BishopMarksNotes Notes from Bishop Mark 

 

Diocesan Youth leave for England on the Bradford Youth Exchange: This Saturday Martha and I, Joe and Laura Harden, and our new Youth and Young Adult Missioner, Connor Gwin, will travel with eight youth from our diocese to our companion diocese of West Yorkshire and the Dales. Along with sightseeing and visits with host families, our youth will also participate in the week long Ablaze event at Scargill Retreat Center. The event will join our team with youth from England, South Africa, Germany, and Sweden.

  

During the Ablaze event, Martha and I will have the opportunity to spend time with Bishop Nick and his wife Linda and get to know the new area bishop of Bradford. I will also meet with the Dean of Bradford and preach in Cathedral on the final Sunday of the Exchange. In all this, I hope to build deeper relationships and talk about new paths for our diocesan companionship.

   

Diocesan Staff Baby Shower:Yesterday, the Evans House staff held a baby shower and lunch for Canon Mark Furlow and wife Siobhan Byrns. The due date for the birth of their first child is July 22nd. Following the birth, Canon Mark will be on a three-week paternity leave. 

   

Chief Sharon Bryant's Funeral will be held on July 25th at 11:00 AM at the Monacan Burial Grounds on Matohe Bear Mountain. In accordance with Sharon's final wishes, I have invited and given permission for The Rt. Rev. Mark MacDonald, National Indigenous Anglican Bishop in the Anglican Church of Canada, to be the Celebrant and Preacher for the funeral. The ritual will be part Episcopal and part Monacan. All are welcome.  

(Directions: from Route 29 North or South take Father Judge Road; follow it to Matohe Road; turn left; Burial Grounds approx. 200 yards on right; look for sign and tents on the hill. There is ample parking there. There will be a meal at Tribal Hall after the memorial on the mountain.)

  

Return from General Convention: After two weeks of 12-14 hour legislative days, our deputation and I returned to Southwestern Virginia over the July 4th weekend. I am still absorbing the mountain of legislative actions we took to move our Church forward into God's mission. Of course, the two biggest pieces of news are the election of The Rt. Rev. Michael Curry as our new Presiding Bishop and the adoption of marriage rites for same sex couples. 

  

In the coming weeks, I will be addressing those actions of General Convention that have direct bearing on our diocesan life. I am thankful to each one of our deputies for their faithful and tireless service on our behalf. I urge you to thank them when you see them.

  

An Interview with Presiding Bishop-Elect Michael Curry
An Interview with
Presiding Bishop-Elect Michael Curry

General Convention Links and Resources:

--A good summary of General Convention can be found here; 

--General Convention Media Hub: on-demand features from the 2015 General Convention of the Episcopal Church;  

--Prayers of the People: hosted by the Society of St. John the Evangelist;
--DIOSWVA@GC: conversation with our deputation on Facebook;
-- Video blogs posted by our deputation on the diocesan website.
  

Youth Mission Fund Coffee Mugs On Sale: There is one more week to contribute to the Bradford Youth Exchange trip buy purchasing a ceramic or travel coffee mug. If your church has mugs, please encourage their sale this week and send a check. All the money helps to reduce the expense for one of our youth. If your church did not get mugs and you would like one, please contact us at Evans House. You can purchase a mug by sending a check to the diocese marked for the 'Youth Mission Fund.' I encourage rectors with discretionary accounts to make a contribution.

  

Fall Clergy Overnight - Save the Date: October 8 and 9, 2015

  

Good Shepherd, Galax
Good Shepherd, Galax 
Sunday Visitations and Weekday Parish Meetings/Events: Last Sunday, Lutheran Bishop Jim Mauney will join me at Good Shepherd in Galax for a 10th Anniversary celebration Eucharist. On Thursday afternoon, I visited with residents and celebrated Eucharist at Westminster-Canterbury in Lynchburg.

  

Pastoral Concerns:    

--The Rev. Bill Watson had surgery this week and is home doing well. Please keep Bill and Sallie in your prayers.

--I have been informed of the death on July 6 of the Rev. James Cunningham at his home in Centreville, Virginia, at the age of 91. He served as rector of St. Luke's, Hot Springs, from 1980 to 1991. Please pray for the repose of his soul and for his family and friends in their grief.

  
ConnectingConnecting

. . .  with Evans House
Send items to news@dioswva.org

● The Evans House phone system is out of service. We hope to have it fully restored by Friday. We regret the inconvenience and invite you to email the staff for assistance during this time.

● If there's an event or piece of news you'd like to see highlighted here or on our website, please email news@dioswva.org.   

● Check out the Bulletin Board section of the  diocesan website to learn about upcoming seminars, trainings, and more!

. . . within the Diocese

● Emily Talbot-Guillote and Elizabeth Foster will be doing a Safeguarding God's Children training on Saturday, August 15, from 9 AM to 1 PM at Christ Episcopal Church, Blacksburg. Please contact them at e-bethfoster@verizon.net or  eptg1019@gmail.com to register or if you have any questions.

● The 2015 Summer Festival of Organ Music at Christ, Roanoke, will take place two Tuesday nights in July at 7:30 PM. Featured recitalists include Murray Somerville of York, South Carolina on July 14 and Tom Baugh on July 21. Receptions follow each of the programs; all are welcome. The church is located at 1101 Franklin Road SW, Roanoke, VA 24016.

● St. John's Episcopal Church in Roanoke is offering a Summer Music Camp. Click the photo to learn more. 
 
● The Outreach Committee and congregation of St. John's, Wytheville, will host a "Boys Home Weekend" for the weekend of July 24, 25, 26 at New River Trail State Park, Foster Falls, Va. (near Wytheville, VA). Camping and canoeing on the New River will be a highlight of the weekend, with fellowship and good food provided by the members of St. John's. The weekend activities will conclude at St. John's on Sunday, July 26, with a pot-luck lunch following the 11 AM service (Note: the usual Sunday service time has been changed to allow participants time to take down the campsite and travel to Wytheville). 

● The USDA is working to make sure that all children have the chance at a hot meal while they are out of school over the summer. They are sponsoring a program to hand out more than 200 million free meals nationwide.

Any child or teen, 18 and under, who gets free or reduced meals during the school year can get the same free or reduced meal while school is out.

There is no enrollment fees or cost for parents. To find the location closest to you, call 1-833-3-HUNGRY or click here.


● Family Service of Roanoke Valley addresses growing population of children with an incarcerated parent. "What About Me?", a support group for middle school-age children begins August 4 for 10 sessions, ending in October. Light supper is provided at 5:30 PM and each session ends at 7 PM. Will coincide with Families Anonymous group for adults. Contact Melissa Hays-Smith, Canon Missioner of Roanoke Convocation, who will be facilitating the group, to refer children.

. . .  with the Wider Community

● You can always find a full calendar of events for The Episcopal Church here.

● Seventy-eight educational scholarships, totaling $216,903.44, have been awarded to students in Episcopal Church dioceses as well as Provinces of the Anglican Communion for the 2015-2016 academic year. Read more.
ResourcesandLinksResources and Links

as of July 8, 2015
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as of July 7, 2015
as of June 1, 2015
bmrc-online.org
Bishop Marmion Resource Center
as of June 5, 2015
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