"We encourage you to give thanks for your safety, for your home, for your family this holiday season and connect, through the Blue Box, to the refugees who do not have the luxury of such safety," commented Caitlyn Darnell, United Thank Offering Board Member. "Every penny collected for the Ingathering, through Blue Boxes or online donations, is granted the following year."

"This Challenge will help ensure that every refugee welcomed by The Episcopal Church has the resources they need to feel welcome and securely on their way to a new life," explained Samuel McDonald, Deputy Chief Operating Officer and Director of Mission. He continued that refugees, especially Syrian refugees, have received increasing attention in the media. Programs funding refugees are in jeopardy of being cut or severely limited, which would result in this most vulnerable population of new Americans having limited access to food, housing, health care and the other basic needs they need to get on their feet during their first few months in the United States.

The Rev. Heather Melton, the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society's Missioner for United Thank Offering, noted, "Episcopalians are encouraged to begin using their United Thank Offering Blue Box as an expression of gratitude this Thanksgiving and to continue the journey with United Thank Offering and Episcopal Migration Ministries through Advent toward the hope Episcopalians embrace through the birth of the Christ child."

"Episcopal Migration Ministries is thankful for the generosity of the United Thank Offering," noted Deborah Stein, Director of Episcopal Migration Ministries for the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society. "This is the same hope that every refugee embraces as they undertake the treacherous journey away from war, away from violence, away from certain death. It is hope that drives every refugee to journey to new life away from everything they know in a faraway place like the United States."

To Donate
Checks or online donations should have UTO-EMM in the memo line/comments section.

Donations are also accepted online here - select UTO for EMM Challenge from the drop down menu and then put Episcopal Migration Ministries in the comments.

Episcopal Migration Ministries
Episcopal Migration Ministries is the refugee resettlement service of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society. Each year this ministry works in partnership with its affiliate network, along with dioceses, faith communities and volunteers, to welcome refugees from conflict zones across the globe. For more than 75 years, The Episcopal Church has welcomed refugees to the United States, helping them find safety, security and new lives as American citizens. Now, with at least 60 million people displaced from their homes and lives, the global community is facing the largest refugee crisis since the end of World War II.

More information
For more information contact Melton at hmelton@episcopalchurch.org.
Resources to support the challenge - a December 6 bulletin insert, fact sheet about refugees - will be available here.  
#Gratitude2Hope
#UTOBlueBox

Catholic Social Services of Southwest Ohio is teaming up with the State Department to resettle 325 refugees in the coming months.  Most of the initial group will come from Africa. All undergo an extensive vetting process and arrive with financial support from the US Government to help with their expenses in the first 90 days, after which they are expected to be self-suffiient.  

Catholic Social Services staff provide intensive case management and referral to housing and jobs. Among the many ways churches can help include assembling welcome baskets of household supplies, volunteering to drive families to appointments, and tutoring in English. For more information on the resettlement process and how you can help, go to https://www.ccswoh.org/services/refugees/.

The Community of the Transfiguration has teamed up with StreetChurch from Church of Our Saviour/La Iglesia de Nuestro Salvador, for the past year, providing healthy brown-bag lunches every week which are distributed among homeless and indigent people in Cincinnati early Sunday afternoon.

We need help getting the lunch bags from the Convent in Glendale to the Church in Mt. Auburn, on Sunday mornings any time between 8:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. The Sisters are not able to do this, and most able bodied parishioners with cars are already involved in church carpools, with routes far from Glendale.

Ideally, we would like to count on a rota of volunteers who might keep the same Sunday once per month, or two people who can alternate, and a backup. You don't have to attend services at the Convent or at COS/LINS to help with this ministry.  But all of us will offer prayers of thanks for the blessing of your part in this vital ministry!

Contact the rector Paula M. Jackson at  mtr.paula@gmail.com  or 513.207.1248 if you can be a link for this ministry once a month or more.

The learners are many, drivers and tutors few!

Can you spare two hours a week to help kids with their homework?  Very rewarding, because the kids are eager to learn and love the interaction.

The Price Hill Learning Club, which receives money from ECSF and the Latino Ministry Commission, has many new students. These are "English Language Learners", children born in the US but who only hear Spanish at home.

Right now we are transporting students with a van given to the ministry by the Sisters of the Transfiguration. Many more students would participate if we could only transport them!

Can you take a Monday or Wednesday late afternoon to help a) transport students a short distance from their Price Hill homes to the Learning Club, (3636 Warsaw Avenue), then tutor from 4:30 to 6:15 p.m. and ferry them home? Guaranteed to be the highlight of your week!  No Spanish needed...

Contact Nancy Sullivan at badgmur@gmail.com if you can help with this critical outreach ministry.

The 2016-17 Confluence Year application is now open! www.esc.hiretouch.com

Confluence is excited to be hosting our fourth class of Episcopal Service Corps members. Confluence welcomes recent college graduates or young adults who commit to a year of spiritual formation, vocational discernment, social justice and intentional community.

Starting in August, corps members work 35 hours per week in direct-care or administrative positions at some of Columbus' most innovative and caring social service agencies and churches. The members live in intentional community, sharing the Hospitality House in the Franklinton neighborhood, while serving the homeless and volunteering in the community. They receive support and educational enrichment through Confluence staff, neighborhood partners, the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio, and the congregational community of St. John's Episcopal Church.

Please pass along the application link esc.hiretouch.com to any young adults you know that may be interested, and keep up with Confluence by following us in the following places.

Facebook: Facebook.Com/ConfluenceYear
Website: ConfluenceYear.Org
Twitter: @ConfluenceYear
Instagram: ConfluenceYear

The annual Explorer's Retreat will be held the evening of Feb. 6 through the early afternoon of Feb. 7 at the Procter Center. The registration deadline is Jan. 23.

The Explorer's Retreat provides an overview of the discernment and ordination processes as well as plenty of time for conversation about the diaconate and the priesthood. Anyone who desires to begin a formal exploration of a possible call to ordained ministry is required to attend this informational and fun weekend.

Considerations prior to attending the Explorer's Retreat:

• Explorers should have been in serious and regular conversation with their clergy person about their call for an extended period of time (in the neighborhood of a year). Both the clergy person and the explorer should have done some deep thinking about the explorer's vocation prior to Explorers' Day as this day assumes that intentional vocational discernment has already begun.
• Only those who have been confirmed or received in the Episcopal Church and have been active members of the Episcopal Church for at least two years should attend the Explorers' Retreat.

The Global episcopal Mission Network (GEMN) is blessed to have many partner organizations who are sent as Christ's "hands and feet" throughout the world. If you feel a call to join them in short- or long-term mission, here are some opportunities that we encourage you to explore:

Shorter-term mission opportunities:
Colforpaz (www.colforpaz.org) Working in Colombia, COLFORPAZ and GEMN will jointly run a 7-day global mission education program called "The Colombian Encounter: A Global Mission Leadership Program", to be held Jul 30-Aug 6, 2016 (Cost: $975)

Cristosal (www.cristosal.org) works in El Salvador and offers a variety of courses through its Global School, as well as pilgrimages and custom trips. Its programs center around human rights, community development and local empowerment. (Cost: $800)

Dominican Development Group (dominicandevelopmentgroup.org) is working in the Dominican Republic. DDG can help with facilitation, planning and deployment for mission teams of all sizes throughout the year, including construction and medical mission.

Elewana (www.elewana.org) works in Kenya to promote education and local leadership. Elewana offers summer and teaching internships, volunteer opportunities and a residential training program in service learning, sustainable development and global partnerships.

El Hogar (www.elhogar.org) operates four schools for abandoned and hopelessly poor students, and welcomes service teams of up to 15 from Feb through Oct. ($2500/team + $200/pp)

Grey Dove (www.greydoveinc.org). Grey Dove coordinates medical mission teams to Haiti for both medical and non-medical personnel, as well as conducting conferences on best medical mission practices.

Haiti Connection (www.haitiepiscopalconnection.org) provides important conferences for connecting Episcopalians and others who are working in Haiti. Their next conference will take place in Port-au-Prince April 6-8, 2016.

Longer-term mission opportunities:
Young Adult Service Corps (YASC) is for 21-30 year-olds who are interesting in serving for a one-year placement. The application deadline for 2016 is Jan 8th, 2016. Visit www.episcopalchurch.org/yasc for more information and to apply.

Episcopal Mission Personnel (www.episcopalchurch.org/page/mission-personnel) is for adults of all ages who are interested in exploring a mission placement in all areas of the world, typically for three years. Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. Contact the Mission Personnel office for more information and for assistance with discernment.

Sunday, November 29, 6 p.m.
 
This beautiful service-very different in character from our Christmas Lessons and Carols-is a wonderful way to begin the season of waiting for Christ's birth. It is built around the seven Great "O" Antiphons that were traditionally sung at Vespers on the seven days prior to Christmas and eventually became the seven stanzas of the familiar Advent hymn "O Come, O Come, Emmanuel." During the service, music, Scripture readings, and prayers invite us to reflect on each of the antiphons. A new feature this year will be seven gorgeous banners bearing the "O" Antiphon symbols, each carried in procession while its corresponding antiphon is sung.
 
In addition to carols sung by the congregation, the choir will sing:
 
Let My Prayer Come Up as the Incense - Peter Hallock
The Great "O Antiphons" - Mode 2 plainchant & Peter Hallock
O Sapientia - Robert Ramsey
O Lord, How Shall I Meet You - Stephan Casurella
A Spotless Rose - Herbert Howells
Sive vigilem - William Mundy
Infinite Light - arr. Paul Halley
Thou Shalt Know Him - Mark Sirett
There Is No Rose - John Joubert




Position available
A docent position is currently available at Christ Church Cathedral for someone who is interested in working a few hours a week during Open Door hours. Interested candidates would have compassion, patience and understanding, and be available to answer questions or direct individuals as needed as they come through the cathedral.

This paid position requires light walking and some administrative work, as well as other duties in limited capacity. This role is perfect for college students with a break during their day, or retirees looking to fill in their late mornings/ early afternoons. The Open Door hours are 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. M-F. Those interested in more details, or to apply, should email Mark Priest at mpriest@cccath.org.

Christ Church Cathedral is located at 318 E. 4th Street (4th and Sycamore) in downtown Cincinnati.

A SoulCollage Quiet Day

Saturday, Dec. 5
St. Barnabas, Montgomery

One way to avoid feeling deflated on Dec, 25 is to spend time in early Advent reflecting on what you would like to see happen during this liturgical season. Setting intentions to accomplish your desires is the first step toward a more meaningful Advent.

Christians have traditionally used the four Sundays and weeks of Advent to prepare for Christmas. We will honor this tradition by reflecting on traditional incarnational theology as well as exploring more contemporary insights into the Incarnation.

We will then utilize images from magazines and other publications to collage new understandings of the Incarnation for ourselves. No artistic talent or training is needed!

This Quiet Day is for participants 18 and older.

Click here for a full-sized flyer

The Church of the Good Samaritan is pleased to offer a preventive health event. Life Line Screening, a leading provider of community-based preventive health screenings, will host their affordable, non-invasive and painless health screenings on Wednesday, December 9. Five screenings will be offered that scan for potential health problems related to

• blocked arteries which is a leading cause of stroke
• abdominal aortic aneurysms which can lead to a ruptured aorta
• hardening of the arteries in the legs which is a strong predictor of heart disease
• atrial fibrillation or irregular heart beat which is closely tied to stroke risk
• bone density screening for men and women, used to assess the risk of osteoporosis.

Register for a WellnessPackage which includes four vascular tests and osteoporosis screening from $149 ($139 with our member discount). All five screenings take 60 to 90 minutes to complete. In order to register for this event and to receive a $10 discount off any package priced above $129, Please call 888.653.6441 or visit www.lifelinescreening.com/community-partners.

Church of the Good Samaritan is located at 25 Amelia-Olive Branch Road in Amelia.

Join Mary's proclamation as you let your soul sing the Magnificat with her. Walk with Mary this Advent as your prepare your heart and mind and ready yourself to respond to Jesus with the same humble, gracious yes, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word."

These daily meditations carry you from the first day of Advent through Epiphany and feature the writings of well-known faith and thought leaders in The Episcopal Church.

Authors include Ray Suarez, a nationally known broadcast journalist; Christopher Wells, editor of The Living Church; Kate Moorehead, dean of St. John's Episcopal Cathedral; Thomas E. Breidenthal, bishop of the Diocese of Southern Ohio; and Christine McSpadden, a member of the clergy team of St. Paul's Cathedral in London.

Click here to read a sample selection from each author.
 

Buy It Now:
#2382 | $5 | Read With Your Church! $4 each for 10+