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

We're facing a Christmas that is different than any we have ever had. How do we walk through Advent in the midst of pandemic and division? Bishop Hughes shares the inspiration she found when she heard a new rendition of a favorite old hymn.

Click on the video at right to watch (time: 5:05), or click here to read the transcript.

This Advent season as we wrestle with “COVID Fatigue” and all the fear and frustration of this moment in time, let us remember that the spiritual essence of the season is waiting and paying attention – of looking with patience and hope for the future that God has prepared for all people and the joy that will come. Read more.

Each Friday in Advent, the Diocese of Newark is invited to join in Noonday Prayer at 12 pm on Zoom. The service includes a “Litany of Hope.” Find out more and download the service bulletin.

Zoom and phone information will be sent each Monday morning prior in the What's happening this week email.

Bishop Hughes invites all 2020 Confirmands to continue deepening their growth in Christ as we prepare for Confirmation services next summer. She would like to join with them in conversation about their spiritual life on three occasions during the program year. The first of these zoom meetings will be December 10 at 6 PM for both Adult Confirmands and Youth Confirmands. The other two meetings will be scheduled in the first half of 2021.

While these meetings are not required to be Confirmed (since our 2020 Confirmands have already been prepared), Bishop Hughes strongly encourages participation, to find a way to make this in-between year fruitful for spiritual growth.

Please note: this is intended for those who were scheduled to be Confirmed in 2020. Confirmands preparing for 2021 Confirmation will have different opportunities to meet with the Bishop. All 2020 Confirmands who had previously registered will be contacted by diocesan staff to register for these events.

Confirmation services in 2020 were postponed out of concern for safety during the pandemic. Bishop Hughes hopes to be able to conduct Confirmation services in the summer of 2021, though that will depend on safety needs during that time. Questions should be directed to Canon Andrew Wright at awright@dioceseofnewark.org.

The third and final speaker in this series will be Dr. Catherine Meeks, Founding Executive Director of the Absalom Jones Episcopal Center for Racial Healing (rescheduled from November 2).

Information on how to join via Zoom will be in the What's happening this week email being sent the morning of Monday, Dec. 7.

Find out more, and please advertise this session in your congregation.

You also can watch the recordings of the first two speakers:

El miércoles 16 de diciembre, a partir de las 6 de la tarde, nuestra obispa, Carlye J. Hughes, invita a todos los laicos a una conversación con ella, traducida al español. El propósito de la reunión es compartir noticias y perspectivas sobre dónde nos encontramos como diócesis "en un tiempo como este."

La reunión será a través de Zoom. Las instrucciones llegarán vía correo electrónico por el noticiero semanal “What's happening this week” el lunes 14 de diciembre.

Para suscribirse a todas las noticias electrónicas diocesanas, haga clic aquí.

On Thursday, December 17, starting at 6 PM, our bishop, Carlye J. Hughes, invites all to a Lay Conversation. The purpose of the meeting is to share news and perspectives on where we are as a diocese “in such a time as this.”

Sign-in instructions for this Zoom meeting will be sent in the What's happening this week email on Monday, December 14. To subscribe to diocesan e-news, click here.

Remember that there is a Community Calendar on the diocesan website (under "Events" in the main menu) where you can post your congregation's events that are open to the wider diocese or the public. Each congregation is invited to designate one person to get login credentials to submit events. Find out more.

Parishioners of All Saints, Glen Rock, along with community members, donated more than 200 turkeys to outreach partner St. Paul's CDC in Paterson.

The Rev. Mark Collins (center, in vest) and volunteers are pictured loading a truck with the turkeys on Nov. 23 for delivery to St. Paul's CDC in time for Thanksgiving.

Submit items for consideration for the Dec. 16 issue of The VOICE Online by 10 AM Friday, Dec. 11 at dioceseofnewark.org/VOICE-submissions.

A form of body prayer has become popular that is known as the Prayer of Julian of Norwich. Some sources claim that Julian originated the prayer, but most say it is a contemporary body prayer that uses four key words from the Order of Julian of Norwich, which in turn come from Julian’s writings. The words are Await; Allow; Accept; and Attend. Each word has an associated body movement with it, which you may do either standing or sitting. Read more.

This resource is from the Episcopal Mental & Spiritual Health Crisis Ministry (njmindspirit.org).

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.

No matter what exactly next summer at Cross Roads looks like, we will need trustworthy and creative young adults to help serve the Cross Roads community. Applications to work on Summer Staff 2021 are now OPEN! Learn more and apply on the Cross Roads website. You can read the most recent update about summer camp at Cross Roads here.

Your church can still join the Bold Transformational Faith (BTF) initiative. Join Cross Roads for weekly Sunday School at 11 am or 4 pm or use the curriculum on your own time. The four-week ADVENTure curriculum begins on Sunday, November 29 and after a Christmas break, BTF resumes with a NEW Sunday School curriculum on January 10. Learn more here.

Young adults can now apply for the spring semester of the Cross Roads Gap Year Program. Whatever your interests or your path in life, the Cross Roads Gap Year is an excellent next step.

To learn more and apply by December 15 to join the program in January, visit the Cross Roads website.

EXPLORE! with Cross Roads this February and March at one of the three virtual youth retreats. Over the course of a few hours, kids and youth leaders will EXPLORE the ways God is present in our world and in our lives. Learn more about the dates and register your youth on the website.