Presiding Bishop Michael Curry calls for Good Friday Offering to support ministry in Anglican Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East

Love is at the foundation of the Good Friday Offering of our Church which provides an opportunity for every parish throughout our Church to be connected with the ministry of love and compassion carried out by our Anglican sisters and brothers throughout the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East," Presiding Bishop and Primate Michael Curry wrote to the bishops and clergy of The Episcopal Church. "Love is at the heart of the meaning of the cross.  Love is at the heart of the life Christ calls us to live.  Love is at the heart of the movement Jesus began and which we live in our own time."

 

In his Good Friday letter, Presiding Bishop Curry asks each Bishop and congregation to consider providing assistance for the Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East.

 

"I believe our partnership with those who keep the faith of Jesus alive in the region, where our Lord walked and began his movement, is a significant aspect of our work as part of the church catholic," he wrote.

 

Information, including bulletin covers and bulletin inserts on the Good Friday Offering, is available here.  

Nominations open for positions on Episcopal Church committees and boards

The Joint Standing Committee on Nominations has issued a call for nomination for Episcopal Church positions, committees, and boards. A full list of the open positions and their applications is available here. The deadline to submit an application is March 31, 2020. Applications may be submitted electronically, and nominees are able to apply for multiple positions on the same application.   

 

If you have questions, please contact Toni Hogg, tonih68@gmail.com. Elections will take place at the 80th General Convention, in Baltimore, Maryland from June 30 to July 9, 2021. Nomination materials are available in English, French, and Spanish. 

Youth Missioner leads retreat in Chatham

 

The first ever Chatham Hall youth retreat was held at Emmanuel Episcopal Church the weekend of Feb. 7th. For two nights, Youth Missioner Megan Dern, led the girls in prayer stations and practices, small group discussions, a service project and a town scavenger hunt. The scavenger hunt took the girls around town, to businesses and other important places in the town. The girls then wrote prayers for each place they went and these prayers were offered during a noon day worship service at a local gathering spot in town.  

 

In their evaluation the girls mentioned the importance of learning about different ways to pray, making an Anglican Rosary and the time for spiritual reflection. 

Volunteers needed for Easter Morning Sunrise Service on Jamestown Island

The Easter Morning Sunrise Service on Jamestown Island is looking for Volunteers. We especially need lay readers and singers. If you are interested in participating in one of the longest-running Sunrise Services in the country, at  the birthplace of the Protestant Church in America, please contact easterjamestownisland@gmail.com.

The Easter Morning Sunrise Service on Jamestown Island is an annual service that has been held under the Jamestown Cross for more than 65 years. It is an all-volunteer organization.

 

Walking Toward Truth Pilgrimage

This Lent, the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia and the Episcopal Church Center invite you to a sacred time of pilgrimage, reflection, ritual, prayer, and embodied witness as we walk toward the truth about our Church's role in slavery. The pilgrimage will occur Friday, March 6, Noon to 5 p.m. and Saturday, March 7, 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Space is limited to 40 participants.The $25 registration fee includes transportation, entrance fees and lunch both days. Register here 

 

We'll visit sites of memory at Old Point Comfort, the Emancipation Oak, and the Tucker family cemetery in Hampton on Friday, and Historic Jamestowne and Colonial Williamsburg on Saturday. Our time together will include a welcome from our new Bishop Susan B. Haynes, worship at historic St. John's, Hampton and Bruton Parish, presentations, historical interpretation, and a panel presentation with churches reflecting on their history, facilitated by Barbara Hamm Lee, host of Another View.

 

Inspired by The Episcopal Church's Becoming Beloved Community and our diocesan Repairing the Breach initiatives, this pilgrimage promises to be an important step in our ongoing journey toward racial healing, reconciliation, and justice.

Getting Started with Messy Church conference

Messy Church USA in cooperation with the Diocese of Southern Virginia is offering a regional conference event on the best practices to use in starting your own Messy Church. The Getting Started With Messy Church conference will be held at Ascension, Norfolk, on April 25 from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. (lunch will be provided). Cost for individuals is $45, groups of 2 to 4 people per church is $130 (fifth person and over per church is an additional $10 per person). There is a discount for participants from the Diocese of Southern Virginia - contact Lynn Farlin at lfarlin@diosova.org  or 757-213-3377 to get the discount code before registering. Each participating church will receive one issue of the magazine Get Messy! and one copy of the book Messy Church. Click here to register.  

 

This training will give your team the vital tools to begin your own Messy Church. You will learn about the history, values, format and best practices to get your Messy Church started. If you've already begun Messy church, this is an opportunity to share best practices and gain new ideas for sustaining your Messy Church in your local setting. This training is open to all denominations.  

 

Messy Church is a monthly intergenerational worship experience that explores God's love in an accessible way. At Messy Church, today's busy households of all shapes and sizes are invited into a welcoming space to experience faith. Everyone is welcomed as they are. Whether you are singe or partnered, young or old, tidy or messy, have questions or doubts are filled with joy or struggling with life, you will be welcomed with open arms at Messy Church.

Lent 2020: A Call to Prayer, Fasting, and Repentance Leading to Action An Invitation from Presiding Bishop Curry to Turn and Pray on Behalf our Nation

As the season of Lent approaches, Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Michael Curry invites Episcopalians and people of faith to turn and pray on behalf of our nation:

 

"In times of great national concern and urgency, people of faith have returned to ancient practices of repentance, prayer and fasting as ways of interceding with God on behalf of their nation and the world. This is such a moment for us in the United States."  

 

Click here to continue reading and to watch video of the Presiding Bishop's message.