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NORTHEAST REGION MISSIVE
October 2021
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I am presently booked for Sunday visits through late December 2021. If you would like to schedule me to come for a Sunday in late December 2021 or early 2022, please sign up for a Sunday HERE.
If you would like to schedule a private "office hour" time with me, please sign up HERE.
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Region Missionary Musings: |
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Dear siblings in Christ,
The mornings have a definite chill most days now and it's fairly clear that we are on the backside of Summer and striding toward Fall, full-steam ahead! The Fall is my favorite time of the year. I enjoy going apple picking, hearing the leaves crunch under my feet as I walk Laverne, and noticing the small changes on the farm as the season changes over.
The Fall also brings the program year forward, and there are many ways in which you can engage with the Region during this time. In this edition of the Missive, you will find information on our upcoming Annual Convention, the NE Region Convocation, funds that are available through the ECW, and an initiative around planting trees.
As we move into the Fall, the pace can sometimes seem quite frantic as we struggle to get all the things done or lined up to do later. The continued impact of COVID remains real and present, perhaps more so as our young people go back to school. Please be gentle with yourselves.
And, to close this portion of the newsletter, please know that YOU ARE LOVED.
Until I see you next, be assured of my prayers for you and your communities.
Maggie
Photo by Rachel Thomas, SE Region Missionary
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STAY CONNECTED WITH NE REGION |
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You can reach Maggie Breen, NC & NE Region Missionary, the following ways:
US Mail: The Episcopal Church in Connecticut, The Commons, 290 Pratt Street, Box 52, Meriden, Ct 06450
PHONE: 203-639-3501 x154 (o) 860-214-0085 (c)
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Announcement: If you need any assistance with making sure that your parish is in compliance with Safe Church Model Policies, please reach out to me - I'm always available to help with anything that you need!
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Upcoming Events & Opportunities: |
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Contact Maggie if you want/need the zoom links!
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Safe Church Training Information available HERE
ECCT COVID-19 Resources HERE
More detailed calendar information HERE
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We Are Communities of Theological Imagination: |
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Sat, Nov 6, 2021 10:00 AM EST
NE Region Fall Convocation
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Join folks from across the NE Region as we discuss the Impact of Environmental Changes on Homeless and Marginalized Community Members. We will offer a few different presentations and opportunities for discussion. Click on the above link for more information. |
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ECCT Entrepreneurial Fund Information: |
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What do you dream of seeing in your neighborhood? Do you have a partner parish and other organizations that might work with you and your own parish to bring it into fruition? What is God inviting you to imagine?
The Episcopal Church in Connecticut (ECCT) is pleased to make available funds to catalyze our Regions’ engagement by joining in God’s mission of restoration and reconciliation in new and exciting ways. These funds — designated for distribution over the next five or six years — are intended for exciting, innovative, new or expanding ministries that engage and energize parishes, Ministry Networks, and community partners within our Regions.
This is a real opportunity for Episcopalians, with our allies and partners, to dream big and imagine together: How might we, within our Region’s communities, join Jesus more deeply in God’s work to change the world? Visit our website and download an application.
Applications due October 18.
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Supported by Word & Sacrament: |
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Join your ECCT Region Missionaries for this Seven-Part Series: |
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Tue, Sep 14, 2021 12:00 PM EST
Stories Along the Way of Love
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Please consider joining us as we embark on the Way of Love. Above is the link to register and below is a little video the Region Missionaries did as an introduction. |
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Morning Prayer Workshop - Recorded |
If you would like to learn how to lead Morning Prayer, the information and recorded video sessions can be found HERE
Licensing information can also be found there!
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ECCT Annual Convention News: |
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Thu, Oct 14, 2021 10:00 AM EST
2022 Budget of Convention Finance Review
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Annual Convention Moves Online
Saturday, Oct. 23 from 9 a.m.–3 p.m.
After much prayer, research, thought, and discussion, your Convention Planning Team has made the difficult decision to move our Annual Convention to an online format this year due to COVID-19 Delta variant surges. Given the rigors of the past year and a half and the fatigue many in our community are experiencing with online events, we are condensing the schedule to one day, Saturday, October 23, focusing on the essentials. Read more.
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Ministry Network Corner: Events/Opportunities |
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Windham Region Interfaith Working Group Presents: COVID Memorial Service |
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In a few weeks we will gather on Jillson Square (safely) to take time to reflect on our lives since March of 2020. Many of us have lost family, friends, congregants and colleagues. Some have lost jobs or time at school. Our lives have changed tremendously and sometimes for the better.
Whilst we are still very much in the midst of a pandemic, taking time to mourn and to give thanks is important. We often forget to see how we have grown if we don't stop to take a moment and look back at our journey.
I would encourage you to join your neighbours and bring someone (vaccinated) to join this service on Sunday, 3 October 2021 from 1:00 pm - 2:30 pm at Jillson Square. There will be music, prayer, art and hopefully some healing found for each of us. If you can't attend, the service will be live streamed and recorded.
Attached you will find a flyer with the details and a facebook banner and instagram post for easy sharing on your social media.
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#1 To all Episcopal Churches in Connecticut, If you have outreach programs or are thinking of starting one that could use some extra funding the board of the Episcopal Church Women would love to hear from you. Because we did not hold our Annual Meeting in 2020 or again this past May 2021 we have an abundance of funds that can be used for Outreach Programs. We would be interested in supporting small start-up ministries or established programs that could benefit from financial support.
#2 Clergy Daughters Scholarship Program;
Applications for the Clergy Daughters Scholarship Program are being accepted now. There is no deadline for submissions. Applications must be between the ages of 17-25 and planning to enroll or currently enrolled in an undergraduate or vocational training institution.
#3 The board of the Episcopal Church women is in need of a secretary to serve until May 2024. As a member of the board she will be responsible for keeping an accurate account of the meetings. There are three or four meetings a year that she will be expected to attend. A lap top computer will be available for her use in that position.
If you are interested in any of these items, please contact Betty Silva at ecwct@yahoo.com directly
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Tree Initiative: How You Can Help Creation |
Listen to what the Spirit is saying to God’s people.
Although we often hear this phrase after the readings on Sunday morning, it is an admonishment we are supposed to practice 24/7. I recently heard the Spirit speaking to me through an NPR episode of Disrupted entitled, How Trees Are Key to New England’s Environmental Future. I shared this with friends from the Creation Care Network and friends that I knew cared for tree preservation. We agreed that God was calling ECCT to act on this call and so we met for the first time on September 1.
Why are trees important?
· Trees offer us shade and cooler temperatures. Temperatures are 19% higher in Hartford than in the surrounding towns that has more trees.
· Trees absorb CO2 and store carbon.
· Trees improve water quality by filtering sediments and chemicals.
· They also prevent erosion. Their root systems reduce storm water runoff.
· Trees increase the well being of the people who see them.
What do we need to do something about trees?
Twenty-four thousand acres of forest are lost every year in New England. Deforestation replaces trees with buildings or parking lots is the biggest problem. Logging timber is the second largest cause. This is exasperated by our throw away society, relacing rather than reusing or recycling. Natural disturbances such as hurricanes, ice storms and insect and disease are the third leading cause of why our forests are being destroyed.
New Haven has a program that plants about 425 trees a year. Unfortunately, the same number of trees are cut down or die each year also and unfortunately, the older trees have more to offer than younger trees do.
The NPR program offered a lot of solutions that we feel parishes and individuals can do. These ideas go from leaving you tree populated area to a local land trust to looking at your church property to see if there is room for more trees. Understand that you need to commit to caring for trees over their life span and that you need to choose the right tree for the right location. We hope to help you with whatever you decide to do.
The Rev. Ellen Adams Deacon serves at St. James, New London where she works on the New London Pollinator Pathway.
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