Register now for May Weekend, May 19-21

May Weekend is a weekend retreat May 19-21 for all teens in grades 6-12 at Camp Chanco sponsored by the Episcopal Youth Community (EYC) Board. Click here for details and registration. This year's retreat schedule includes:

• Friday Night- Icebreakers, Music and Social, Opening Assembly, First Small Group Meeting, Compline
• Saturday- Morning Prayer, Large and Small Group times throughout the day, EYC Board Candidate Speeches, Noonday Prayer, Free Time with Ropes and Zips, Eucharist, Dance
• Sunday Morning- EYC Board Elections, Warm Fuzzies, Senior Moment, Closing Prayers

Rising 10th-12th graders are invited to run for the EYC Board. If you are interested, please bring the application with you to the weekend. You can find it here. 

 

Now is the time to register VBS volunteers for Safe Church training

Registration is now open for all of this year's Safe Church training classes. Now is the time to have your Vacation Bible School volunteers register for training:

• April 8 - St. Michael's, Colonial Heights. Click here to register. Registration closes on Apr. 4.
• April 29 - Christ Church, Smithfield. Click here to register. Registration closes on Apr. 25.
• May 13 - Epiphany, Danville. Click here to register. Registration closes on May 9.
• May 20 - St. George's, Pungoteague. Click here to register. Registration closes on May 16.
• June 10, 2017  - St. Michael's, Bon Air. Register here. Registration closes on June 6.
• September 16, 2017 - St. Cyprian's, Hampton. Register here. Registration closes on Sep. 12.
• September 30, 2017 - Emmanuel, Virginia Beach. Register here. Registration closes on Sep. 26.
• November 4, 2017 - Good Shepherd, Richmond.  Register here. Registration closes on Oct. 31.

Click here for more information about Safe Church Training, and about the availability of online training.

 

Easter invitation video available

The Acts 8 Movement is once again offering a video Episcopal churches may use for free to advertise their Easter liturgies. The video is available in English and Spanish. You can download the videos here to post to your church's Facebook page or you can just link to the video on YouTube here.

Click here for more information about the videos and how to use them.

If you have questions or need assistance, please contact Communications Officer Ann Turner, aturner@diosova.org or 757-213-3388.

Soles for Soul: Donate shoes, save lives

Each day in the United States 144 people die from fatal drug overdoses; the majority are opioid related.  In Virginia, fatal drug overdoses are the number one cause of unnatural death. During 2016 drug overdose deaths in Virginia increased by 25%. In response to the worsening drug addiction epidemic, the Virginia Department of Health declared the opioid addiction crisis a public health emergency in November 2016.

One way to prevent overdose deaths is to make Naloxone more available to first responders. Naloxone temporarily reverses the effect of opiates by counteracting the life-threatening depression of the central nervous system and respiratory system, thereby allowing an overdose victim to breathe normally.   In Virginia, the first people to arrive on the scene in a suspected overdose emergency are law enforcement officers. Currently fewer than 10% of law enforcement departments are equipped with Naloxone.

SpiritWorks Foundation has chosen to become part of the solution by teaching others how to respond to opioid overdose. After becoming trainers through REVIVE!, the Opioid Overdose & Naloxone Education Program, we have begun training law enforcement officers, probation & parole officers, family members, community members and individuals on how to use the life-saving reversal drug to prevent fatal drug overdose.

Through June 15, SpiritWorks is holding a fundraiser, Soles for the Soul, to collect shoes to raise money to purchase Naloxone (Narcan) for law enforcement officers. Through Soles for the Soul, SpiritWorks is hoping to raise awareness of the opioid epidemic in our area and to raise funds to help prevent it. Save lives. Donate shoes.

For more information call the Rev. Jan M. Brown or the Rev. Lauren McDonald at 757-903-0000 or leave your gently used shoes in the drop box at the SpiritWorks Foundation Center at 5800 Mooretown Rd. in Williamsburg at any time.

Help GraceInside provide full-time chaplain at Nottoway Correctional Center

GraceInside provides 12 full-time and 19 part-time chaplains to serve over 30,000 incarcerated men and women in Virginia. With your help, they can do even more. Chaplain Robert Ball at Nottoway Correctional Center needs your help to serve full time. If GraceInside can raise $5,000 earmarked for Chaplain Ball at Nottoway, they can increase his paid time to 40 hours per week.

Go to www.graceinside.org and click the "Donate" button at the top right of the screen. Fill out the form and click "yes" in the "Designated Giving" section. A drop down menu will then appear where you can select "Nottoway CC."  You can choose to receive a receipt via mail or email.

Those who would like to know more about GraceInside can contact the Rev. Lynn Litchfield, Director of Development, at lynnlitchfield@graceinside.org. 

Why Serve 2017: An Episcopal vocational discernment conference for young adults of color

Young adults of color are invited to examine their gifts and explore opportunities at an Episcopal Church retreat, Why Serve 2017, Monday, June 12 to Thursday, June 15.

Sponsored by the Episcopal Church Department of Ethnic Ministries, Why Serve 2017 will be held at Bexley Seabury, Chicago, IL.

Invited to attend this conference of fellowship, training, discernment, and self-care are young adults (age 18-30) from the Asiamerican, Black, Indigenous/Native American and Latino/Hispanic communities of the Episcopal Church, as well as those desiring to serve in ethnic ministries. Click here for more information.

Register now for Pilgrimage to the Holy Land Oct. 17-28

Through the assistance of Lightline Pilgrimages, this pilgrimage has been designed just for the Diocese of Southern Virginia. The pilgrimage will be led by Bishop Jay Magness and Bishop Hollerith will be among the participants. Pilgrims will have the incredible opportunity to walk in the places where Jesus walked and seeing many of the things that our Lord saw.

This pilgrimage is limited to 35 people. Click here for the pilgrimage brochure which includes a detailed itinerary and registration form.