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News from the Episcopal
Diocese
of Western Massachusetts
CELEBRANDO LA ABUNDANCIA DE DIÓS
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Convention is a two-day event!
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- CHILD CARE provided on Friday from 2:30 - 8:30 pm and Saturday from 7:30am - 3:30 pm. Contact Lainey to reserve a spot!
- Bring your Congregations UTO offering
- Bring a Prayer Shawl (baby blanket, ...) for blessing
- Bring your Parish Banner (pole and stand) for the Convention Hall
- Eucharist offering will be divided between Mampong Babies Home, Ghana and Ascentria Refugee Resettlement. Make checks payable to EDWMA
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A place to find and share creative liturgies!
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NEW online community supports 5 minutes of prayer each day for 30 days
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What’s the commitment?
Set aside 5 minutes for prayer each day – think ahead about when – upon rising? Right before you go to bed? When you get home from work?
If you are beginning a life of prayer, choose a simple format (see specific suggestions and resources that follow) and stay with it:
- The Lord’s prayer, Thanksgivings and intercessions
- Prayers for Individuals and Families in the Book of Common Prayer
- Contemplative Silence
- Read through one of the Gospels on chapter a day and pay attention to the word that God may be giving you that day – hold that word in Prayer and let it shed light on your life.
If you are deepening or refreshing a life of prayer consider trying something new: If, for example, you usually say Morning Prayer, try some contemplative silence. Read more or join the group.
Contact Pam or Nancy for more information.
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2017 Ministry Development Initiatives Grants
The Diocese has budgeted $80,000 in 2017 to grant to parishes and ministries for the development of new ministries, with an emphasis
on local ministries and reaching people
who are not currently being reached by traditional forms of church. Grant awards range from $2000 to $10,000. Please
visit our website for more information. Application deadline is March 1, 2017.
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Safe Church workshops Fall-Winter 2016
The Rev. Tanya Wallace, Diocesan Safe Church Officer, will be leading Safe Church workshops throughout the fall-winter. Please mark your calendars for the following dates:
November 5, 2016 – Volunteer (attend 9-12) and Basic (attend 9-3), @All Saints’, South Hadley
December 8, 2016 – Volunteer workshop, 6-9pm, @ St. Michael’s, Worcester
Online registration for all workshops is open and available at the link below. If you prefer, a hard copy of the registration form is also posted on the webpage. In addition, our Safe Church webpage now displays links to the Safe Church webpages in Province One so you can see if there is a workshop that is closer or more convenient for you.
Check out our website for more Safe Church information, or email kwarren@diocesewma.org
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TENS Living Generously Materials
Those of you who have downloaded the
Living Generously materials from
TENS (The Episcopal Network for Stewardship), designed to support your annual stewardship response program, may have discovered that there is still
no bulletin insert for
All Saints Sunday. Recently, bulletin inserts were posted for November 6th and November 13th. But the bulletin insert dated November 6th is for Proper 27, not All Saints Day. I am told that the bulletin insert for
All Saints Sunday will be posted very soon. So, please continue to
check back to the TENS website until it has been posted.
Again, to access these materials:
- Go to the TENS website at www.tens.org
- Click on the Resources heading at the top
- Click on Member Resources
- You will then be asked to provide a user name and a password:
- user name: generous
- password: journey
As noted previously, the Living Generously materials consist of bulletin inserts beginning with the first Sunday in October and with the Feast of St. Francis. Each bulletin insert contains a meditation tied to the readings for that Sunday and some questions for reflection. The Living Generously materials also include some sample letters, a special form of the Prayers of the People, and a pledge card.
The bulletin inserts and the pledge cards are PDF files. The sample letters and the Prayers of the People are WORD files so you can easily modify them to fit your purposes.
Once more, I apologize for the difficulties we have experienced this year around these materials. I continue to pray that you will find them to be helpful.
Bruce A. Rockwell
Bishop's Assistant for Stewardship / Interim Missioner for Legacy Stewardship
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Social Justice & Advocacy
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Update on Opportunities to Help
October 2016
Thanks to all of you who have been working to support Syrian and other refugees, as well as Syrians still living in that country and region who have been displaced by the war. We are making a difference! We have supported resettled refugees in our area by donating and volunteering with Ascentria, and we have collected donations of goods for NuDay Syria which sends a container to Syria monthly. Christ Church Cathedral successfully undertook a campaign to raise $13,000 for NuDay Syria to build a school in a displacement camp in Northern Syria. St. John’s Northampton has created “Two Episcopalians and a Truck” which picks up furniture donations for refugee families. There are many other examples. I’d like to hear what you are doing.
Read more...
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Planning Session for
Interfaith Opioid Prayer Pilgrimage
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Clergy Information Session -- October 20
Clergy Information Session with Dr. Jennifer Michaels – 10am on October 20th (10/20) at St. Ann Parish (134 Main St, Lenox)
This session is open to clergy and any lay leaders you would like to invite. It would be helpful if you could let me know if you might be attending so we can get the right amount of food. Thanks to St. Ann for hosting us and providing the food. Toward the end of the meeting we will also take a little time to discuss logistics for the services on Nov. 5 and 6.
As always, we want to get as many people as possible involved in this, so please feel free to forward this to any of your friends and colleagues you think might be interested. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me by email or by phone (413 464 2415). Thanks again, and I look forward to seeing you soon!
- Michael Tuck
Trinity Church/St. Helena’s Chapel Lenox
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We Are The Earth: Public Prayer for the Planet
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Join us for an outdoor, festive service that renews our dedication to following Jesus, and that bears witness to our sacred calling to protect the Earth and create a more just and sustainable way of life.
The service is free, family-friendly, and open to the public. Invite your friends – especially people who don’t usually come to church. We encourage carpooling.
2:15 p.m. Optional Free Guided Tour of Heifer Farm
Experience the barn, meet the animals, and explore the Global Village.
After the service, enjoy hot beverages and homemade snacks from local ingredients. The gift shop will be open until 5:00 p.m.
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Interfaith Climate Justice Meeting
October 30
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Opportunities for Enrichment and Education
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October 15
Grace Episcopal Church, Amherst
Co-Sponsored by the Episcopal Diocese of WMA,
Grace Episcopal Church, and The Empty Bell
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2017 Stewardship Conference -- NESC
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Eric Law -- Stewardship 360 webinars
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All webinars are 1.5 hour long and begin at 3 pm Pacific Time (6 pm eastern standard)
Attached is the brochure you can copy (fold) to use as promotional material.
Also attached is the team covenant you should complete as you recruit your team members from a local church.
October 19 - Currency of Time and Place
October 26 - Currency of Relationship
November 2 - Currency of Truth
November 9 - Currency of Wellness
November 16 - Currency of Money
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St. Luke's seeks Church Musician
St. Luke's, Worcester is seeking a part-time Church Musician. Read the full job description
here.
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Communications Office | Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts | 413.737.4786 |
Email |
Website
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