WEEKLY ENEWS

November 21, 2017

233rd Annual Convention Recap - November 17 - 18, 2017 At the end of each day of Convention, Karin Hamilton released a report of the day, here is Friday's report , and here is Saturday's report . Each report gives a detailed account of what resolutions were discussed that day, election information, and other matters of that specific day. Below is a simple recap with helpful links, please see Karin's reports for more information.

Here is a Facebook album of some photos from Annual Convention. If you have some you would like to add, please send them to us on Facebook , or tag us and we will add them.

Resolutions:  Budget of Convention - adopted Clergy Salary 2018 - adopted Direct Church Pension Group to Report Clergy Compensation by Race - adopted Affirming Racial Reconciliation - adopted as amended Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples - adopted Proposed Baptismal Covenant Language Reflecting Our Unity with All Creation - adopted as amended Reduce our Carbon Footprint - adopted as amended Merger of St. John's, East Hartford and St. John's, Vernon - adopted Assessing our Resources for Participating in God's Mission - adopted Revising Diocesan Canons - adopted as amended Selection of a Bishop - adopted Clerical Standing - adopted Use of Other Anglican Books of Worship - adopted Minimize Gendered Language in Prayer Book Revision - adopted as amended

Prayer and Reflection during Convention:  Bethany House of Prayer led the whole Convention in prayer throughout the two days, providing opportunities for ECCT as a whole to pause and reflect together. Video Stories from the Six Regions: Northwest Region: Conrad Sienkiewicz, Operation Overflow Emergency Shelter at Trinity, Torrington Southwest Region: Dom Gautrau, Fuel Buying Group & Energy Effeciencies at St. Francis, Stamford North Central Region: Nancy Latif, Refugee Co-Sponsorship at St. John's, West Hartford South Central Region: Felix Rivera, Cross-City Pilgrimages at St. Paul & St. James, New Haven Northeast Region: Virginia Fulton, Community Meals Ministry at St. Paul's, Windham Center Southeast Region: Margaret Larom, Food for All Community Garden at Holy Advent, Clinton

Convention Worship: Friday evening over 600+ Episcopalians within the Episcopal Church in Connecticut gathered to share in the liturgy of the Word and Sacrament. A multi-parish choir led everyone in hymns, the readings were read in English and Spanish, and Bishop Laura J. Ahrens preached a timely and creative sermon on Acts 8:26-40. Read Bishop Ahrens' full sermon here .

Bishop Ian TED Douglas' TED Talk / Bishop's Address at Annual Convention

Here is a PDF of the Bishop's Address and an audio file of the Bishop's Address, play now or download this episode (right click and save)

Advent Resources Here is a link to this ongoing list of Advent Resources for communications on our website as well. If you know of a great resource, please email Alli . ECCT's Advent Blog , contributions by folks in the ordination process: Link available here . ECCT's Advent / Christmas Pinterest Board : did you know that we are on Pinterest?! No? Well we are and we have ideas for Advent / Christmas crafts for you and your family! Follow us on Pinterest , and send us some ideas to include. #AdventWord: this online social media campaign from the Society of St. John the Evangelist will continue again through Advent. Check ECCT's Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram to see the word of the day. Family Advent Day at Camp Washington: Make an Advent wreath with greens selected from Camp Washington's campus, dip Advent candles, paint ornaments and more. The afternoon ends with worship and dinner together. Tickets begin at $15 and are available here . New Curriculum for Advent from Trinity Church: Use online classes with the priest, theologian, and seminary professor Michael Battle, and learn how Revelation reveals God's Dream for humanity. This curriculum is offered free of charge by Trinity Church, Wall Street. Resources available here. Advent Retreat at Camp Washington : December 15 - 16, with Bishop Laura J. Ahrens. This retreat will focus on how to use spiritual practices, how to identify God's calling in discipleship, and how to grow in transformation. More information & tickets available here ! Living Compass 2017 Advent collection : "Living Well Through Advent: Practicing Wonder with all your Heart, Soul, Strength, and Mind."

Old, dated – or missing - parish website? At this special Faithful Futures session you’ll create a new one!   Not every parish website can be improved with tweaks here and there. Some need a total reboot.   At this special session of Faithful Futures: Websites 201, we’ll do just that and create the basics of a new website for your parish. We’ll use one pre-selected template from a major website company and work with specific content you’ll be asked to bring to this hands-on workshop. If possible, come as a team, and work collaboratively with other parish teams. You don’t have to “launch” the new site until you’re ready and we’ll review the technical details for that. At the last two of these “Faithful Futures: Parish Websites” sessions, we reviewed critical components and best practices. This one will incorporate selected options from those and send you home with them in case you want to make adjustments before you launch your new site. Previous attendees and parishes in transition welcome, however the session is limited to a maximum of five parishes. Join us Thursday, December 7 from 6:30 - 8:00 p.m. at The Commons, 290 Pratt St., Meriden. Please register for this event, one ticket per parish .

Mark your calendars for the upcoming Celebrations of New Ministry: the Rev. Ranjit Mathews at St. James', New London on November 28 at 7:00 p.m. the Rev. Ann Lovejoy Johnson at St. Mary's, Manchester on December 5 at 7:00 p.m. Many blessings on their new ministries.

Positions Open

Job openings may be found  here on the website . NOTE: Applicants will be able to submit their resume and cover letter to the contact person directly from the ECCT website, if that option is chosen by the person submitting the position for posting.  Youth Minister, St. James', Farmington Music Director, Christ Church, Tashua Part-Time Parish Office Assistant, St. Paul's on the Green, Norwalk Director of Music Ministries, St. Mary's, Manchester Organist/Director of Music, St. John's, North Haven ECCT is hiring a part-time Diocesan Property Manager   For open Clergy positions please click here . Clergy positions will no longer be posted in eNews.

Announcements & Reminders

The parish/worshiping community survey for the ECCT database is live. Thanks so much to the following churches that completed their survey since last week's announcement: Christ Church Cathedral, Hartford; Grace Church, Hartford; St. James', Farmington ! Keep them coming! Click here to read the related documents.

ECCT Youth Team at General Convention The 79th Annual General Convention of The Episcopal Church , July 5-13, 2018 in Austin, TX. High school students are encouraged to apply to be a part of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut Youth Team to General Convention . Applications are due by December 1 . Applications are available here .

Presentation at Christ Church Cathedral:  In Search of a Prophet, Kahlil Gibran , December 3   This free and open to the public event will be held at  Christ Church Cathedral  on December 3 at 2 p.m. Author Paul-Gordon Chandler will discuss the spirituality of Kahlil Gibran, the early 20th century Lebanese-American poet, artist, and mystic.  In Search of a Prophet  is a journey through the spiritual life of Kahlil Gibran, author of the bestselling book The Prophet.

Episcopal Evangelism grants available for local & regional efforts, Application due December 15 Grants are available for up to $2,000 for an individual congregation and up to $8,000 for multi-church, diocesan and regional collaborations. Groups receiving funding are expected to make a significant financial contribution toward the project, as well. Application, criteria, and additional information is available here . For more information, contact Kayla Massey at kmassey@episcopalchurch.org or 212.716.6022.

National Episcopal Historians and Archivists (NEHA) 2018 NEHA is now accepting proposals for papers to be presented at the 2018 Conference held in New Haven, CT. Presentations are made on a voluntary basis. Presenters are allocated 15 minutes for a paper and 5 minutes for questions. Proposals are due January 31, 2018 Guidelines, possible topics, & more information available here.

Events coming up soon:

Events below are coming up in the next few weeks:   ECCT OFFERINGS:   The ECCT calendar is located  here . It allows you to filter events by category and includes a subscribe link at the bottom of the page. Specific details including locations, times, etc. will also be found there. November 23-24, THE COMMONS IS CLOSED November 28, Priest-in-charge Consultant Gathering, The Commons November 28, Celebration of New Ministry for the Rev. Ranjit Mathews, St. James, New London November 30, Finance Committee Meeting, The Commons November 30, North Central Region Confirmation, St. Andrew the Apostle, Rocky Hill December 1-3, Deacon Formation Retreat, Holy Family Retreat Center, West Hartford December 5, Tranisiton Consultant Meeting, The Commons December 5, Celebration of New Ministry for the Rev. Ann Lovejoy Johnson, St. Mary's, Manchester BISHOPS' VISITS: December 3, Bishop Ahrens, Trinity, Lime Rock; Bishop Douglas, Grace, Newington December 10, Bishop Ahrens, St. Andrew's, Marble Dale; Bishop Douglas, St. John's, Vernon December 17, Bishop Ahrens, St. Michael's, Litchfield; Bishop Douglas, St. Saviour's, Old Greenwich

All Parish, Region, and Ministry Network events are posted on  this calendar . Below are the upcoming events for the next two weeks. Hosting an event? Please submit ALL parish, Region, and Ministry Network events  using this form , you may select as many categories that apply to your event as needed. Please indicate which region your event is in by selecting the appropriate region category.   Reach out to the specific parish for event updates, specific locations, and further details. PARISH EVENTS: Regular worship services, including season-specific, will not be listed below.    November 21, Ecumenical Thanksgiving worship service, St. Clare Catholic Church, East Haven November 21, Community Interfaith Thanksgiving service, Church of the Good Shepherd, Shelton November 23, Thanksgiving Dinner, St. James', Danbury November 25, Advent Quiet Day, St. James, New London November 25, Christmas Fair, St. Paul's, Bantam December 1-2, Christmas Fair, Church of the Holy Spirit, West Haven December 2-3, Annual Christmas Bazaar Fund Raiser, Old St. Andrew's, Bloomfield December 2, Christmas in New England Fair, St. Mary's, Manchester December 2, St. Nicholas Fair, St. Peter's, Hebron December 2, Christmas Bazaar, St. John's, Vernon December 2, Christmas Fair, Christ and the Epiphany, East Haven December 2, St. Nicholas Fair, Christ Church, Pomfret December 2, Conversations with Bishop Laura J. Ahrens, St. James, Farmington December 2, Annual Christmas Bazaar & Luncheon, St. Andrew's, Marbledale December 3, Annual Cookie Walk & Craft Fair, and then the Annual St. Nicholas Party, St. James', Danbury December 3, Holiday Open House, Trinity, Newtown December 3, The Wonders of Christmas Organ Concert, Trinity, Wethersfield I think it is fair to say there's a bazaar number of events going on this December :) REGION MEETINGS & EVENTS: NONE LISTED: List your Region Event here . MINISTRY NETWORK MEETINGS & EVENTS: December 1, St. Francis House MN: Politics, Polity, and Advocacy, St. Francis House, New London

STAY CONNECTED