ADOTS Weekly Special Update
The Second Week of Easter
A weekly roundup of information, updates, and recommended ministry resources.
Embracing Solitude
"The noise that surrounds us in this world is designed to prevent us from living into who we are as sons and daughters of the King. When we’re alone, and it often takes more than an hour or two, we are presenting ourselves and God with the opportunity to regard one another. To sit with Jesus and to know that I am the beloved, as he is the beloved, is part of the gift that we find, should we seek to place ourselves in solitude and embrace the silence that comes with it.

Being the beloved means that in Solitude we are never alone, and in Silence there is always an undercurrent of truth being spoken to us. “You are my beloved child, with you I am well pleased.” The world, the enemy, and often our own ambition and goals prevent us from hearing these words. Silence and solitude provide us the space and time to remember who we are and be strengthened in our identity." Read more here.

-The Rev. Nick Hamilton, is a priest at Old North Abbey, Knoxville
Creating a Preparedness Plan
The Humanitarian Disaster Institute at Wheaton College has prepared a guide to help local churches create preparedness plans. If you are looking for a way to plan for the next few months, and beyond, this resource is just for you.

We don’t know what the rest of 2020, and beyond, will look like. But taking some time now to create plans for various scenarios will help clergy and lay leaders lead well.

The plan includes the following steps, and provides lots of helpful information about how to work through them:

  • Get Organized
  • Create a Health Team
  • Develop a Communications Strategy
  • Focus on Church and Community Outreach
  • Strengthen Preparedness Through Collaboration
  • Adapt to Changing Needs
How to Understand Video Engagement
Church Production has a great article about all of this:

"First, make sure you’re looking at the right numbers. If your church’s Youtube account includes videos you upload later, they can skew stats one way or another. If a video you upload gets a lot of traction, it might make your numbers look more positive than they are. Likewise, if you have a lot of videos that are only of interest to your church, but have titles which people might misinterpret, you might end up with very low apparent engagement across the channel while your live-stream might actually be highly engaged."

New Book: The Rector and the Vestry
by Canon Greg Goebel
In a time of pandemic, one of the most important areas of ministry is leadership. We have to be ready to make wise, faithful decisions together, and to know who is responsible for what.

So what are the roles and responsibilities of the Rector and the Vestry? How do they make decisions together? Who does what?

Until recently, I have not had a short book to recommend that overviews Anglican church leadership. But now I do.

Canon David Roseberry has written a short book called The Rector and the Vestry that every Rector and every Vestry member should read. This little book gives us the ability to get all new vestry members trained. It outlines the various responsibilities of Rector and Vestry, and maps out a great vision for cooperative ministry. And it is distinctly Anglican.
Please Share: Daily Prayer Live!
Morning, Noonday, and Compline
Archbishop Beach asked us to provide live Daily Office prayer!

The clergy of ADOTS and Holy Cross Cathedral have come together to create a live Daily Office format for:

Morning Prayer at 7/8am CT/ET ( https://www.facebook.com/adotsdailyprayer)

Noonday Prayer at 11am/Noon CT/ET ( https://www.facebook.com/HolyCrossAnglicanChurch/)

Compline at 8pm/9pm CT/ET ( https://www.facebook.com/adotsdailyprayer)

Weekly Hymn Sing! Every Wednesday at 2pm with Chris Sieggen of St. Thomas, Athens, Georgia.


Liturgy
We're using the liturgy at https://www.dailyoffice2019.com/ so that everyone can follow along each day. This website updates the prayer services of the daily office each day, so its all there!

Please Share
With so many people looking for connection, this is a great resource to share with all your friends on any social media platform. You can share the link fb.com/adotsDailyPrayer anywhere, Twitter, Facebook, Email, Instagram! Your friends and family don't have to be on Facebook to watch the videos. and join us in prayer.

You can also share on your church's public pages!

Comment
Whenever you join us, please add a comment to show us you are present, to encourage others,, to add a prayer request, or to give a thanksgiving.

See you there!
Prayers for Such a Time as This
We have compiled and adapted prayers from the Book of Common Prayer 2019 to include in online parish services and for home worship. Some prayers have been adjusted from the BCP 2019 to reflect the current coronavirus situation. We have included the prayer number and page numbers so you can easily find them in your own BCP 2019. You can download and print this resource as a PDF by clicking the link below.
Online Ministry Tools
Everyone is scrambling to figure out how best to worship, pray, serve, and fellowship online right now. Click here for an overview of tools, and some ideas, that might be helpful.
Send us Your Stories of God's Grace in this Time
We would love to share the stories of God's work through and among his people. Please email us at news@adots.org so that Rachel can help you share these stories of God working even in difficult times.
Music Resources Online
BCP 2019 and Lectionary
The ACNA has released BCP 2019! Click here to visit the BCP 2019 web page.

ADOTS has provided an online calendar of Sunday and Feast Day collects and lessons here.
Check out our website for more...
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