Upcoming Safe Church training - register now!

Registration is open for fall Safe Church classroom training. Click here for more information on Safe Church training, who is required to take it, and to register for any of these scheduled trainings:

• September 8, 2018 - Ascension, Norfolk
• September 15, 2018 - Trinity, South Boston
• September 22, 2018 - St. Andrew's, Newport News
• October 13, 2018 - St. Aidan's, Virginia Beach
• October 27, 2018 - St. Matthias', Midlothian

Church Periodical Club's Miles of Pennies benefits Jackson-Feild

Jackson-Feild Behavioral Health Service's Hayden Gwaltney School received a grant of $822.23 from the Miles of Pennies to purchase books and educational materials. The Gwaltney School has received more than $8,567 from the program over the years. The beneficiaries of these grants have been students who were educated by using materials provided by this fund.

 

Founded in 1888, the Church Periodical Club (CPC) is an Episcopal organization that provides books, magazines, tapes, videos and CD's at no charge to those who cannot otherwise obtain them. The first grants were awarded in 1991.

 

The Miles of Pennies provides grants up to $844.80. Laid edge-to-edge, it takes 84,480 pennies to cover the distance of a mile. Hence, the name of the fund and the maximum amount of grants provided. The Miles of Pennies program focuses exclusively on the educational needs of children from kindergarten through high school.

 

Donations are collected to support the Miles of Pennies Fund as well as other programs sponsored by the CPC. The majority of the donations are provided by Episcopal Church Women throughout the country. The total grants awarded annually range from $18,000 to $25,000 depending upon the donations raised.

79th General Convention wrap-up

Southern Virginia's General Convention Deputation. Front L to R: Ronald Ramsey, Alice Webley, Samantha Vincent-Alexander, Jennifer Andrews-Weckerly, Mark Wilkinson, Isabel Burch. Rear L to R: Cameron Randle, Willis Foster, Julia Messer, Sam Webster, Clare Harbin, Bishop Hollerith, Toni Hogg.

 

The 79th General Convention of the Episcopal Church is a wrap. GC79 met July 5-13 in Austin, TX. Presiding Bishop Michael Curry's call in his opening sermon for Episcopalians to follow "The Way of Love" could be felt throughout this General Convention as bishops and deputies from every part of the worldwide Episcopal Church put in very long days in committee meetings and legislative sessions. Over 500 resolutions were considered by the convention, but the two big legislative issues were revising the Book of Common Prayer and same-sex marriage rites. General Convention voted against revising the 1979 prayer book, but instead to approve and authorize alternative, expansive-language liturgical materials. General Convention voted for making authorized same-sex marriage rites available for use in all congregations, ensuring all Episcopalians can be married by their priests in their home churches. Episcopal News Service offers a good legislative wrap-up here. You can also find much more on General Convention at the diocesan #GC79 blog.  

 

GC79 Resources for congregations and individuals 

 

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry invited Episcopalians to embrace a new "rule of life" - The Way of Love: Practices for Jesus-Centered Life.  

 

TEConversations (The Episcopal Church Conversations), held during joint sessions of the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops, are available, along with discussion guides. They are: Racial Reconciliation; Evangelism; and Care of Creation. 

Cursillo Co-ed Weekend Sept. 27-30

The next Cursillo Weekend will be Sept. 27-30 at Chanco on the James in Surry. Linda Tandy is the rector for this weekend. Cursillo is Spanish for "short course" and the weekend offers a short course in Christianity. The movement was started many years ago in an effort to help young Christian men grow closer to Christ. Today, there are Cursillo movements all over the world. On the three day weekend, candidates learn how to grow as leaders in their communities and in their own personal journey with Jesus. For more info and an application, go to www.cursillodiosova.org.

Fall Camp at Shrine Mont Oct. 22-25

Sponsored by the Tri-Diocesan Council on Aging, Fall Camp will be held Oct. 22-25 at Shrine Mont in Orkney Springs, VA, and is an opportunity to spend time in the mountains of Virginia with other seniors from across the Commonwealth and from other states. The camp is an attempt to take seriously the spiritual needs and journeys of primarily retired people, challenging participants through keynote speakers, workshops, worship and interaction with one another. Click here for more information.  

 

The keynote speaker for this year's conference will be Lauren F. Winner. Dr. Winner is an Episcopal priest and vicar of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Louisburg, NC. She writes and lectures widely on Christian practice, the history of Christianity in America, and Jewish-Christian relations. Her books include Girl Meets God, Mudhouse Sabbath, A Cheerful and Comfortable Faith, Still: Notes on a Mid-Faith Crisis, and, most recently, a book on overlooked biblical tropes for God, Wearing God.

Outreach at Chanco - All God's Children Camp

For the second year Chanco partnered with the United Methodist Church to provide All God's Children Camp in June. Children with an incarcerated mother or father, ages 7 to 12, spend a week at camp, participating in activities such as boating, swimming, hiking, archery, crafts, Bible study, and conflict resolution. Partnering with the Virginia United Methodist Church, All God's Children Camp provides a week of sanctuary for children who face so many challenges in their lives: economic poverty; temporary living conditions; loneliness; low self-esteem; violence; and drugs. Chanco is pleased and proud to be a partner in this wonderful outreach ministry.

 

Summer missions at Boys Home

	Volunteers from Trinity, Portsmouth, with Boys Home Director Donnie Wheatley (in white shirt)

Trinity, Portsmouth, is one of three churches that have spent time at Boys Home in Covington this summer. Volunteers from Trinty, as well as St. Michael & All Angels in Columbia, SC, and St. Martin's in Richmond, each spent about a week at Boys Home, working hard on some very hot days. 

 

Trinity worked diligently to replace front wood panels and insulate the entrance barn, and installed kick boards in the run-in sheds and corral barn for the horses. They also installed new bench seats on the bleachers by the riding area and began construction of a greenhouse by the garden area. To relax after their hard work, the group enjoyed an afternoon four-wheeler ride up the mountain behind Boys Home.

 

St. Michael and All Angels spent many hours painting the run-in shed and barn near the riding ring, as well as clearing grass from our pond. After all that work, the group found time to enjoy a day of kayaking and caving in the beautiful Allegheny Highlands! 

 

With the threat of rain, St. Martin's helped input the codes that raise funds from Coke reward caps, and cleaned the gym and recreation room. They made the trip to the top of the mountain at Boys Home, where they painted the lodge inside and out and began constructing a wood shed. After many hours of work, they visited Douthat State Park to unwind.

 

If your congregation would like to learn more about Boys Home and how you can support their ministry, please contact Lauren Ward, Lward@boyshomeofva.org.