Application/nomination forms available for Episcopal Youth Presence at General Convention 2012

[December 8, 2011] Are you an Episcopal youth, or know one who would like to learn about the governance of the church while providing a needed service? Then consider the Episcopal Youth Presence at General Convention 2012.

Eighteen positions, representing two from each Province of the Episcopal Church, are opened to youth to participate in the 77th General Convention, scheduled for July 2012 in Indianapolis, Indiana, July 5 to July 12.

Bronwyn Clark Skov, Episcopal Church Officer for Youth Ministries, addressed both the importance and the honor of these positions. "The General Convention Official Youth Presence was established by an initial resolution in 1982," she explained. "The Official Youth Presence members have seat and voice on the floor of the House of Deputies during the legislative sessions and that is an exciting prospect for the youth of our church."

For more information and details on the process, eligibility requirements and forms, please visit the Diocesan website HERE.   

2012 Diocesan Prayer Calendar is up

The 2012 Diocesan Prayer Calendar is now posted on the the diocesan website, and can be viewed HERE.  For any changes, please e
-mail the Bishop's Secretary, Irina Martikainen.  The calendar will be updated monthly.   

TULIP Coverage no longer available By June Choriki

For the past year, the Diocese has offered Philadelphia Insurance Companies' Tenant Users Liability Insurance Protection (TULIP).  It was uniquely designed to provide short-term liability insurance coverage to an individual or organization using a congregation's facilities for a non-congregation-sponsored event. The policy has expired as of December 1, 2011, and will not be renewed because of the low interest in this insurance coverage.  

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Free Classical Concert at St. Clement's

Wednesday, December 28

Beginning at 7:00 p.m.

The Parish of St. Clement

1515 Wilder Ave., Honolulu

Washington, D.C. based singers, Rachel Evangeline  Barham, Soprano, and James Rogers, Baritone, present a concert of classical music, accompanied by Winston Barham on piano.  The program features works by Bach, Mozart, Gian Carlo Menotti and Virgil Thomson.  The recital is free with donations gratefully accepted to benefit the ministries of St. Clement's.  For more information, you may email Rachel, or visit her website HERE.    

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Vinson accepts call in Pennsylvania

From Canon Liz Beasley

The Rev. Rick Vinson, Rector of the Church of the Holy Nativity, Honolulu (Aina Haina) since 2006, has accepted a call to be the Rector of Trinity Episcopal Church, Solebury, Pennsylvania, in the Diocese of Pennsylvania.  He will be leaving Hawai'i in mid-January in order to begin his new ministry at the beginning of February.

Vinson also served in the Diocese from 2001 - 2002 as the Interim Pastor of the Cathedral of St. Andrew.    

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What's Happening in The Episcopal Church? 

Announcements from around The Episcopal Church...

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Presiding Bishop's Christmas 2011 Message

See, your salvation comes - Isaiah 62:11

[December 15, 2011] The great prophets before Jesus proclaimed a vision of a nation and a people redeemed.  We continue to share that yearning - as the Christmas hymn puts it, "the hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight."  We've seen abundant hopes spring up in the past year across the Arab world and Eastern Europe, and in the global Occupy movement.  Those voices seek a world of greater justice, communities in which decisions and the gifts of creation are more available to all.  Our understanding of salvation is most profoundly about justice in community, and as Christians we believe that help and healing for all are grounded in the incarnate presence of God - among us and within us.

We look for salvation to the one who came among us in the most humble way, a helpless child born in a scandalous way to a poor peasant couple.  The Incarnation, God with us, changed the world in ways that we insist are leading to the ultimate healing of all creation.  "See, your salvation comes," says the prophet in every age, yet it is not yet fully come upon us.  We live in hope for its fullness.  May hope be nourished within us, in each and every human being and community, for the journey toward God's healed and holy future.

That proclamation of coming salvation is a part of Isaiah (Isa 62:6-12) that will be read in some congregations at Christmas, but if you don't hear it, go and read the whole of it.  Its centerpiece speaks of what that salvation looks like:

The Lord has sworn...
I will not again give your grain to be food for your enemies,
  and foreigners shall not drink the wine for which you have labored;
but those who garner it shall eat it and praise the Lord,
  and those who gather it shall drink it in my holy courts. 
Isa 62:8-9

That is not a vision of pristine isolation, but a vision of comfort and healing to a people frequently at war, occupied, or exploited by superior forces.  The fear of powerful others taking and using for themselves the produce of the poor is healed and transformed into a society in which the gifts God provides will be shared by all.  For when salvation comes, that society will

be called, 'the Holy People, The Redeemed of the Lord';
and you shall be called, 'Sought Out, A City Not Forsaken.'
Isa 62:12

Jesus comes among us to remind us of a world living together in peace, to reclaim and make real that vision of creation for all humanity and all God's creatures. That world is put right as relationships between God and humanity are set right. The relationship between God and human being cannot be set right without equal healing of relationships between us mortals.  See, your salvation comes!  Will we welcome that healing?

The Most Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori
Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church
  

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Redesigned Episcopal News Service website highlights enhanced news outlets, multimedia, social media

[December 5, 2011] A redesigned Episcopal News Service website now enhances its news and commentary with myriad advances, including expanded multimedia and a range of social media offerings and share tools, all designed to help you keep up-to-date on the Episcopal Church.  (Click on link below:)

Episcopal News Service

"The new Episcopal News Service website enables readers and visitors to keep in touch and updated on the happenings of the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion," commented Anne Rudig, director of communication.  "It is an exciting moment in our communication ministry as we tell the church's story while sharing accurate and timely information in today's world of instant communication."

"The new website incorporates the latest social media options to enable visitors to share, tweet, like, email and print articles from a single module," explained Matthew Davies, Episcopal News Service editor/reporter.

The website will continue to present its award-winning news and feature coverage, divided into sections: Top Stories, Churchwide, Worldwide, Commentary, and Noticias.

The new site has been designed to spotlight a commitment to video coverage and multimedia. Also new to the site will be the ability to comment and engage in conversation on articles and videos.  An enhanced search function allows for quicker and easier access to archival information.

Social Media

Among the new features are a Twitter feed available for real-time Episcopal Church and Anglican Communion news, and an Episcopal News Service blog for a wide range of information and live coverage.

Twitter: @episcopal_news
 

The Episcopal News Service's improvements will continue in 2012.

JUST RELEASED

Free advertising available for jobs, calls, and events in the Episcopal Church

[December 13, 2011]  Congregations with open positions or upcoming events can now advertise at no cost on the newly re-designed Episcopal News Service website.  Launched in early December, the Episcopal News Service website now includes Featured Jobs and Calls, a jobs area as well as a bulletin board where churches can post jobs and calls for free. A similar area and board, Featured Events, is also available.

Job Board
Event Board

"This is an important service for congregations who need to keep an eye on advertising expenses," noted Jake Dell, Senior Manager, Digital Marketing and Advertising for the Episcopal Church. "Through this service, congregations can connect to thousands of readers across the Episcopal Church."

An additional feature is that each job posting and event will get the added benefit of a free promoted tweet from @EDigiNet.  To post a job for free, click HERE, or to post an event for free, click HERE.

Also available is a low-cost opportunity to feature jobs and events prominently on every page of the Episcopal News Service website for $159 for four weeks.   For more info and an advertising rate card e-mail Jake Dell.   

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 In case you missed it, here is the link to the October 2011 E-Chronicle.   

Check your Inbox for the December E-Chronicle & Special Edition E-Chronicle on DJ'11 & Convention coming out this week!

IMPORTANT REMINDERS

Did you miss an edition of the E-News?  Listed below are the titles of some recently published announcements to be aware of. To see the complete article, click on the linked issues below, or visit Previous E-News Editions on the diocesan website, and click on the desired issue.