Bishop’s Advent Reflection 2023
“Conflict and Brokenness … not the end of the Story…”
Advent which means ‘to come’ calls us to be attentive to the seeds of reconciliation. We are to watch carefully for signs of where God is already at work in the broken places of the world, and where people of goodwill begin to respond to the call to join in with the God who is always ready to get God’s hands dirty... Read More.
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The 156th Diocesan Convention March 7, 8 & 9, 2024
Imaginative Leadership & Congregational Vitality in Re-emergence and Resurrection: A Mission and Ministry Imperative for the 21st Century Church. The 156th Annual Diocesan Convention will be a hybrid format. We will convene via Zoom on the evening of Thursday, March 7th for opening business sessions, voting and presentations. We will gather together in-person, with those who can join us, for a Friday evening, March 8th Eucharist at Emmanuel Church, Chestertown followed by a reception. On Saturday, March 9th, our in-person portion of convention will convene at Washington College, Chestertown. Read more.
Find out more about Convention at our upcoming
December Info Meeting
Tuesday, December 12, 2023 at 7:00pm.
February Convocation Meeting
February Meeting on Tuesday, February 6, 2024 at 7:00pm.
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Ordinations, Appointments & New Ministries |
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Ordination of Charlotte Meyer
By the Grace of God, The Right Reverend Santosh K. Marray will ordain Charlotte Delahay Meyer to the Sacred Order of Deacons in Christ’s One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church on Saturday, December 9, 2023 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Paul’s Church, White Marsh Parish
3936 Main Street, Trappe, Maryland. There will be a reception following the service. Clergy Red Stoles. All are welcome.
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Appointment of New Dean for Middle Convocation
Pursuant to Canon 601.5, I have invited, and she has accepted, the Reverend Susan Leight, Rector, Christ Church-Choptank Parish, to serve as Dean of the Middle Convocation effective Advent Sunday 2023. " Read more.
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All Hallows, Snow Hill - Celebration of new ministry for Reverend Andrew Cropper as Rector was held on Saturday, November 4th. Installation was by Bishop San. Congratulatons Andrew!!
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Following his Dec. 4 surgery for a subdural hematoma, Presiding Bishop Michael Curry is alert and talking, and his surgeon reports being happy with his progress. Bishop Curry sends his gratitude for the outpouring of love, prayers, and support for him and his family during this time. Please pray for Bishop Curry, his family, and his medical team. Updates will be provided as they become available. - Office of Public Affairs, The Episcopal Church.
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Church Initiatives Grant Application Opened: Applications are now being accepted for the Diocese of Easton’s Church Initiatives Grant Program. Money is available exclusively to parishes and mission churches in the Diocese of Easton to undertake innovative programs and projects. The Church Initiatives Grants Committee is accepting grant applications now through Wednesday, January 31, 2024. Grant recipients will be announced at the Diocesan Convention with grants awarded in mid-March 2024. Churches may download the instructions and application as either a printable version or a fill-able-form, or they may request an application from the Diocesan office. Read more about the Small Grants Initiative
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Clergy Advent Luncheon: The Bishop hosted the Annual Advent Luncheon for Clergy and Spouses this week. The lunch was preceded by a wonderful shared Eucharist in Trinity Cathedral. Click here for more photos of the day!!
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Merry Christmas! The Bray House staff would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a joyful and blessed New Year!! We hope this holiday season is filled with good health, lots of happiness and joy, and may your homes be filled with much love and laughter!
Christmas Office Hours Please note that the Diocesan Offices (Bray House) will be closed for Christmas on December 25th & 26th and again for New Year's on January 1st. We will have limited staffing on Friday, December 22nd and Friday, December 29th. If you require immediate assistance please use the following phone number: 410-310-4486.
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FORMA 2024 - Annual Formation Leaders Conference
There's still time! Whether you lead an adult bible study or teach Sunday School, the FORMA Conference offers a place for reflection, refreshment, networking, and education. Province III and the Diocese of Easton are partnering with FORMA to provide significant discounts to those in our Diocese. Online or In-Person. Register here. Read more here.
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Reflection: A Pastor’s Response to the Violence in the Holy Land
Christians as Peacemakers
“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” (Matthew 5:9)Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount provides a series of beatitudes that summon the Christian response in the circumstances of life. One of these responses is to acknowledge our call to be ‘peacemakers’. Read more.
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It's not too late to support The Children's Home Foundation! The mission of the Children’s Home Foundation is to offer tuition support to youth and adults of the Eastern Shore of Maryland while they pursue vocational training and education. In addition, the CHF has enabled young people to attend summer camps that they otherwise would not be able to afford and offers support for high school students attending driver’s training classes through their high school. The Board of Directors of the Children’s Home Foundation thank you in advance for any financial consideration towards our efforts. We are ever grateful for the ability to help our neighbors through your generosity. Children's Home Foundation Letter & Report here.
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Episcopal Relief & Development offers "Gifts for Life" which provide opportunities for individuals and parishes to give gifts, ranging from $15 to $5,000, to support communities by providing necessities such as farm animals, education, health care. and water. Catalogs. brochures, and gift cards are available in the Diocesan office or at episcopalrelief.org/gifts. Before mailing donations, please check their webpage here for updated mailing address. For more information contact Roberta Gribbon rgrib@verizon.net.
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The Diocese of Easton was well represented at the annual meeting of the Province III Council on November 6 in Martinsburg, West Virginia. The proposed 2024 budget was adopted on an unanimous vote and proposed amendments to the Ordinances were recommended for consideration by the Provincial Synod. In addition, Ms. Joanne Fisher, Youth Coordinator, reported (via zoom) on the continuing work to support a Youth Ministry in Province III.
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The Province III Synod will meet on May 6, 2024. President Nathaniel Pierce announced that Ms. Julia Ayala Harris, President of the House of Deputies, will attend this meeting of Synod to which all our Deputies to General Convention are invited. |
Our delegation included (left to right) the Rev. Nathaniel W. Pierce (President of Province III), the Rev. Mary Friel (Diocesan representative to the Council), Mr. Eddie Vance and Ms. Sandra Bjork (both appointees to the Council). |
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Safe Church Safe Communities (SCSC) is a way of life! The SCSC program was established by the Episcopal Church as a way to provide guidelines and instructions for clergy and lay leaders in ways to create and maintain safe spaces in our various church settings. Check out our Safe Church Quick Checklist
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DIAKONOS
Greek, noun: servant, minister, a deacon, one who, by virtue of the office assigned to them by the church, cares for the poor and has charge of and distributes the money collected for their use.
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This month's Diaconal ministry spotlight provided by our Archdeacon, The Ven. Laura Harbaugh, is entitled "The Diaconal Role in the Wider Church". "Previous articles have talked about the various roles a Deacon assumes within his or her parish during the liturgy and from an administrative/organizational perspective. This article will discuss the many roles a deacon may assume in the wider church." Click here for full article.
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Be on the Lookout for Scammers: With the holidays approaching we wanted to remind our members to keep an eye out for potential scammers who may be looking for gift cards, money, or other items. They may try and solicit these items via phone call, text or email. Be sure to check the source of where a message has originated and always call the office (410-822-1919) if you are ever in doubt. Please reference this article for more information.
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Alcohol Policy of the Diocese of Easton
As a quick holiday reminder, the Diocese of Easton has an alcohol policy. The policy on Alcohol was passed at General Convention and ratified by this diocese’s convention in 2015/2016. See the Policy.
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Thank you for your continued support
of the mission and ministries of our Diocese.
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Bishop's Institute Training Stay tuned for upcoming Spring 2024 training dates! Review the descriptions of ministry trainings that will be offered below.
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Camp Wright Update
Thank you to everyone who donated to our Giving Tuesday Campaign. There is still time to contribute! Donate here!
Registration for the Summer 2024 Season is now open! Many of our sessions have a waitlist, but we do intend on moving lots of campers to enrolled. Please put your child on the waitlist if you are interested in attending camp this summer. Several sessions still have space for elementary school boys. Contact Alesia for details, or visit our website.
We are currently accepting applications for the 2024 Summer Staff! Contact Blair for more information or visit our employment page.
If you would like to bring your parish for a day at camp, now is the time to get it on the calendar. We would love to see you! Reach out to Cara for available dates and information.
Wishing everyone a blessed and joyful advent season!
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Latino & Hispanic Ministry: Leadership Training, a Joint Venture -
La Sagrada Familia de Jesús and Saint Clements recently sponsored a course on Lay Leadership Training for Spanish-speakers in the Diocese of Easton.
Day-long workshops were held on four Saturdays in 2023. Participants of La Sagrada Familia de Jesus, Kennedyville, St. Clement’s, Massey, and St. Paul’s, Ocean City took part. Classes were conducted in Spanish by Rev. Thomas Sinnott, vicar of La Sagrada Familia de Jesus and Dr. Mark Hansen, Diocesan Outreach Coordinator for Latino Ministry. Read more here.
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Is your parish hosting Latino & Hispanic Ministry events? If so, please remember to send information to Mark Hansen our Missioner for Latino/Hispanic Ministries for the Diocese of Easton.
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Retreat House Happenings: We are asking at this end of the year that you pray and consider a gift—of any size—to support us during the Retreat House Annual Appeal. Read more here. Donate Here.
To receive the Retreat House newsletter and other email offerings, sign up here. View their calendar for programs and special events. For more information, call (410) 364-7069 or contact Francie Thayer.
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HOLIDAY HAPPENINGS AROUND THE DIOCESE |
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Tidewater Singers sing Gloria! Alleluia! December 8th, Trinity Cathedral; December 9th, St. Paul's Church, Centreville and on Sunday December 17th at Christ Church, Cambridge. Learn more here. |
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St. Mary the Virgin in Pocomoke City - Annual Cookies by the Pound and Gift Basket Auction Come join us on December 9, from 9:00am-12:00pm. Come by to choose from a variety of homemade cookies and treats and enjoy some fellowship. We will also have over 40 gift baskets to bid on in our auction. If you are looking for a Christmas gift idea, we have it. We look forward to seeing you there!
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Church of the Holy Trinity, Oxford - Crèches from Around the World! On display at the Oxford Museum now through December 17 will be a selection from the Crèche Collection of Oxford resident Barbara Cross, who has over 100 crèches from around the world. Barbara and her husband, Reverend Kevin Cross, would often host an open house at the rectory for church members to see her collection. Read more here.
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St. Peter’s, Salisbury - The annual “Messiah All-Sing” at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church downtown traditionally features professional soloists and orchestra, but the choral sections are sung by the community audience. This year, the St. Cecilia Guild, which sponsors the popular event, invites those planning to attend to participate in two evening rehearsals to polish up the choruses in advance of the concert. Read more here for dates and times.
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Christ Church, Kent Island presents a Christmas concert featuring The Westminster Ringers Saturday, December 9th at 7pm. This concert is free & open to the public. A free-will offering will be collected. For more info call 410-643-5921. |
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Christ Church St. Michaels - Christmas Bazaar Saturday, December 9th
9 am – 1 pm Baked goods, attic treasures, handicrafts & greens. Mr. & Mrs. Claus will be there!!
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Pause and Pray For about 8 weeks, Christ Church, Cambridge invited people in their community to Pause & Pray for loved ones and for themselves. The fence along the graveyard was transformed into a space of prayer, a place of intercession, and the ribbons that you see in the photo to the right were all tied to the fence. Read more here.
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St. Mary the Virgin in Pocomoke City hosted a Spaghetti Dinner on November 4th to raise money for our local homeless shelter. The Samaritan Shelter provides housing, hot meals and a food pantry to those who are homeless and in crisis. The parish and community came together and converted St. Mary’s Parish Hall into an Italian café including music, candlelight and homemade sauce. We hosted over 100 people for a Spaghetti Dinner and provided over 60 carry out meals. The parish helped to raise over $2500.00 for the Shelter and created relationships for years to come.
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Trellis Ministries - Decoding the Liturgy, a two part presentation on Baptism, and Eucharist presented by Father Charlie Barton, Thurs. Jan. 11 & Thurs. Jan. 18, Miller Hall, Trinity Cathedral. Baptism is how we become Christians: the foundation of, and entryway to, a new life. Communion, or Eucharist, is how we move deeper into that new life by doing, again, the actions Christ told us to do “in remembrance of Him.” Scripture, history, sociology and physiology are all involved in how liturgies “work.” Learn more and register here.
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ENEWS Events & Article Submission Deadlines
If you have something to submit for our upcoming Enews please send them to Beth Devenny before these dates:
January Enews - Deadline December 27th
February Enews - Deadline January 24th
March Enews - Deadline February 26th
ALL articles and photos received after the deadline will not be published, but will be reserved for upcoming issues.
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Pastoral Concerns
We pray for the repose of the soul of Doug Ridley.
We continue to pray for a full and speedy recovery for Presiding Bishop Michael Curry - and for Curry’s medical team.
We pray for continued healing and comfort for the following people and their families: for Lynn Anstatt. Jim Brack. Walt Burgess. Carolyn Lee Crouse. Presiding Bishop Michael Curry. NaJanice Flood. John Friel. Doug Girardeau. Jamie Goodman. Babs Glancey. The Rev. Jim Kamihachi & Weasie Kamihachi. The Rev. Ron Knapp. The Rev. Pat Kuhns. The Rev. Jack Mason. Tom Mendenhall. Myron Richaradson. The Rev. Peggy Samuels. Goldey Vansant.
A Prayer from Archbishop Hosam for Israel O God of all justice and peace we cry out to you in the midst of the pain and trauma of violence and fear which prevails in the Holy Land. Be with those who need you in these days of suffering; we pray for people of all faiths - Jews, Muslims and Christians and for all people of the land.
While we pray to you, O Lord, for an end to violence and the establishment of peace, we also call for you to bring justice and equity to the peoples. Guide us into your kingdom where all people are treated with dignity and honour as your children for, to all of us, you are our Heavenly Father. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
A Prayer from Archbishop Justin Welby & Archbishop Stephen Cottrell for Ukraine God of peace and justice, we pray for the people of Ukraine today. We pray for peace and the laying down of weapons. We pray for all those who fear for tomorrow, that your Spirit of comfort would draw near to them. We pray for those with power over war or peace, for wisdom, discernment and compassion to guide their decisions. Above all, we pray for all your precious children, at-risk and in fear, that you would hold and protect them. We pray in the name of Jesus, the Prince of Peace.
Amen.
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Diocesan Prayer Calendar
Second Sunday of Advent
December 10th
We give thanks for the witness of God’s people at Old Wye, Wye Mills, and for their Lay Leadership during their period of transition.
Third Sunday of Advent
December 17th
We give thanks for the witness of God’s people at St. Andrew’s Mission, Hurlock, and for the ministry of their Deacon, the Rev. Barbara Coleman, and her spouse John. We pray for their Food Ministry and those who receive its offerings.
Fourth Sunday of Advent
December 24th
We give thanks for the witness of God’s people at All Faith Chapel, Tunis Mills, and for their Lay Leadership, and for their Priest-in-Charge, the Rev. Pat Kuhns, and her husband, Tom.
First Sunday after Christmas
December 31st
We pray for our retired Deacons: Loretta Collins, Penny Morrow, George Murray, Melody Sutherland, Dick Bunting and Don Whalen.
First Sunday after the Epiphany
January 7th
We give thanks for the witness of God’s people at Church of the Holy Trinity, Oxford, and for their Rector, the Rev. Kevin Cross, his spouse, Barbara, and for their Deacon, Dr. Lisa Webb.
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The 81st General Convention will take place June 23 - 28, 2024 in Louisville, Kentucky. Check the 81st General Convention website for new information as it becomes available.
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Application deadlines are Dec. 1 for Anglican Communion partners and Jan. 19 for dioceses of The Episcopal Church.
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United Thank Offering - Support the ministries of the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem Your gift will be matched through Dec. 15. GIVE TODAY
The United Thank Offering—in partnership with the Good Friday Offering—will match up to $100,000 of donations given through Dec. 15 to help sustain outreach ministries in the Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem, which operates across several countries or territories and includes churches, schools, medical facilities, and other ministries.
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Find Free Advent and Christmas resources from The Episcopal Church here. |
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SAVE THE DATE: African Descent Ministries 2024 International Black Clergy Conference April 8-11, Baltimore, Maryland. Learn more here.
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Interested in giving input on the 2025-2027 Episcopal Church budget?
The Joint Budget Committee of the Executive Council will hold open hearings via Zoom to receive feedback from the wider church on the 2025-2027 working budget. Read more here and to register.
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Episcopal Church 2022 Parochial Report data now available Data from the Parochial Report—the oldest, most continuous gathering of data by The Episcopal Church—is published on the General Convention website, along with a summary and analysis.. Read more here.
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Episcopal Service Corps If you're a young adult, we invite you to consider an ESC Year, a time apart to discover new communities, make new friends, and consider how you can use your unique gifts and experiences to create real, meaningful transformation in yourself and the community around you. Learn more here.
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Have you checked out The Way of Love podcasts with Bishop Michael Curry? This podcast offers ways to engage with the Way of Love, The Episcopal Church’s intentional commitment to practicing faith by following Jesus. Check them out!
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Episcopal News Service - Subscribe to receive the ENS newsletter.
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