The Rev. Susan B. Haynes elected 11th Bishop of Southern Virginia

The Diocese of Southern Virginia elected the Rev. Susan B. Haynes as its 11th Bishop at its Special Council in Dinwiddie on September 21.

 

One of six nominees, Haynes was elected on the eighth ballot. Haynes, the rector of St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Mishawaka, Indiana, received 94 votes in the clergy order and 148 votes in the lay order. Seventy-four clergy votes and 128 lay votes were necessary for election on that ballot.

 

Haynes earned her Master of Divinity degree at Vanderbilt Divinity School. She is married to the Rev. Thomas Haynes, and they have two grown daughters.

 

"I am really excited and looking forward to making the transition to Southern Virginia," Haynes said, addressing Council via Zoom after accepting the election. "Until I can get there I'm going to be saying my prayers and immersing myself in scripture and I would like to ask everyone in Southern Virginia to do the same so that when I get there we can all hit the ground running, doing the work of Jesus Christ and making him present in the Diocese of Southern Virginia."

 

Pending consent of a majority of the church's bishops with jurisdiction and the diocesan standing committees, Haynes will be ordained and consecrated on February 1, 2020, with Presiding Bishop Michael Curry as the chief consecrator. The service will be held at 11:00 a.m. at St. Bede Catholic Church, 3686 Ironbound Road, Williamsburg. It will also be live streamed on the diocesan website and available for on-demand viewing afterward. More information will be available soon. 

 

Click here for complete Special Council balloting results and to watch video of Bishop-elect Haynes greeting Council.  

Special Council convenes Saturday in Dinwiddie

The Special Council to Elect the 11th Bishop of Southern Virginia will convene on Saturday, September 21, at Dinwiddie High School in Dinwiddie. Council will open with Holy Eucharist at 10 a.m. Complete information about Special Council can be found here.

Results of each ballot will be posted on the diocesan website, Facebook page, and Instagram.

Information about the candidates can be found here. A recording of the Bishop Candidate Walkabout on September 6 at Bruton Parish, Williamsburg, is available on our YouTube channel. The recording has been divided into seven shorter videos so that you can view the opening segment, and the individual candidate segments separately.  

 

Please hold the Diocese, clergy and lay delegates, and bishop candidates in your prayers.

 

Almighty and most gracious God, source of all wisdom and guidance, send your Holy Spirit to guide us as we seek and discern a shepherd for the Diocese of Southern Virginia. Inspire us with hope, hearts to love you and a desire to serve one another. Grant us grace to entrust you with the future of your Church and all things. We ask in the name of your Son, Jesus Christ Our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, now and forever. Amen.

Holy Land Pilgrimage departing Feb. 9, 2020

Join the Rev. Peter Hogg for a pilgrimage offering a complete immersion in the Holy Land, including the Galilee region, Tiberius, Capernaum, Cesarea, Philippi, Mt. Hermon, the Golan Heights, Nazareth, Jericho, Jerusalem, Bethany, Masada, the Dead Sea, Qumram, and Joppa. An optional Jordan extension of the trip includes Mt. Nebo, Madaba, Petra and Emmaus. This pilgrimage departs February 9, 2020 for 10 days in the Holy Land, and February offers the best weather for travel in this region. This tailor-made tour is limited to just 20 people, offering a more comfortable and intimate experience. It will include unique private events like dinner in a Palestinian home in Bethlehem and an evening at St. George's Anglican Cathedral. Pilgrimage cost is $3,348 and is all-inclusive, includes direct flights (Dulles to/from Tel Aviv), taxes, tips, all entrance fees, etc. The optional three-night Jordan extension is an additional $998.  Click here for a tour brochure with complete details. Contact the Rev. Peter Hogg, 757-635-3557 or phogg123@gmail.com.

 

Video of Bishop Candidates Walkabout available

The Bishop Candidate Walkabout on September 6 at Bruton Parish, Williamsburg, was livestreamed. Please note that the livestream experienced technical difficulties that evening. However, a high resolution video recording was made of the event and can now be found on our YouTube channel. The recording has been divided into seven shorter videos so that you can view the opening segment, and the individual candidate segments separately. 

Episcopal Relief & Development providing relief support after Hurricane Dorian

In partnership with the Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida, the Episcopal Church in South Carolina, the Episcopal Diocese of Georgia, and the Episcopal Farmworker Ministry, Episcopal Relief & Development is giving assistance such as food, water, clothing, shelter and other emergency supplies to individuals and families affected by the storm. The organization is also working through the Anglican Alliance to provide support to the Anglican Diocese of the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos as they continue to assess the needs of communities.  

Donations to the Hurricane Relief Fund will help Episcopal Relief & Development's partners respond to the storm in the most efficient way possible. Many partners are not in a position to receive, store or distribute donations of physical goods or effectively use volunteer assistance at this time. Click here to make a donation.  

Episcopal Relief & Development's Disaster Preparedness Initiative equips Episcopal dioceses to prepare for and respond to crises. By offering resources and training and providing emergency support, the program helps vulnerable groups of people to make a full and sustained recovery and helps them to develop resiliency against future disasters. Many of the dioceses impacted by Hurricane Dorian have been working to develop this resilience and were ready to respond as needed. To learn more about building a Season of Resilience and to download disaster preparedness resources, visit episcopalrelief.org/resilience. 

Fall Camp at Shrine Mont registration now open

Fall Camp is a four day adult conference sponsored by the Tri-Diocesan Council on Aging which represents all three Episcopal dioceses in Virginia, and is held at the Shrine Mont center in Orkney Springs. This year's Fall Camp will be October 28-31. Keynote speaker will be author Philip Gulley. Gulley has written 21 books, including the Harmony series recounting life in the eccentric Quaker community of Harmony, Indiana. He also co-authored the progressive spirituality books If Grace is True and If God is Love. He also authored If the Church Were Christian, and The Evolution of Faith. Click here for details and registration. 

Carter's Walk in support of Chanco

The Rev. Carter Sinclair, deacon at Emmanuel, Virginia Beach, has made a commitment to walk 65 kilometers for his 65th birthday! Carter hopes to complete this walk in 12 hours or less on October 5. The Rev. Mimi Lacy, Rector of Emmanuel Church, recommended that Carter dedicate his walk to fundraising for a worthy cause. Carter chose The Campaign for Chanco.  

Carter shares, " Chanco is the spiritual center of the Diocese. As a summer camp, it might be first place that youth get exposed to the good news of Jesus Christ. Chanco is undergoing a wonderful building campaign and is very close to reaching the goal to fund all of the new construction and renovations that are so desperately needed. Therefore, I am asking for a pledge per kilometer, starting at 10 cents per kilometer (with no upper limit)."  

To support Carter in his walk for Chanco, click here for easy on line donation indicating "Carter's Walk" in the "notes" section or you may mail a check made out to Chanco with " Carter's Walk" in the memo line and mail to Chanco at 394 Floods Drive, Spring Grove, VA 23881. Thank you for your prayerful support of Carter's Walk!