A Christmas message from Bishop Hollerith

"At Christmas, God says to his creation, I'm willing to experience what you experience, to feel what you feel, to think what you think, to laugh as you laugh, and to suffer as you suffer. I am willing to draw you and the whole world to myself. It's so simple and so elegant. A birth, a gesture of insignificant proportion and yet one of infinite consequence." Click here to watch Bishop Hollerith's message. A transcript of his message is available here. 

Diocesan office closes for holidays

Bishop Hollerith and his staff wish everyone in Southern Virginia a very Merry  Christmas and happy New Year! The diocesan office will be closed December 24 through January 1 for the Christmas and New Year holidays.

Seeds of Hope: Mission of the Holy Spirit

The last in a series about the recipients of this year's Seeds of Hope Grants to develop and expand social justice ministries in Southern Virginia. Learn more about Seeds of Hope grants here. 

The Mission of the Holy Spirit, Norfolk, was awarded two Seeds of Hope Grants this year. One of the grants will fund the expansion of the very successful "Life is a Choice - Get Smart About Your Health!" program. The other will fund "Building Dreams," a new partnership with Old Dominion University Canterbury students to help members of the Mission succeed in school.

The "Life is a Choice - Get Smart About Your Health!" program presents healthy lifestyle choices to the Mission's children and families. Most programs of the Mission are focused on at-risk youth, but this effort brings in family members so that each family works together to improve their health. The program addresses topics like disease prevention, nutrition and exercise and helps families to make healthier choices.

Seeds of Hope Grant funds will allow the Mission to expand on this already successful program. A ten week program in Spring 2013 will continue to provide health education. A partnership with Old Dominion University nursing students provides one-on-one health assessments, individualized recommendations and encouragement for each participant. The program will add a segment on healthy shopping and cooking on a budget to help steer participants away from processed and fast foods that have little nutritional value. The program will also sponsor a Spring Health Fair at St. Stephen's, Norfolk, inviting Mission families, volunteers and supporters and the community at-large. The fair will provide screenings for blood pressure, vision, asthma and more, along with information about community health services and making healthier lifestyle choices.

The Mission of the Holy Spirit began as a ministry of the Diocese of Southern Virginia in 1993 to address spiritual, physical, emotional and educational needs of inner city "at risk" youth in the Norfolk area. For many participants, the Mission has provided the first, and perhaps only, opportunity to hear and experience the Good News of Jesus Christ. A Sunday worship service and dinner have been the core activity of the Mission as well as regularly schedule weekday activities. Most participants suffer from socio-economic related health issues such as obesity, heart disease, diabetes, asthma, and poor nutrition. The "Life is a Choice" program will encourage exercise, an active lifestyle, good nutrition, disease prevention, and an understanding of why good health is so important.

The second Seeds of Hope Grant project is "Building Dreams," a new partnership with the Canterbury Center at Old Dominion University. For younger members of the Mission, the program will focus on reading, elementary level skills and completion of homework. Older members will receive coaching in the skills necessary to be successful in school. The program will be presented one evening each week and will include a nutritious dinner.

When the Mission was started, few of the participants had much hope of graduating from high school. In June 2012, six members graduated from high school and five of them are now attending college. Several other members are starting their second or third year in college. By incorporating the skills and dedication of the Canterbury Center students with a planned tutoring program, the Mission hopes to encourage more youth to seek success in education.

You can learn more about the Mission of the Holy Spirit at www.missionoftheholyspirit.org,

or like them on Facebook (MissionOfTheHolySpirit).

Presiding Bishop's Christmas message

The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness - on them light has shined. (Isaiah 9:2) These words were spoken long ago to people living in anxiety, fear, and despair, people feeling bereft of security, safety, and any sense of God's presence.  We hear them early on Christmas, forgetting that they were first spoken hundreds of years before the birth we celebrate.  Human beings across this planet still yearn to know that a more gracious and divine reality is active and evident in our lives.     

The birth we celebrate is meant for this world mired in darkness and fear, yet it also becomes easier to discover in a tiny voice crying in protest over being cold and wet and hungry.  We hear that cry in the midst of war's ravages in Congo and Afghanistan, in the rubble of hurricane and earthquake, in the demeaning of chronic poverty, behind prison bars.  That flickering of hope surges as the world turns to investigate this surprising new life, one heart at a time.  The light grows as hearts catch fire with the same light that illumines the stars, pulsing hope and new life, even out of black holes. Those who search in dark and despair, in dank dungeon and deep devastation, will find divine light given for the world.  Light that will not be put out, so long as any creature remains to receive it, until and beyond the end of time.  The darkness will never put it out.     

The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it. (John 1:5) Go and look - and discover the love of God poured into our world in human form.  Hope reigns abroad, in the cosmos and in human hearts.  And rejoice, for a child of the light is born in our midst!  

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
Presiding Bishop and Primate, The Episcopal Church

Resources for Recovery Ministry for addictions

We now have the "12-Step Liturgies and Intercessions" CD and booklet, "Addiction: Helping Priest and Parish Heal," available for parishes. These resources for recovery ministry for alcoholism, drug and other addictions are available from the Formation office. Contact Caroline Black for more information, cblack@diosova.org or 757-213-3377.

Safe Church training dates in 2013

Safe Church classroom training dates for 2013 have been set and can be found on our website. There is at least one training in each of our nine Convocations. You can find the list on the Workshops, Training & Events page of our website.  

American Friends of Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem offer workshop in Richmond

American Friends of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem invites Christians concerned about the future of the church in the Holy Land to an AFEDJ Missioner Workshop on  Saturday, January 12, 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at St. Stephen's, 6000 Grove Avenue, Richmond. The workshop is free of charge and lunch will be provided.

For over a century and a half, the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem has served the Christian Community in the Holy Land - a community dating from the time of Jesus. Today the Diocese supports 29 parishes, 13 schools, two hospitals (including the major El Ahli Arab hospital in Gaza), and other institutions in Palestine, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria. Since 1996, members of AFEDJ have helped sustain the Diocese of Jerusalem with public support and financial aid, providing over $20 million in medical, school and infant supplies as well as cash gifts.     

At this workshop, Anne Lynn, AFEDJ executive director, with other leaders, will present a lively program where missioners and individuals interested in becoming missioners (young and old, lay or ordained) will get to know each other, share how each of us discovered this compelling cause and what we may already be doing in this ministry, and explore new initiatives. For more information contact Anne Lynn, Executive Director of AFEDJ, aklynn@afedj.org.