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July 1, 2020

"I do not believe people are afraid of change; they're afraid of loss." -- Bishop Brown

IN THIS EDITION : New racial justice webpage published, Fun Fact, lighting a virtual candle for prayer, faith journey of a young Episcopal priest, Regathering Document-V2

During this time of pandemic, parishes across the diocese are offering livestream services and childen's programs. Worship opportunities offered include morning devotions, morning worship, noonday worship, evening worship, and Sunday worship. A wide variety of children's programs are also available. You may find details of all these on the diocesan website here. If your service is not listed or has changed, please let us know! communications@delaware.church

New Webpage on Diocesan Site A new webpage has been posted on the diocesan website, delaware.church , titled, Awakening to Racial Justice . This is just a start and will be a hub for all information that relates to social and racial justice. More information and resources will be added, please check back often. We need your information! We would also like to add programs that your church is sponsoring or any programs you may be aware of in Delaware that speak to racial/social justice and would be helpful to post on this page. Please let us know — communications@delaware.church Awakening to Racial Justice

Regathering Document , Version 2 We have been worshipping outside our church buildings for many weeks now. As we continue to shelter in place for our own health and safety and that of others, we are also entering a new phase and some parishes have prepared to regather in person. The bishop's task force has prepared guidelines and requirements for regathering in both English and Spanish. COVID-19 Response Page

English Spanish

Fun Fact Question: The design of which church in our diocese was based upon a floating house of worship which served the needs of Port of Philadelphia sailors and Delaware River Seamen from 1849-1853? Clue: One of its priests was the first African American priest to serve in a predominantly white church in our diocese. Answer: Here

Did you know? Co-creator of George Floyd mural is an Episcopalian One of the mural’s lead artists, Cadex Herrera, is an Episcopalian from White Bear Lake, Minnesota, who immigrated to the United States from Belize when he was 19. Herrera works as an elementary school behavioral specialist who creates art on the side, and he told Episcopal News Service in a phone interview that he specializes in social justice art. “That is my passion,” Herrera said. He was honored to be able to help create the Floyd mural. Read full Episcopal News Service article here . Check it out! Light an online candle to make space to pray Finding time to pray in a virtual world can be challenging. Lighting a candle can be a helpful way to pray. By lighting a virtual candle, you're making space to pray. You can light a candle online to pray for yourself, for a loved one or for a situation. Whatever is going on, make space to pray in your life.Take a moment to quiet your mind and remove all distractions from around you. Reflect on where you are in life, what you would like to pray for, and the promise God has made to you. Ask God to comfort and speak to you. Click here to light a candle to make space to pray.

In Case You Missed It Faith Journey of a Young Episcopal Priest  Summer issue of the Delaware Communion magazine includes: Stop calling youth "the future of the church" Teaching Sunday School in time of pandemic Quarantine from the eyes of a college senior Reflection of a high school senior in time of pandemic

News from the Episcopal Church in Delaware

In this time of pandemic, our churches and parishioners are finding new and creative ways to serve their communities. Please let us know the ministries, e.g. feeding, clothing, social justice, etc., you are involved with or providing at this time. We would like to share with others. Please include any images you might have.

Invite Welcome Connect (IWC) - Digital Gathering 2020 Webinar Video is Ready to View and Invitation to join Digital Roundtable on July 8, 3-4pm EDT IWC is excited to share the video recording from our Digital Gathering webinar on June 10 with you! 1,500+ clergy and lay leaders from around the world tuned in for a time of reimagining and redefining how we engage in ministry and live into a new Way of Love. In addition IWC is pleased to offer you and your community an opportunity to go deeper into the essentials. Digital Roundtables are free offerings for you to engage with similarly sized parishes around the world. See video and register for the roundtable here .

Paradigm Lost: A Presentation by Professor Ian S. Lustick, Wednesday, August 5, 7pm, via Zoom Please join us for an evening with Ian S. Lustick, a professor of plitical science at the University of Pennsylvania and a member of the council on Foreign Relations, who will discuss his new book, Paradigm Lost. Why have Israelis and Palestinians failed to achieve a two-state solution to the conflict that has cost so much and lasted so long? More information

Choir School of Delaware announces new academic year programming With our Virtual Summer Session now underway, the Choir School of Delaware is preparing for the upcoming year of after school programming. We are beginning to hold auditions for new choristers to join our program. With the pandemic making the future a little harder to predict, we are creating a hybrid in-person/virtual program with the flexibility to pivot services as needed. As always, the program will include daily academic support and music education. FAQs here . More information

Congratulations to the Rev. Dr. Marta Illueca upon receiving a grant from United Thank Offering! United Thank Offering announced the grant recipients for the 2020 granting year, and we are excited to share that the Episcopal Church in Delaware will receive funding for "The Pain and Prayer Scale Project: A prayer tool for drug-free pain control." Prayer joins faith and medicine to offer an alternative pain management tool. As a priest and medical doctor, the Rev. Dr. Marta Illueca, curate at Brandywine Collaborative Ministries, plans to develop and validate a “Pain and Prayer Scale” and this bedside-prayer-tool will connect church and academia in an unprecedented way to offer drug-free alternatives to pain management. Read press release here .

The Rev. Canon Martha Kirkpatrick testified in the Delaware General Assembly in support of Senate Bill 250, an enhancement of the renewable Energy Portfolio Act The Rev. Canon Martha Kirkpatrick gave virtual testimony at the Stakeholder Meeting held on June 20, 2020. You may read her full testimony here . The testimony referred to a letter of support from interfaith leaders, including Bishop Brown, which may be read here .

Grace Church in Wilmington announced they have cancelled their 2020 Vacation Bible School.  This outreach has been an integral part of involving families not just from Grace and the BCM, but for many in the community. In light of the cancellation, Grace received some amazing feedback about its VBS from past attendees that provided some silver lining. Read full announcement and touching feedback here .

Cycle of Prayer in the Episcopal Church in Delaware

T his week (week of June 21) we hold up in prayer St. Paul's Church, Georgetown, the Rev. Larry J. Hofer, Interim Rector. For Cycle of Prayer Calendar for 2019-2020 click here.

News from the Episcopal Church

An invitation to join “Beijing +25: Celebrating the Blessing, Realizing the Dream” online study group The Presiding Bishop’s delegation to the 64th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (UNCSW 64) invites all to join the online study group Beijing +25: Celebrating the Blessing, Realizing the Dream, which will offer a series of webinars, blogs and conversations facilitated by the delegates from July through November 2020. In 2020, the world celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995 and the founding of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BDPfA) . Episcopalians were present for this event in 1995 and have since been active participants in implementing the BDPfA in their churches and communities. More information in English More information in Spanish

Presiding Bishop joins Poor People’s Campaign’s massive online demonstration With COVID-19 restrictions preventing an intended in-person rally in Washington, D.C., at least a million supporters of the Poor People’s Campaign reportedly tuned in on June 20 to watch a mix of live speeches and pre-recorded clips of liberal religious leaders calling for a “moral revolution” and the enactment of a sweeping policy agenda focused on the poor. Read Episcopal News Service article here .

United Thank Offering 2021 Annual Grants - Two grant cycles offered Application deadlines: August 14, 2020 and February 26, 2021 The United Thank Offering (UTO) Board is pleased to announce the availability of their 2021 United Thank Offering Annual Grants. These grants are awarded for projects in The Episcopal Church and throughout the Anglican Communion, each year with a different focus. For 2021, the focus is Recovering with Love and Gratitude: An Episcopal Response to the COVID-19 Pandemic in Local Contexts. The United Thank Offering will accept applications in two categories, Sustaining Ministries and Innovative Ministries, at two different funding levels through two granting cycles. More information

Beloved Community “Rapid-Response” Grants available: applications accepted June 19-August 15 T he Presiding Officers’ Advisory Group on Beloved Community Implementation is pleased to announce the availability of grants to address the racial disparities laid bare by the coronavirus pandemic and for groups responding to racist violence and policing reform. Across America, COVID-19 is disproportion-ately affecting people of color in terms of health outcomes, access to testing and treatment, safe work environments, and more. At the same time, many recognize the pandemic of ongoing violence directed against black people and other people of color, especially at the hands of law enforcement personnel in communities in the Americas and beyond. More information in English, More information in Spanish, More information in French .

The Episcopal Church encourages support of the Dream Act The Episcopal Church has long advocated for legislation that protects Dreamers and offers a pathway to citizenship. Through Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a program that allows those brought to the U.S. as children to remain in the country without fear of deportation, nearly 800,000 Dreamers have come forward, passed background checks, and been granted permission to live and work legally in the U.S. Ending DACA in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic would be detrimental to the health and safety of families and communities around the country. “At this time, the Dream Act is pending before the Congress of the United States,” said Presiding Bishop Michael B. Curry. “I’m asking you as Episcopalians, as people of good will and faith, to write and call members of Congress who represent you to support this Dream Act.” See video and read full announcement in English here and in Spanish here .

Presiding Bishop Curry told Axios on HBO that "the soul of America is at stake" and "it's time to speak up" against racial injustice and about needed reforms to policing. "I believe in this country and what it stands for: freedom, justice, equality," the Most Rev. Michael Curry said in the interview. "Those are ideals worth standing for. And when they are challenged, we must speak up." Read full comments here .

News from the Anglican Communion

Anglican Communion confirms inauguration of the Episcopal / Anglican Province of Alexandria The international secretariat of the Anglican Communion – the global family of churches linked to the Archbishop of Canterbury – has confirmed the inauguration of its newest member: The Episcopal / Anglican Province of Alexandria. The new Province, rooted in Egypt and serving 10 countries across North Africa and the Horn of Africa – becomes the Anglican Communion’s 41st Province. It was formed from the former Diocese of Egypt with North Africa and the Horn of Africa, within the Episcopal / Anglican Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East. Read official press release here .

ACEN - Environmental Racism Statement The Anglican Communion Environmental Network (ACEN) issued a statement on Friday, June19, on Environmental Racism. That date is known in the United States as Juneteenth - a day which commemorates the end of slavery in the US. The statement has been published in English , French , Spanish , and Portuguese, available on the ACEN webpage: acen.anglicancommunion.org .

Listening Together: Global Anglican Perspectives on the Renewal of Prayer and the Religious Life This is the third of a three-book series to help Anglicans and others around the world prepare for the next Lambeth Conference. Produced by Theological Education in the Anglican Communion (TEAC), Listening Together explores global Anglican perspectives on the Renewal of Prayer and the Religious Life - one of three priorities of Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby's ministry. The first two books – on reconciliation and evangelism – were launched at the 17th meeting of the Anglican Consultative Council – ACC17 – in Hong Kong in April 2019. Bishops, provincial secretaries and education officers in the Anglican Communion (apart from those in the USA or Canada) can order a free copy of the book by emailing Muthuraj Swamy: muthuraj.swamy@anglicancommunion.org . In the United States and Canada, Listening Together is published by Foward Movement and is available as an ebook from amazon.com (ASIN: B086N2PFNM). More at  anglicancommunion.org/theology/theological-education/theological-education-resources.aspx .

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