Bishop search update

The Standing Committee has been working hard at choosing the search and transition committees as we discern our next bishop. By the end of the application process on June 15, we had received 62 applications for a total of 20 spots available. The Standing Committee met on July 12 and now has a preliminary selection for the two committees. We will gather some additional information over the next month, and will make our final decision at our August 2 meeting. Thank you to all who applied, and please keep the Standing Committee, and the Diocese in your prayers.

 

 - The Standing Committee of Southern Virginia

Annual Meeting of Recovery Ministries of the Episcopal Church Sept. 26-29

The program begins Wednesday evening with Compline and a 12-step meeting. This gathering will include noted speakers, recovery workshops, bluegrass music, a tour of the Biltmore Estate. Registration for the Gathering is $250; scholarships are available. Click here for more information and registration. 

CE-Net Gathering: Where Faith and Life Meet

How do you respond when unexpected events occur in the lives of our parish families? Where does our faith intersect with our everyday life? If you are responsible for some aspect of Christian formation you have likely considered these questions.

 

The Christian Education Network (CE-Net) invites you to join them for the "Where Faith and Life Meet" formation gathering on Saturday, August 18 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Hickory Neck Church, Toano.  

 

CE-Net has invited Vicki M. Lanier, LPC, to offer some guidance for formation professionals to help us navigate our parish response to life's unexpected events. In addition to Vicki's guidance, we will have an opportunity to spend time in small groups discussing how we might respond, on a programming level, to unexpected events, such as suicide, shootings, death (beloved parishioner, family member, pet), or a national crisis.

 

During lunch we will have an opportunity to check in and hear about each other's ministries. Lunch will be provided for $6 per person. Register here. Registration closes on Tuesday, August 14.

 

If you have questions or require additional information please contact Vicky Koch at vkoch@stpaulsnorfolk.org or Megan Dern at Megan.Dern@goodshepherdnorfolk.org.

Administrators & Treasurers Lunch Group to meet in Petersburg

The Administrators & Treasurers Lunch Group will meet on Thursday, August 23, from 12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. at St. Stephen's, Petersburg. This is a wonderful opportunity to meet with other parish administrators and treasurers to talk about common issues. There's no agenda for this gathering - just an opportunity to get together, share, encourage, support, and ask questions. Bring your own lunch; beverages will be provided. RSVP to Diocesan Comptroller Judy Dobson, jdobson@diosova.org or 757-213-3386. St. Stephen's is located at 228 Halifax Street in Petersburg.

Upcoming Safe Church training - register now!

Registration is open for fall Safe Church classroom training. Click here for more information on Safe Church training, who is required to take it, and to register for any of these scheduled trainings:

• September 8, 2018 - Ascension, Norfolk
• September 15, 2018 - Trinity, South Boston
• September 22, 2018 - St. Andrew's, Newport News
• October 13, 2018 - St. Aidan's, Virginia Beach
• October 27, 2018 - St. Matthias', Midlothian

Church Periodical Club's Miles of Pennies benefits Jackson-Feild

Jackson-Feild Behavioral Health Service's Hayden Gwaltney School received a grant of $822.23 from the Miles of Pennies to purchase books and educational materials. The Gwaltney School has received more than $8,567 from the program over the years. The beneficiaries of these grants have been students who were educated by using materials provided by this fund.

 

Founded in 1888, the Church Periodical Club (CPC) is an Episcopal organization that provides books, magazines, tapes, videos and CD's at no charge to those who cannot otherwise obtain them. The first grants were awarded in 1991.

 

The Miles of Pennies provides grants up to $844.80. Laid edge-to-edge, it takes 84,480 pennies to cover the distance of a mile. Hence, the name of the fund and the maximum amount of grants provided. The Miles of Pennies program focuses exclusively on the educational needs of children from kindergarten through high school.

 

Donations are collected to support the Miles of Pennies Fund as well as other programs sponsored by the CPC. The majority of the donations are provided by Episcopal Church Women throughout the country. The total grants awarded annually range from $18,000 to $25,000 depending upon the donations raised.

79th General Convention wrap-up

Southern Virginia's General Convention Deputation. Front L to R: Ronald Ramsey, Alice Webley, Samantha Vincent-Alexander, Jennifer Andrews-Weckerly, Mark Wilkinson, Isabel Burch. Rear L to R: Cameron Randle, Willis Foster, Julia Messer, Sam Webster, Clare Harbin, Bishop Hollerith, Toni Hogg.

 

The 79th General Convention of the Episcopal Church is a wrap. GC79 met July 5-13 in Austin, TX. Presiding Bishop Michael Curry's call in his opening sermon for Episcopalians to follow "The Way of Love" could be felt throughout this General Convention as bishops and deputies from every part of the worldwide Episcopal Church put in very long days in committee meetings and legislative sessions. Over 500 resolutions were considered by the convention, but the two big legislative issues were revising the Book of Common Prayer and same-sex marriage rites. General Convention voted against revising the 1979 prayer book, but instead to approve and authorize alternative, expansive-language liturgical materials. General Convention voted for making authorized same-sex marriage rites available for use in all congregations, ensuring all Episcopalians can be married by their priests in their home churches. Episcopal News Service offers a good legislative wrap-up here. You can also find much more on General Convention at the diocesan #GC79 blog.  

 

GC79 Resources for congregations and individuals 

 

Presiding Bishop Michael Curry invited Episcopalians to embrace a new "rule of life" - The Way of Love: Practices for Jesus-Centered Life.  

 

TEConversations (The Episcopal Church Conversations), held during joint sessions of the House of Deputies and the House of Bishops, are available, along with discussion guides. They are: Racial Reconciliation; Evangelism; and Care of Creation.