NORTH CENTRAL REGION MONTHLY MISSIVE

May 2023
Region Missionary Musings

Dear siblings in Christ,

A blessed Easter season to you! This past month I had the pleasure of volunteering at A Place of Grace food pantry at Grace Church in Hartford. What a wonderful group of volunteers they have that serve over 200 people a week. I was stationed with Maria right at the entrance, handing out canned beans and veggies, and standing next to Rev. Joe who was on peanut butter and jelly duty. There were families with young kiddos who came in, and older members of the community, and everyone in between - sharing their preferences about beans (red please, not black), helping their parents and guardians put their choices into bags, and volunteers smiling and laughing with the guests. There are some really deep relationships displayed in that small room full of good food and good people.

I think I spent most of my time apologizing to Maria for "being in the way". She never said I was, of course, but since I was brand new at volunteering there I felt like I was "doing it wrong". As I reflect on this morning of volunteer work I did, I am reminded that most of the times where I feel like I'm "doing it wrong" it is my sense of perfectionism raising her ugly head and trying to convince me that I'm not good enough/smart enough/qualified enough to do whatever it is I'm doing (but she's wrong!!). So I encourage you to find a friend like Maria, who helps you do the thing you want to do and never makes you feel like you are in the way. And I encourage you to be that person for the people you interact with.

Maggie

Photo taken by Rev. Rachel Thomas, SE&SC Region Missionary, at the 2022 NC& NE Region Convocation
Hispanic Ministry Network: Celebration

On behalf of the Hispanic Ministry we want to give a shout out to all who planned the event, all parishes and friends of HMN who participated that made this event a spiritual success. We had over 80 people who attended the event and eight parishes that minister to the Latino community in Connecticut. HMN thanks Bishop Jeff Mello for participating and leading us in Eucharistic service and preaching The Word. It was awesome! Twelve parishioners were received and one parishioner was confirmed on Saturday. Each parish shared their gifts, challenges/opportunities, stories and friendship. It was a time for all of us to get to know one another. We distributed the new edition of Libro de Oración Común (Book of Common Prayer) and T-shirts with the heading Unidad en Diversidad (Unity in Diversity) to participants at the event. And yes, we had great food for all to enjoy.

A special thanks goes out to Saint John's, Waterbury for hosting the event especially to Linda and Don Pomeroy of St. John's and vestry members and staff. Thank you very much. We thank the musicians for their wonderful music during worship. We also want to thank the event planners for also making this happen - Marta Rivera, Rev. Loyda Morales, Rev. Paul Carling, Edna Garcia, Rev. Jean Rock. We want to thank Rev. Canon Rebekah Hatch, Dean of Formation and member of Commission on Ministries, Rev. Canon Ranjit Matthews, Mission Advocacy, Racial Justice & Reconciliation, Maggie Breen, NE/NC Region Missionary for celebrating with us. We also thank other parishes who attended and participated with us. We apologize if we missed anyone else who may have attended.

Photo & article by Rev. Deacon Felix Rivera, Convener of the Hispanic Ministry Network
Upcoming Events and Resources
ECCT was recently featured on The Episcopal Church's Racial Reconciliation newsletter, with a wonderful article written by our archivist Greg Farr! You can read the article here.
Our EFM Open House will be Thursday April 27, 7-9 EDT. We plan to watch a short film together and then discuss, to give people a feeling for how the group goes. We’ll start with a little time on listening and respect for differences, some sharing of what sparked our interest in EFM, what we hope to get out of it. 

Education for Ministry at Church of the Epiphany, Durham meets on line Monday OR Thursday nights from 7-9PM ET. Call or email Karen Otte at 860-349-3631 or karen.otte@me.com for more information.
LGTBQ Bible Study
Monday evenings, beginning 1 May at 7p, join folks from St. John's, W. Hartford to explore how Scripture affirms and supports the dignity of all God's beloved children. Meetings are via zoom. Questions - email Rev. Margie at margie@sjparish.net
Brownstone Concert Series
Saturday May 20 @7:00 p.m.
Trinity, Portland
 
Paul Serra Jr. and Country Gold 
Benefit for Wounded Warriors Family Support

Contact the church for more information and tickets - (860) 342-0458
Mediation Skills Training Institute from the Lombard Mennonite Peace Center
1-5 May at Christ Church Cathedral, Hartford

This training is mostly 9-5 each day. Join us and find out for yourself why a previous participant described MSTI as “The best and most thorough model for mediation with individuals and congregations that I have experienced in more than three decades of ordained ministry”!

More information can be found here
2nd Annual Growing Hope, Forging Peace at Camp Washington
Youth Overnight: 12-14 May
Day of Action: 13 May

Come to Camp with old friends and meet new friends as we come together for a weekend of hope and transformation. We will gather at Camp on Friday at 6:00 pm for an evening of engaging conversation and discussion with Shane Claiborne, beating of guns into plowshares around the forge, group art projects, and time to chill and talk around the campfire. Saturday morning, we will wake up to breakfast and time to wrap up our work from Friday night, as we welcome the larger community to join us for a day of testimony, reflection, experience, and ACTION! Our day will end with a time of worship, prayer, and a picnic lunch.

More information & registration can be found here
Looking Ahead: Mark Your Calendars

4 June - Deacon Day! (or any date in June!) You can find a bulletin and information to share here & some videos about Province 1 and deacons here.

17 June - NC Region Potluck Dinner - Grace Church, Newington: bring your favorite dish to share and join us for conversation, hosted by the NC Region Leadership Team

June 7-14, 2025 - Pilgrimage to Iona with Hartford International University School of Earth and Soul. For more information, click here.
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)