Download The VOICE Digest printable PDF with highlights from this issue.

Bishop Hughes wrote this article at the invitation of The Church of England Newspaper, where it will be published this Friday, September 25. In it, she shares with our fellow Anglicans "across the pond" our experiences here in Northern New Jersey over the past six months, and how we are now living with COVID-19 and our worship, our ministry in our neighborhoods, and the trouble besetting our nation. Read the article.

We all long for the opportunity to gather again more fully, as we shift our understanding to living within pandemic. One of the signs of that longing is the number of churches that have made plans to gather in-person for worship or other activities in our diocese. Yet, part of living with pandemic is also recognizing that many of us cannot gather in-person, out of concern for our own health and well-being or that of others in our life that we care for. Read more.

How do you transform a face-to-face ministry serving mothers and young children in a time of pandemic? This was the challenge facing North Porch Women & Infants’ Centers when board members met in early March to develop operational plans in response to COVID-19. North Porch’s 35-year-old ministry was founded to not only give out supplies, but also to provide a listening ear to mothers and other caregivers without the means to feed and diaper their little ones. Over the years, young mothers, including recent immigrants and the undocumented, have all received commonsense advice from the center coordinators, along with a bag of much-needed supplies. How was this ministry to be sustained at a time of social distancing? Read more.

The Diocese of Newark has set up online giving to support the diocese’s food-related ministries. Simply visit e-giving.dioceseofnewark.org and go to Area of Greatest Need: Food Pantries (second item from the top). Donations made from Sept. 23 through Oct. 20, 2020 will go to North Porch. You can also donate to North Porch through their PayPal account or their Amazon Smile wish list.

Submit items for consideration for the Oct. 7 issue of The VOICE Online by 10 AM Friday, Oct. 2 at dioceseofnewark.org/VOICE-submissions.

Workshops relevant to this extraordinary time for ALL congregational leaders! Stay at home and join us online via computer, tablet or smart phone. Find out more.

Click here to register online before the deadline of 5 PM on Wednesday, September 30. There is no cost for this event but we do need you to register in order to participate.

During Church Leader Zoom-iversity we will have an opportunity to share a slideshow of announcements from congregations and associated organizations, like we do at Convention. The submission deadline is 5 PM TODAY, Sept. 23. Find out more.

Anti-Sexism Training, required by the diocese, is now available virtually! The training will be held on two successive Saturday mornings, October 17 and 24. Attendance at both sessions is required to receive certification. Find out more and register online.

Hosted by the Bishop’s Office on Stewardship, the all-new Plan Ahead Workshop will provide church leaders with a road map for either getting started in planned giving, or re-vitalizing an existing planned giving program.

The workshop will be held on Zoom. The registration deadline is Wednesday, October 21. Find out more and register online.

It is not a diocesan practice for the Bishop or her staff to email members requesting gift cards. If you receive such an email, it is a scam.

To learn how to identify scam emails, click here.

To learn how to report scam emails, click here.

ALWAYS confirm any unexpected financial request with a direct conversation before acting.

Many of us want to "do" something because of the murder of George Floyd and countless others. One of the best things we can do – especially as white people – is to educate ourselves about the history of race in this country and come to understand how our lives can approach Becoming Beloved Community as Presiding Bishop Michael Curry so often reminds us.

The diocesan Namaste Commission is offering an educational resource to congregations. Find out more.

The 2021 budget process will follow the same process adopted by Diocesan Council for use in preparing previous budgets. This process allows individuals and organizations to request funding as part of the 2021 Budget. Funding requests for 2021 are due by October 2, 2020. Find out more.

Due to unforeseen technical circumstances, the diocesan email listservs are currently unavailable.

Unfortunately, this includes the Newark list (news@dionewark.org). If you wish to share an event with the diocese, you can post it on the Community Calendar on the diocesan website.

We are working on the issue, and will let you know as soon as the listservs are available again. In the meantime, if you need assistance with urgent communications within the diocese, please contact Nina Nicholson (nnicholson@dioceseofnewark.org) or John King (jking@dioceseofnewark.org) to work with you.

Click here for all clergy ministry transitions in 2020.

Please send changes to Nina Nicholson at nnicholson@dioceseofnewark.org.

A holy place in virtual space for mourning and memory.

Prayers can be sent to Canon Wright at awright@dioceseofnewark.org for posting.

Join us together on Zoom this fall for the annual Cross Roads Women's Retreat! There are four dates from which to choose: 9/26, 9/27, 10/10, or 10/11. Each retreat will be led by Dale Selover and Laurie Matarazzo with the same program, focused on "The Way of Love." Learn more about this retreat here.

On Saturday, October 3, 2020 lace up your running (or walking!) shoes to take part in the Rally for Cross Roads Virtual Run/Walk. All ages and abilities are invited to participate in this virtual FUNdraiser! Click here to get involved or to donate.

Cross Roads invites you to join our Bold Transformational Faith (BTF) program! BTF is an opportunity for congregations to work with summer camp professionals to strengthen faith formation programs, develop new ways of engaging youth and young adults, and build up leaders. Learn more about BTF. There is still time to get involved.

Join us for Wednesdays Away, a time of spiritual renewal one Wednesday a month. This upcoming year we will continue to gather virtually from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm on Zoom. You can find more information on the monthly themes on our website. The next gathering is Wednesday, October 7.

Episcopal institutions can now apply for the next round of the Episcopal Evangelism Grants Program, designed to fund local and regional evangelism efforts in the Episcopal Church. The application deadline is November 15. The new grant cycle will focus on projects that explore new methods of evangelism during the COVID-19 pandemic. Find out more.

Trinity Cathedral Altar Guild Shop in the Diocese of New Jersey, in partnership with Episcopal Booksellers Association, invites you to a Zoom conversation with the Most Rev. Michael B. Curry, author of Love is the Way: Holding on to Hope in Troubling Times.

Presiding Bishop Curry will offer a soul-searching conversation, one which tells and shows us how loving one another can help us to heal in these times. Walk the path of love with one of the warmest, most beloved spiritual leaders of our time as we learn how to put faith into action.

Tickets: Purchase Bishop Curry’s new book, Love is the Way: Holding on to Hope in Troubling Times from Trinity Cathedral Altar Guild Shop. Please email Andrea John at trinitycathedralags@gmail.com to pre-order your copy. The bookstore will collect the necessary information to send you a Zoom invitation to the conversation.