Letter from the Bishops after the House of Bishops Gathering
Dear Companions in Christ,
The bishops of The Episcopal Church meet together every fall and spring for prayer and worship, study and consultation, collegiality and fellowship. The main focus for the meeting was evangelism, and we were well resourced by both outside speakers and each other as we shared stories and best practices for evangelism.
We reaffirmed our church’s commitment to evangelism as “the presentation of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit in such ways that persons may be led to believe in him as Savior and follow him as Lord within the fellowship of his Church.” We also addressed ourselves to urgent matters in our society, specifically the ongoing realities of sexual abuse and gun violence in our nation.
Below you will find two statements from the House of Bishops on these important topics that were affirmed unanimously by the bishops gathered. We commend the statements to you for your study, prayer, and action.
Continue reading the full letter
here
.
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Bishop Ian T. Douglas and Bishop DeDe Duncan-Probe of Central New York offered an overview of the recent House of Bishops meeting in this video.
Click on the image below to launch it.
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Service of lamentation and remembrance for the victims of Parkland on March 14
On Wednesday, March 14 at 7 p.m. Christ Church Cathedral in Hartford will hold a service of lamentation and of honoring the 17 victims of the Parkland school shooting. All are encouraged to attend and be with one another to pray and reflect. Details on this service included in a more comprehensive eNewsletter
here
.
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Women's Day Conference & open invitation to CT's March For Our Lives in Hartford, March 24
"Equipping and Empowering God's Women: A Way Forward" a conference
celebrating International Women's Day, on March 24 at Christ Church Cathedral, Hartford. Program begins at 9:00 a.m. with worship to conclude at 12:30 p.m.
R
egistration available
here
.
After worship, all are invited to join the CT - March For Our Lives rally against gun violence. Folks will gather at the Cathedral & march to the State Capital building for the rally. Information is available
here
.
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Center in Atlanta to resource work of dismantling racism
Episcopal Church renews efforts at racial justice, healing, and reconciliation
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How do you dismantle racism and build the “beloved community” spoken of by the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.? Representatives from 30 dioceses from across the church met February 28 – March 1 in Atlanta, Georgia for a national conversation -- hosted by Atlanta’s
Absalom Jones Episcopal Center for Racial Healing
-- to share and learn from one another.
The Center hopes to be a partner in this ongoing missional work by all the dioceses, including Connecticut.
Continue reading
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Registration now open for ECCT's Spring Training & Gathering, Saturday April 7
Register today
for the Spring Training & Gathering, a day of fellowship, learning, prayer and fun. All are welcome - people in the pews to vestry members to parish leaders and staff.
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Resources including discussion questions, daily meditations, and videos are available
here
. Join the discussion on social media throughout #ECCT by commenting on our daily and weekly (Saturday afternoon) posts. Be sure to follow ECCT on Facebook (
link here
) and Twitter (
link here
) to participate!
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What's happening in the Regions:
- Check the Facebook page for details!
- March 14, 12:00 - 8:30 p.m. Day of Lamentation & Action, Christ Church Cathedral
- A Lenten Day of Spiritual Engagement - March 17 - St. Peter's, South Windsor - Click for more info
- March 18, 6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m. Conversation, prayer, and fellowship at New England Brewing Co (175 Amity Rd Woodbridge CT).
- March 18, 6:00 p.m.: Tenebrae Service at Holy Advent, Clinton
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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.
- Music Director, All Saints', Wolcott
- Sexton, St. Paul's, Southington
- Director of Christian Formation for Children and Youth, St. Paul's, Southington
- Minister of Music, Church of the Holy Trinity, Middletown
- Nursery Caregiver, St. John's, Stamford
- Music Director, Christ Church, Trumbull
For open Clergy positions please click
here
.
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Announcements & Reminders
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Please continue to fill out the parish/worshiping community survey for the ECCT database
A survey was launched in July 2017 to provide robust data on parishes, along with policies and procedures to make some of that data available for direct collaboration among parishes and worshiping communities.
Thanks so much to the following churches that completed their survey since the last announcement:
Church of the Holy Spirit, West Haven and St. Paul's, Riverside
!
Would you like to see the beta version of the "expanded parish directory" that this data helps to produce? We have not heard from all parishes yet and there is more data cleanup and directory formatting that we're addressing. Also, FYI, data on clergy is pulled from a separate database. Comments welcome.
Click here for a PDF.
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Episcopal Church General Convention, Official Youth Presence members announced
The 16 members of the
Episcopal Church
General Convention
Official Youth Presence at the 79th General Convention have been announced. Including one of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut's own -- James-Paul Forbes of St. John's, Pine Meadow!
The General Convention Official Youth Presence was established by an initial resolution in 1982. Members of the Official Youth Presence are permitted seat and voice by the rules of the House of Deputies and will participate in committee hearings and floor debates. Read more
here
.
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Episcopal, Anglican women gather in NYC for 62nd annual UN Commission meeting
The 62nd session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW) meeting in New York City March 12 to March 23 will gather women and girls, men and boys from The Episcopal Church and throughout the Anglican Communion.
Lois Frankforter, member of Grace & St. Peter's, Hamden and President of the Girls' Friendly Society is among those named by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry as an Episcopal delegate (more info on Episcopal participation
here
).
The 2018 UNCSW Priority Theme is “Challenges and opportunities in achieving gender equality and the empowerment of rural women and girls.” See more
here
.
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Happening, a spiritual weekend for teens, March 16-18
Happening is a renewal weekend for teenagers in grades 10 – 12, a weekend full of fun, games, sharing, surprises, and a time of spiritual renewal & empowerment. Teens worship, play, sing, & talk about God’s place in their lives.
Please contact
George Roberts
if you have questions or are interested in registering. The cost for the weekend is $150 and you can register
here
.
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Bishop's Book Study at Camp Washinton, March 20
Join others at Camp Washington on March 20 at 11:00 a.m., for an hour long book discussion, led by Bishop Laura J. Ahrens, with continued conversation over lunch. The book begin discussed is
Falling Upward by Richard Rohr
. The discussion is open to everyone, even if you have not read the book! Please
see this flyer
for more information!
There is no cost to attend, however, registration is required via
Eventbrite
.
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Adult Retreat with Sophfronia Scott, March 23 - 24
In this insightful program, novelist and essayist Sophfronia Scott will facilitate a weekend of reading, writing, and discovery, writing your own spiritual story.
More information and tickets available on
Evenbrite
.
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Icon Writing Workshop, May 4-6 and May 11-13 at Trinity, Newtown
Writing icons (practically speaking, painting the image onto a gesso board with acrylics) is an ancient practice of prayer and contemplation.
And, you don't need to be an artist to write an icon. Step-by-step, students are guided in the process of icon writing. "Trying On" a new
spiritual practice.
The cost per person is $325, with a deposit of $100 needed by April 1st.
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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.
- March 13, Provisional Priest in Charge Gathering, The Commons
- March 13, Convention Planning Meeting, The Commons
- March 14, General Convention Deputation Meeting, Christ Church Cathedral, Hartford
- March 14, Service of Lament and Remembrance for Parkland victims, Christ Church Cathedral, Hartford
- March 15, Fresh Start meeting, The Commons
- March 15, Retired Clergy Meeting, The Commons
- March 15, Resolution 4-9 Work Group, The Commons
- March 15, Standing Committee, The Commons
- March 17, Leadership Gathering, The Commons
- March 20, Bishop's Book Study, Camp Washington
- March 20, Missional and Conditional Priests in Charge Gathering, The Commons
- March 24, "Equipping and Empowering God's Women: A Way Forward," Christ Church Cathedral
- March 27, Renewal of Ordination Vows & the Blessing of Holy Oils, Camp Washington
- March 27, Convention Planning, Christ Church Cathedral
BISHOPS' VISITS:
- March 18: Bishop Ahrens, Trinity, Milton; Bishop Douglas, Church of the Holy Spirit, West Haven
- March 25: Bishop Ahrens, Trinity, Hartford; Bishop Douglas, St. Barnabas', Greenwich
- April 1: Bishop Ahrens, St. James', New Haven
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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.
PLEASE check to see if your event is already on the calendar before you submit it.
PARISH EVENTS:
Regular worship services, including season-specific, will not be listed below.
- March 13, Recharge your faith, Lenten invitation, Trinity, Wethersfield
- March 14, Duke University Chorale, Christ Church, Greenwich
- March 14, Blues in Lent, St. Mark's, New Canaan
- March 14, Drive-in Vigil, Trinity, Portland
- March 15, Lenten Compline, St. James;, Glastonbury
- March 16, Faith on Fire: Heather Sinclair, Christ Church, Greenwich
- March 16, Come Walk the Way of the Cross, Grace, Hartford
- March 17, Lenten Day of Spiritual Encouragement, St. Peter's, Wouth Windsor
- March 17, St. Patrick's Day Dinner & Irish Soda Bread Bake-off, St. John's, North Haven
- March 17, Polish Dinner, St. Peter's, Hebron
- March 17, Courage & Faith: Shane Claiborne, Christ Church, Greenwich
- March 18, Healing Service, St. Philip',s Putnam
- March 18, Prophets & Loss: The King David Story, St. Ann's, Old Lyme
- March 18, Journey of the Irish Harp, Trinity, Portland
- March 18, Tenebrae Service, Church of the Holy Advent, Clinton
- March 18, Refugee Resettlement - "Hope & Help," Old Saint Andrews, Bloomfield
- March 19, Bible Study: "Victory Garden," Holy Trinity, Enfield
- March 20, Recharge your faith, Lenten invitation, Trinity, Wethersfield
- March 21, Blues in Lent, St. Mark's, New Canaan
- March 22, Evening Prayer Vigil Against Gun Violence, St. Timothy's, Fairfield
- March 23, Come Walk the Way of the Cross, Grace Church, Hartford
- March 25, Choral Evensong, St. John's, West Hartford
REGION MEETINGS & EVENTS:
- March 31, North Central and South Central Region Confirmations
MINISTRY NETWORK MEETINGS & EVENTS:
- March 14, Brotherhood of St. Andrew meeting, St. John's, Vernon
- March 15, Holy Landers meeting, The Commons
- March 19, FBBB Lenten Series: Breathing Under Water
- March 22, Hispanic Ministry Network meeting, The Commons
- March 24, "Equipping and Empowering God's Women: A Way Forward" Women's Ministry Network Conference
- March 26, FBBB Lenten Series: Breathing Under Water
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SAFE CHURCH TRAINING:
The spring safe church schedule for laity is online
here
. If you serve in a parish, you want to make sure your lay leaders attend safe church training or re-certification, if required or recommended for them based on their position. You must register online; registration closes seven days before the session, or when it is full. Sessions with fewer than 10 people registered may be cancelled. Questions? Contact
Deb Kenney
.
Comprehensive (Basic) Safe Church Training
For ordained and lay ministers who have not yet attended a training in Connecticut
- Option 1 - full day, includes lunch
- April 14: St. Michael's, Litchfield - Register here
- Option 2 - hybrid program with online training plus shortened live follow-up
- March 17, 9:00 - 11:30 a.m.: St. David's, Gales Ferry - Register Here
- March 20, 6:30 - 9:00 p.m.: Christ Church, Pomfret - Register Here
- March 24, 9:00 - 11:30 a.m.: St. John's, West Hartford - Register Here
- April 18, 6:30 - 9:00 p.m.: St. John's, Stamford - Register Here
- April 26, 6:30 - 9:00 p.m.: Christ Church, Easton - Register Here
- April 28, 9:00 - 11:30 a.m.: St. Peter's, Hebron - Register Here
- May 19, 9:00 - 11:30 a.m.: Christ Church, Roxbury - Register Here
- May 22, 6:30 - 9:00 p.m.: St. Mary's, Manchester - Register Here
Recertification Training for Lay Persons
For lay ministers who attended a full day of basic safe church training three to five years ago
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