Greetings from the
Office of Christian Formation!
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September 2019 - a publication of the Office of Christian Formation
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This season we find ourselves focusing on the Presiding Bishop's "Way of Love" initiative -- and wanted to share a new treat we'll be providing in our newsletters! We'll be making a printable (either full color or, sometimes, a coloring page), for you to use as inspiration, reflection, or prayerful contemplation.
Enjoy!
Love,
the Office of Christian Formation
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Our 1st DIOVA Formation Leaders Retreat!
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Y'all. Y'ALL.
It's our first Diocese of Virginia Formation Leaders Retreat!
We are so excited! Speakers will range from discussing the Way of Love to toolkits for Youth Ministry and Children's Ministry, and a wide range of other subjects. Come network, learn, and grow in your connections with fellow formation leaders!
Where: Trinity Episcopal Church, Fredericksburg
When: Saturday, October 26th from 10:00am - 3:30pm
Cost: $15 for a single registration, or $30 for up to four people from the same parish
Registration opens on Monday, September 16th!
More information regarding the schedule, etc. coming soon!
Keep your eyes on these emails as well as our FB page!
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PYM Dates are live!
Senior High Weekend -
November 1-3, 2019
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Fourth & Fifth Graders Weekend -
April 17 - 19, 2020 (a new event!)
Sixth - Eighth Graders Weekend -
May 8-10, 2020
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Sierra Gore is now our sole Adult Chair of PYM! Yay Sierra! Email her and her only with any of your questions or thoughts about the program!
sgore@thediocese.net
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SHRINE MONT CAMPS 2019 RECAP!
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It was another amazing year for Shrine Mont Camps!
Our NINE camps hosted 640 campers, including the usual St. George's Camp, Music and Drama Camp, Art Camp, Explorers' Camp, St. Elizabeth's Camp, St. Andrew's Camp, Family Camp, St. Sebastian's Camp, and Senior High Youth Conference.
We provided approximately 135 scholarships to camp this year, enabling more campers to attend through this generosity than ever before.
Our staff was approximately 114 strong, including 30 young people who volunteered as buddies to campers at St. Elizabeth's Camp.
For the first time, we had more than 150 youth ages 14 and up on the mountain at the same time, thanks to the convergence of Senior High Youth Conference, a new session of Explorers the Great, Music and Drama III, St. George's IV, and our St. Elizabeth's volunteers.
Enjoy our mini photo collage and start thinking about camp for 2020 -- we already are!
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Here's what we're chewing on, thinking about, listening to, and taking in this month:
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Bishop Curry talking about his Way of Love Initiative?
'Nuff said.
Listen to it-- you'll be glad you did!
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A beautiful daily and weekly liturgical planner that combines a number of tools to help inspire and support your individual life in faith. From daily lectionary readings, weekly and monthly Examen pages and a weekly Sabbath planning and reflection page, this journal invites you to place your faith formation at the heart of your daily and weekly rhythm, and incorporates many resources to help those practices become habit.
Right now the Academic Year planner is on sale, and Paris has begun to use it. We invite you to join in, and let us know how it works for you!
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Paris read this recently -- look for her reflections on it in future newsletters!
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Gladwell talks about the saddest songs in the world, and makes the point that emotions in storytelling are driven by specificity, which allows us to imagine and be empathetic. Without delving into emotional manipulation (a delicate balance that was not always found in ministries, specifically Youth Ministry, we realize), we hope to point to this resource as a way to think about telling the story of Christ and the story of the Episcopal Faith, as well as your formation department.
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The Staff of the Office of Christian Formation!
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Paris Ball, Director of the Office of Christian Formation & Director of Shrine Mont Camps
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Megan Nolde, Camp Registrar & Communications Assistant in the Office of Christian Formation
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Sierra Gore, Adult Chair for PYM
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