Registration for 128th Annual Council is open

Registration for the 128th Annual Council is now open for attendees and exhibitors. Council will be held February 28-29, 2020 at the Williamsburg Lodge in Williamsburg, Virginia. Go to www.bit.ly/diosova128 for complete Council information, including registration and lodging.  

 

	The Very Rev. Cynthia Kittredge

Keynote Speaker 

The Very Rev. Cynthia Briggs Kittredge, ThD, is our keynote speaker for this year's Council. She is dean and president of Seminary of the Southwest. The focus of Kittredge's leadership is the formation of Christian leaders in community for the vitality of the church and to advance God's mission of reconciliation. Read more here.  

 

Nominations for Elections at Council

The following elections will take place at Annual Council: Standing Committee (one lay and one clergy); Disciplinary Board (two lay and one clergy); Provincial Synod (one lay), and General Convention 2021 (4 clergy deputies, 4 lay deputies. Note: Alternate deputies will be elected in 2021). More info and nomination form can be found here.  

 

Youth Delegation & Adult Advisors

Every year a special delegation of 12 youth in grades 9-12 are invited to attend Diocesan Council. This is an annual gathering of clergy and lay people from all over our diocese. This weekend is a fantastic opportunity to learn about the Episcopal Church, to find out more about the life of our diocese, to participate in and help to lead worship, to hear inspiring keynote speeches, to meet new friends, and to serve the church. Two adult leaders are selected to serve as advisors for the youth delegation to help them engage in and process Council. More info and application forms can be found here.  

 

Communicator Credentials

Church communicators are an integral part of connecting their Convocations and congregations with Council while it is in session and, afterward, through their reporting. Credentialed communicators (whether volunteers or church staff) have their registration fee waived. More info and application form can be found here.  

 

Advent: Transitioning into the dark time of the year

A new blog post from Bishop Magness

 

By another name, transition is change. The longer I live the more I recognize, and at times even accept, that living a balanced life is largely contingent upon how successfully I handle the transitions in my lives.  Ready or not, new events and occurrences happen in our lives and invite us to change. Transitions and changes occur when we move to a job or change positions; when we move to a new school or start a new grade; when children are born into our families and then grow up; when new friends appear and old friends leave; and when our Christian faith community leaders prepare to depart as new leaders prepare to arrive.  

 

Click here to read the full post.

Diocesan ECW seeking vice president and historian

The Episcopal Church Women (ECW) of the Diocese of Southern Virginia announces the following vacant positions: Vice President; Historian. Click here for information about these positions and their requirements.  

 

If you are interested, please contact Laura L. Manigault, Diocesan ECW president, carver.manigault7@gmail.com or Deborah Austin, Nominating Committee chair, complianceretired@gmail.com. Please also make this announcement to your ECW Chapter in your parish.

 

Jackson-Feild: Sponsor-a-Child for Christmas

For most of us the Christmas is the most wonderful time of the year filled with symbols and traditions that are happy and joyous. Sadly the girls and boys at Jackson-Feild have been denied these happy holiday memorials. Christmas is often the worst time of the year and triggers memories of past trauma which causes anger, sadness and depression.

 

Thankfully you can make this Christmas the best one the girls and boys at Jackson-Feild have ever had----one they will cherish for a lifetime.

 

Please make a gift by sending your tax deductible contribution to Jackson-Feild Homes, 546 Walnut Grove Drive, Jarratt, Virginia 23867. Or you can visit their web site, www.jacksonfeild.org, to make an online or credit card gift. If you have any questions please call the Development Office at 804-354-6929.

 

Since 1855 Jackson-Feild has been helping hurting children. Please help ensure that these children are not forgotten by sending a gift today. Thank you and bless you.

A Colonial Christmas Concert at Historic St. Luke's

St. Luke's Historic Church & Museum in Smithfield invite you to A Colonial Christmas Concert featuring the Choraliers Ensemble of Smithfield High School. Performances will be held Friday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m., and Saturday, Dec. 7 at 4 p.m. and 7 p.m. Advance ticket purchase is encouraged as seats are limited. Tickets are $10 per person and can be purchased at stlukesmuseum.org. St Luke's is located at 14477 Benn's Church Blvd. in Smithfield.  

 

Churchwide Bible reading initiative begins in Epiphany 2020

Forward Movement, along with partners from across the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church of Canada, invites followers of Jesus to participate in the Good Book Club, a churchwide Bible reading initiative. The Good Book Club will focus on the Gospel of John, with participants reading a section of scripture each day during the Epiphany season, starting on January 6, 2020.

"The Good book Club is helping us to read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest the holy scripture, anew in our time," said Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry. "The Good Book Club is a helpful tool to engaging in 'Learn,' one of the seven Way of Love practices for a Jesus-centered life.

 

Click here for more information and resources.

Church Stories: An Interview with the Rev. Joseph N. Green, Sr. & the Rev. Robert O. Johnston

Saturday, December 14, 2:00 p.m.

St. Stephen's Episcopal Church, 228 Halifax Street, Petersburg, Virginia

 

	The Rev. Joe Green

The Episcopal Project invites you to a very special event. Enjoy the stories and experiences of two Southern Virginia churchmen of the Greatest Generation. The Rev. Dr. Joseph N. Green, Sr. (age 93), and the Rev. Robert O. Johnston (whose 100th birthday is this month) will take the stage and, in an interview format, share their stories: their journeys to becoming Christians and priests, their journeys in the Episcopal Church and the parishes they served, and how these journeys were experienced within the times in which they have lived.

 

The Rev. Bob Johnston was the rector of Bath Parish in Dinwiddie County in the 1970s and early 1980s and director of Jackson-Feild Home from 1975 and 1979. The Rev. Dr. Joe Green, Sr. is rector emeritus at Grace Episcopal Church in Norfolk and a former Norfolk vice mayor and City Council member. Both men are veterans of World War II.

 

	The  Rev. Bob Johnston

The event will be moderated by the Rev. Willis Foster, Sr., rector of St. Stephen's in Petersburg. The Rev. Foster served as a Marine Corps helicopter pilot before his ordination to the priesthood. He attended Virginia Theological Seminary.

 

Doors open at 1:30 p.m. Event begins at 2 p.m. A social hour follows the event.

 

The Episcopal Project

This event is also an opportunity to get to know The Episcopal Project and the historic preservation work being done in the Diocese of Southern Virginia. The Episcopal Project's mission is to help Episcopalians collect, preserve, protect, and share their stories. In so doing we will help the Episcopal Church use its history to care for its people, now and into the future.

 

Please Register

RSVP by December 3. Go to www.bit.ly/churchstoriesevent to register.

 

 

Click here for for a printable version of this invitation.