e-Communique Masthead
November 5, 2014
Diocesan Events & Info   

  

PYM Senior High Weekend, Nov. 7-9, Shrine Mont
Faith, fun and fellowship for high-school aged youth from across the Diocese. Learn more.

Disaster Preparedness & Response Team Volunteer Day, Nov. 8, St. Stephen's, Culpeper Learn more in special feature, below. 

"Getting to 'Yes!' by Getting Over Ourselves," Nov. 15, POSTPONED
This workshop will be rescheduled in the Spring.

Advent Retreat for Women Priests, Dec. 3, Roslyn Conference Center, Richmond
A retreat day, focusing on the annunciation to Mary and her response, that will include yoga, meditation, art, prayer, and reflections from Bishop Goff.  Learn more.

Shrine Mont Camps Reunion, Dec. 20, Immanuel Church-on-the-Hill, Alexandria

A day of fun, silliness and worship for campers.  Learn more.  

Diocese Seeks Benefits Administrator   
Earlier this week, Laura Hicks, diocesan benefits administrator since 2004, announced that she will change positions in the diocesan family to serve as part-time assistant for the Trustees of the Funds. Today, the Bishop has announced that the Diocese has started a search for a part-time benefits administrator to join the diocesan team and handle insurance benefits and processes. Learn more about the position and consider forwarding it to potential applicants. The Diocese of Virginia is an equal opportunity employer that actively seeks diverse fields of candidates to fill staff vacancies.   
Need to Know
 

Last Wednesday, a mudslide occurred in central Sri Lanka. This news comes following the Rt. Rev. Dhilorajo Ranjit's visit to the Diocese of Virginia. Bishop Dhilo is bishop of the Diocese of Colombo, Sri Lanka. He and his wife, Harshini, spent time in Virginia in October, and joined clergy at Shrine Mont for the Bishop's Fall Retreat last week. Please keep the people of Sri Lanka in your prayers. If you wish to make a financial contribution to relief efforts, please send your donation to the diocesan Office of Mission and Outreach (110 W. Franklin St., Richmond, Va. 23220).

 

This holiday season, many congregations in the Diocese are making a special effort to support work in Central America to ensure that families victimized by escalating violence get the protection and assistance they need. Foundation Cristosal is a faith-based human rights organization in El Salvador that exists to create a preferential option for the poor, and that is working regionally with governments and the church to protect families in-country. Visit Cristosal's website at www.cristosal.org and contact the Rev. Catherine Campbell at [email protected] to learn how you and your parish can directly support these families this holiday season. 

 

2015 UTO Grant Application information is now available online. All grant requests must be submitted electronically to Mary Anne Bryant  in the diocesan  Office of Mission and Outreach [email protected] by Jan. 15.       

  

Would you like to offer your parishioners great classes on the Bible, the Book of Common Prayer, and a host of other topics - online or during Sunday forum?  Would you like a new curriculum for your Advent or Lenten series? The Diocese of Virginia is partnering with ChurchNext to build every interested parish its own online school. You can find out more about ChurchNext at churchnext.tv and you can click here to read a 'Getting Started' Manual that explains what an online school might look like in your parish. We've arranged a substantial discount with ChurchNext for those who would like to participate. For $300, ChurchNext will help you build your own 52-week online school and begin offering dozens of courses to your members right away. Contact Julie Simonton at [email protected] to learn more.  

 

Open enrollment for employee 2015 health benefits is now live, through Nov. 21. For 2015, employees will no longer receive a unique user name and password specifically for Open Enrollment. You must use the same user name and password created to access benefits information on MyCPG Accounts to access the enrollment web page as well. For assistance, contact the Client Services Team at 800-480-9967 or [email protected].  

Church Calendar 

11/5: Adult Bible Study, Holy Comforter, Vienna 
11/5: Covenant Class, Christ Church, Alexandria 
11/5: Taize Service, Christ Church, Alexandria 
11/7: Eyes on Richmond, St. Paul's, Richmond 
11/7: BONHOEFFER: A Feature Length Documentary film, St. John's, McLean 
11/7: Annual Men's Day program, St. Philip's, Richmond 
11/8: Harvest/Holiday Bazaar, Westover Parish, Charles City
11/9: Jesus Through the Eyes of Other Faiths: Islam, St. Paul's, Alexandria
11/9: 35th Anniversary Celebration, Holy Cross, Dunn Loring
11/9: Blessing of Veterans, Christ Church, Alexandria
11/9: Ēchos "Music through the Centuries", The Falls Church, Falls Church
11/9: Celtic Evensong & Communion, St. George's, Fredericksburg
11/10: Annual Men's Day program, St. Philip's, Richmond
11/12: Adult Bible Study, Holy Comforter, Vienna 
Other Events 

The Washington National Cathedral will host a Veterans Tribute, featuring the Marine Corps Orchestra, on Nov. 7 to give tribute to the service and sacrifice of all service men and women of the armed forces and their families. Learn more.
 
Popular Links
Stay in Touch
Disaster Preparedness & Response
Volunteer Day 
 
There's still time to register for the Diocese of Virginia Disaster Preparedness and Response (DOVDPR) ministry team's
Volunteer Day at St. Stephen's, Culpeper, on Saturday, Nov. 8.

The morning session will be an opportunity to attend both the child and adult prevention of sexual misconduct training, followed by lunch.

The afternoon session will be all about diving into disaster response. Speakers from various dioceses around the U.S. that host disaster recovery teams will explore opportunities to help folks recover from natural disasters. In addition, there will be discussions and step-by-step instructions on how to plan and execute recovery mission trips.

To register for the afternoon session, e-mail Mary Anne Bryant in the office of mission and outreach, [email protected]. To register for the misconduct prevention training, use this form.
 For Christ For This Time For All Time
804-643-8451, 800-DIOCESE
Fax 804-644-6928