bring back to campus for dinner. The new anglers had so much fun that did not want to leave.

When asked why he volunteers each year, Lancaster responded "These youngsters have had so many challenges in their lives. It does your heart good to see them have such a good time enjoying a simple pleasure." 

New online classes from ChurchNext

ChurchNext allows you to learn from expert teachers in Scripture, liturgy, and important Christian topics while interacting in a safe, online environment that's convenient, engaging, and affordable. Check out these new offerings from ChurchNext: 

Approaching Scripture with Vicki Garvey is a terrific introduction to the Scriptures from one of the best Bible teachers in the mainline church. It's available in both For Individuals and For Groups formats.

A Christian Response to Gun Violence is now available in For Individuals and For Groups formats.

Can online learning add to your spiritual growth? Read an answer to that question in this ChurchNext blog post.

Liturgical resource for Day of Repentance & Reconciliation

Annual Council Resolution R-1 (2013) resolved that "November 2, 2014, All Souls Day, will be designated as the 'Day of Repentance and Reconciliation' in the Diocese of Southern Virginia and parishes will annually hold this observance during the octave of All Saints."

We encourage all parishes to live into R-1 and plan a meaningful service during the octave of All Saints. In the diocesan service we used a story format.  "Repentance, Reconciliation and Healing: A liturgical resource for congregations" follows the format of Holy Women, Holy Men. This booklet offers several options for readings and psalms.  

We shared our diocesan reconciliation service with St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Clay City, Kansas, which used the liturgy on Sept. 20 for a service of repentance, healing and reconciliation to acknowledge the mistreatment of the only African-American member in the church's 134-year history, Mai DeKonza, who died in 1959. Read more about this service here.

If you need further assistance or have questions, please contact Canon Caroline Black, cblack@diosova.org, or a member of the Repairers of the Breach Commission.  

Jan Brown named to Episcopal Church Commission on Impairment and Leadership

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori has announced the members of the newly-formed Episcopal Church Commission on Impairment and Leadership. They include Jan Brown from the Diocese of Southern Virginia. Brown is a member of the board of Episcopal Recovery Ministries and co-Director of SpiritWorks Foundation, a recovery community organization serving individuals affected by the disease of addiction. The members were appointed by Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori in consultation with President of the House of Deputies the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings.

Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori said, "I pray that this body will help us foster a culture of open awareness and learning about addiction as well as fierce commitment to healing of body, mind, soul, and community."

The enabling resolutions charge the Commission to serve as "an independent commission to explore the canonical, environmental, behavioral and procedural dimensions of matters involving the serious impairment of individuals serving as leaders in the Church, with special attention to issues of addiction and substance abuse." The commission also must prepare a report to "include recommendations for both action and further review, as appropriate, in order to clarify lines of authority, to ensure mutual accountability, and to promote justice, well-being and safety within both the Church and the world."

Click here for more information.

Praying for the churches of Southern Virginia

As part of our liturgy at Annual Council 2015, each delegation wrote a prayer for their parish. We are sharing these prayers each week in the eNews so that we all can support one another in the upcoming year.

Grace, Norfolk
God our Father, we pray for your forgiveness and we pray for hope, courage and strength to stand for social justice. We ask for your blessings for continued growth of our church, we pray for the healing of divided communities that, with your blessings, we may be one. Heavenly Father, to you we submit our prayers. Through Christ our Lord, Amen.

Galilee, Virginia Beach
Heavenly Father, we thank you for your love and redemption experienced in and through Galilee Church. We ask you, Lord, to lead, shield and anoint us to take joy in every task you set before us and to live more deeply into our mission and renewal. Amen.

ECW Fall Annual Meeting: Focus on Breast Cancer Awareness

Join us Saturday, October 17, for the ECW Fall Annual Meeting at St. Timothy's, Clarksville. Molly Kratt, an advocate for young women with cancer, will speak. Please bring a scarf as a gift for women who battle cancer. Molly will share the latest scarf fashion tips. We will elect and install new board members. And we will have an ingathering of Jackson-Feild Homes and the Boys Home of Virginia wish list items collected for God Bless the Children, the ECW's 2015-2016 Outreach Project. Contact Louise Boss, corresponding secretary, to register for the meeting at 757-678-5331 or louiseboss@exede.net , by October 9. The $10 registration fee includes lunch

 

Follow ECW on Facebook

Thanks to Megan-Drew Tiller, Church Relations at Boys Home of Virginia, the ECW of the Diocese of Southern Virginia joined Facebook on Oct. 5. Find us on Facebook here and like us!

Women-to-Women meeting Oct. 12

Women-to-Women is a ministry with Mothers' Union of the Diocese of Bukavu in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which is responding the gender-based violence in the region through vocational and literacy training, support, love and friendship. Women-to-Women will meet at 7 p.m. on Monday, October 12 at 1323 Lafayette Blvd., Norfolk. Do join us as we plan ways to support our sisters in the Congo Diocese of Bukavu! Call Susan Broaddus at 757-623-0205 for information and directions.