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Artist Kathrin Burleson illustrated "For the Beauty of the Earth," a collection of daily meditations.
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From Bishop Barry
Dear Friends in Christ:
Grace and peace to you!
As I write this, preparations for Convention are in their final phase. The Convention Planning Committee has concluded work begun last spring; the Office of the Bishop staff is working above and beyond their usual excellent efforts; registration is possibly the highest ever. The 107th annual Diocesan Convention should be a very good one. Certainly, it will be a memorable one, as we formally begin the transition to the election, ordination, and consecration of the 8th Bishop of Northern California, and move toward the horizons God puts before us.
Of course, as we gather we will be mindful of
the recent fires, and the loss, fear, chaos, and uncertainty they have created in the lives of so many members of our diocesan family. Both the requests for assistance and offers of help continue to come in. You and others around the Church have given generously to our fire relief fund, allowing me, as of this writing, to have disbursed about $25,000 in aid. Thank you for such generous compassion. Please continue to hold your clergy colleagues, lay leaders, and all affected in our impacted congregations in your prayers. Likewise, pray for the communities they serve. This disruption has been deep; rebuilding and healing will be going on for a long time - long after the crisis disappears from the media.
I rejoice to have received Kathrin Burleson's new book! "For the Beauty of the Earth" is a book of daily devotions, combining her wonderful artwork with a variety of written reflections on God's work of creation, as described in Genesis. (I am honored to be among those invited to contribute.) It is available from Forward Movement, and Kathrin donated copies for sale at Convention, with all proceeds going to fire relief. (Those copies sold quickly.) I commend it to you.
Looking forward to seeing you soon,
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FROM THE OFFICE OF THE BISHOP
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Diocesan Convention 2017 Media Center on Website
The Media Center for the 2017 Diocese of Northern California Convention is being updated as we compile videos and documents of interest. Check
here often; more to come! And if you have any photos or reflections to share, please send them to
[email protected] with DioCon2017 in the subject line.
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Save the Date: Clergy Quiet Day Dec. 6
The Advent Clergy Quiet Day will be Wednesday, Dec. 6, at The Bishop's Ranch near Healdsburg.
This event is free and lunch is provided.
Bishop Barry will be leading the quiet day as a special time to be with him in prayer, contemplative community time, and his own spiritual reflections on the season of Advent.
For more information, or to RSVP, contact Executive Assistant to the Bishop Jacqi Seppi at 916-442-6918, ext. 213, or email
[email protected]
.
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2018 Open Enrollment
Open Enrollment is the time of year when active and r
e
tired
employees can enroll in a healthcare plan and/or make changes to their healthcare for the upcoming year.
For eligible retirees, the open enrollment period is Oct. 15 - Dec. 7, 2017.
For eligible employees, the open enrollment period is Nov. 3 - Nov. 20, 2017.
Please note that if you are an eligible active employee or retiree currently enrolled in a medical and/or dental plan, you should have received an Open Enrollment package with a letter from the Church Pension Group to your personal address, which provides information on how to make changes. You will need this letter to help you prepare for and complete Open Enrollment for 2018.
If you are an active employee and did not receive a letter from the Church Pension Group in October, please be advised that a second letter was sent out on Nov. 1.
All eligible employees and retirees NOT currently enrolled in either a medical or a dental plan will not receive an Open Enrollment package from the Church Pension Group. If you wish to enroll in a medical and/or dental plan with coverage beginning Jan. 1, 2018, click here for more information.
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Open Clergy Positions
- Incarnation, Santa Rosa: Reviewing names for rector
- Grace Church, Fairfield: Receiving names for priest-in-charge
Learn more about these positions and others here.
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Bishop's Visitation Schedule
- Nov. 19 - St. Paul's, Healdsburg
- Nov. 26 - St. Augustine's, Rocklin
- Dec. 3 - Christ Church, Eureka
- Dec. 10 - St. Timothy's, Gridley
The Bishop's full 2017-2018 visitation schedule is available here.
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Bishop's Book: Online Discussion Nov. 30
Are you interested in talking more about the religious life? Are you currently engaged in a religious order or interested in learning more about all the diverse ways and opportunities to connect with religious orders? Are you enjoying the Bishop's book, Seeking God, and want to talk more with others about the ideas in the book?
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Pathways 2018 - Early Registration Due by Dec. 15
We hope that congregations will consider ways to help support this trip financially and in other ways; we will offer scholarships and other support with the goal of making this trip possible for everyone who wishes to participate. Please be in touch with the Rev. Sarah Quinney ([email protected]) if the cost is a barrier.
Dates:
June 24-30, 2018
Location: Sonoma County
Participants: Those finishing grades 7-12
Young adult leaders: Ages 18-30
Cost: $500 per participant ($450 early registration discount by Dec. 15 & deposit of $50 due by Dec. 15)
Apply online as a youth participant here.
Apply online as a adult/young adult leader here.
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NEWS & EVENTS IN AND AROUND OUR DIOCESE
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Experience a Revival with the PB This Weekend;
Take the Bus from Sacramento Friday with Your Friends
Presiding Bishop Michael Curry is coming to the Episcopal Diocese of San
Joaquin for his only West Coast revival this year!
If you plan to attend, please
register here
. There's no cost for registration, but the diocese needs to plan for food and seating. The free event
will be held at the following dates and locations:
Nov. 17: 4 p.m. at University of the Pacific in Stockton
Nov. 18: 1 p.m. at St. James Cathedral in Fresno
Nov. 19: 10 a.m. at St. Paul's in Bakersfield
To get a peek at what an Episcopal revival is like, check out this
video
from an event in Pittsburgh earlier this year.
Get on the Revival Bus:
The Diocese of Northern California will have a charter bus available on Friday, Nov. 17 to transport a number of us, particularly youth, who would like to attend this event. The bus will leave All Saints', Sacramento, at 3:30 p.m. so youth can meet us after school (the revival starts at 4 p.m. so we'll miss the beginning of the event).
Both youth and adults are welcome to ride on the bus. The cost is $10 (bring cash) for adults and free for youth (21 and under).
Folks are welcome to leave their cars in the All Saints' parking lot off Sutterville Road.
The revival is expected to end at 8 p.m. and the expected time back is around 10 p.m. Reply to the Rev. Sarah Quinney, [email protected], to reserve your spot.
Put up a poster: For a pdf file from which you can print out a full-color poster for your church, click here.
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Updates on October Fire Relief and Events
This Saturday night, Nov. 18, St. Paul's, Healdsburg, is sponsoring a Chili Supper and Fire Debriefing. "We are going to have a low-stress evening together in the Parish Hall (gathering around 6 p.m.) with a simple chili supper and opportunity to share our stories and experiences of the Sonoma County fires. ECW will provide cornbread and salad, and the church staff (and maybe a few others) will make chili. People from other parishes affected by the fires are also invited, and we are hoping that Bishop Barry can make it after an early afternoon consecration (of the Rt. Rev. David Rice) in Fresno," according to the church's Spiritsword newsletter.
Two items of note from Incarnation, Santa Rosa:
* If you have items you believe someone who has lost their home and contents might be able to use, go to sonomacounty.recovers.org, which is
matching up items with people who need them.
* On Saturday, Nov. 25, Incarnation will host Beauty from the Ashes: A Benefit for the Victims of the Sonoma Fires, with the music of Händel, Schumann, Brahms, Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel, Samuel Barber, Lorenna McKennitt, Leonard Cohen, and John Lennon; storytelling and poetry recitation, featuring the works of Mary Oliver, David Whyte, Mark Nepo and Ellen Bass. The event begins at 4 p.m. at the church, 550 Mendocino, Santa Rosa. $25 is the suggested donation, but all fire victims welcomed free of charge. The event will repeat on Sunday, also at 4 p.m., at the Petaluma Historical Library and Museum, 20 Fourth Street, Petaluma.
In Roseville, tickets for the Winterdance Celtic Christmas Celebration are now available; all proceeds are going to Bishop Barry's discretionary fund, from which he has been helping those affected by the October fires. The event will be at 7 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 10, at St. John's Episcopal Church, 2351 Pleasant Grove Blvd.
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Christ Church, Eureka, Calls Rector: Daniel London
We are pleased to announce that The Rev. Dr. Daniel London has been unanimously elected as the next Rector at Christ Church, Eureka. The Rev. London will start this ministry at Christ Church on Jan. 28, 2018; he is currently priest-in-charge at the Church of the Redeemer in San Rafael, Diocese of California. He is married to Dr. Ashley Bacchi, a specialist in
Hellenistic Judaism
.
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ECF Workshop Sunday at Trinity Cathedral
The Episcopal Church Foundation is will offering a workshop on P
lanned Giving & endowments for parish leaders in this area from 2-4 p.m. Nov. 19
at Trinity Cathedral.
Parishes with or without an existing Planned Giving ministry and/or an endowment will benefit from these workshops. These workshops will review best practices and empower leadership to take the best, next steps for their parish. More information is available here.
To register, please contact Andrea Zmuda at [email protected] or at (800) 697-2858 by Nov. 15.
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News & Notes
The Rev.
Ray Hess, priest-in-charge at St. George's, Carmichael, had some additional head surgery recently, but is on the mend. He said he is thankful to be driving again.
The Rev.
Jeanne Forte, who is retiring Dec. 3 from St. Paul's, Benicia, is recovering from heart surgery. She is at home and starting on a walking program.
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NEWS & EVENTS BEYOND OUR DIOCESE
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SeeCDSP Prospective Student Events
If you know someone in the discernment process as an aspirant or parishioners who want to explore their faith and ministry as lay leaders, ask them to consider SeeCDSP to experience campus and seminary life with other prospective CDSP students.
During SeeCDSP, they can attend classes, join the community for the regularly scheduled common worship in All Saints Chapel (Morning Prayer, mid-day Eucharist, Evening Prayer), experience Thursday Community Nights with evening Eucharist, dinner, and conversation, and explore the richness of life in the Graduate Theological Union and Berkeley.
The dates are:
January 31- February 2, 2018
February 28- March 2, 2018
March 14-16, 2018
There are no registration fees. Registration includes meals Wednesday dinner through Friday lunch and on-campus housing on Wednesday and Thursday nights. Once you register, you'll receive further information about traveling to campus and the schedule of the visit.
Please note that only 10 spaces are available for each session, so early registration is advised.
Contact Admissions
via email or 510-204-0738 with any questions about attending SeeCDSP. Registration is
here.
Noteworthy: CDSP will receive the 2017 Green Seminary Award from California Interfaith Power & Light, tomorrow, Nov. 15!
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Communications Help through Episcopal Digital Network
Did you know that besides providing news of interest to Episcopalians, the Episcopal News Service also provides a press release service, free to dioceses, congregations, church organizations, groups and institutions?
According to Matt Davies, ENS advertising and webmanager, the ENS audience currently stands at 105,000 unique users per month and has more than 20,700 opt-in newsletter subscribers.
- Submit a press release for inclusion on the Episcopal News Service here.
- Publish a People news item (e.g. new position, ordination, award) here.
- Publish a Job or Call listing here.
- Publish an Event listing here.
- Publish a Book listing here.
- Considering a paid advertisement? More information is available here.
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I
f you have a news story or event of interest to others in the diocese, or if you would like assistance with your church or ministry communications, contact Lori Korleski Richardson, Interim Communications Director at [email protected]
, 916-442-6918, ext. 226.
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