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NORTHEAST REGION ENEWSLETTER
DECEMBER 2019
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You Don't Want To Miss These: Upcoming Events
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Christmas Services in the NE Region
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Community Fellowship Craft Day
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On Saturday, November 9th, 31 people from across the NE Region of ECCT gathered at Grace Episcopal Church, in Stafford Springs, for our 2nd Craft Day. Our numbers represented 7 Episcopal Parishes (from the NE and NW Regions), and folks from Lutheran, Congregational, and Roman Catholic parishes.
The event was put together by a terrific planning team with representation from Episcopal and Lutheran parishes in the area. Together we created a day that featured key-note speaker Janet Bristow who was part of the creation-team behind "
The Prayer Shawl Ministry" and how our crafting brings us into closer relationship with God and with eachother. One key learning from Janet was that there is no wrong way to make a prayer shawl!
Highlights of the day include: the very popular swap table, where folks brought crafting materials they no longer had a use for and offered them to anyone who wanted them - knitting and crocheting materials left unclaimed are being donated to
Hawkwing for their new efforts in teaching hand crafts; Christian conversations centered in Scripture and focused around how crafting has impacted and shaped our lives; opportunities to share the ministries in our parishes with eachother -
peace by piece quilters, knitting for
Seafarer's Institute, prayer shawl ministries, and a new venture in sewing reusable grocery totes to generate funds for care-of-creation ministries.
The planning team is getting together soon to plan another Crafting Day - so stay tuned!
Article written by Maggie Breen, NE Region Missionary
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From Maggie, your Region Missionary
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Welcome to December my friends - an interesting month in the life of a church. As I live more fully into my role as your Region Missionary, I am discovering some of the patterns that our lives take together throughout the church. It seems that the Fall (Sep-Nov) is consumed with the start of the Program Year and all the activities associated with that, not to mention this is a prime space for Region Events and Convention! And at the of that time frame, our secular calendar imposes demands on us around "The Holiday Season", with shops propelling us forward with Christmas music the day after Halloween.
And then December happens. We can see Christmas on the horizon, and yet it feels like The Church takes a collective deep breath and long exhalation. We know there is much to do in preparation for Christmas, and yet we are called specifically into this season of inner preparation. It's an interesting path to be on - where outside forces are keeping Christmas in the forefront of my mind (and those of us in choirs or bands have been practicing holiday music since October) and yet my soul longs for silence and contemplation.
Perhaps it has to do with the change in Daylight Saving Time. Now that the days are shorter, I am spending more time on inside activities: enjoying the comfort of tea and a roaring fire in the wood stove; practicing tunes on my new passion - the ukulele; and making an effort to sit with Scripture every day. Just last week, I put some energy into figuring out how to understrand the Daily Office information in our Book of Common Prayer (it's not hard, I promise!) and I have begun a practice of saying Evening Prayer before I go to bed.
And it is in this way that my soul feels refreshed; something about the act of reading the Psalms, and working my way through the Gospel of Luke, that is smoothing down my feathers from a very active Fall. In doing this, I feel that I am more ready to engage in the preparation of Advent and the wonderment of the coming birth of Jesus. Because it is a wonder, isn't it? This story we begin to see again - the life changing power of God as seen through the eyes of ordinary people.
I feel exceedingly blessed to travel the roads of the NE Region with all of you - seeing God work through you and your communities has been both encouraging and life-giving. May we all have a chance to experience the story of Mary, and the birth of Jesus, in new and powerful ways this Advent.
Photo by Maggie Breen
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Icon of the Month - The Nativity
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The first and foremost choice for Decemberโs icon is the Nativity โ of course!
Byzantine icons are loaded with symbolism, after all, they were originally meant to be instructional. The Nativity has a certain set of symbols commonly displayed, although there are variations. One of the first icons I wrote was of the Nativity, but since it was on the small size, it lacked some of the more interesting symbols. As Christmas approaches, I am engaged in writing a new larger Nativity. It has a much richer symbolism that we can examine.
For instance, the icon is painted on a wooden panel, the wood itself is a symbol, it represents the cross. Some of the Nativityโs special symbolism is as follows:
The cave
represents the world, dark with sin through manโs fault. It is now illuminated by the Light of the Incarnation as Christ enters into the world. โThe light shines in the darkness and the darkness cannot overcome itโ. (John 1:5) Of interest: Christ came into this world in a cave and left it in a cave (i.e., the tomb.)
The Christ-child
is seen wrapped in swaddling cloths much as he was for his burial. The manger represents His crib, and the Bread and Wine of the Eucharist. โI am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any man eat of this bread, he shall live forever, and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the worldโ. (John 6:51)
The ox and the ass
fulfil the prophecy of Isaiah. โThe ox knows its owner, and the donkey its masterโs crib; but Israel does not know, my people do not understandโ. (Isaiah 1:3). Likewise
,
the sheep
remind us that Christ is the Good Shepherd.
The Virgin Mary
or
ฮฮตฮฟฯฯฮบฮฟฯ
(Theotokos, Greek meaning โGod-bearerโ) is often seen resting on a red blanket that symbolises the colour of life. In my icon, she is robed in red. She is often seen not looking at her Son, but at her beloved husband Saint Joseph. She is praying to the Lord so his struggles of disbelief and temptation will pass.
Saint Joseph
is seen as an elderly man with grey hair. He is troubled by this miraculous birth. Could it really be true, or might it be another man? He is often seen with an
elderly man
dressed in rags or hides and with a cane. He is really Satan tempting Saint Joseph to disbelieve. Through Maryโs prayers Saint Joseph overcomes this struggle. He becomes the protector of the Virgin Mary and guardian of Jesus Christ the Savior.
The Star
represents the heavens and the Trinity rejoicing the glorious birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. Some icons are written with three lines coming from the heavens to better represent the Trinity.
Other more familiar figures in Nativity icon are the
Angels
,
the
Shepards
(Luke), and the
Magi
(Matthew). However, another image often seen in Byzantine Nativity icons is a pair of women preparing to give the Saviour his first bath. I am unaware of any special meaning here, but my guess is that it relates to Baptism.
Article and icon by David Clarke, member of St. John's, Vernon
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The Joy of Feast Days - Advent
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Advent is an excellent season to try on a new rule of life. If youโve been wanting to try one of the habits from Bishop Curryโs Way of Love, I encourage you to take that first step this December. Advent is the beginning of our liturgical church year. We take down the green falls and say farewell to the long (good golly, itโs long) season of Pentecost. We start fresh with new readings, new collects, new energy. Just as the new calendar year propels us to try a new habit, let the momentum of this new church year move you towards that daily thing โ that daily turning, learning, praying, worshiping, blessing, going, or resting
thing that the Spirit has been nudging you to do. You know what Iโm talking about.
And I know what youโre about to say. Itโs December, crazy Eating Liturgically Lady. Weโre already doing so much in December. Who starts something new in December?
Wellโฆwe do. We followers of Jesus do. Weโre part of the temporal world, sure, and we of course do a great deal in December in that world. But weโre also not of this world. We are separate. And in December? We start the new year weeks before the calendar year shifts, and the first thing we do in this new year isโฆwait.
Which brings me to my second suggestion. If you have been considering Eating Liturgically as something to try on, Advent is an excellent season for it. We already talked about the new year momentum. Now letโs talk about what itโs like to eat Fierce while others are Feasting.
In my Eating Liturgically discipline, I honor Feast days and Fast Days, which are laid out in our calendar in the Book of Common Prayer. For me, I realized I needed a focus on the days that are not Feast or Fast days in order to keep those days special and distinct. I call these other days โFierce Daysโ because alliteration is fun and, on those days, I strive to eat healthily and well so I can go out and do the work God has given me to do. Iโm Fierce.
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We know that stores put out Christmas decorations around Halloween. We know that people start the Christmas season well before Dec 25, with parties and treats and chocolate and all. We also know thatโฆfor us, on our calendar, it is not yet Christmas. We are waiting and preparing in Advent. That tension of eating Fiercely amidst the worldโs Feasting is a visceral, tangible, deeply powerful way to orient yourself to that waiting space. To โnot yetโ.
Now, I would never Yuck your Yum. I confess, my Sunday Feast Days in December are very full of seasonal holly jolly treats. I also go to Christmas parties and enjoy when they come up on my calendar โ but I do hold back a bit. I am very specific and mindful of those times I feast, and when the tension between what the world is doing and what I am doing inevitably arises, I notice it. I breathe. I pray.
We are waiting. We are waiting for our Messiah to come. In these modern times, there is not much we have to wait for, really. It is a good sensation to embrace.
If you are interested, I invite you to experience waiting this Advent. Really feel it.
I promise you, the 12 Feast Days of Christmas will feel remarkably new if you do.
Article by Erika Plank Hagan, member of St. Stephen's, Ridgefield
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How ECCT & IREJN Bring Gardening And God Together
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Ten years ago, St. Johnโs, Vernon made a decision to try on organic gardening on our campus. Our intention was to grow fresh produce and donate it to the local soup kitchen. In the years since that initial commitment, we have expanded our gardens and grown not only prolific amounts of vegetables and fruit, but also our beds, our effort, and our team. (See further description at the end of this article.) Our master gardener and enthusiast of all things organic, Letty Naigles, has also become an organic garden interfaith and ecumenical evangelist, traveling around the state to assist faith groups in starting and maintaining their gardens. (Three parishes of the ECCT are included in the text and pictures below.) What follows is a description of several of those efforts which are a source of great abundance and blessing. We celebrate Godโs good gifts to us, the fruit of the earth, and the work and care of the heads, hands, and hearts who have tended these gardens for Godโs holy purposes.
Please noteโALL of these gardens are completely organic, using only biological fertilizers and pest management. See how prolific they are!
St. Johnโs Vernon has hosted a forum on Plastics Pollution in April, and have been pursuing a modest film series to raise awareness about the pressing environmental issues provoked by climate change. We have shown
Pittsburgh to Paris, Before the Flood, Racing Extinction, Merchants of Doubt, Food, Inc., Cool Harvest, An Inconvenient Truth, Lighten Up, Coal Country, Red Gold,
and
Chasing Ice
. These movies have provoked conversation and discussion and have become an important education and formation opportunity for members of the parish (who admittedly self-select in or out of engaging). We have also run a food waste program, sold compact fluorescent light bulbs back in the days when they were the new best thing, shared a personal carbon tracker, and participated in the Interfaith Power and Light Cool Congregations program. We are members of the IREJN, and have received their Level Two Green House of Worship Award.
When explaining the intersection of this environmental work and her faith, Letty writes:
I walk through the woods and I cannot see my entire pathโit twists and turns, and b/c the woods are fully green still, the understory conceals where the path is. So my walk is a mystery. God is also a Mystery: the Scriptures lay out many aspects of God, but they are not fully transparent and they do not present the sum total of God. The woods and meadows and seas and rivers and gardens and air and water and plants and animals, big and small, are also of God. Their mystery sheds light on, but also manifests, the mystery of God. Every bit of nature, little and big, is a manifestation and illumination of God.
Which also means that every bit of nature that we destroy, discard, diminish, also transfers to God.
Ouch. I cringe. I have done all of these things.
And so I also work to grow things. I work to grow appreciation for Godโs Creation. I work to grow realizations of the connections from our current lifestyles to how we are destroying Godโs Creation. I work to grow realizations of what we can do to change our actions, so that we can continue to (and further) manifest and illuminate God, and so experience the Mystery. And I work to grow food in sustainable ways, both to give people nutritious food and to participate with God in creating. That sounds a bit presumptuous, but comes from Godโs call for us to be stewards of Creation. And even after all these years of growing gardens, whenever I see the seedlings emerge, the stems become sturdy, the flowers open, and fruits and vegetables emerge from the flowers and then grow and turn colors and grow some more, thrills just bubble inside me. The Mystery is happening again and again and again, and I am allowed to be part of it. wow.
St. Johnโs Community Garden, Vernon-Rockville, CT
This team broke ground with one raised bed on church property 10 years ago, realizing that in a town called Rockville, the rocky ground itself was not going to support a garden. Their goal was to grow food for local people in need, and to manifest a sustainable (hence, organic) interaction with Godโs Creation at the same time. With gifts and grants from Interfaith Power and Light, the Connecticut Department of Public Health, the North Central District Health Department, the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut, and two Eagle Scout projects, they have now expanded to 7 raised beds for vegetables, two for fruit, a butterfly pollinator garden, a number of cold frames, and a water line right inside the sturdy fence!
Each spring, Bill hauls compost over from UConn, the town drops a load of mulch, and Letty and Sarah get started planting seeds (donated from Hartโs Seeds) and seedlings (donated from parishioners galore). Waterers come by during the week (thanks, Lois, Walter, et al.) and thereโs usually a work day every other Saturday or so. Harvesters on Sunday mornings include Debbie and family, Sue, and Jon, with the harvest always brought to the altar for a blessing before distribution. And then couriers bring the produce to the Cornerstone Foundation soup kitchen for cooking and distribution (thanks Palmers and Maria and Skylar!).
Excitement builds in church from the first harvest of radishes in May, through the (usually plentiful) beans and tomatoes and eggplant in the summer, until the last pumpkins are brought in in October. Pies are made of the pumpkins, which are then sold to parishioners and the proceeds used in next yearโs garden.
2019 was a challenging year because those pesky woodchucks figured out a way to get into the garden, and happily ate their fill of the broccoli, beans, peas, and greens for almost a month! Finally, Jim took matters in handโinstalling good fencingโand essentially sealed the critters out, so while the beans and cucumbers and kale will be late, theyโll produce!
Standout vegetables this summer: Radishes early, then eggplant galore and finally beans and greens!
Plans for the immediate future: Nurturing the newly planted raspberries, blueberries and asparagus, keeping the butterfly garden from getting too overgrown.
Picture & Article by Rev. Virginia Army & Letty Naigles, both of St. John's, Vernon and shared with me by Rev. Rachel Thomas, SE Region Missionary; used with permission from Letty Naigles.
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Purify our conscience, Almighty God, by your daily visitation, that your Son Jesus Christ, at his coming, may find in us a mansion prepared for himself; who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
BCP pg 212 - Collect for the Fourth Sunday of Advent
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Go and introduce yourself to your Parish Liaison!!
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Save the date: 01/09 - TEC Carbon Tracker "How-To", St. John's, Vernon - to see the carbon tracker,
go here
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ICYMI: Episcopal Service Corps Discernment Quiz
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In Case You Missed It:
[November 4, 2019] The Episcopal Service Corps (ESC) discernment quiz and application are now available for the 2020-2021 #ServiceYear.
โEpiscopal Service Corps is an opportunity for young adults to focus on vocational discernment and spiritual formation while serving the needs of the world through the Episcopal Church,โ says Wendy Johnson, ESC Network Coordinator. โESC is also an opportunity for The Episcopal Church to express its commitment to transforming communities in the Way of Love by supporting these young adults as the hands and feet of the Jesus Movement.โ
About Episcopal Service Corps
Episcopal Service Corps is a network of young adults ages 21-32 serving through locally organized intentional communities that are dedicated to:
- Serving others in solidarity
- Promoting justice in community
- Deepening spiritual awareness
- Discerning vocation
- Living simply
Everyone serving through ESC commits to a household Rule of Life and regular spiritual direction, discernment and community practices. During their #ServiceYear, Corps members receive housing, health coverage, and small stipends to cover living expenses, transportation and food. For many young adults, this year serves as an opportunity for vocational discernment broadly understood. Many of our participants move into positions of leadership within their local churches, the wider Episcopal Church, and community organizations.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis until programs reach capacity. Placement offers are made beginning on #FirstOfferFriday, February 7, 2020.
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December:
12/03 - Evening Prayer, St. Mary's, Manchester, 7PM
12/04 - Healing Prayer & Eucharist, St. Mary's, Manchester, 10AM
12/05 - NE Region Leadership Team Meeting, St. John's, Vernon, 6PM
12/05 - Faithful Futures: Preparing for the Worst, The Commons, 6PM -
click for tickets
12/06 - NE Region Men's Breakfast, Vernon Diner,
6:30AM
12/07 - St. Nicholas Christmas Bazaar, St. John's, Vernon, 9AM - 2PM
12/07 - St. Nicholas Fair with luncheon, St. Peter's, Hebron, 9AM-4PM
12/07 - Christmas Auction & Pot Luck Dinner, St. George's, Bolton, 5PM
12/07 - Christmas Fair, All Saints, East Hartford, 9AM-2PM
12/07 - St. Nicholas Fair, Christ Church, Pomfret, 9AM
12/07 - Notes Over Storrs Concert, St. Mark's, Storrs, 3PM
12/08 - Blue Christmas in recognition of grief, St. Peter's, Hebron, 8AM and 10AM
12/08 - St. Nicholas Christmas Bazaar, St. John's, Vernon, 9AM-2PM
12/10 - Evening Prayer, St. Mary's, Manchester, 7PM
12/11 - Community Coffee, St. Peter's, Hebron, 10AM
12/11 - Healing Prayer & Eucharist, St. Mary's, Manchester, 10AM
12/13 - Lessons & Carols, St. Mark's, Storrs, 7PM
12/14 - Christmas in New England Fair, St. Mary's, Manchester, 9AM-12PM
12/15 - Tree of Life Celebration, St. John's, Vernon, 5PM
12/15 - Living Nativity Pageant, Beacon Woods Stables, South Glastonbury, 3PM
12/15 - Blue Slope Winter Wagon Rides, Last Green Valley Event, 1PM -
click for details
12/17 - Evening Prayer, St. Mary's, Manchester, 7PM
12/18 - Healing Prayer & Eucharist, St. Mary's, Manchester, 10AM
12/18 - Community Coffee, St. Peter's, Hebron, 10AM
12/20 - Caroling at St. Mark's, Storrs, 1PM
12/21 - Lessons & Carols, Old Trinity, Brooklyn, 4:30PM
12/22 - Christmas Pageant, St. Peter's, Hebron, 10AM
12/29 - Lessons & Carols, St. Peter's, Hebron, 9AM
January 2020:
01/03 - NE Region Men's Breakfast, Vernon Diner,
6:30AM
01/08 - Community Coffee, St. Peter's, Hebron, 10AM
01/09 - TEC Carbon Tracker "How-To", St. John's, Vernon
01/15 - Community Coffee, St. Peter's, Hebron, 10AM
01/22 - Community Coffee, St. Peter's, Hebron, 10AM
01/29 - Community Coffee, St. Peter's, Hebron, 10AM
February 2020:
02/05 - Community Coffee, St. Peter's, Hebron, 10AM
02/06 - NE Region Leadership Team Meeting, St. John's, Vernon, 6PM
02/07 - 02/09 "Happening" A High School, youth lead, retreat @ Camp Washington!
02/12 - Community Coffee, St. Peter's, Hebron, 10AM
02/19 - Community Coffee, St. Peter's, Hebron, 10AM
02/26 - Community Coffee, St. Peter's, Hebron, 10AM
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STAY CONNECTED WITH NE REGION
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You can reach Maggie Breen, NE Region Missionary, the following ways:
MAIL:
Maggie Breen, NE Region Missionary, St. John's Episcopal Church, 523 Hartford Turnpike, Vernon, CT 06066
PHONE:
203-639-3501 x154
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From Occupare Faenum Farm:
With the approach of Advent and the darkness settling in earlier every day, we love this time of year at the farm. It's easier to experience something of the mystery of preparing for our annual celebration of the birth of Jesus when I'm tucking in the sheep at night; when the stars all twinkle in a clear, dark sky and my breath comes out in puffs as I take in the beauty of our world.
As I watch the sheep rumminate in the pasture, I wonder how much more open I would be if I spent time in quiet contemplation every day. Let us be like sheep and ruminate on the mystery of the birth of Jesus during this Advent season.
P.S. Lysle wants to know: did you go to the ECCT Convention? If you didn't, here's a link to check out what happened -
click here!
Photo by: Maggie Breen
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