Be ready for the start of Sunday school with Safe Church training

While you're preparing for the start of Sunday school in the Fall, don't forget to make sure your program leadership has completed Safe Church training. The next classroom trainings will be held on Saturday, August 27 at Christ & Grace, Petersburg, and on Saturday, September 17 at Galilee, Virginia Beach. Online Safe Church training is also available. Click here for more information. 

Dedication of sign and cornerstone at the site of St. Andrew's, Victoria

On Sunday, July 10 at 1 p.m., a memorial sign and cornerstone will be dedicated at the site where St. Andrew's, Victoria, once stood. In 1995, St.Andrew's joined St. Paul's to become the Episcopal Church of St. Paul & St. Andrew in Kenbridge. In May 2014, the St. Andrew's church building burned. It was secularized and demolished in 2015. The memorial sign reads:

"St. Andrew's Episcopal Church was erected here in 1921. in October of 1908, Reverend Girard William Phelps, who came to Victoria from North Carolina, who had been appointed to mission work in the Victoria area by The Right Reverend Beverley D. Tucker, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of southern Virginia. Reverend Phelps first held services in St. Paul's, the "old brick" Episcopal Church, one and one-half miles north of Victoria on the Crewe Road. The original St. Andrew's Episcopal Church structure was built in 1908 at First Street and Lunenburg Avenue in Victoria. The Reverend Herbert H. Young arrived in 1916 to assist. Mr. Phelps died in 1918. Mr. Young continued as rector of the Parish until 1921, and it was during his tenure that a larger, brick St. Andrew's was built on this corner of Ninth St. and Washington Ave. in 1921. This marker memorializes those early Episcopalian priests and all who worshiped here through out the twentieth century. In 1995 St. Andrew's joined St. Paul's to become the Episcopal Church of St. Paul and St. Andrew of Kenbridge. Sadly, the St. Andrew's church building burned in May 2014, and was subsequently secularized and demolished in August of 2015."

New online courses at ChurchNext

Summertime is a great time to take advantage of some of the courses available at ChurchNext.tv. There are some new offerings available too.

First, in these tumultuous times, would you like to learn more about renewing your congregation? In conjunction with Forward Movement, seasoned clergyman Jay Sidebotham offers Five Keys to Renewing Your Church, available in both For Individuals and For Groups formats.

Also, does your church work with a local public school? In partnership with the >All Our Children, National Network we've just launched How to Establish a Church/School Partnership, available in both For Individuals and For Groups formats.

Also, why not consider having your church subscribe to ChurchNext? They have a special congregation rate of $300 for the year for unlimited access for your whole church. Maybe this is the year to try it. Email for details at hello@churchnext.tv.

Look for big developments in the weeks ahead: ChurchNext will be launching work from Bishops Ian Douglas and Kirk Smith. Also, in just a few weeks they'll be launching the first-ever online certificate for Vestry Leadership, as well as another free 'Big Class' in the works to help us get through the upcoming presidential election.

Hyppolite recognized by VCU School of Social Work

Marie Hyppolite, Senior Clinician for Jackson-Feild Behavioral Health Services was honored by Virginia Commonwealth University' s School of Social Work with their 2016 Amy Rosenblum Award.

 

This award is given to field work instructors who supervise undergraduate and graduate social work interns during their field placement with a human/behavioral health organization. It embodies excellence in teaching and supervising students in an on-going collaboration with the School of Social Work. It the School of Social Work's most prestigious award. The recipient receives a monetary honorarium.

 

Ms. Hyppolite has guided many students in their development as professional social workers and the school was very happy to accord her this honor for 2016. She was recognized at an appreciation luncheon for all field instructors.

 

Ms. Hyppolite began her career at JFBHS in 1993 as a case manager at the Eleventh House which was a community-based group home operated by Jackson-Feild to prepare residents for independent living. She was later named director. She moved to Walnut Grove in 2009 to serve as a therapist and was later promoted to senior clinician.

 

She received her undergraduate from Oral Roberts University and her Master of Social Work from Virginia Commonwealth University. She is forever working to improve her skills and is currently working toward certification for EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) which is an effective psychotherapy to treat children with posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms.

 

Help students get connected to campus ministry

In an effort to increase outreach to those headed off to colleges in our diocese, click here to submit the names and any information you have on your college-bound students. The diocesan-sponsored Canterbury ministries at the College of William and Mary, Old Dominion University, and Hampden-Sydney/Longwood Universities are eager to welcome new students. Please fill out the survey for anyone headed to a college within our diocese, even if it is not one of the aforementioned universities. We want to make sure students are able to get in touch with a ministry wherever they go!

You can find a link to the form and much more information on campus ministry on the diocesan website, www.diosova.org/college.

UBE planning bus trip to Virginia Theological Seminary

The James Solomon Russell Diocese of Southern Virginia Chapter of the Union of Black Episcopalians is planning a bus trip to Virginia Theological Seminary on Saturday, September 17. The group will enjoy a private tour of the seminary, particularly the African-American historical collection, which includes contributions from John Harris, past national president of UBE and a chapter member. Cost will be $40 per person. Please contact David Flores ASAP if you would like to participate, drf71137@gmail.com. 

Summer opportunities for feeding children

Virginia Feeds Kids is an interfaith and interagency initiative of the Virginia Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The Virginia Feeds Kids website provides a repository of ideas and lessons learned to help Virginians find and feed hungry children.

There are some upcoming opportunities for kids to get a meal in Hampton, Chesapeake, Virginia Beach and Norfolk. Click here for information. For opportunities in the Richmond area, click here. Please help spread the word!