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

Bishop Hughes reminds us that as an Easter people, we know that God uses everything around us for resurrection, including the change we are going through during this time of pandemic.

Click on the video to watch (time: 4:33), or click here to read the transcript.

Related to this message, see the Bishop's Update on Journey Forward Guidelines (March 2021) [PDF].

This spring Bishop Hughes is inviting all members of the diocese to join her at one of eight Zoom meetings, organized by the eight Regional Ministry Networks.

Registration is not required. Zoom information for both these upcoming meetings will be sent to clergy and wardens to share with their congregations.

On Tuesday of Holy Week, March 30, eight members of Church of the Messiah in Chester gathered at the Chester Gazebo with friends from the community for a prayer vigil in support of our Asian sisters and brothers. DAVE SULLIVAN PHOTO

“As Episcopalians and as Christians, we need to embrace our covenant of baptism and the last commandment, which is to love one another as we were loved,” Reverend Erik Soldwedel told TAPinto Hawthorne. Soldwedel is the deacon-in-residence at both St. Clement’s Episcopal Church on Lafayette Avenue and St. Paul’s Episcopal Church found at the corner of East 18th Street and Broadway in Paterson. He said that Christians need to stand for justice and spoke of the church’s own history on race—and what he thinks should be done in light of recognizing its own failings. Read more.

The next issue of The VOICE Online will be published Wednesday, Apr. 28.

Submit items for consideration by 10 AM Friday, Apr. 23 at: dioceseofnewark.org/VOICE-submissions

As part of "spring cleaning" on the diocesan website, the church directory has been reformatted to indicate churches providing online worship or food ministries - making this information easier for seekers to find in one place.

Now's a good time to check your church's directory entry and make sure all the information is correct and complete! Please send updates to Nina Nicholson at nnicholson@dioceseofnewark.org.

These diocesan scholarship funds are now accepting applications for the 2021-2022 academic year:

See all clergy ministry transitions in 2021.

Registration for all Cross Roads summer camp programs for youth and families is now OPEN. There are 4 weeks of camp programs for youth in grades 2 - 12 and 3 weeks of Family Camp. Find the schedule, program descriptions, and more information on the Cross Roads website.

Cross Roads is looking for trustworthy and creative young adults to help serve our Cross Roads community this summer as counselors and support staff members. Learn more and apply on the Cross Roads website.

The Cross Roads staff will provide a full Camp Sunday worship service for congregations to use on Sunday, May 9. All materials, including a full recorded worship service and order of service, will be made available ahead of time on the Cross Roads website.

Is your congregation looking for faith formation resources, including Sunday School curriculum and/or leaders? Reach out to the Cross Roads staff to get involved with the Bold Transformational Faith (BTF) initiative. We are busy planning for the summer and fall and would love to partner with your church. Learn more here.