January 30, 2014

Notes from Bishop Mark

Last weekend's Diocesan Council is still ringing in my heart and mind. In all my years of ministry, I have never experienced such a Spirit-filled gathering where there existed so much good will, energy, and excitement for the future. The Executive Board, Evans House Staff, and I will be digesting and moving forward on all of the actions and input that were a part of our time together. All of it will shape the development of a Mission Action Plan (MAP) for our diocese.

Lenten Quiet Day for Clergy in March: On March 19, 2014, I invite all the clergy of the diocese into a time of renewal and reflection. We will meet at St. Paul's in Salem. We will gather at 9:00 and then have Holy Eucharist with the Renewal of Vows at 9:30. I will bless oil of Chrism for use in our liturgical and pastoral ministry. Lunch will be provided at no cost by St Paul's. I will offer two reflections, and there will be time for silent reflection. There will be no business.

Ordination: You are invited to the ordination of Leigh Partridge Mackintosh to the diaconate on March 1 at 10:30 am at St. Paul's, Lynchburg. I encourage clergy to turn out for ordinations as a way of welcoming the newly ordained. A pdf file of the invitation is here. It is appropriate to publish the invitation in your parish newsletter or in other forms of communication.

Safeguarding God's People: As I mentioned at our clergy and spouse gathering at Council, the Reverends Joe and Kathy Dunagan are our new facilitators of this critical training for the well-being of our people and clergy. This training is now required for clergy- deacons and priests-in active parish ministry and one warden from each parish. Please see details and the schedule of offerings in the Events section below. This training will provide tools for safeguards to be created and put into place at the parish level.

Sunday Visitations and Midweek Vestry Meetings:

On the Second Sunday of Epiphany, I worshipped with the people of Trinity in Arrington. This Sunday I will be at St. John's in Bedford.
Two weeks ago I met with the vestry and leadership of St. Mark's, Fincastle. This week I met with the leaders of St. Mark's, Clifford.

Pastoral Concerns:

Mary Hays, the mother of The Rev. Melissa Hays-Smith, died on January 22nd. Her funeral is this Saturday at 1:00 pm. The Rev. Tom Crittenden's brother, Richard, died in mid-January. Keep Melissa, Tom, and their families in your prayers.
The Rev. Bob Brodie is still recovering from a bad case of the shingles. He reports that he is better but still homebound. Please continue your prayers for his healing.

Notes from Evans House

Found at the Fall Camp display in the Exhibit Hall at Council last weekend: eyeglasses. Call Evans House (540-342-6797; 800-346-7982) if you think they're yours or you think you know whose they might be.

The February issue of Connections is now available online here.

Events

More on Safeguarding God's People Training: As Bishop Mark said in his Notes above, this training is required for all clergy-priests and deacons-in active parish ministry and one warden from each parish. In addition, it is strongly encouraged for others: all other wardens, other vestry members, pastoral leaders, worship leaders, preachers, Eucharistic visitors, and catechists.

The trainings are organized by convocations, but anyone can attend any session.

The first training session will take place in the Roanoke Convocation on Saturday, February 8, at St. John's Episcopal Church, Roanoke, from 9:00 AM to noon.

Additional trainings will take place on the following dates, with times and places to be announced:

March 1-Abingdon Convocation
March 22-New River Convocation
April 12-Augusta Convocation
May 3-Lynchburg Convocation

Contact the Rev. Joe Dunagan or the Rev. Kathy Dunagan, Diocesan Safeguarding God's People Coordinators, for additional information:

Joe: jdunagan@stjohnsroanoke.org
Kathy: msktkelly@gmail.com

The next program of the Center for Lifelong Learning at the Phoebe Needles Center, "Appalachian Folktales," is Tuesday, February 11, at 10 a.m. Please call the Center to make a reservation by Friday, February 7. Download this flyer for complete information.

The Leadership Program for Musicians' annual spring workshop

The workshop, on recruiting and maintaining a children's music program, will take place on March 7 (7-8:30 pm) and 8 (9 am-3 pm) at the Church of the Holy Comforter on Monument Avenue in Richmond.

Registration before March 1 will cost $50; after March 1 registration will cost $65 (includes lunch).

Download this flyer for complete information.

(Changes and additions to last week's information) A Bereavement Healing and Support Group meets every 1st, 3rd, and 5th Tuesday from 5:30 until 7 on the 2nd floor at St. John's, Roanoke. Park in the lot behind the church on Elm Ave. or in the lot on Jefferson St. next to the garden. Enter through the back Elm entrance or garden tower entrance, respectively.This is an open group and all are invited to come when they are able. Contact the Rev. Kathy Dunagan at kdunagan@stjohnsroanoke.org for more information.

News

Summit explores ways to engage in God's mission

Click here for an Episcopal News Service story about the 3-day Missional Summit held Jan. 21-23 in Minnesota.

Applications are now being accepted for the Part-Time Ecumenical and Interreligious Associate on the staff of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society (DFMS).

This position reflects the priorities of Episcopal Church General Convention 2012 and focuses on the Five Marks of Mission. The Part-Time Ecumenical and Interreligious Associate will be based at the Church Center in New York City. Position information is located here.

Information on all available positions as well as application instructions are available here.

For more information contact a member of the Episcopal Church Human Resources Team at HRM@episcopalchurch.org.

Repeated from Previous Updates

Lenten Resources available from the Society of St. Andrew: Create in Me a Clean Heart--daily devotions and giving program for 2014. Go here for complete information.

2014 Buildings for a New Tomorrow: A symposium for solving the dilemma of church buildings April 28-30, 2014, Embassy Suites Hotel, Fort Lauderdale, FL

Registration is now open for the popular Episcopal Youth Event (EYE) scheduled for July 9-13, 2014, at Villanova University in suburban Philadelphia, PA.

EYE is geared for youth in grades 9-12 during the 2013-2014 academic year and their adult leaders.

Each diocese is allowed up to 24 youth participants and six adult participants. Registration is $325 per participant (youth and adult) which includes meals and lodging. Diocesan delegations may also opt to participate in 3 Days of Urban Mission in Philadelphia immediately following the event for an additional $275 per participant.

Additional information is here.

Jubilee Ministry grants have been awarded for Episcopal Church programs and mission work. Eleven grants, totaling $50,000, have been announced to support mission and ministry in 11 diocese. Read which dioceses received grants and what they received them for here

New mileage reimbursement rate effective January 1, 2014: The rate is now $0.56 per mile.

Attention parishes/people who have copies of the parish mailing list: St. John's, Glasgow, has a new PO Box. Change your record for them to PO Box 507.

United Thank Offering (UTO) grant applications are now being accepted.

The focus for the 2014-2015 grants is The Gospel of Love proclaimed by Jesus Christ.

Guidelines and application forms are available here.

For more information about the guidelines, contact the Rev. Heather Melton: hmelton@episcopalchurch.org

St. Paul's, Lynchburg, invites you to their Celtic Evensong services:

February 2, 5 pm
March 16, 5 pm

From Cara Modisett, who is advising Bishop Mark and the staff on communications matters:

As we move toward the launch of the newly redesigned diocesan website, we are developing a number of blogs, including one called Faces of the Diocese.

We're looking for a wide range of people who'd be interested in writing one blog entry - just one! - at some point in 2014. Our 52(-plus) bloggers would be scheduled by week, and we'll work with each writer on his/her piece.

Who: Youth, clergy, lay, staff, seminarians
What: Your stories - rather than blogs with titles like "Why I love the Episcopal Church," we're looking for stories from your life as an Episcopalian - what joys, challenges, projects are you engaged in? Those stories will vividly tell the reader "Why (we) love the Episcopal Church."
When: We're aiming for a January launch.
How: Contact Cara Ellen Modisett, caraemodisett@cox.net, to volunteer as a blogger and/or to suggest bloggers from your parish.

From Grace, Radford: Mission Trip to Belize

Grace Episcopal Church in Radford is looking for others who might be interested in a mission trip to Belize, Central America. This trip is for youth and adults ages 15 and up. The dates will be from June 30, 2014, to July 10, 2014. Currently, there are 15 people signed up for the trip. We have space for twenty five.

The trip will consist of seven days in Corozal, Belize, a town nine miles from the Mexican border, where the group will paint and repair the Anglican school and put on a Vacation Bible School for the local children. The three additional days will be spent on Caye Caulker, a small island off the coast.

The cost will be from $1200 to $1400, depending on the cost of the airline ticket. The cost includes all transportation, hotel accommodations in Corozal and Caye Caulker, breakfast and dinner in Caye Caulker, snorkeling trip, and other fun activities.

For more information, contact Father David Rose at office@graceradford.org or by telephone at 540-639-3494.

2014 Clergy Compensation Information

The 2014 Official Clergy Compensation Chart and the 2014 Workbook for Clergy Salary Range are now available at www.dioswva.org in the Resources==>>Parish Resources section. Scroll down to "Documents related to the employment of clergy" to find this material.

Now available for parish use: DioSWVA's Employment Application Form. Click here for the pdf version. Click here for the Word file.

Click here to see the chart of 2014 Received Reports as of January 14, 2014.

Click here for information about the Sponsor-a-Day program.

Click here for the current list of supply clergy.

Click here for the diocesan staff directory.

Weekly Email Archives

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Evans House Staff

The Episcopal Diocese of Southwestern VA

1002 1st Street, SW, Roanoke, VA 24016

540-342-6797

800-346-7982

FAX 540-343-9114

P.O. Box 2279 * Roanoke, VA * 24009