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Tuesday, June 9, 2020
Chanco open to families - plan your vacation with us!
Tuesday, June 2, 2020
Bishop Haynes' pastoral letter on the death of Mr. George Floyd
I hate, I despise your festivals, and I take no
delight in your solemn assemblies... Take away from me the noise of your
songs; I will not listen to the melody of your harps. But let justice
roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever flowing stream. (Amos 5:21-24)
We cannot continue to be silent. Too long we have refused to
receive the breath of the Holy Spirit. Martin Luther King, Jr. said
"There comes a time when silence is betrayal." In our silence we have
dismissed the the indiscriminate killing and violence levied on people
of color, and especially African-Americans. Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud
Arbery and George Floyd are just the latest of a long list of people of
color, known and unknown who have died because of our silence.
In that great hymn of the church, "Breathe on me, Breath of
God" we ask God to Fill us with life anew that we may love as God loves
and do what God would do. And yet our Black brothers and sisters cannot
breathe. The breath of life is being choked out of them. The knees which
bear down on their necks are our knees of White privilege,
institutional and systemic racism. "I can't breathe!" is something they
have been trying to tell us for a long time. Our brothers and sisters
can't breathe. But we CAN breathe! And because we can breathe, it is
time for us to stand up, give voice to their lament and outrage and
voice to our lament and outrage. They can't breathe, but we can; and we
must breathe and speak so that our breath can send out the word that
what we have seen and heard IS UNACCEPTABLE.
If we remain silent, we will have betrayed our community.
This is not a call to polarization. This is not about pitting the police
as villains and the people they are trying to arrest as the good guys.
We are all beloved children of the God in whose image we all are
created. But we are all pre-disposed toward actions of evil; and it is
toward those actions that we can no longer be silent. The cry for
justice must be sounded out by all to whom the breath of life has been
given.
Many will say that words are not enough; and indeed they are
not. They must be coupled with action that is constructive and
supportive of all life. The words that go out on our breath must be
matched with actions that support our Baptismal promises to persevere
and resist evil, to repent of sin, to proclaim the Good News of God in
Christ, to seek and serve all persons loving our neighbors as ourselves,
and to strive for justice and peace among all people, respecting the
dignity of every human being. If we abandon these promises, we have
walked away from God.
But what can we do? We can begin to look at ourselves and to
root out every trace of our own racism. And it exists within all of us.
This idea distresses us, because we want to be good people, and the idea
of racism is abhorrent to us. But it exists. And the sooner we begin to
shine the light on it, the sooner we will be freed from its oppression;
and then, maybe then, our brothers and sisters of color will also be
freed. The Episcopal Church, in its efforts towards "Becoming Beloved
Community," has developed a curriculum called Sacred Ground. Many
churches are beginning to offer opportunities to participate in this
curriculum. If your church is one of them, please let the Diocesan
office know. If you would like to find a group, please contact us, and
we can help connect you. Our group on racial reconciliation, Repairers
of the Breach, is working to update resources and action steps. Stay
tuned through the Diocesan website, diosova.org.
I invite you to recall the Parable of the Good Samaritan.
That wounded person is currently on the side of the road. That person
cannot breathe. Are we going to stop and take action, or are we going to
keep walking? What will we do so that one day everyone will be able to
breathe.
Yours faithfully in Christ,
+Susan
Presiding Bishop Curry's word to the Church: "When the cameras are gone, we will still be here"
"Our long-term commitment to racial justice and
reconciliation is embedded in our identity as baptized followers of
Jesus. We will still be doing it when the news cameras are long gone."
On May 30, Presiding Bishop Michael Curry issued a Word to the
Church on the death of Mr. George Floyd and the Church's commitment to
the work of racial justice and reconciliation.
Read Bishop Curry's Word to the Church here.
____________________________________
In an opinion piece in the Washington Post on May 31,
addressing the killing of George Floyd and violent protests in
Minneapolis, Presiding Bishop Michael Curry wrote that "Love looks like
all of us - people of every race and religion and national origin and
political affiliation - standing up and saying 'Enough! We can do better
than this. We can be better than this.'"
You can read Bishop Curry's message here.
CE-Net online gathering June 11
Join the Christian Education Network (CE-Net) for a Zoom
meeting/conversation on Thursday, June 11, from 6 to 7 p.m. We'll get a
chance to check in before we focus our time sharing and brainstorming on
a "Different Kind of Summer" for formation.
For this online gathering, whether you use a computer, phone
or tablet, make sure your device has video capability and microphone
enabled. Click here to register.
Ridley Scholarship applications still being accepted
Ridley Scholarships are still available for fall 2020. The
Ridley Foundation of the Diocese of Southern Virginia awards
scholarships to undergraduate college students who are Episcopalians
associated with a parish in Southern Virginia, are enrolled full-time,
and maintain a 2.5 or better GPA. Scholarships are need-based, but are
payable directly to the student (therefore do not affect
already-existing scholarship aid from the college). All students who
meet the criteria and file the application properly will receive some
aid. Click here for complete information. Applications for Fall, 2020 awards will be received until June 20.
Tuesday, May 26, 2020
Grace Church continues Memorial Day tradition online
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For more than 20 years, the Grace Church, Yorktown, has held a Memorial
Day service, honoring those who lost their lives in service to our
country. This year that tradition continued in a very moving virtual
version of the service. You can watch the service here and see WAVY TV coverage of the gathering here.
Resources for Pentecost, Virtual VBS
Pentecost Resource from CE-Net
Looking for Pentecost at Home suggestions or resources to
send to families? The Norfolk formation group recently met and suggested
ideas for families to celebrate Pentecost during COVID-19 and who
parenting, working and teaching from home. The resources list provides
easily done at home ideas with whatever materials you have are on hand. Click here to get the document.
Christian formation colleague groups
Would you be interested in forming a colleague group in your
area of the Diocese? The Norfolk Formation Colleague Group has been a
much-needed thing during this time. We are a group who supports one
another 100% and shares our challenges and love of ministry. If you
would be interested in forming a group, contact CE-NET Co-Chairs, Vicky
Koch, vkoch@stpaulsnorfolk.org or Gizelle Moran, gizelle@trinity-portsmouth.org and we'll help you get started.
Virtual Vacation Bible School from CE-Net
Wondering what you're going to do for Vacation Bible School
(VBS) this summer. Have you thought about a Virtual VBS? CE-Net is
working on a Virtual Vacation Bible School program that will be offered
to all churches in the Diocese at no cost. This program will allow you
to adapt it to meet your specific needs. The Virtual VBS program will
focus on themes of Faith, Hope, and Love and will include Bible stories,
crafts and activities as well as a suggested mission focus for each
day. We plan on sharing this resource on the CE-NET diocesan web site by
mid-June. For more information, contact CE-Net Co-Chairs Vicky Koch, vkoch@stpaulsnorfolk.org or Gizelle Moran, gizelle@trinity-portsmouth.org or Canon Lynn Farlin, lfarlin@diosova.org.
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