Aurora e-News
May 9, 2017


S erving the people of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern California

Making Disciples, Raising Up Saints & Transforming Communities for Christ
From Bishop Barry

Dear Friends in Christ:

Grace and peace to you, and Eastertide blessings! I pray that the joy of the Resurrection abounds for you.

Ann and I have just joyfully celebrated the 19th anniversary of our marriage (5/2/98, by Bishop Lamb at Grace, St. Helena).  We are now joyfully looking forward to leading a Holy Land pilgrimage together for our diocese, and hope that you will help identify potential pilgrims and send them our way. 

Ann will be leaving Church Divinity School of the Pacific this month, and joyfully transitioning to new ministries.  And I will be completing nearly 10 years of service on the CDSP Board - joy all around on that one! - especially as that institution has made so very much progress in this past decade towards health and strength.

On May 5 I had the privilege of presiding at the Cathedral for the EfM graduation Eucharist. I hold this program in highest esteem, and have ever since introducing it at  about 25 years ago. Education for Ministry has long been one of the best things about the Episcopal Church, and it is a joy to see it still bearing fruit in this way. EfM is a huge commitment for everyone involved; it is also a reminder that we are not doing nearly enough to educate and form disciples, and need to persist in finding new opportunities and utilizing new resources. We need to be a teaching and learning church.

It was a joy to be together with our deacons this month at their spring gathering. And to be together at Clergy Conference later this month. And to celebrate the Feast of the Ascension. And to celebrate the 38th anniversary of my ordination to the priesthood. The list goes on.

But the joy I feel is more than just occasional. We are an Easter people, and the joy that comes with having the risen Christ in our midst is pervasive and deep. I thank God for this gift, and the joy of walking this way together.

Yours in Christ,

From the Bishop's Office
2018 Holy Land Pilgrimage 

In case you missed the Bishop's mention in his message above, the Bishop and his wife the Rev. Dr. Ann Hallisey are leading a Holy Land pilgrimage open to everyone in the Diocese from  Jan. 24 - Feb. 3, 2018 . The price (including airfare, room, board, and gratuities) is $4,295.

For more information and for the brochure, visit our website here.
Thy Kingdom Come: Pray with the Worldwide Anglican Communion

The Episcopal Church has joined the Worldwide Anglican Communion in Thy Kingdom Com
e,  a global prayer movement that invites Christians around the world to pray between Ascension Day and Pentecost, May 25-June 4, for more people to come to know Jesus.

Thy Kingdom Come is 
a campaign initiated by Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby calling for prayer by  individuals, congregations and families.  #ThyKingdomCome

Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Michael Curry will lead the Thy Kingdom Come video messages on May 25.

Also in conjuction with Thy Kingdom Come is Pledge2Pray, which individuals or churches can sign up to participate here.

One resource available, at no fee, is a prayer journal to record thoughts, prayers and ideas throughout Thy Kingdom Come for young people and adults. Download here.
Open Clergy Positions
  • St. Patrick's, Kenwood: Receiving names
  • St. Clement's, Rancho Cordova: Receiving names
  • Grace Church, Fairfield: Receiving names
  • St. Martin's, Davis: Reviewing names
  • Christ Church, Eureka: Reviewing names 
  • St. James', Lincoln: Reviewing names
  • St. Luke's, CalistogaPriest in Charge has retired and Supply Clergy in place; vestry considering next steps
To learn more about these positions, click here.
Bishop's Visitation Schedule

Bishop Beisner will be visiting the following congregations in the next two months:
For the Bishop's full 2017-2018 visitation schedule, click here.
Faith Formation
Save the Date - 2017 P NEUMA Conference 

The 2017 PNEUMA Conference will be held  Oct. 9-12 at the Bishop's Ranch. Keep an eye out for registration to become available. This year's keynote speaker will be Leanne Hadley, and the topic will be "Faithful Conversations in Heated Times".

For more information, click here.
Share Your Thoughts on "Toxic Charity"

Did you read "Toxic Charity" this spring? Would you like to share your thoughts and experiences with the book with others in our diocese?  If so, please contact the Rev. Anne Clarke at  anne@norcalepiscopal.org .

In it, Robert D. Lupton writes: "What Americans avoid facing is that while we are very generous in charitable giving, much of that money is either wasted or actually harms the people it is targeted to help."

We want to hear how this book influenced your thinking.
News & Events in our Diocese and Beyond
All-California Deputation Gets Preview of General Convention

By Lori Korleski Richardson, Interim Communications Director

Northern California was well-represented May 6 as delegates and alternates from a ll six dioceses in the state gathered at the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, to hear the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings, president of the House of Deputies, and Canon Michael Barlowe, General Convention executive officer and secretary of Executive Council, talk about what legislation, issues and resolutions may come before the house. 

T he afternoon before, most of the deputation attended a conversation Charles Wynder Jr.,  missioner for social justice and advocacy engagement for The Episcopal Church, about forming an Episcopal Public Policy Network for work specifically in California. 

The 79th General Convention will be July 5-13, 2018, in Austin, Texas. 

Attendees from left in photograph above: Myles Clarke, the Rev. Lewis Powell, the Rev. James Richardson, the Very Rev. Sara Potter, Jim Jordan, Charis Hill, John Miller, Canon Charles Mack, the Very Rev. Cliff Haggenjos and the Rev. Andrea McMillin, canon to the ordinary.
ECS Sunday - May 28

Episcopal Community Services is pleased to announce that Bishop Beisner has designated the seventh Sunday of Easter, May 28, as ECS Sunday.

All congregations will receive  information about the appeal and copy-ready bulletin inserts for May 28. 

All funds raised are for grants used to help congregations develop, strengthen and support social justice and health ministries in their communities. Since the funds are available to all congregations in our diocese, ECS hopes that all congregations will support this work  by participating in this appeal.

The bulletin inserts and news article will also be on the ECS website
All Saints' 'Finishes' Their Church, 28 Years Later

When  All Saints', Redding , was first built, plans to complete the separation of the entry area from the worship hall came to a halt when the church's funds ran dry.
 
Now, 28 years later, All Saints' has a narthex screen and will soon have a new rose window, thanks to the donation of local doctor Terry Rust, said the Very Rev. Paul F. Blanch, rector.

To read the rest of the story, click here.
Pilgrimage Prayers Requested

Please pray for the following pilgrims: 

  • Margie Harrison-Smith, Fr. Paul Blanch, Maggie Blanch, Simon Blanch,* Emma Blanch,* Benji Blanch,* Fr. Gregg Churchill, Jo Churchill, Trudi Davis, Janet Gallino, Jennifer Gillespie, Gary Hard,* Carol Hard,* Sheila Hard,* Joshua Lucero, Heidi Heiman, FrankLittle, Wendy Little, Stuart Neblett, Kathy Neblett, Dan Spiess, Debbie Spiess, Bev Statton, and Gerry Statton from All Saints', Redding, are traveling to Rome and Assisi from May 8 to 15*Family members of pilgrims who do not attend All Saints', but are joining in for the pilgrimage.
  • A multigenerational group of 17, including Rector Sean Cox, from Faith, Cameron Park, will head to Honduras June 4-12. They will be teaching a Vacation Bible School as part of their trip.
Former Rector at Incarnation, Santa Rosa, Moving to Oregon

The Rev. Dr. Matthew Lawrence, former rector of Incarnation, Santa Rosa, is moving to Trin ity Cathedral in Portland, Oregon, as their Canon for Spiritual Formation on Sept. 15. 

He will continue as a chaplain resident at Sutter CPMC hospitals in San Francisco through mid-August. 
Bishop of San Joaquin To Be Honored at Sewanee May 12

Bishop David Rice
On May 12, the School of Theology in Sewanee (www.sewanee.edu), Tenn., will present an honorary degree to the Rt. Rev. David Rice, provisional bishop of the Diocese of San Joaquin and two others. Rice, who became an Anglican priest in 1997, was formerly the diocesan bishop of Waiapu in the Anglican Church in Aotearoa/New Zealand and Polynesia. Since arriving in San Joaquin in 2014, Rice has encouraged his diocese to feed and clothe, through community gardens, food banks, and backpack initiatives, the large number of people who live on the streets. A bicycle tour and other efforts raise awareness and support for agencies working with survivors of human trafficking. 

The other bishops are Harold William Godfrey, former bishop of Peru now serving in the Diocese of York, England, and José Antonio McLoughlin, who was ordained in 2016 as the seventh bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina.
Indianapolis' 11th Bishop Makes History

The Rt. Rev. Jennifer Baskerville-Burrows, a graduate of the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, is the first African-American to lead an Episcopal diocese; she is also the first woman to replace another woman as bishop. 

To read a full story on Baskerville-Burrows, click here

Photograph taken from Bishop Baskerville-Burrows' Facebook page, at her  first  congregational visitation after being ordained as a bishop.
National Episcopal Church Women Seek Nominations

In a little over a year, the NECW will host the  49th Triennial Meeting of Episcopal Church Women , which takes place in conjunction with The Episcopal Church's General Convention in Austin, Texas. Before then is an election that will start very soon and closer to home: Province representatives to the NECW Board. To find out more about what is required of this position, contact president Lisa Towle,  president@ecwnational.org.
News from the Episcopal Church 

Episcopal Church
The deadline to submit nominee applications for Executive Council, Trustee of the Church Pension Fund, and other Episcopal Church board positions that will be elected during the 2018 General Convention is May 10. The applications are available here.

***
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and House of Deputies President the Rev. Gay Clark Jennings and officers of the House of Bishops and House of Deputies are inviting Episcopalians to study and commit to using Becoming Beloved Community: The Episcopal Church's Long-term Commitment to Racial Healing, Reconciliation and Justice. To discuss the Church's long-term commitment to the document, c hurch-wide discussion and webinars with Bishop Curry and President Jennings will begin May 16 The full document is available here To continue reading the Episcopal Church's media release, click here .
Upcoming Events:


June 25-28: Cultivate: Resilient Hope is a young adult ministry conference in Austin for leaders in ministry with young adults on and off college campuses. For more information and to register,  click here.

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 Lori Korleski Richardson, Interim Communications Director, 916-442-6918, ext. 226.

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