Practical Resources for Churches assists with all areas of ministry

Practical Resources for Churches (PRC) is an ecumenical resource that works with churches of all sizes and denominations, assisting with all areas of ministry. PRC's goal is to provide time-effective, cost efficient and results oriented programs and services and to use technology as efficiently as possible to assist church leaders to further and enhance their ministry moving forward. The newest and most ambitious project is an Online Resource Center at www.prcli.org. It offers links and online resources in sixteen categories where information can be obtained on a range of sub topics.

The site features lots of webinars and their catalog of previously recorded sessions is free to access. PRC has just released their schedule of webinars for the rest of the year and some of the upcoming events are:

• E-giving for Every Church (Aug. 8)
• Getting Ready - For CE Directors (Aug. 10)
• Let's Kill Sunday School - before it kills the church (Aug. 22)
• Digital Activism 101 (Sep. 12)
• Faith at Home - How to support cautiously Christian parents (Sep. 26)
• Transforming Attitudes about Dementia in the Church (Oct. 3)
• Faith Formation at Home - Tools your families can use (Oct. 19)
• Helping Others Find God in the Digital Space (Nov. 2)
• Reaching People Under 30 While Keeping People Over 60 (Nov. 7)

Southern Virginia mourns the loss of the Rev. William Hoffman

Southern Virginia mourns the loss of the Rev. William Charles Hoffman who passed away on May 20 at the age of 93. The Rev. Hoffman was ordained to diaconate in 1951 and to the priesthood in 1952 here in Southern Virginia by Bishop Gunn. Hoffman served from 1951 to 1954 at Pruden Parish, Gretna, and 1954 to 1988 at St. Bride's, Chesapeake.

A funeral service will be held at St. Bride's, Chesapeake (621 N. Sparrow Road) on Saturday, June 10 at 11 a.m. Clergy: White stoles. Please keep the Hoffman family in your prayers.  

Jackson-Feild hosts Spring ECW meeting

By Nancy Smith, St. Aidan's, Virginia Beach

	The Rev. Dr. Robin Jones, celebrates eucharist in All Saints Chapel at the ECW Spring Annual Meeting hosted by Jackson-Feild May 20.

Shiny new floors, colorful furniture and freshly painted walls brighten up the Marshall Cottage at Jackson-Feild. Even the bathroom is getting a facelift thanks to the ECW's $20,000 donation earmarked for the cottage's renovation. A visit to the cottage to see the renovations was the highlight of the day for Episcopal Church Women from six convocations gathered at Jackson-Field for the ECW's Spring Annual Meeting May 20. "We were happy to see the work that had been done," said ECW Diocesan President, Helen Sharpe-Williams.

The day began with the business meeting in Jackson-Field's recreation hall. The room showed no signs of the students' prom held there the night before the meeting.   Meredith Melo, Assistant Director of Advancement, Jackson-Feild Behavioral Health Services (JFBHS) welcomed visitors, gave an overview of Jackson-Field programs and served as the renovation tour guide.

President Sharpe-Williams spoke about her president's project, "Love Thy Neighbor." The focus is on ending abuse. She announced Becca Stevens, an Episcopal priest, who is president of Thistle Farms, the largest social enterprise in the US run by abuse survivors is the keynote speaker for the Diocesan ECW Annual Fall Meeting at St. Francis Episcopal Church, Virginia Beach, November 4, 2017.          

 

The Rev. Dr. Robin Jones invited the women to celebrate eucharist in the beautiful renovated All Saints Chapel. The chapel was closed in 2011, when Jackson-Field last hosted an ECW meeting. In August 2014, the chapel was rededicated after a capital campaign to make repairs and improvements. The day ended with a delicious lunch. Many thanks to Jackson-Feild.

Get to know Boys Home and how you can help

Boys Home has a new video tour of campus, including drone footage. We would love everyone to come to campus and see Boys Home in action, but we hope this new video tour can give you a better idea of what campus is like on a day-to-day basis.

If your congregation would like a visit from Boys Home, contact Sarah Jones, sjones@boyshomeofva.org, to set that up. Boys Home makes a great mission trip destination as well. Trinity, Portsmouth, and Galilee, Virginia Beach, will both be returning to Boys Home this summer for mission trips. What other ways can you help? Invite your friends and members of your parish to like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter. Donations can be mailed to Boys Home of Virginia, 414 Boys Home Rd. Covington, VA 24426 or online at www.give2boyshome.org. 

 

Presiding Bishop Curry: A Call to Prayer, Fasting, and Advocacy

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and Presiding Bishop Elizabeth Eaton of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) have issued a joint statement calling for prayer, fasting and advocacy. The statement, For Such a Time as This: A Call to Prayer, Fasting, and Advocacy, calls for fasting on the 21st of each month through December 2018, at which time the 115th Congress will conclude. The 21st of each month is targeted because by that time each month, 90% of SNAP (formerly food stamp) benefits have been used, thereby causing the last week of the month as the hungry week in America. The fast launched with a group of national and local leaders doing a three-day fast together May 21-23. These leaders include Presiding Bishop Curry, Presiding Bishop Eaton, and leadership throughout the Episcopal Church.

More about the joint statement is here.

The Presiding Bishop's video message is here.

Full communion proposal for Episcopal Church and United Methodist Church

The Episcopal Church - United Methodist Dialogue group have prepared A Gift to the World: Co-Laborers for the Healing of Brokenness; The Episcopal Church and The United Methodist Church - A Proposal for Full Communion, the result of dialogue for a formal full-communion relationship. The proposal can be found here. In the coming months, opportunities for feedback, regional gatherings, and discussions will be slated.

Church Communicators Manual updated & revised

Among the communications resources available here on our website is the Church Communicators Manual. The manual has been updated and revised. You can download a copy here.