A Lifting of Voices concert to benefit Boys Home

Boys Home of Virginia announces A Lifting of Voices, second annual celebration of uplifting a cappella music. The concert is free and includes four of the Richmond area's finest a cappella groups coming together to perform songs from across the musical spectrum. Every song has been selected to fill your heart and lift your spirit and all proceeds go to children who need our help at the Boys Home of Virginia. The concert will be held at the Robins Theatre at The Steward School in Richmond, Virginia on Sunday, October 29 at 3:15 p.m.

 

All successful men were once boys. But not all boys become successful men. That's why Boys Home of Virginia is so important. They provide care for boys aged six through eighteen who have encountered obstacles and need a second chance to succeed. Since 1906, the Boys Home mission has been to provide care and education to help boys develop physically, mentally, socially and spiritually. They operate with 97% private funds and no boy is turned away because of their family's inability to pay. As they grow, costs also rise and Boys Home must find more supporters like you to take part in raising successful young men.

 

To learn more or to reserve your seat today visit, www.liftingofvoices.org.  

Questions? Contact Lauren Ward at lward@boyshomeofva.org  or (540) 965-7714

Don't miss the October Lock-in at Chanco, Oct. 13-14

Join us for a lock in for all teens in grades 6-12 and their adult advisors. This event will include a campfire, icebreakers and games, camp activities, chapel and a fun, won't want to miss party! This is a great opportunity for all parishes to have an already planned for you EYC event.  Just bring your youth and show up! The lock-in is also the perfect time for camp friends to reunite and an opportunity to meet many new ones. Don't miss this fantastic fun fall youth event at Chanco! Ten percent of the proceeds for all diocesan fall youth events will be donated to help the victims of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma through Episcopal Relief and Development. Questions? Contact Youth Missioner Ashley Scruggs at ascruggs@diosova.org or 757-213-3393.  Click here for more information and registration. We look forward to seeing you there!

A Word to the Church from the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops

The Episcopal Church's House of Bishops Gathered in Fairbanks, Alaska (Diocese of Alaska), September 21-26, 2017. The bishops came to Alaska to listen to the earth and its peoples as an act of prayer, solidarity and witness. Click here to read the bishops' message.

 

A Prayer for Our Time and for the Earth

Dear God, Creator of the earth, this sacred home we share; Give us new eyes to see the beauty all around and to protect the wonders of creation. Give us new arms to embrace the strangers among us and to know them as family. Give us new ears to hear and understand those who live off the land and to hear and understand those who extract its resources. Give us new hearts to recognize the brokenness in our communities and to heal the wounds we have inflicted. Give us new hands to serve the earth and its people and to shape beloved community. For you are the One who seeks the lost, binds our wounds and sets us free, and it is in the name of Jesus the Christ we pray. Amen.

Changes on the Jackson-Feild campus

For 162 years, Jackson-Feild has been helping children. Throughout every change in focus, Jackson-Feild has adapted and modified not only its programs, but its physical campus as well.

Over the summer, two one-time staff houses that had until recently been serving as classroom space for the Gwaltney School have been reconfigured to serve more children for a variety of treatment programs now and into the future. In order to replace this physical space as well as support the continuing needs of the Gwaltney School, an addition has been built onto the administration building providing two classrooms and a multipurpose room.

 

Families, placing agencies, donors, and the community can rest assured that Jackson-Feild Behavioral Health Services will continue to provide high quality evidence-based psychiatric, residential, educational and recovery treatment services for children who suffer from severe emotional trauma, mental illness and/or addiction.

Data from 2016 Parochial Reports available

The Rev. Canon Dr. Michael Barlowe, Executive Officer of General Convention, has announced that data from the 2016 Parochial Reports of the Episcopal Church is now available here. At the same time, he has released analysis of the data, available in a variety of ways available here. Canon Barlowe noted, "The 2016 data reflects a continuation of recent trends, although rates of decline in such key figures as Average Sunday Attendance have decreased." He also observed, "Overall, congregational income through pledges and other offerings has remained constant," even as overall number of congregants has decreased. Read more here.  

CE-Net: Digital Formation Part 2

On October 5 from 10 to 11:30 a.m., the Christian Education Network (CE-Net) will continue our exploration of digital faith formation that began early in June with a more hands on approach to the topic. CE-NET has partnered with Jared Rendell, Partner for Digital Strategies, at Vibrant Faith to take us one step further in exploring this topic. Utilizing a recent news event and one social media platform, Jared will demonstrate how social media might be used from a faith perspective, to engage individuals. This session will be offered via Zoom so there is no need to fight traffic or tunnel congestion to be part of the experience.  

 

Given the news headlines, we are finding that our communities are searching for ways to make sense of and respond to the community and world events with a faith lens.  Unfortunately, the time needed to plan bricks and mortar programs often means that a window of opportunity to engage people has passed. Digital media produces an instant platform to connect faith to what is happening in the world.

 

Click here for more details and registration. Webinar is limited to 25 participants. 

Diocesan Connection newsletter available

The July-September issue of the Diocesan Connection newsletter is now available. The newsletter offers a digest of stories from our weekly Parish News and Diocesan eNews. Please print and share a copy with church members who do not have email, and post a copy on a bulletin board or in your narthex. You can also download the Diocesan Connection from the News & Publications page of our website.