Get to know Boys Home and how you can help

Boys Home has a new video tour of campus, including drone footage. We would love everyone to come to campus and see Boys Home in action, but we hope this new video tour can give you a better idea of what campus is like on a day-to-day basis.

If your congregation would like a visit from Boys Home, contact Sarah Jones, sjones@boyshomeofva.org, to set that up. Boys Home makes a great mission trip destination as well. Trinity, Portsmouth, and Galilee, Virginia Beach, will both be returning to Boys Home this summer for mission trips. What other ways can you help? Invite your friends and members of your parish to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Donations can be mailed to Boys Home of Virginia, 414 Boys Home Rd. Covington, VA 24426 or online at www.give2boyshome.org. 

 

Presiding Bishop Curry: A Call to Prayer, Fasting, and Advocacy

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) have issued a joint statement calling for prayer, fasting and advocacy. The statement, For Such a Time as This: A Call to Prayer, Fasting, and Advocacy, calls for fasting on the 21st of each month through December 2018, at which time the 115th Congress will conclude. The 21st of each month is targeted because by that time each month, 90% of SNAP (formerly food stamp) benefits have been used, thereby causing the last week of the month as the hungry week in America. The fast launched with a group of national and local leaders doing a three-day fast together May 21-23. These leaders include Presiding Bishop Curry, Presiding Bishop Eaton, and leadership throughout the Episcopal Church.

More about the joint statement is here.

The Presiding Bishop's video message is here.

Full communion proposal for Episcopal Church and United Methodist Church

The Episcopal Church - United Methodist Dialogue group have prepared A Gift to the World: Co-Laborers for the Healing of Brokenness; The Episcopal Church and The United Methodist Church - A Proposal for Full Communion, the result of dialogue for a formal full-communion relationship. The proposal can be found here. In the coming months, opportunities for feedback, regional gatherings, and discussions will be slated.

Church Communicators Manual updated & revised

Among the communications resources available here on our website is the Church Communicators Manual. The manual has been updated and revised. You can download a copy here.  

 

Judy A. Dobson joins the diocesan staff

Judy A. Dobson joins the diocesan staff on May 17 as diocesan comptroller.

Judy has a M.S. degree in Accounting from Liberty University in Lynchburg, VA. She was employed for 17 years as a special agent of the Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control and was the agency's leading expert on financial investigations. Prior to that, she was a marine police officer for the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, and also served in the U.S. Coast Guard.

Judy is a member of Abingdon Episcopal Church in White Marsh, VA (Diocese of Virginia), and has served as the church's treasurer since 2016.

Mark your calendar for 2017-2018 youth events!

Mark your calendar now for these 2017-2018 youth events at Chanco on the James! More info and online registration will be available on the Youth Programs & Events page of our website: 

• Aug. 13-18, 2017 - Secret Session 5 at Camp Chanco for grades 10-12
• Oct. 28-29, 2017 - Pre-Happening Staff Weekend
• Nov. 10-12, 2017 - Happening #67 for grades 10-12
• Nov. 17-19, 2017 - November Weekend for grades 6-12
• Feb. 8-10, 2018 - Youth Delegation to Annual Council, for grades 9-12
• Feb. 24-25, 2018 - Pre-Happening Staff Weekend
• Mar. 9-11, 2018 - Happening #68 for grades 10-12
• May 18-20, 2018 - May Weekend for grades 6-12

Certification of Lay Delegates & Alternates to Annual Council

Your Certificate of Lay Delegates and Alternates for Annual Council should be sent to the Diocesan office by June 30, 2017. Click here for information about and the form for sending in the name(s) of delegate(s) and alternate(s) elected by your vestry for Council year 2017-2018.

Your elected delegates and alternates will serve for an entire conciliar year beginning July 1, 2017 and ending June 30, 2018. This term includes eligibility to vote at Pre-Council Convocation meetings in January 2018, Annual Council February 9-10, 2018, and any Special Council or other called meetings that may occur during this period.

If you have questions, please contact the Rev. Canon Ed Tracy, 757-213-3378 or etracy@diosova.org.