NC Clergy Coffee Hour is Back! 3-4 PM on the 2nd and 4th Tuesday of the month. This is an informal, no stress, come as you are invitation to gather as a region clergy group. There is no agenda, we can co-create the space that we need together to share, connect, and pray. If you have a specific need or offering, please email me, Erin Flinn, in advance and I am happy to incorporate those ideas. 

09/30 - Join the NW and NC Regions as we explore the need to address growing food insecurity from 5:30 - 6:30 Both Regions have been involved in excellent ministries and we are looking forward to sharing and learning about such work. We will hear from state social workers tasked with building capacity to address food insecurity, as well as a leader from the CT Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster. During this time of pandemic, groups are building capabilities together and we hope to further explore these connections. Hope to see you there!

09/22 NC Region Wardens Gathering from 6-7 PM. This upcoming program year will be like no other. Join with other wardens from the region to share best practices, lean on each other's learning, share opportunities for connection and collaboration, and wonder together what God is up to in our world today.

• Looking to connect sooner? Join the ECCT Wardens Facebook Group here. All active wardens welcome.

10/01 - St James, Farmington & the Spiritual Life Center present a year on Christian Spiritual Practices. Part of walking the way of Jesus and truly living the Christian life means drawing forever closer to the Divine presence. In our busy lives, however, finding new, creative, AND practical ways to live the Christian life and engage in our spiritual journey (we are all on one, by the way) can be very challenging indeed. Our first workshop on Christian Spiritual practices on October 1 and focuses on Contemplative prayer. Members from the region are invited to join in via Zoom. Registration is requested.

Are you are engaging in the work of Racial Healing, Justice & Reconciliation in your parish? Hosting a book study or film series; inviting a guest speaker or engaging in community action? Are you willing to open those opportunities to others in the Region? Please email our Region Missionary so we can share opportunities to engage in healing work together. Not engaging in this work yet, but looking to collaborate? Let's get you connected with another parish. Not sure where to get started? Ask. It will take all of us working together to end racism.

Building your Racial Justice library? In solidarity with the Black Lives Matter Movement, ECCT has partnered with the Connecticut based Key Book Store as our main provider for print and digital educational text. The Key Bookstore is a fully interactive bookstore experience. Their focus is to lead readers on a path to Self Mastery and the cultivation of connection on and offline with respect to the mission, “Divine liberation one page at a time.”

Solitary Garden at Harriet Beecher Stowe Center in Hartford through Oct 2020. "The solitary garden installed at the Harriet Beecher Stowe Center in Hartford is the size of a solitary confinement cell, and is planted with plants that were often found at Southern plantations. In honor of the book "Solitary" by Albert Woodfox, which won the Stowe prize this year for social-justice writing, artist Jackie Sumell created the art piece to symbolize the oppression of Black men." Photo & quote from the Hartford Courant (08/09).

• For info about how the Episcopal Church in CT engages in prison ministry through the Faith Behind Bars and Beyond Ministry Network, click here.

Restoring History: Through research, education, and civic engagement, the WITNESS STONES PROJECT, Inc. seeks to restore the history and to honor the humanity and contributions of the enslaved individuals who helped build our communities. Inspired by the Stolpersteine project in Germany (and with their blessing), the project bears witness by installing a marker which recalls an enslaved individual at a site of significance, such as where they lived, worked, or prayed. This past summer stones were placed in the West Hartford & Madison communities. There are opportunities for parishes to be involved with the Witness Stone Project, and to comb through our church history. For more info reach out to Erin Flinn or Rachel Thomas.

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• JOIN the Racial Healing Justice and Reconciliation Ministry Network Here.

To receive valuable resources from RHJR in your inbox, send an email to ecctrhjr@gmail.com.

Celebrate the Season of Creation September 1 – October 4, 2020 Episcopalians are invited to join churches around the world in celebrating the Season of Creation; a time for people of faith to renew their relationship with God and all creation through celebration, prayer, and action. The Season’s roots rise from the Orthodox Christian tradition; the World Council of Churches was instrumental in making the special time a season, extending the celebration from September 1 until St. Francis Day, October 4. Learn more here.

You are invited to the 236th Annual Convention of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut! Non-voting participants still have voice and will be able to participate fully in the “world café” sessions as well as the deliberation during the legislative session on Saturday. This is an excellent opportunity to expand the body of Convention to include more youth and young adults, as well as other voices not generally heard at Convention. I hope that you will join us in helping to grow our Convention. More info here.

Lend your voice in song! You can take part in the virtual Convention choir as a part of this year's Convention worship service! The virtual choir will be singing the anthem at worship, and is being organized by Marianne Vogel at Christ Church Cathedral. Please contact her at directorofmusic@cccathedral.org if you are interested in participating. We are particularly looking for tenor and bass singers to fill out the choir.

High School-Age Youth from Across The Episcopal Church In Connecticut, We Want to Hear Your Voice! Come participate in the work of ECCT and spend time with other high school students from churches all over the state. We will kick off our time together with a virtual youth gathering on Tuesday, October 13 from 7–8:30 PM. Wednesday through Friday you are encouraged to attend the “World Café” conversations. Hear the Bishop's address on Saturday, and worship with all of ECCT on Sunday. More info at https://ecctconvention.org/youth.

Help Build our Mosaic - Our art project is a reflection on how this time of pandemic and racial and economic reckoning draws attention to the essence of who we are and what we do... Together we are Christ’s presence and no pandemic, no amount of social turmoil, no economic distress can affect that if we are faithful to our Savior. All members of the Body of Christ that is the ECCT are invited to be a part of our digital art project for Convention 2020 by submitting a photo. The mosaic is being prepared by Stephen Hard of St. Mark’s Church in New Britain. More info here.

All ECCT Safe Church Training (SCT) includes an online course followed by a 3-hour live session on Zoom... This training is grounded in our call to seek and serve Christ in all persons and respect the dignity of every human being. It offers an opportunity to increase and enhance our ability to live out our Baptismal Covenant within our communities of faith and in the world beyond. For more information and to register click here.

Fall workshops in Graphic Design and Social Media for Churches! Thanks to our friends at Caffeinated Church for offering these three workshops throughout the fall. More information on the workshop descriptions on their website here.