Grant Opportunities

Does the vital and transformative work your church is doing need some financial assistance? Is your church looking for resources to grow or expand an existing ministry, or to start something new and innovative? If so, the Office of Mission and Outreach would like to help! There are three major grants- the United Thank Offering Grant, the Mustard Seed Grant, and the Peter James Lee Small Church Revitalization Grant- available to support ministries in your parish, in your community, and around the world.

Application deadlines will be here soon, so click here to learn more about which grant is right for your ministry and start applying today! If you have any questions or would like to submit an application, email Hannah Roberts, intern for the Office of Mission and Outreach, at [email protected] or call (804) 643-8451 ext. 1019.
Seeing the Face of God in Each Other" - Anti-Racism Workshop - Rescheduled!
April 1 and 2, 2016 -  Friday and Saturday at Richmond Hill, Richmond, Virginia

The Anti-Racism Workshop will be facilitated by the Diocesan Committee on Race and Reconciliation. The goals of the workshop are to:
  • Acquire anti-racism tools
  • Explore avenues to reconciliation
  • Renew your spirit with us
Session 1 will begin with a light supper on Friday, April 1 at 5 p.m and end at 9 p.m. Session 2 on April 2 will start at 8:30 a.m. and end at 5 p.m. and will include continental breakfast and lunch.
 
Registration Fees:  Workshop only - $35; Workshop and overnight accommodations at Richmond Hill - $65 

To register, please email Ellyn Crawford,  [email protected] . You may bring a check with you or mail one to the Diocese c/o Mary Anne Bryant.

Calling all who love summer camp!
2016 Shrine Mont Camps Registration is now LIVE! Head on over to our camps website to sign your camper up for THIS summer of camp. If you aren't quite sure which session you think would be the best fit for your camper, check out our camp descriptions or ask Meg Schwarz for some help. Some of our sessions will fill up quickly, so we encourage you to register for CAMP sooner rather than later. We can't wait to see you on the mountain this summer!
 
Want to work at CAMP this summer?! Counselor applications for 2016 Shrine Mont Camps go LIVE on Thursday, January 14th at 4:00 pm. At this time, you can apply to work as a counselor (or a volunteer buddy for St. Elizabeth's) for THIS summer at Shrine Mont Camps. WAHOO! Interested? Know someone who would be an EXCELLENT fit to work at one of our camps? Pass the word along! For now, you can check out the hiring details and  camp job descriptions on our website. Have some questions? Let Meg Schwarz know, she'll be happy to help you find the answers.
Tag Us on Social Media
We love to hear what is happening in your congregation so we can encourage and support you in your ministry. When you post online, tag us so we can ensure that we're all Connected in the Kingdom!

Twitter: @TheDiocese or #diova
Facebook: Episcopal Diocese of Virginia
Instagram: thedioceseva
Annual Council Rescheduled for March 5
As you may know, the 221st Annual Council had to be rescheduled due to snow.  The new date has been set for March 5 at Epiphany, Herndon.  Click here for detailed information about schedule, fees and other important items.
Save the Date: Lenten Retreat for Women Clergy
Wednesday, February 24, Roslyn Conference and Retreat Center
9:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m., Lunch will be provided

Women clergy of the Diocese of Virginia are invited to join Bishop Goff for a Lenten retreat.  This retreat will include Bible study and time for a creative response as well as contemplation and reflection in the company of other women.
 
Please RSVP by February 19 to Stephanie Higgins if you plan to attend so that we may provide an Roslyn with an accurate count for lunch. 

Workshop: Equipping leaders in faith-based communities
 
Feb. 29 - Mar. 4, 2016, Roslyn Conference and Retreat Center, Richmond
An intensive five-day session designed to enable participants to learn about, build and practice emotional intelligence skills in a small group setting.

Skilled facilitators will provide tools and feedback to enable participants to learn about themselves and to immediately practice emerging skills.


Lenten Quiet Day - Offered by the ECW
March 3: 9:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.
Roslyn Conference and Retreat Center

Death is conquered we are free... So what?
The implication of Easter faith for discipleshipled by The Rt. Rev. Edwin F. "Ted" Gulick Jr. with music led by Martha Burford, Director of Music, Church of the Holy Comforter, Richmond. 

Register by Feb. 22. Download registration form here
Pathways: Spiritual Direction
Roslyn Conference & Retreat Center

Pathways: Spiritual Direction, a ministry of spiritual direction is currently being offered at Roslyn.  Each hour long session is $65, overnight lodging at Roslyn is an additional cost. For more information, visit our website
 
Future residency:  
  • March 1-3: The Rev. Howard Kempsell
To check availability during these residencies, please contact Amy Williams,  [email protected].

Need to Know
World Mission Sunday This Sunday marks World Mission Sunday, a time to to focus on the global impact of the Baptismal Covenant's call to "seek and serve Christ in all persons" (Book of Common Prayer, p. 305), and to raise awareness of the many ways in which the Episcopal Church participates in God's mission around the world.
 
House of Bishops Theology Committee Announces New Online Daily Meditations for Lent 
This Lent, the Theology Committee of The Episcopal Church's House of Bishops invites you to examine unsustainable patterns of consumption and self-interest that have contributed to economic crisis.  Repairing the Breach: Discipleship and Mission in a Global Economy, produced in partnership with Forward Movement, provides free daily meditations and videos, and covers topics ranging from employment and consumerism to food and the environment.  Daily meditations move through a pattern of reading, watching, reflecting, and praying, and each week of Lent is devoted to a particular aspect of economic life. The Theology Committee of the House of Bishops invite you to recover and renew your economic imagination this Lent, and to learn about specific practices where the Spirit of God is moving in local congregations and communities to bring new life.
 
Visit repairingthebreach.forwardmovement.org to learn more and watch for the first meditation on Ash Wednesday, Feb. 10.  A print-friendly downloadable PDF of the reflections is also available for download at www.forwardmovement.org 
   
Roslyn retreat center in Richmond is pleased to offer complimentary overnight retreats to clergy in the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia April 4-7. Offered at no cost to all Episcopal clergy of the Diocese of Virginia and their spouses, this mid-week retreat is a great opportunity for reflection and rest. Meals are included. Please contact Roslyn at 804-288-6045 (toll-free at 800-477-6296) or [email protected] to make a reservation.
  
UTO - 2016 Grant Application and instructions are available at www.episcopalchurch.org/uto  and www.uto.org.  Please email your grant application to Mary Anne Bryant, Office of Mission and Outreach, Diocese of Virginia by Feb. 19, 2016.  Webinars concerning this grant application process will be on Feb. 17 and 18, at 8:00 p.m.  Grants announced on June 13, 2016.
  
 
  
Other News & Events
All Saints, Sharon Chapel, is hosting a community-wide vigil marking the one-year Anniversary of the Death of Natasha McKenna on Feb. 8 at 7 p.m., a young African-American woman from Alexandria who was killed while in custody at the Fairfax County Detention Center. Information about the vigil and the day of remembrance is attached, (more information about Natasha McKenna and her death is available from a Washington Post article here). The day is being organized through Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ) and supported by Trinity Episcopal, Arlington, Hope UCC, Alexandria, and a number of other churches and individuals. You are invited to join together Monday, Feb. 8 at 12 p.m. at the Fairfax Detention Center for prayer and witness to this tragedy and at 7 p.m. that evening for a time of remembrance and hope.

The Episcopal Church Foundation (ECF) has released the winter lineup of free webinars that includes vestry orientation, endowment investment strategies for 2016, senior warden ministry, vestry retreat planning, and basics of a capital campaign. Register today. 

In addition, ECF offers a Vestry Resource Guide that includes information on ministry of the vestry, leading a community of faith, stewardship, and navigating transitions in clergy leadership. It is available in both Spanish and English.

SUMMA Student Theological Debate Society is accepting applications for the 2016 session of SUMMA Debate Camp.

SUMMA Student Theological Debate Society is inviting high school students across the United States entering grades 9-12 to apply for the 2016 session of SUMMA Debate Camp, July 18-26, 2016. Held at the University of the South  in Sewanee, Tenn., SUMMA is a unique opportunity for students to explore their faith through intellectual channels; meet lifelong friends; and have fun on one of the most beautiful college campuses in the country!

The Impact of Death and Dying: Perspectives from Evolution, Resilience, and Family Systems, a conference out of The Bowen Center for the Study of the Family on April 15-16 at George Mason University in Arlington, VA. Learn more and register

Westminster Canterbury, Richmond, invite clergy and lay congregational ministers to a seminar, "When Words Fail: Practical Ministry to People with Dementia" on March 10 from 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.  Learn more.
Church Events
2/5-6: Speaker's Forum in Honor of the Rev. Wm. Hill Brown III, Grace & Holy Trinity, Richmond
2/6-7: The Compassionate Community: A Weekend with Natalie Finstad, St. George's, Fredericksburg
2/6: Lenten Retreat with Martin Laird, St. Stephen's, Richmond
2/6: Historic Pohick Church First Saturday Tours, Pohick, Lorton
2/7: Bluegrass Mass, St. Thomas', Richmond
2/9: Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper, St. John's, Richmond
2/9: Pohick Church Pancake Supper Fundraiser, Pohick, Lorton
2/10: Ash Wednesday, St. John's, Richmond
2/10: Ashes-to-Go, St. John's, Richmond
2/10: Ash Wednesday Service, Christ Church, Millwood
2/10: Ash Wednesday Service, St. Thomas', Richmond
2/12-13: "The Gift of Inner Freedom": A Lenten Retreat with David Vryhoff, St. Stephen's, Richmond