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Diocesan Convention Is October 7-8 in Reading
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This year's convention will be hosted by the southern region of the diocese and will include a convention Holy Eucharist at Christ Church, Reading. The convention will be the culmination of the diocesan pilgrimage that began at the 144th Convention in 2015. Find the draft schedule on the website.
Online registration will open on August 1 and close on September 15. Learn more about registration and group rate room reservations at the DoubleTree, which are available now.
Call for Resolutions
Call for Nominations
The Diocesan Convention will consider a number of changes to the canons that could alter the governance structure and the offices to which persons will be elected. We will have, therefore, two parallel nomination processes; one process to meet the current canonical requirements and one process in anticipation of the amended canons. This dual process means that we will follow our canons as they are now written and, at the same time, will allow us to be flexible and respond to the will of the convention.
The proposed canonical changes, which will be distributed later this summer and discussed in detail at the pre-convention hearings, will be voted on by the convention on Friday, October 7, and elections for diocesan bodies will be held on Saturday, October 8. Leaders are welcome to submit nominations for positions defined in the current canons and the positions anticipated in the proposed canonical changes.
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Certificates for Lay Delegates to the 145th Diocesan Convention
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The 145th Diocesan Convention will take place October 7-8. The number of lay delegates each parish may elect is determined by the number of baptized members (as reported in 2015 Parochial Reports), as indicated in the chart below:
| Baptized Members | Lay Delegates | Alternate
Delegates | | <100 | 1 | 1 | | 100-300 | 2 | 2 | | 300-600 | 3 | 3 | | 500-700 | 4 | 4 |
The certificate must be completed four months prior to the convention ( June 7, 2016) and sent to the diocesan office through mail, fax or email.
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Pre-Convention Hearings
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Delegates to diocesan convention and other interested members of the diocese can attend one of three pre-convention hearings in September to review resolutions submitted to convention. Bishop Sean will be present at all of the pre-convention hearings to discuss proposed canonical and constitutional changes that will be posted for review later this summer.
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Wear Orange on June 2
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 Thursday, June 2 is National Gun Violence Awareness Day, and Bishop Sean and the other members of Bishops United Against Gun Violence are asking Episcopalians to wear orange as a symbol of their commitment to work for an end to gun violence. The bishops ask everyone who does wear orange to post a photo of themselves on Facebook or Twitter using the the hashtags "#WearOrange and #Episcopal so that other Episcopalians and supporters of the Wear Orange movement can find it and share it.
Some Episcopal clergy are also planning to wear orange stoles during services on Sunday, and their initiative has caught the attention of Religion News Service.
Three members of Bishops United have written columns about why they will be wearing orange tomorrow.
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Clergy Day on June 7
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 The next clergy day will be Tuesday, June 7, 9:30 am-3 pm at Cathedral Church of the Nativity. Canon Scott Slater of the Diocese of Maryland will discuss "Boundaries, Responsibility, and Accountability: Pastoral and Practical Issues." Learn more and register online.
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High School Mission Trip
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 June 26 - July 2, 2016
This summer, Diocese of Bethlehem youth who have completed grades 6-12 will travel together to Grace House on the Mountain, a ministry of the Diocese of Southwest Virginia that serves people who live in the coalfields of Appalachia. Youth will meet new people, assist in repairing homes, gain valuable skills and help people in need.
Learn more and register.
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Pilgrimage Resources for Congregations
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 The Diocese of Bethlehem's pilgrimage began on January 6. In his video pilgrimage message, Bishop Sean says, "The Diocese of Bethlehem has been bold in conceiving its future ... This planning process is deeply rooted in both what is personal to us, and what is good for our entire diocese and our entire region."
Staying Connected to the Pilgrimage
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Safeguarding God's Children
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All clergy, lay employees, and lay people who work with children are required to complete the Safeguarding God's Children training program offered by the Church Pension Group. Those who need to receive this training may register by following a link at the bottom of the Safe Church page on the diocesan website, where you can also find diocesan policies and a field guide to their application. |
The Diocese of Bethlehem newSpin Blog
newSpin is Bill Lewellis' eclectic sampling of religion news from around the Episcopal Church and beyond. Read the May 12 issue.
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Prayers of the People and Jubilate Online
The Rev. Canon Cliff Carr, priest associate at Trinity Episcopal Church in Bethlehem, writes Prayers of the People for each week and prepares a list of hymn selections by season. Find those resources on the new Trinity Bethlehem website.
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eFormation Conference Webinar
The 2016 e-Formation Conference will take place June 6-8 at Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, VA. Registration for in-person attendance is now closed, but plenty of space is still available via webinar access. Read more.
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Ordination of Dale Grandfield to the Transitional Diaconate
"Boundaries, Responsibility, and Accountability: Pastoral and Practical Issues" with Canon Scott Slater from the Diocese of Maryland.
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