Trinity Institute 2018: Values in Action

St. Paul's, Newport News, will be a Trinity Institute Partner Site for the 2018 conference to be held Feb. 2-3, 2018. Mark your calendar and plan to attend this important event.

We all want to create a better world, and that requires action and connection. Discerning shared values is crucial to forming powerful partnerships and moving forward with courageous intention. Explore how you and your community can set a collaborative course at Values in Action, a Trinity Institute conference designed to help you get grounded and connected so you can get going. The 2018 conference features leading activists, theologians, authors, and experts on how to integrate core values into strategic and effective action, including the Most Rev. Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church; Michelle Alexander, author of The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, and Pádraig Ó Tuama, poet, theologian, and mediator.    

Click here for more information and registration. Cost is $20 per person and includes both days, and lunch on Saturday.

Episcopal Church-United Methodist Dialogue offers report

The Episcopal Church-United Methodist Dialogue Committee met in Washington, D.C., to continue its work on establishing a full communion relationship between the two denominations. The committee has adopted a draft proposal for full communion entitled 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) and is seeking feedback from laity, clergy and bishops in both denominations before an official resolution could be presented to respective legislative bodies. Click here to continue reading.

Where Love & Addiction Meet: An evening with Sandra Swenson

Where Love and Addiction Meet, An Evening with Sandra Swenson will be held at Bruton Parish, Williamsburg, on Monday, Nov. 13 from 6:30 to 9 p.m. SpiritWorks Foundation Center for the Soul invites you to an evening with Sandra Swenson, author of two books about her journey as the mom of a son suffering with the disease of addiction: "The Joey Song" and "Tending Dandelions." Her most recent offering, "Tending Dandelions," is a collection of honest meditations for mothers with addicted children. While Sandra writes from a mother's perspective, the evening promises to be a meaningful experience for fathers and other family members as well. Ms. Swenson will read passages from her new book and answer questions after each. The reading will be followed by a Q & A. After this portion of our event, we will move from the church building to the Bruton Parish Hall for a meet and greet/book signing. Click here for more information and to reserve your FREE ticket. 

Invite-Welcome-Connect training Oct. 21

St. David's, N. Chesterfield, made a "cardboard testimony video" last week, sharing what members have found at their church home. What's a cardboard testimony video? Check theirs out here and come to the Invite/Welcome/Connect workshop with Mary Parmer on Saturday, October 21 from 9 until 3 at St. Martin's, Williamsburg. This diocesan event is co-sponsored by St. Martins, St. David's and St. Michael's, Bon Air, and you will be inspired by great ideas for any budget. Click here for more info and registration. 

Bishop Magness: Pray for Holy Land pilgrims

Dear Friends,

 

As many of you know, from Oct. 17-28, many of your fellow parishioners and friends will be accompanying me on a spiritual pilgrimage to the Holy Land. Given the spiritual intent of this trip, I am requesting your prayers for us. While we are always interested in having a safe pilgrimage, the primary reason that I ask for your prayers is for spiritual enhancement during our time in Israel and Palestine. Since I like to pray for people by name, here is the listing of pilgrims: Fritz, Claire, Eric, Judy, Sam, Jane, Grace, Ginny, Betty, William, Ellen, Ann, Dan, Diana, Al, Rachel, Frank, Charlotte, Jay, Nora Ann, Margaret, Lee, Nancy, Michael, Holly, Lizzie, Jay and Carolyn. In advance of your offering of prayers, I thank you for the support you will give us.

 

Peace,

+Jay

Oct. 20 deadline for tickets to ECW Fall meeting

Women and men are invited to come hear the Rev. Becca Stevens speak at the ECW Diocesan Fall Annual Meeting, Nov. 4 at St. Francis, Virginia Beach.  An author, a Daughter of the King, speaker, priest, social entrepreneur, Becca is founder and president of Thistle Farms, the largest social enterprise in the US run by survivors of domestic violence. The Nov. 4 meeting is from 9 to 11 a.m. Becca will speak from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Lunch will be served at 1 p.m. A lunch ticket ($15.00) is required. The deadline to purchase lunch tickets is October 20. Contact Helen Sharpe-Williams, 757-487-8183 or helen.sharpe-williams@earthlink.net. 

 

Thistle Farms is a powerful global community of women healing from prostitution, trafficking and addiction. They employ 50 survivors through social enterprises: Thistle Farms Home & Body, Thistle Stop Cafe, and an artisan studio. Thistle Farms Global helps employ more than 1,500 women. 

Gathering for EfM groups on Oct. 22

EfM groups in Southern Virginia are invited to a special gathering on Sunday, Oct. 22, 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. There will be light refreshments and conversation with EfM Executive Director Karen Meridith, Diocesan EfM Coordinator Ann Meyer, and your fellow EfM mentors and participants.  Click here to RSVP.