Residential Education Day at Boys Home

Boys Home invites you to join us on Friday, May 6 for Residential Education Day 2016! We are so excited to open our campus and invite you to come and see what Boys Home is all about. Spend the day with us touring, learning about our programs, meeting the boys and staff, and discovering the opportunities Boys Home is opening for young men from across the country. Boys Home serves boys ages 6-18, who come from a troubled background and need a second chance. Boys Home has been serving young men for over 100 years and we can't wait to share our story with you!

This Open House event will take place on Friday, May 6 from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. on the Boys Home campus. Activities will include: Boys Home School and campus tours, Center for Applied Trades Program demonstrations, chat with residents and staff, FREE luncheon featuring Chefs from Guest Services assisted by Culinary Arts students from JRTC, door prizes.

RSVP to Sarah or Sandra by phone at 540-956-7714, by email at sjones@boyshomeofva.org. Click here for more information or to RSVP online. 

Lauren Grizzard interns at Jackson-Feild Behavioral Health Services

Lauren Grizzard is a first-year graduate student at Virginia Commonwealth University's School of Social Work.  Social work emphasizes the integration of theories of human behavior and practice skills, and as part of the MSW program students are immersed in an internship that allows them to put theory into practice and gain real-life experience in the field.

Grizzard received an undergraduate degree in Psychology from the University of Virginia and says that interning at Jackson-Feild Behavioral Health Services (JFBHS) has taught her much about Social Work and herself in a short period of time. "Three years ago," she says, "I saw myself helping others, but did not know what that looked like for me.  JFBHS ignited a passion in me for helping adolescents with histories of abuse, neglect, and trauma." 

While at JFBHS, Grizzard spent time in clinical meetings, participated in therapy sessions and observed treatment team meetings. She shadowed different therapists and witnessed their varying styles and techniques which will greatly help her own professional development.  

Grizzard calls her internship at JFBHS "a humbling, yet incredibly rewarding experience." She grew up in the Emporia/Jarratt area and was familiar with JFBHS, but she confesses that she knew little about the extraordinary work that is done there.   At JFBHS, a multidisciplinary team of doctors, nurses, therapists, residential staff workers, and administrative personnel all join together to meet the residents' needs and build them into strong and healthy individuals.

Grizzard observed that the butterfly logo of JFBHS is a perfect representation of the lessons she learned through her internship. "The residents are the caterpillars that turn into butterflies on their own. JFBHS wraps them in a cocoon of compassion and empathy that helps foster a beautiful transformation...and that is what I will strive for in practice.

News from The Episcopal Church

Episcopal Church scholarship applications now being accepted

Applications are now being accepted for educational scholarships from The Episcopal Church for the 2016-2017 academic year.  Scholarships are available for educational training for ethnic communities, children of missionaries, bishops and clergy, and other groups covering a wide range of eligibility. The lists of trust funds and scholarships as well as key information are here.

Requirements for applying for the scholarships include: the applicant must be an Episcopalian and must have the endorsement of his/her bishop. The application form is here. Online applications are required. Deadline for applications is April 30. Only complete applications will be considered. For information, contact Ann Hercules, Associate for Grants and Scholarships, ahercules@episcopalchurch.org.  

Church Planting & Missional Initiative grant applications now available

Applications are now open for the 2016 grant cycle for new church starts and Mission Enterprise Zones in The Episcopal Church. Resolution D005 and Resolution A012 approved by General Convention in July 2015 authorized new and continued funding for church plants and Mission Enterprise Zones throughout the Episcopal Church. Additionally, newly created grants will be awarded to dioceses and already-established ministries exploring possibilities for new initiatives or expansion.

Application, guidelines and information are here. Applications will be reviewed and evaluated upon receipt. The applications will be reviewed by the General Convention Advisory Group on Church Planting.

More information about the church planting initiative is here. For information contact churchplanting@episcopalchurch.org.

May Weekend now open to grades 6 through 12!

May Weekend 2016: We Are All God's Children, is a weekend retreat for all teens in grades 6-12 sponsored by the Episcopal Youth Community Board. It will be held May 20-22 at Chanco on the James. Check-in is 6 to 8 p.m. on Friday and departure is 11 a.m. on Sunday.

Throughout the weekend, teens will participate in large group program blocks, where they will hear talks by EYC Board members, as well as small groups, where they will have opportunities for discussion and activities. The weekend also features the full cycle of daily prayer and worship with fantastic music.  Click here for more information and online registration.

EYC Board election 

Rising 10th through 12th graders are invited to run for election to the EYC Board. If you are interested, please bring the application with you to the weekend. 

Bishop Vaché Scholarship applications due June 30

The Bishop Vaché Scholarships provide funds to assist low-income and minority college students in the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia. First-year students as well as returning college students are welcome to apply. Scholarship awards range from $1000 to $5000 per academic year. Applications must be postmarked by June 30, 2016. Notifications will go out by July 15, 2016 and awards will be made by August 1, 2016. Click here for an application form. 

Easter message from Presiding Bishop Michael Curry

"This world does not need another fairy tale," Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop and Primate Michael Curry said in his Easter 2016 Message. "This week's story of crucifixion and resurrection is not a fairy tale."

I actually love fairy tales and I used to enjoy reading them to our children when they were young and little.  Now to be sure those were the more sanitized fairy tales but there was something good about them, a way of confronting what was tough in life with genuine hope.  But they were fairy tales.

This week called Holy Week, the remembrance of Jesus entering Jerusalem and offering His life in the ultimate act of sacrificial love.  Good Friday, the experience of betrayal, the experience of friends abandoning you, the experience of injustice and wrong, criminal self-centered conspiracies.  And then beyond that Holy Week, the resurrection from the dead. This is not a fairy tale.

The truth is even as we speak this Holy Week, we do so not only in the shadow of the cross but we do so in the shadow of those who have been killed in Brussels, of those who have been wounded and maimed, of those who weep and mourn.  And of a world mourning, and not too sure how to move forward.  And this world does not need another fairy tale. This week's story of crucifixion and resurrection is not a fairy tale. Click here to continue reading.

Click here to watch video of Bishop Curry's message.

GO (Gwaltney Online) gives Jackson-Feild students the opportunity to complete their education

Gwaltney School students at Jackson-Feild Behavioral Health Services who are discharged from Jackson-Feild Behavioral Health services prior to earning their high school diploma or GED certificate now have the opportunity to complete their education through our new GO - Gwaltney Online - program.

 

Students at Gwaltney School are enrolled and withdrawn according to their individual situation. They often arrive - or leave - in the middle of a semester. For students nearing the age at which they may no longer attend high school, such interruptions can be damaging to their ability and desire to complete their education.

 

Dr. Bowling, Director of Education, and Ms. Denise Moss, Individual Student Alternative Education Coordinator, developed GO. Using the web-based curriculum called Odysseyware, students who have left Jackson-Feild may take elective subjects and GED preparation courses. We mail textbooks and educational materials to participating students, and - through Odysseyware - follow their progress on a daily basis. Ms. Moss is available via telephone to provide assistance as needed to help students understand and complete the course assignments. When a student has completed the online GED prep course and is ready to take the test, Ms. Moss makes the arrangements for the student to take the test in his or her home locality.

As of press time, five students have earned their GED certificate by participating in GO. This innovative approach is only one of our many commitments to our students. By completing their education through GO, our students are able to go out into the world and live independent, successful lives.