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Making Disciples, Raising Up Saints & Transforming Communities for Christ
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Church Members Reflect on Lent
By Paula Schaap, Communications Director
A couple of years ago, the Wingfield Deanery prepared a meditation booklet for Lent with contributions from members of different churches. But, as often happens in too-busy lives, there hadn't been an effort to prepare a new booklet for a time.
Until Archdeacon Cookie Clark decided that this year - a year when many people felt a need for words of reconciliation and healing - was the right time to revive the Lenten booklet tradition in the deanery.
Clark's method of gathering the meditations was simple - she needed 40 meditations to cover each day in Lent, so a point person in each of the 10 churches in the deanery received four cards with the Lectionary readings for the day to be distributed to volunteers.
Suggestions to the writers for possible reflections included how they were preparing for Easter, a past Lenten memory or the lessons appointed for the day.
Click here to read more.
To download the Wingfield Deanery's Lent 2017 Booklet, click here.
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Office of the Bishop News & Events
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Summer Camper Scholarships Available From the Bishop's Office
Summer camper scholarships in the amount of $200 will be available to 60 children and youth who are active in Diocese of Northern California congregations. The scholarships are available on a first-come, first-served basis to be used for Camp Living Waters, Camp Galilee, Bishop's Ranch, St. Dorothy's Rest, the Episcopal Youth Event, and the Pathways Youth Pilgrimage. (Click here for more about summer programs for youth in the diocese.)
Congregational leadership such as clergy, vestry members or youth ministers, please click here for the form to use to request a scholarship. Congregations will be responsible for verifying that each child is eligible and for distributing the scholarships.
The Bishop's Office is committed to expanding opportunities for our young people to experience life-changing summer programs. If you would like to join in this effort, your donation is welcome.
Click here to donate online. Enter the amount, select "Youth Camp Scholarship" in the "Select a fund" field and enter your e-mail address. Follow the screen prompts to complete your donation.
You can also send a check with "camp scholarship" in the memo line to:
The Episcopal Diocese of Northern California
Attn. Accounting
350 University Ave #280
Sacramento, CA 95825
If you have questions about applying for a scholarship, please contact Tamoya Bell, Benefits Coordinator and Accounting Specialist at
[email protected]
.
If you have questions about summer camps and other youth programs in our diocese, please contact the Rev. Anne Clarke, Lifelong Christian Formation Coordinator, at
[email protected]
.
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Bishop's Book for Lent and Lenten Formation Resources
Bishop Barry has chosen "Toxic Charity," by Robert Lupton, as the Bishop's Book for Spring and Lent. The book discusses ways in which the growing trend of service projects and trips (what Lupton calls the growing "compassion industry") can be damaging and toxic to the people they are intended to help.
To help your congregation or other group with your reading and discussion of the Bishop's Book, the Rev. Anne Clarke has prepared a companion guide, which is
available here. You can read her essay about her approach to studying the Bishop's Book by
clicking here.
Lenten Faith Formation Resources for 2017 are available to download and share with others.
Click here for books, study guides, online resources and more to help you and your congregation observe a holy Lent.
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College for Congregational Development
Registration is Now Open
A two-year training program designed to build leadership skills and help clergy and laity assess their congregation's needs, focus on priorities and develop strategies for their church's growth and vitality.
2017 Training Dates and Locations:
Weekend Sessions
April 28 - 30 - The Bishop's Ranch
October 27 - 29 - The Bishop's Ranch
*Check-in for the weekend training sessions begins on Friday at 9:00 a.m.
and the program begins at 10:00 a.m. The weekend sessions end on Sunday at 4:00 p.m.
Week-Long Intensive
June 11 - 16 - The Bishop's Ranch
*Participants register for both Weekend Sessions or the Week-Long Intensive
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News & Events in our Diocese
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Introduction to Centering Prayer - Trinity Cathedral - March 11
Join Pastor Jeff Mitchell of Good Samaritan Church, Valley Springs, for a centering prayer of gentle and silent consent to God's presence and healing action within us. The program will take place, Saturday, March 11, 9:30 a.m. - 3 p.m. at
Trinity Cathedral, Sacramento,
2620 Capitol Avenue.
Please bring a sack lunch. Coffee, tea and refreshments will be provided. A s
uggested donation of
$20 is welcome; however, everyone is invited to attend, and no one will be turned away for lack of funds.
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Episcopal Community Services New Grant Cycle -
Letters of Interest Due March 15
Episcopal Community Services is pleased to announce that it will be accepting Letters of Interest for its regular grants for social justice ministries and for its new three-year Warren Dunning Memorial Social Justice Grant.
To help congregations make successful grant applications, ECS requests that those considering applying submit an informal letter of interest. That will allow ECS to plan its grant cycle and assist congregations in the application process.
Click here for more information about submitting a letter for ECS's regular grants for social justice ministries.
Click here for more information about submitting a letter for the Warren Dunning Memorial Social Justice Grant.
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Stop Hunger Now Event - St. Augustine, Rocklin - March 24 & 25
Community volunteers are needed to help pack meals for Stop Hunger Now, an international relief organization, on Friday, March 24 at 6 p.m., and Saturday, March 25 at 3 p.m., at St. Augustine, Rocklin, 1800 Wildcat Boulevard. Everyone ages four and up is invited to take part in this fun, inter-generational family activity.
This is an action-packed and highly colorful event. Volunteers wear shower caps and plastic gloves as they scurry around filling the meal packs. Runners, mostly children, pick up the sealed meals and rush them to those loading the meals in large cardboard boxes. The boxes are then taken out to the awaiting Stop Hunger Now truck.
Donations are very helpful. "Even a donation of $25 would provide approximately 86 meals," said Jim Quinney, chair of the event.
To get information on how to make a donation or how to register, use the church website or call the church office at 916-435-9552.
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Visit the Cathedral Bookshop
Consider including reading as part of your Lenten discipline and choose a book at the The Cathedral Bookshop to enhance your spiritual and personal growth. Rejoice in our Lord's Easter triumph with a book that offers hope and celebration for the perfect gift of salvation! And don't forget that the Cathedral Bookshop is your best
resource for baptismal and confirmation cards and gifts.
Bookstore staff are happy to special order any book or gift item for you. Drop by and talk to the volunteer staff about what you have in mind and browse through the catalogs so you can find the perfect book, gift, or special item for yourself.
The Cathedral Bookshop is located at 2620 Capital Avenue in Sacramento. The bookstore is open Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 8:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. You may reach the bookshop by phone at 916-442-9194 or by email at [email protected].
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Summer Youth Camping Opportunities
The diocese is near and home to several Episcopal summer camps where young people can explore their relationship to God through all the astonishing natural beauty Northern California has to offer. Swimming, hiking, boating, rock climbing, worship services, camping, and the chance to make friends for life, are just some of the activities offered by summer church camps.
Registration is Now Open
Camp Living Waters - Arcata
A week-long Episcopal summer camp in the heart of Redwood Valley, Camp Living Waters is based at St. Alban's parish in Arcata and draws staff members from the faith communities of the North Coast.
Visit Camp Living Waters' website for more information on their programs and to register.
Camp Galilee - Lake Tahoe
Last year's partnership between Camp Noel Porter and Camp Galilee led to many fun memories and new friendships. Camp Galilee's summer camping program helps youth develop deep relationships with their peers, caring counselors, the natural world, and God. For more information and to register for Camp Galilee,
visit their website here.
St. Dorothy's Rest - Camp Meeker
Beautifully located in the heart of a redwood forest and just miles from the Pacific Ocean and the Russian River, St. Dorothy's offers a summer camp experience that celebrates the natural world.
Visit St. Dorothy's website for more information on summer camp programs and to register.
Bishop's Ranch - Healdsburg
BREAD Camp is set among the forest, farms and vineyards of Sonoma County, where campers can discovery community and spirituality, and participate in summer camping activities. More information and registrations details can be found on the
Bishop's Ranch website.
Other Summer Programs
Keep an eye out for our other summer youth discipleship programs. Click here to learn about our Pathways 2017 youth pilgrimage, and click here to learn about the triennial Episcopal Youth Event in Oklahoma. Talk to your area congregations about opportunities for Vacation Bible School and other local discipleship programs for younger children.
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Center for Bible Study - A Study of the Apostles Creed -
Early Registration Discount Before March 15
Online Option Available
This course is an exploration of the Apostle's Creed, engaging and discussing each statement so as to best understand Christian theology in its traditional and contemporary expression. Taught by Dr. Patrick Oden, professor of Systematic Theology and Church History at Fuller Theological Seminary, it will be held Tuesday evenings from 7 p.m. - 8:30 p.m., starting March 28, on the seminary's Sacramento campus, 2250 Del Paso Road, Suite B. It will also be available online.
Registration is $100 before March 15; $200 after March 15.
Click here
for more information.
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Youth Ministry Symposium - Church Divinity School of the Pacific - March 18
Parents, clergy and lay leaders are invited to the fifth annual CDSP Youth Ministry Symposium with keynote speaker
Leslie A. Choplin, D.Ed.Min.
, co-author of "These Are Our Bodies: Talking Faith and Sexuality at Church and at Home," a new curriculum from Church Publishing. In addition to the keynote address, the day will include opportunities for training and certification in safe church practices according to the national Safeguarding Church practices.
Scholarship and travel funding is available from the Diocese of California, the Diocese of Northern California and Province VIII.
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News & Events B
eyond
our Diocese
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Grants and Scholarship Opportunities From The Episcopal Church
Student Scholarships - Deadline - March 31
These scholarships assist students who are mostly
enrolled in theological education and training.
The deadline for applications is March 31.
Click here
for the list of trust funds and scholarships as well as key information.
The application form is available in English here and in Spanish here.
For information, contact Ann Hercules at
[email protected]
.
Young Adults, Campus Ministries Grants - Deadline - April 10
Grants are intended to provide funding for an Episcopal ministry (or ecumenical ministry with an Episcopal presence) in a diocese, congregation, or community college/tribal college/university campus that is currently engaging or seeking a new relationship with young adults on and off college campuses.
Click here for more information and for applications. Deadline for submitting grants is April 10 by 10 p.m. Eastern.
For more information contact the Rev. Shannon Kelly, Officer for Young Adult and Campus Ministry at [email protected] or Valerie Harris, Formation Associate at [email protected].
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Community of St. Francis - Franciscan Spirituality - April 7-17
Join the Sisters of the Community of St. Francis for a 10-day residential immersion program to study Franciscan Spirituality and a living out of that spirituality through participation in the Sisters' life of prayer, work, ministry and community. The programs are open to any woman over 18 and there is a limit of two participants per immersion.
The program, including room and board, is free, but donations are always welcome. (St. Francis House is not wheelchair accessible.)
2017 Program Dates:
Holy Week/Easter - April 7-17
Summer - August 11-21
St. Francis Day - September 29-October 9
To register, email Sr. Pamela Clare, CSF at [email protected].
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GEMN
Global Mission Conference 2017 - May 24-26
The Global Episcopal Mission Network holds an annual Global Mission Conference designed to create a forum in which those having a passion for global mission
engagement can meet, learn, and exchange ideas.
T
his year's theme "Reconciliation: God's Mission - and Ours,"
reflects God
's urgent call to the Church in a time of divisions and conflict. The conference will be
held in Nauvoo, Alabama, from May 24-26.
Click here
for more information, including the full event schedule, prices and registration.
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Share the Good News!
If you have a news story or event of interest to others in the diocese, or if you want assistance with your church or ministry communications, call Paula Schaap, Communications Director, 916-442-6918, ext. 226.
If you received this e-News from another and would like your own subscription,
click here to sign up and keep abreast of news from our diocese and beyond.
Artwork: Christ Healing the Blind, El Greco (Domenikos Theotokopoulos), ca. 1540, The Metropolitan Museum of Art
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